Vitamins

Many labels group the added vitamins in brackets after the word “Vitamins”. Each one inside the brackets is an ingredient in its own right, and most have an entry here. The group sits where its combined weight puts it on the list, and the individual amounts are usually tiny.

Vitamins are added because meat and grains vary, and because cooking and storage destroy some of them, so a maker adds enough to reach the levels set by nutrient profiles such as AAFCO’s or FEDIAF’s. A long list of chemical-sounding names is normal in a food that’s meant to be complete. It says little about quality one way or the other.