Each state regulates the production and marketing of packaged animal feed for sale within its borders.  But all the state officials subscribe to a national organization of feed control officials, named the Association of American Feed Control Officials, or AAFCO for short.  AAFCO has published a model bill which many (but not all) states have passed into law.  Even the ones who haven't do generally abide by the regulatory guidelines in the model bill.  The entire model bill, which has a wealth of information pertinent to would-be pet treat marketers, is contained  in the 2000 Official Publication of AAFCO, which you can order online from the AAFCO web site for $35.00 postpaid.  Just click on their logo below and look for the link "How to order AAFCO Publications: AAFCO 2000 Official Publication" on their homepage.  At the bottom of their homepage there's also an e-mail link to Rodney Noel, AAFCO's Pet Food Committee Chair, who fields questions about pet food labeling.  And there's another link to their membership directory with telephone numbers and e-mail addresses for all the state officials.

The key provision pertinent to guaranteed analysis labels is reproduced in the box below:


Official Pet Food Regulations

Regulation PF2, Label Format and Labeling

(c) The information which is required to appear in the "Guaranteed Analysis" shall be listed in the following order unless otherwise specified in these Regulations:

        Crude protein (Minimum Percentage)
        Crude fat (Minimum Percentage)
        Crude fiber (Maximum Percentage)
        Moisture (Maximum Percentage)

Don't forget: not every state regulates cottage industry pet treat producers rigorously.  You may not need to provide these guaranteed analyses on your labels.  Check with your state official.