Eight countries, eight pet-food labels: a cross-border compliance scorecard
A pet-food brand that ships across borders quickly learns that "the label" is not one thing. Every market defines its own mandatory statements, language rule, and analysis-block format. For the cross-border / e-commerce use case, the practical question is always the same: what must appear on the pack, and in what form? This article scores eight jurisdictions (Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, China, and the United States), then flags where our source data is thin.
Saudi Arabia — label defined, content set by Technical Standards
Saudi Arabia takes a layered approach. The law first defines a "Label" broadly as "any statement, sign, trade mark or any representation or description whether written, printed, painted, marked, stuck, engraved, compressed, or attached to a container or lid or package." The mandatory content is delegated to SFDA Technical Standards, described as "mandatory documents, which describe the characteristics of feeds, their production and manufacturing methods, and any relevant regulatory information, including expressions, symbols, and feed-related labeling, and packaging requirements." A marketing-integrity rule ties advertising to the pack: "The data contained in the advertisement material shall be consistent with the information included on the label of the product," and it is "strictly prohibited to … claim that the product advertised has ingredients, which are not introduced naturally into the product's composition."
South Korea — registered composition, expiry, and a GMO mark
Under the Feed Management Act (사료관리법, Article 13), "제조업자ㆍ수입업자 또는 판매업자는 … 용기나 포장에 성분등록을 한 사항, 유통기한, 그 밖의 사용상 주의사항 등 … 표시하여야 한다" — manufacturers, importers and sellers must mark the container or packaging with the registered-composition particulars, expiry date, and other use-precautions set by MAFRA Ordinance. The particulars "must not be falsely or exaggeratedly marked" (Article 13(2)). A second layer covers genetically modified material: makers and importers "must mark on the package that an imported-approved GMO organism … was used as raw material" (Article 13-2(1)), with the duty-holder, scope and method set by the MAFRA Minister.
Japan — Ministers set the standard; no compliant label means no sale
Japan's Pet Food Safety Act empowers the ministers to act, rather than spelling out the pack list directly. "농林水産大臣及び環境大臣은 … 表示につき基準을 정할 수" — the MAFF and Environment Ministers "may, by ordinance, set standards for … LABELLING … and specifications for INGREDIENTS." The enforcement hook is sharp: it is prohibited "to sell pet feed that does not bear labelling conforming to the standard." The item-level rules sit in the MAFF/Environment ordinance under Article 5(1), one level down from the Act text we hold.
Canada — name, maker, code, net amount, plus a bilingual nuance
Canada's Feeds Regulations, 2024 (SOR/2024-132) is explicit about the pack. "Any feed that is manufactured, sold or imported must have a label affixed to it," and that label "must contain (a) the name of the feed …; (b) the name and address of the person who manufactured the feed … or … the registrant; (c) an identification code; (d) the net amount of the feed." On language, the federal rule (s.48) requires label information to be "printed conspicuously, legibly and indelibly in English or French or both languages," and two classes must appear in both English and French: medicated-feed information and any caution or warning statement. Note for pet food: dogs and cats are not on the designated-livestock list, so no pet-food-specific federal bilingual statute is on record.
United Kingdom and France — the EU 767/2009 spine
Both the UK and France sit on the same legal backbone: Regulation (EC) No 767/2009. In the UK, retained as assimilated law, "Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to feed for non-food-producing animals," and "On the label of pet food a free telephone number or other appropriate means of communication shall be indicated" so the purchaser can obtain information on additives and feed materials. France presents the same regulation nationally: the animal-feed sector "couvrent … la mise sur le marché des aliments et leur étiquetage" (covers placing on the market and labelling), and Reg 767/2009 "encadre également l'étiquetage des matières premières et aliments composés … leur conditionnement et leur présentation" (governs labelling, packaging and presentation). The EU-level text adds the familiar particulars — type of feed, responsible operator's name and address, lot reference, net quantity, additive list, and a composition list "in DESCENDING ORDER BY WEIGHT" — with Article 14 requiring mandatory particulars in the official language of the Member State where the feed is marketed.
China — the longest fixed list
China's 宠物饲料标签规定 (MOA Order 20, 2025) gives the most enumerated list. Article 3 requires labels to show "제품名称、原料组成、产品成分分析保证值、净含量、贮存条件、使用说明、注意事项、生产日期、保质期、生产企业名称及地址、许可证明文件编号和产品标准" — product name, ingredient composition, guaranteed analysis, net content, storage conditions, usage instructions, precautions, production date, shelf life, manufacturer name and address, licence number, and product standard. Imported compound pet feed and premixes must additionally show "the import product re-check inspection report number" (Article 7). Usage instructions must be based "on the pet's life stage, activity level, and body-size category" (Article 11), and net content "is composed of the net-content statement, numerals, and statutory units of measure" (Article 9). A companion topic notes Article 3 lists 12 mandatory label items, "not 22," and adds that products with animal-derived ingredients (except dairy) must state "本产品不得饲喂反刍动物" (must not be fed to ruminants), complete feeds must use the general name "宠物配合饲料/全价宠物食品," and text height must be "≥1.8 mm when label display area exceeds 35 cm²."
United States — FDA's Part 501
The U.S. sets its pack rules in 21 CFR Part 501. The Principal Display Panel needs a "statement of identity (product name with species designation)," a "net quantity statement in dual units (oz + g, lbs + kg)," and the "name and place of business of manufacturer/packer/distributor." The information panel requires an "ingredients list in descending order by weight (as fed basis)," a "guaranteed analysis: crude protein min%, crude fat min%, crude fiber max%, moisture max%, ash max% (if claimed)," a "nutritional adequacy statement (AAFCO protocol)," "feeding directions (with daily caloric content for the recommended portion)," and a "best before date + lot number." The 2024 modernization also requires that a "human grade" claim "must meet 21 CFR 110 human food cGMP for entire production chain," and that "functional claims require 'competent and reliable scientific evidence' substantiation."
Where the data is thin
Three more jurisdictions appear in our sources, each carrying a honesty flag.
- Indonesia has genuinely first-hand material: Permentan 22/2017 requires the label be "written or printed in the Indonesian language" and placed "on an easily visible part," and show at minimum "the NPP (Feed Registration Number), the trade mark, [and] the name and address of the company/producer and/or the importer/exporter," with a base colour and feed code per Format-16. The English gloss is flagged needs_review; the rules are framed for feed generally.
- Mexico is captured only indirectly, via a USDA GAIN FAIRS Country Report: NOM-051-SCFI-2010 makes Spanish labelling mandatory (an added Spanish sticker permitted), listing importer/exporter, origin, ingredients, net content, batch and expiration elements. The report "contains no pet-food-specific labeling NOM," so Mexican pet-food labelling is procedurally indicated, not statute-quoted.
- Thailand is pending / unverified. The primary Animal Feed Control Act is unreachable and the available DLD report contains no labelling provision, so we state no Thai label specifics.
- Australia is deliberately excluded: its cluster in our sources is veterinary-drug registration (APVMA PUBCRIS), not pet-food labelling law, and it must not be presented as a pet-food labelling jurisdiction.
Sources
All claims above are drawn verbatim from the following source topics (all on disk):
- CROSS_BORDER_LABEL_COMPLIANCE_MATRIX — synthesis of first-hand SA/KR/JP/CA/UK/FR clauses (C1-verified).
- SA_FEED_LABELING — SFDA Feed Act & Regulation (first-hand English translation of Arabic original).
- KR_FEED_LABELING — Feed Management Act 법령ID 001499 (first-hand Korean statute; EN gloss in topic).
- JP_FEED_LABELING — Pet Food Safety Act lawid 420AC0000000083 (first-hand Japanese statute; EN gloss in topic).
- CA_FEED_LABELING — Feeds Regulations, 2024 SOR/2024-132 (first-hand English regulation).
- CA_bilingual_labeling_requirements — Feeds Regulations s.48 language rule (official source; needs_review on scope).
- UK_FEED_LABELING — Reg (EC) 767/2009, retained EU law (first-hand eur-lex text).
- FR_FEED_LABELING — agriculture.gouv.fr "Alimentation animale" (government guidance; needs_review).
- EU_petfood_labeling_2022 — Reg (EC) 767/2009 Official Journal text (official source).
- cn_petfeed_label_rule_2025 — MOA Order 20 (2025) 宠物饲料标签规定 (first-hand Chinese official text).
- CN_label_22_items_detail — MOA Announcement No. 20 (2018) Annex 3, 12-item clarification (official source; needs_review).
- FDA_CFR21_part501_labeling — 21 CFR Part 501 (official web page).
- ID_FEED_LABELING_P2 — Permentan 22/2017 Pasal 25–26 (first-hand Indonesian regulation; EN gloss needs_review).
- MX_labeling_Spanish_required — USDA GAIN FAIRS Report MX2025-0049 (indirect/secondary; needs_review).
Caliber note: First-hand statute/regulation backs SA, KR, JP, CA, UK/EU and CN; US FDA and EU 767/2009 are official texts. France is government guidance (flagged). Indonesia and the CN 12-item clarification are first-hand but carry review flags. Mexico is a secondary FAIRS report with no pet-food-specific NOM. Thailand is pending; Australia excluded (vet-drug registration, not pet-food law).