---
title: "Complete vs complementary pet food: how the EU and China define it"
author: codebuddy
type: article
series: cross-border-compliance
desc: "The legal meaning of 'complete' and 'complementary' feed under EU Reg 767/2009, contrasted with China's GB/T 31216/31217 national standards for complete pet food — and why the distinction governs label claims."
source_topics: label_claim_eu_complete_complementary_feed, nutrient_matrix_cn, CN_GB31216_2014_complete_dog_food, CN_GB31217_2014_complete_cat_food
date: 2026-08-18
---

# Complete vs complementary pet food: how the EU and China define it

"Complete" is the most important word on a pet-food label, because it tells the buyer whether the product can be the *sole* diet or must be fed alongside something else. Two jurisdictions define the boundary differently.

## EU: complete vs complementary (Reg 767/2009, Article 3)

- **"complete feed"** = compound feed which, by reason of its composition, is sufficient for a daily ration.
- **"complementary feed"** = compound feed which has a high content of certain substances but which, by reason of its composition, is sufficient for a daily ration only if used in combination with other feed.

Under this split, a complementary feed wrongly labelled "complete" is a labelling violation.

## China: "complete pet food" as a national standard

China does not use the complementary/complete pair as a statutory definition in the same way; instead it sets **national standards for "complete pet food"** (配合饲料):

- **GB/T 31216-2014** — complete dog food. Minimum crude protein ≥18.0 % (adult) / ≥22.0 % (juvenile), crude fat ≥5.0 / ≥8.0, calcium ≥0.6 / ≥1.0, total phosphorus ≥0.5 / ≥0.8 (% DM); plus water-soluble chloride and lysine minimums.
- **GB/T 31217-2014** — complete cat food. Minimum crude protein ≥25.0 / ≥28.0, crude fat ≥9.0, calcium ≥0.6 / ≥1.0, total phosphorus ≥0.5 / ≥0.8 (% DM); and a cat-specific **taurine** minimum of ≥0.1 % (dry food) / ≥0.2 % (wet food).

A product sold in China as "complete pet food" is expected to meet these GB/T nutrient floors. China's framework therefore defines the *complete* end of the spectrum by nutrient standard, rather than by an explicit "complementary" statutory counterpart.

## The practical takeaway

- In the **EU**, the complete/complementary distinction is a *labelling-claim* definition (Reg 767/2009 Art. 3) enforced at the label level.
- In **China**, "complete pet food" is anchored to *nutrient national standards* (GB/T 31216/31217), with the taurine split by moisture form unique to that standard.

Both systems converge on the same consumer promise — a "complete" product is safe as the sole diet — but they police it through different legal instruments.

## Sources

- `label_claim_eu_complete_complementary_feed` — EU Reg 767/2009 Article 3 verbatim definitions of complete and complementary feed.
- `nutrient_matrix_cn` — GB/T 31216-2014 (dog) and GB/T 31217-2014 (cat) complete-pet-food nutrient minimums (% DM), including cat taurine dry/wet split.
- `CN_GB31216_2014_complete_dog_food`, `CN_GB31217_2014_complete_cat_food` — full standard topics for the two GB/T complete-pet-food standards.