I. What is coarse ash?

Let’s first take a look at what the coarse ash content of pet food is.

Coarse ash is the residue remaining after all organic matter is oxidized in feed, animal tissue and animal excrement samples at a high temperature of 550-600°C. It is mainly inorganic substances such as mineral oxides or salts, so it is called coarse ash.

Any substance that is incinerated will leave behind coarse ash, so coarse ash is also an indicator for controlling feed quality. But crude ash is not a nutrient in feed. It is similar to crude fiber and moisture.

What is the function of coarse ash?

The coarse ash content in pet food can be used to check the quality of pet food. Excessively high crude ash content indicates poor feed quality, so special food standards are set to prevent the addition of additional mineral raw materials that do not contain nutrients.

But in fact, the content of coarse ash will be affected by many factors. For example, the mineral content of the food itself is high, and the coarse ash produced after production is also relatively high.

Deep-sea fish are relatively rich in minerals and trace elements. It is understandable that pet food produced from deep-sea fish has a higher crude ash content.

II. What content of coarse ash is considered qualified?

1. Domestic production standards

The national standard requires that the crude ash content in pet food should be ≤10%.

Full price pet food dog food GB/T 31216-2014

Full price pet food cat food GB/T 31217-2014

III. Foreign production standards

AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) and NRC (National Research Council) do not have clear standards for coarse ash content, but you still need to choose pet food with low content.

Everyone has a preliminary understanding of the relevant knowledge of coarse ash. I believe that everyone has a basic understanding. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a message.