Dry Matter Basis Calculator – Complete Guide How to Calculate Pet Food Dry Matter Basis

By Olivia Moore | Last updated: Jun 22 2022

What Is Dry Matter Basis Calculator?

When it comes to choosing the right pet food for our furry friends, there are a lot of things to consider. Pet owners are often bombarded with an overwhelming amount of information, including ingredient lists, guaranteed analysis, and nutritional claims. But one important aspect of pet food analysis that is often overlooked is dry matter basis (DMB). In this blog post, we will explore what DMB is and why it is important, as well as introduce you to the dry matter basis calculator, a valuable tool in understanding pet food composition.

A dry matter basis calculator is a tool that allows pet owners to convert nutrient percentages listed on pet food labels to a DMB format. It takes into account the water content of the food and provides a more accurate representation of the nutrient content. Using a DMB calculator can be incredibly helpful in understanding the nutritional value of different pet food types.

You must have read the nutritional labels on dog or cat food. What if you came to know that those labels were misleading? The pet food companies outline the nutrient content of the products through Guaranteed Analysis (printed on every food product). Dry matter basis represents the nutrients eliminating the moisture content in food. The analysis listed on the food is wrong as it is based on the total weight of food and does not account for the water quantity. To obtain the correct reading of nutrients, you need to eliminate the moisture content from pet food.

So you should know how to find the real nutrition percentage in pet food. But you don’t have to worry if you don’t know how to calculate the pet food dry matter basis. In this article, we’ll be defining how you can calculate the dry food matter basis for your pet and how to use the output (information) for the healthy balanced diet of your dog or cat.

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Why Doesn’t Reading Labels On Pet Food Tell the Truth?

Pet food labels carry many limitations, the same as human food. Only specific items are listed on the pet food, including the nutrients like protein, fat, etc. There may also be other nutrients, but only the main ones are listed on the food.

The guaranteed analysis printed on the pet food makes it easy for the consumers (dog or cat owners) to understand the contents of the food. But, these numbers can be misleading.

The owner mainly uses nutrient percent information to compare these four critical nutrients.

• Protein.
• Fiber.
• Fat.
• Moisture.

When you buy food for your pet, you might prefer to feed your pet with a mixture of wet and dry food. So you pick a dry food that contains 40% of protein, and then you’ll pick a can of food that possibly has 10 – 15 % protein. So it raises a question: Does kibble contain more nutrients than wet-can food.

What’s the reason behind this matter, and how might you apply it to picking nourishment for your canine?

Why Do You Need to Understand Dry Matter Basis? Why Is It Important?

Pet foods with high moisture tend to have a protein ratio below 10%. On the other hand, it is almost impossible to discover any dry food product having a protein percentage lower than 15%. So do we have to question the manufacturers about the difference? No. Because the difference lies in the moisture, the systems used in reporting the percentage fail to consider the variable amount of water percentage in different types of food.

So when comparing the nutrients of different food products, it is important to eradicate the 100% moisture content from every food being evaluated. Removing the moisture and stating the right nutrient percent in any food is known as Dry Matter Basis.

Dry Matter Basis Calculator for Pet Food:

Our online calculator will help you find the number of proteins and fats in your pet food.

You can also use this online calculator to compare two pet foods’ nutrients. This calculator will extract moisture to give you the exact amount of nutrients in your pet food so that you can feed your pet a good protein diet necessary for their healthy life.

We should know about the guaranteed analysis chart for comparing two pet foods. The guaranteed analysis chart indicates pet food’s percentage of macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients like fat, fiber, protein, and water. And micronutrients like minerals and vitamins.

But the pet food package contains an analysis chart on an “as-fed basis“. This chart indicates the nutrient level in percentages. As already defined, these percentages take into account moisture or water. So whenever you want to compare two pet foods, their moisture content should be at the same level. If the moisture level is at 0%, it’s the ideal dry matter basis for pet food.

To obtain the dry matter basis of any pet food, we are using this equation:

DMB% = AFB% * 100 / (100% – M%)

Where;

DMB% denotes the dry matter basis percentage of a particular nutrient.

AFB% denotes the as-fed basis percentage of nutrients.

And M% denotes the moisture content percentage of the pet food.

You can take these values from the guaranteed analysis chart and put them in the calculator to perform any comparison.