{"topic_id":"AAFCO_Ch6_taurine","category":"aafco","context":"---\ntopic_id: \"AAFCO_Ch6_taurine\"\ncategory: \"aafco\"\ntitle: \"AAFCO Ch6 taurine\"\nlang: en\nsource_document: \"AAFCO Model Pet Food Regulations\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"AAFCO wp-content/uploads PDF\"\n  title: \"AAFCO Ch6 taurine\"\n  url: \"\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-07-21\"\n  ref: \"\"\n  doc_type: \"official source\"\n  needs_review: true\nauthority_tier: T1\nauthority_tier_basis: \"T1:std-body\"\nauthority_tier_date: 2026-08-04\ntokens_estimated: 232\n---\nAAFCO Ch6 definition 6.12 Taurine is a product that contains a minimum of 97% 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid; the percentage of taurine must be guaranteed. It is used as a nutritional supplement in cat foods, dog foods, and fish foods; taurine may also be added to the feed of growing chickens, where the total taurine content of the complete feed shall not exceed 0.054% (21 CFR 573.980) (Proposed 2017 rev. 1, Adopted 2019 rev. 1; IFN 5-09-821). For cats, taurine is an essential amino acid (cats cannot synthesize sufficient amounts endogenously); the AAFCO cat food nutrient profile sets a taurine minimum of 0.10% DM (1000 mg/kg) on a dry-matter basis, with the US profiles dataset listing 0.10% DM for extruded (dry) and 0.20% DM (2000 mg/kg) for canned cat food. For dogs, taurine is not an AAFCO-required nutrient — dogs can synthesize it from methionine and cysteine — which is why the dog profiles set no taurine minimum.\n","sources":["AAFCO wp-content/uploads PDF — AAFCO Ch6 taurine (retrieved 2026-07-21)"],"source":{"authority":"AAFCO wp-content/uploads PDF","title":"AAFCO Ch6 taurine","url":"https://www.aafco.org/","retrieved":"2026-07-21","ref":"","doc_type":"official source","source_document":"AAFCO Model Pet Food Regulations","verification_file":""},"source_document":"AAFCO Model Pet Food Regulations","source_file":"","trust":{"authority_tier":"T1","fidelity":"verbatim","license":null,"display_grade":"A"},"tokens_estimated":105,"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.","structured_data":{"note":"The nutrient values in this topic are also available as structured data — faster and exact, no text parsing needed.","compare":"/api/v1/cross_compare?standards=AAFCO,FEDIAF,KFDA&species=dog&lifestage=adult&nutrient=protein&basis=DM","coverage":"Standards: AAFCO (year>=2014), FEDIAF (year>=2025), EU PARNUT (year>=2020), KFDA/NIAS Korea (year>=2024). species: dog|cat. lifestage: adult|GR (growth/puppy/kitten map to growth-reproduction). basis: DM|cal.","single":"/api/v1/nutrient?standard=AAFCO&year=2024&species=dog&lifestage=adult&nutrient=protein&basis=DM","batch":"/api/v1/batch_nutrient?standard=AAFCO&year=2024&species=dog&lifestage=adult&nutrients=protein,fat,calcium,phosphorus&basis=DM"}}