60% meat on the bag: how much meat actually stays in the kibble

The claim "60% fresh meat" describes weight before drying. Raw chicken with skin is 66% water (USDA FoodData Central, fdcId 171447), so of 60 kg in the mixer about 20 kg of dry matter makes it into the kibble. Converted, that is roughly 36% of the finished food's dry matter and about 18% protein from meat by bag weight.

This is not a violation: the European labelling code explicitly requires ingredients to be listed by weight at the mixing stage. Below is the conversion itself for a 100 kg batch, a table for 40, 60 and 80%, and an explanation of why the "meat meal" line sits lower in the ingredient list than its real protein contribution deserves.

See also: Dog food classes

Why does fresh meat weigh three times more than it contributes?

Fresh meat is mostly water. According to USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy, broiler chicken, meat and skin, raw, fdcId 171447), 100 g contains 66.0 g of water, 18.6 g of protein and 15.1 g of fat.

Composition source: USDA FoodData Central, fdcId 171447. The "dry matter" row is arithmetic: 100 minus 66.0 g of water.

In other words, out of every three kilograms of fresh meat, one stays in the food. Meat meal arrives at the plant already dried, so at the same weight it provides several times more protein than fresh meat.

Two thirds of the weight of fresh meat is water, and you cannot compare "60% fresh" with "25% meal" without converting.

How much of the 60% is left after drying?

I calculate per 100 kg batch, the way it looks at the mixer.

1. 60 kg of fresh chicken. According to USDA, that is 34% dry matter, or 20.4 kg, of which 11.2 kg is protein.
2. 40 kg of dry ingredients: grains, meals, oils, premix. Calculation assumption: 90% dry matter, or 36 kg.
3. Total dry matter is 56.4 kg. With a residual moisture of 10% in the finished kibble (also a calculation assumption), this yields about 62.7 kg of food.

Then it is simple arithmetic. Chicken's share of the food's dry matter: 20.4 / 56.4 = 36%. Protein contributed by the chicken itself: 11.2 / 62.7 ≈ 18% of the bag weight.

Our own production calculation based on the moisture and protein of chicken from USDA (fdcId 171447). Assumptions: dry ingredients 90% dry matter, final kibble moisture 10%. Arithmetic checked by calculation on 23.09.2026.

The percentage of fresh meat on the label is roughly twice the share of meat in the finished food's dry matter.

Why does meat meal sit lower in the ingredient list than it deserves?

Because of the rule the FEDIAF code calls the mixing bowl: ingredients are listed in descending order of weight at the mixing stage. Concentrated and dehydrated materials are listed by their weight already in dry form, labelled "dried" or "meal" (FEDIAF Code of Good Labelling Practice, 2019, Composition section; Regulation 767/2009, Art. 17.1(e) and 24.5).

This creates an asymmetry. Fresh meat enters the list together with its water and jumps to the first line. Meal, which will provide more protein in the finished food, is recorded already without water and ends up lower.

The code itself gives an example of such a conversion elsewhere: "0.5% dried carrot, equivalent to 4.3% carrot". The difference is almost ninefold, and this is official logic, not something marketers made up.

"meal" as the first line is more honest than "fresh meat" as the first line, because its weight is already without water.

What is behind the phrase "meat and animal derivatives"?

Under Annex 1 of the same code (definition from Directive 82/475), these are all fleshy parts of slaughtered warm-blooded land animals, fresh or preserved, as well as products from processing carcasses. The wording is legal, but it does not name the animal species, which is exactly why it is inconvenient for the owner of a dog with a food intolerance to a specific protein.

The second line worth reading carefully is the claims on the front of the bag. Annex 5 sets thresholds: "with X" means at least 4% of the ingredient, "rich in X" or "high in X" at least 14%, "X dinner" at least 26%. It also requires the percentage to be an exact figure, not a range.

For DELICATE, the line "poultry meat and by-products, at least 60%" is the weight of fresh meat at the mixing stage (own data, production technologist, 17.09.2026), so it should be read exactly according to the table above. If you are choosing between two flavors, composition details are on the page for chicken dog food and in the comparison chicken or veal.

"with chicken" on the bag guarantees 4% chicken, not "a food made of chicken".

How do you read an ingredient list in three steps?

First, look next to the animal's name for the word "fresh", "dehydrated" or "meal": it tells you at what weight the ingredient is listed.

Second, multiply the fresh meat percentage by about 0.34 (chicken dry matter according to USDA). Third, check the result against the "crude protein" line in the guaranteed analysis. If the conversion gives more protein than declared on the bag, the percentage on the front does not describe what you thought it did.

Once the ingredient form is sorted out, the question of quantity remains. How many grams of food to give is a separate calculation: feeding amount by dog weight and portion calculator.

Three actions (ingredient form, multiplying by 0.34, checking against the guaranteed analysis) tell you more than any dog food rating.

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