The Salt Divider rule is an easy way to know if a pet food manufacturer is engaging in deceptive marketing. AAFCO recommends that dry dog food contain at least 0.3% sodium. Salt is essential for dogs to function normally and in small amounts, it’s not a bad thing. Salt is a natural and safe preservative; absorbs excess moisture to prevent the growth of harmful mold and bacteria; and adds flavor. As you know, the ingredient label lists ingredients from the greatest to the least (before it’s cooked). Anything listed after salt on the ingredient list is less than 1% of the food. Vitamins and minerals are listed after salt because only small amounts are needed.
But here’s the catch. The front of a bag of pet food can have beautiful brightly colored fruits and vegetables - even if there is only a teeny tiny amount of that ingredient in a recipe. And you may be enticed with words like antioxidants or superfoods. So, the consumer has the illusion that they are buying a bag of food that is full of healthy blueberries, apples, and spinach. But if those ingredients follow salt in the ingredient list, they make up less than one percent of a recipe. That’s half of a blueberry to a 40 lb bag!
Here’s a more in depth article about some other Other deceptive labeling tricks