One phrase scales; the other is easy to report
If you sell pet food on Amazon, you’ve probably written — or at least considered writing — a line like this:
“Helps dogs with arthritis stay active.”
It sounds caring.
It sounds specific.
And it sounds exactly like what customers want to hear.
But in Amazon’s ecosystem, that single sentence often draws a very different conclusion:
This looks like a disease treatment claim.
This article explains why these two phrases are not treated the same, how Amazon and competitors interpret them, and why one wording scales while the other quietly kills listings.
Let’s compare the two phrases side by side.
| Phrase | Seller Intent | Enforcement Interpretation | | ------------------------- | ------------------- | ----------------------------- | | Supports joint health | Nutritional benefit | Structure-function support | | Helps with arthritis | Customer clarity | Disease treatment implication |
To a human reader, they feel interchangeable.
To enforcement systems, they are not.
The problem isn’t the ingredient.
It’s the disease reference.
“Arthritis” is a named medical condition.
Once it appears in your listing, the copy implies:
That combination is enough to trigger:
Even if your product is food — not medicine.
“Supports joint health” does something very different.
It:
This is what Amazon expects from pet food listings:
General wellness support, not condition-specific claims.
That’s why this phrasing:
This isn’t about wording style.
It’s about claim category.
Amazon doesn’t need to decide if your claim is true.
It only decides whether it looks like treatment.
And “arthritis” is a bright red flag.
“Our formula helps dogs with arthritis reduce joint pain and stiffness.”
Why this fails:
This is easy to screenshot, easy to report, and hard to defend.
“Our formula supports joint health and helps maintain mobility in aging dogs.”
Why this survives:
Same customer idea.
Radically different risk profile.
When a pet food listing gets removed:
For brands holding large FBA quantities, that single wording choice can put six figures of inventory at risk.
That’s why experienced sellers obsess over phrasing, not just formulas.
You’ll see successful listings using aggressive language.
That doesn’t mean it’s safe.
Copying wording copies risk, not immunity.
Don’t ask:
“Is this allowed?”
Ask:
“Is this easy for someone else to report?”
“Helps with arthritis” is.
“Supports joint health” usually isn’t.
That distinction matters.
ClaimVerdict flags:
It also points you toward structure-function style alternatives, so you don’t have to guess.
This is exactly the kind of wording difference ClaimVerdict catches — before your listing goes live.
Scan your listing for takedown risks now.
[Try ClaimVerdict →]
System Command
Run the Pet Food Listing Takedown Risk Scanner on draft copy before publishing.