Fresh pet food has become increasingly popular in the pet nutrition space. As interest in fresh diets grows, so does confusion around how to evaluate whether these foods meet a pet’s nutritional needs. With more options comes more confusing marketing, making it harder for pet parents to tell the difference between what looks healthy and what is healthy.

One phrase that appears frequently is complete and balanced. This is not a marketing term, but a specific nutritional claim. Understanding what it means is essential when assessing whether a food is appropriate as a pet’s primary diet.

What “complete and balanced” actually means

Dogs and cats have requirements for several nutrients that they need to get from their food including things like amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Each year, the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) publishes requirement levels for dogs and cats based on their life stage (gestation/lactation, growth, and adult maintenance).

AAFCO is a non-profit organization that sets standards for both animal feeds and pet foods in the United States, including nutrient profiles and labeling guidance. Their Pet Food Label Modernization project aims to make labels more transparent and easier for consumers to understand.

Per AAFCO, “complete and balanced” has a defined regulatory meaning. Complete means all required nutrients are present. Balanced means they are present in the correct amounts and proportions, so your pet is not getting too much of one nutrient while missing out on another important one.

How can we tell if a food is ‘complete and balanced’? This information will be reported on the pet food label and the key phrase to look for is the nutritional adequacy statement. This is one of the most important parts of the label because it indicates whether the food is complete and balanced and therefore appropriate to be fed as your pet’s main diet. It will also specify which life stage it is designed for, such as growth, maintenance, or all life stages. Sometimes the nutritional adequacy statement can be difficult to find because it is not always in the same location on the label. You may have read carefully to find it, but according to AAFCO, the required nutritional adequacy statement will be located on the back or sides of the package and in small print.

This statement is the key to answering the real question: can this food serve as the main diet for my pet, and does it provide them with all of the nutrients they need for the life stage they are in?

Formulated vs feeding trials

How does a pet food company know that their product is complete and balanced? Once you find the nutritional adequacy statement, you will usually see one of two proof styles: formulated or feeding trials.

Formulated to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles means the recipe was designed to hit specific nutrient targets for a given life stage. Companies do this by using ingredient nutrient data, formulation software, and nutrient testing. When it is done well, formulated diets can absolutely be complete and balanced.

The second, real-life option is animal feeding trials conducted in accordance with AAFCO guidelines. This means the food was put through a feeding trial, where dogs eat that diet as their primary food for a set time period while defined health markers are monitored. It is a real-world check that the diet supports them during maintenance or growth in real animals eating the actual food day after day. This can help identify issues that look fine on paper but do not play well in a living body, such as digestibility problems. These trials may be conducted with colony dogs, purpose-bred research dogs, or pet dogs. This information is not included on the label, so we may not know whether a company has done a feeding trial in a research setting or with pet dogs.

Neither method is considered superior. What matters most is how well the method is carried out. Consistent execution is critical, especially for fresh foods where ingredient and nutrient variability can be higher.

A thoughtfully formulated food from a company that tests batches, monitors nutrient levels over time, and maintains strong quality control can be an excellent choice. A feeding trial is also valuable, but it has drawbacks. Feeding trials are typically conducted on a relatively small group of animals over a limited time, so while they provide helpful information, they do not predict every long-term outcome.

Both phrases indicate how the company supports its claim of being complete and balanced, and they give pet owners a starting point for asking better questions. If your pet is a healthy adult, a well-made, formulated diet may be a great choice. If you have a puppy or kitten, it is especially important to confirm the life stage statement and consider brands with demonstrated consistency over time.

Intermittent or supplemental feeding

Some fresh pet foods are not intended to be fed as a primary diet. Products labeled for intermittent or supplemental feeding only do not meet AAFCO requirements for complete and balanced nutrition. These should not be used as the sole source of food, unless specifically recommended by a veterinarian.

These diets are meant to support an already complete diet, not replace it.

In contrast, foods labeled as complete and balanced are formulated to meet a pet’s full nutritional needs and can be fed as the primary diet.

This distinction matters.

Feeding a supplemental product as a full meal, even with good intentions, can lead to nutrient imbalances over time. The nutritional adequacy statement tells you exactly how the food should be used.

What this means in practice

A complete and balanced diet is built on formulation, not presentation. The nutritional adequacy statement tells you whether a food can be fed every day or only as a supplement. This matters most in fresh diets, where appearance and ingredient lists can create a false sense of completeness. Some foods may appear healthy, containing a variety of fruits, vegetables, and “superfoods”. However, it can be difficult to tell the exact nutrient profile of a diet just by looking at ingredients, which is why it is crucial to look for that nutritional adequacy statement.

What keeps pets healthy is consistency in meeting established nutritional standards, not how the food looks in the bowl.