Is premium a regulated term for pet food in the UK and EU?

No. In the European Union, pet food is governed by Regulation (EC) 767/2009, which controls labelling and bans misleading claims but never defines premium (EUR-Lex, Regulation EC 767/2009). The United Kingdom retains equivalent labelling rules after Brexit, and the FEDIAF labelling code likewise treats premium as outside the set of checkable claims (FEDIAF, 2019).

European rules police honesty, not the adjective

Regulation (EC) 767/2009 sets out how pet food is marketed and labelled and requires that information not mislead, yet it grants premium no legal meaning (EUR-Lex, Regulation EC 767/2009). A manufacturer may therefore use it freely as long as it tells no lie about a specific, verifiable feature of the product. In the UK, the same framework was carried into domestic law, and industry body UK Pet Food publishes guidance that mirrors the EU code. A striking detail for the curious reader: the modestly marketed phrase complete and balanced is more tightly regulated than the prestige word premium that decorates the priciest bags.

What the label actually controls

The European rules mandate precise elements: the type of food, the composition, the analytical constituents, the target species and the feeding instructions. These are checkable, unlike flattering adjectives. In the UK, Trading Standards and the Advertising Standards Authority police the fairness of claims, while the Food Standards Agency oversees feed safety; none of them issues a premium label (FSA, feed controls). Premium simply sits outside that controllable perimeter.