{"topic_id":"calorie_pet_food_energy_methodology","category":"pet-food-energy","context":"---\ntopic_id: calorie_pet_food_energy_methodology\ncategory: pet-food-energy\ntitle: \"Pet-food energy is calculated as Metabolisable Energy (ME) via the modified Atwater method — species-specific, not the human system\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines for Dogs and Cats (2025)\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/fediaf-historical/fediaf_nutritional_guidelines_2025.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-07-28\ntokens_estimated: 260\nverified: true\nverification: c1_substring\nsource_document: \"FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines for Dogs and Cats (2025)\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"FEDIAF (European Pet Food Industry Federation)\"\n  title: \"Pet-food energy is calculated as Metabolisable Energy (ME) via the modified Atwater method — species-specific, not the human system\"\n  url: \"https://www.fediaf.org/\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-07-28\"\n  ref: \"\"\n  doc_type: \"official guidelines (first-hand)\"\n  needs_review: false\n---\n# Pet-food energy is calculated as Metabolisable Energy (ME) via the modified Atwater method\n\nThe text below is reproduced verbatim from the first-hand source (FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines 2025).\n\n> Digestible energy and metabolisable energy (ME) are\n> more accurate way of expressing the energy density\n> ME reflects better the energy that is utilised by\n> modified Atwater method in dry pet foods\n> European Standard EN 16967\n\nSource: `pdf-raw/fediaf-historical/fediaf_nutritional_guidelines_2025.txt` (first-hand official guidelines, whitespace-normalised for C1 matching).\n\n## Claims (verified C1 substrings of source_file)\n- `Digestible energy and metabolisable energy (ME) are`\n- `more accurate way of expressing the energy density`\n- `ME reflects better the energy that is utilised by`\n- `modified Atwater method in dry pet foods`\n- `European Standard EN 16967`\n\n## Analysis (not a C1 claim)\n\nBecause pets use a species-specific **modified Atwater** estimation and an **ME** energy basis (rather than the human general Atwater factors), pet-food energy values are calculated on a different system from human-food calories. This is the documentary basis for the answer to \"are pet-food calories the same as human calories?\" — they are not computed on the same basis.\n","sources":["FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines for Dogs and Cats — Pet-food energy is calculated as Metabolisable Energy (ME) via the modified Atwater method — species-specific, not the human system (retrieved 2026-07-28)"],"source":{"authority":"FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines for Dogs and Cats","title":"Pet-food energy is calculated as Metabolisable Energy (ME) via the modified Atwater method — species-specific, not the human system","url":"https://www.fediaf.org/","retrieved":"2026-07-28","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines for Dogs and Cats (2025)","verification_file":"pdf-raw/fediaf-historical/fediaf_nutritional_guidelines_2025.txt"},"source_document":"FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines for Dogs and Cats (2025)","source_file":"pdf-raw/fediaf-historical/fediaf_nutritional_guidelines_2025.txt","tokens_estimated":260,"generated_at":null,"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."}