{"topic_id":"AAFCO_2014_CNES_origin_story","category":"aafco","context":"The 2014 change to the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles — splitting the calcium maximum into 1.8% DM for Growth & Reproduction and All Life Stages products vs 2.5% DM for Adult Maintenance — traces to an expert-subcommittee recommendation on large-breed puppy skeletal development. Per the 2014 Appendix A (Revised AAFCO Nutrient Profiles), the 2007 subcommittee review recommended that maximum calcium for large breed growth formulations be lowered to 1.8% DM (vs 2.5% previously); it did not recommend lowering the calcium maximum for small/moderate size breeds or adult dogs, which retained the 2.5% maximum. The 2014 Appendix A formalized this as a split-maximum footnote on the dog DM table, and the corresponding calorie-basis table carries footnote (d): a maximum of 4.5 g Ca/1000 kcal ME applicable to large breed growth formulations (≥70 lbs adult weight). The subcommittees behind the profiles were AAFCO's Canine and Feline Nutrition Expert Subcommittees (first convened 1990-1992 per Dzanis, J. Nutr. 1994). Phosphorus maximum stayed at 1.6% DM for both life stages, and all other nutrient values were unchanged from AAFCO 2013.\n","sources":["generated from .md only"],"tokens_estimated":132,"generated_at":"2026-07-16","tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}