Reading the label numbers on a bag of dried liver

The freeze dried liver guaranteed analysis on our back label has four lines and a calorie line: crude protein at least 62 percent, crude fat at least 5 percent, crude fiber at most 9 percent, moisture at most 10 percent, and 81.6 kcal ME per ounce. Each line is a floor or a ceiling, not an exact amount.

What do min and max mean on a treat label?

Min is a floor. Max is a ceiling. When the bag says crude protein (min) 62%, the contents hold at least that much protein, and a given bag may hold more. When it says moisture (max) 10%, the contents hold no more than that much water, and a given bag may hold less.

That is why a guaranteed analysis never reads like a recipe. It is a promise about the worst case, not a measurement of the bag in your hand. Two bags can differ a little and both match the label.

On our liver, the floors are protein and fat, and the ceilings are fiber and moisture. The same four numbers are printed on the 1.5, 3 and 6 ounce bags.

What does crude mean in crude protein, fat and fiber?

Crude is the label's word for how a figure was measured. It is not a grade, and it does not rate the ingredient.

Because our liver has one ingredient, beef liver, the crude lines are all reading the same thing. There is no filler to sort out, and the product data states no preservatives, fillers or additives.

We are not going to tell you what the protein figure means for your dog. That is a conversation for your vet. What the label lets you do is compare like with like: the same line, read the same way, on any two bags.

Why is moisture capped at 10 percent?

Freeze-drying takes the water out, and the moisture line is where the label states how much is left: no more than 10 percent. The storage lines printed beside it are where that number meets your kitchen.

Those storage facts are plain. The liver is shelf stable, so it does not need the fridge. The best by date is one year from the production date, printed on the bag. The bag says: "Store in a cool, dry place. Reseal after opening for maximum freshness." Once it is open, use it within 30 days.

So the label asks two things of you after the first opening: reseal the bag, and plan to finish it inside those 30 days.

What does the calorie line tell you?

It gives the energy in the bag two ways: 2,879 kcal ME per kilogram and 81.6 kcal ME per ounce. The label calls the figure calculated. ME stands for metabolizable energy.

Ounces are the useful one for most of us, since a kitchen scale reads in ounces or grams. If you know how many calories your dog gets from treats in a day, 81.6 per ounce turns that into a weight of liver. Our treat budget calculator does exactly that arithmetic, so you do not have to.

There is no calorie count per piece here. Pieces are medium sized and break apart by hand, so they differ from one to the next, and a number per piece would be a guess. Weigh the liver instead of counting it.

What else is printed next to the analysis on our bag?

The same back label carries the ingredient, beef liver, and a feeding statement. The bag says: "Feed as a treat, reward, or topper." It adds that the liver is intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only, that you should supervise while feeding and offer fresh drinking water, and, in its words: "Not intended as a complete and balanced diet."

It also carries the storage lines quoted above and a short reminder in capitals: WASH HANDS AFTER HANDLING.

Reading it as a whole, the label says three things. What is in the bag, in numbers. How to keep it. And what it is for, which is treating, rewarding or topping a meal, not replacing one. If you are weighing it against other bags, the guide to choosing liver treats sets out what else to check, and the freeze-dried beef liver page lists the sizes.