Fromm is a 5th generation pet food business based in Wisconsin. Fromm was founded as a canning company in 1910 and became a food manufacturer with its own plant in 1925. Research began in the 1940s to formulate dry dog food with the first bag of Fromm Complete Dog Meal sold in 1949.
Today, the company owns and operates 2 dry food and treat manufacturing facilities in Mequon and Columbus, Wisconsin, and a wet food cannery in Eden, Wisconsin. This is where they produce all of their dog and cat food and treats. The company conducts its own onsite ingredient testing, in-house lab analysis, preparation of meat and produce, formulation and blending, processing, packaging, warehousing and distribution. Fromm headquarters is in Mequon.
For our Fromm dog food review, we’ll look at the food ingredient quality and safety of each line of food. Our dog food reviews are based on these criteria.
Fromm Four-Star With Grain Dry Review
Score: 4/10
Package Ingredients For Four-Star Chicken À La Veg Recipe: Chicken, chicken broth, chicken meal, oat groats, pearled barley, sweet potatoes, brown rice, white rice, dried egg product, menhaden fish meal, whole oats, chicken fat, dried tomato pomace, salmon oil, whole barley, millet, cheese, flaxseed, potatoes, chicken liver, carrots, apples, broccoli, celery, salt, monosodium phosphate, potassium chloride, chicory root extract, vitamins, minerals, chicken cartilage, cranberries, yucca schidigera extract, sorbic acid (preservative), blueberries, sodium selenite, taurine, probiotics.
Using our evaluation criteria, Fromm Four-Star Dry is considered a high-risk dog food. Here are our concerns:
Ingredient Quality
There are a few concerns when it comes to ingredient quality:
High In Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates in this line average 38% as calculated, which is excessive. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrate but starch is required for extrusion in dry foods like these. Excessive carbohydrates are an indicator of low quality foods as they are used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.
Excessive Added Vitamins and Minerals
This line loses ingredient quality points for excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes.
Contains Plant Protein
Plant proteins are also used as a less expensive substitute for quality animal protein. You want to see animal sources because they’re more digestible and contain a wider array of amino acids than plant based protein sources.
Ingredient Safety
Many pet food ingredients are unsafe or are grown using unsafe chemicals. Here are some of the issues with Fromm Four-Star With Grain Dry line:
Ultra-Processed
This line loses significant points for being an ultra-processed dog food. The individual ingredients in dry dog foods are heated several times during processing, which can cause a significant loss of enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species.
High Pesticide/Herbicide Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
These recipes contain foods in the top 5 ingredients that are known to carry a large pesticide/herbicide residue. Unless organic, when crops are spray-dried with Roundup, it leaves them with more glyphosate/herbicide residue than other crops, even genetically modified ones. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases.
GMO Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
Recipes in this line contain known GMO crops in the top 5 ingredients, including potatoes. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off.
Rice
The use of rice in several recipes costs ingredient safety points because of potential arsenic contamination. This is a significant concern with rice since it naturally absorbs arsenic that can contaminate the water it’s grown in. Arsenic is linked to chronic health issues.
Benefits
There’s one benefit in this line …
Probiotics
It’s good to see that Fromm Four-Star Dry contains probiotics, although they do not guarantee the colony-forming units (CFUs), the measure that determines the number of bacterial cells in a probiotic.
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Fromm Four-Star Grain-Free Dry Review
Score: 4.1/10
Package Ingredients For Four-Star Grain-Free Game Bird Recipe: Turkey, duck meal, turkey broth, lentils, chickpeas, peas, potatoes, turkey liver, chicken meal, pea flour, dried tomato pomace, chicken fat, dried egg product, pea protein, salmon oil, goose, chicken, sweet potatoes, flaxseed, cheese, pheasant, quail, duck, pumpkin, carrots, apples, broccoli, natural flavor, potassium chloride, salt, monosodium phosphate, chicory root extract, vitamins, minerals, cranberries, yucca schidigera extract, sorbic acid (preservative), blueberries, sodium selenite, taurine, probiotics
Using our evaluation criteria, Fromm Four-Star Grain Free Dry is considered a high-risk dog food. Here are our concerns:
Ingredient Quality
There are a few concerns when it comes to ingredient quality:
High In Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates in this line average 31% as calculated, which is excessive. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrate but starch is required for extrusion in dry foods like these. Excessive carbohydrates are an indicator of low quality foods as they are used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.
Excessive Added Vitamins and Minerals
This line loses ingredient quality points for excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes.
Contains Plant Protein
Plant proteins are also used as a less expensive substitute for quality animal protein. You want to see animal sources because they’re more digestible and contain a wider array of amino acids than plant based protein sources.
Ingredient Safety
Many pet food ingredients are unsafe or are grown using unsafe chemicals. Here are some of the issues with Fromm Four-Star Grain-Free Dry line:
Ultra-Processed
On the ingredient safety side, this line loses significant points for being an ultra-processed dog food. The individual ingredients in dry dog foods are heated several times during processing, which can cause a significant loss of enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species.
High Pesticide/Herbicide Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
These recipes contain foods in the top 5 ingredients that are known to carry a large pesticide/herbicide residue. Unless organic, when crops are spray-dried with Roundup, it leaves them with more glyphosate/herbicide residue than other crops, even genetically modified ones. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases.
GMO Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
Recipes in this line contain known GMO crops in the top 5 ingredients, including potatoes. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off.
Natural Flavor
Recipes in this line contain natural flavor, which is added to make processed food more palatable. Natural flavor is often either MSG or animal digest, both low quality ingredients with limited safety studies.
Benefits
There’s one benefit in this line …
Probiotics
It’s good to see that Fromm Four-Star Grain-Free Dry contains probiotics, although they do not guarantee the colony-forming units (CFUs), the measure that determines the number of bacterial cells in a probiotic.
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Fromm Gold With Grain Dry Review
Score: 3.6/10
Package Ingredients For Fromm Gold Adult Recipe: Chicken, chicken meal, chicken broth, oat groats, pearled barley, brown rice, chicken fat, menhaden fish meal, dried tomato pomace, dried egg product, whole oats, white rice, chicken liver, whole barley, potatoes, cheese, flaxseed, salmon oil, brewers dried yeast, duck, lamb, carrots, sweet potatoes, celery, alfalfa meal, salt, monocalcium phosphate, potassium chloride, chicory root extract, vitamins, minerals, yucca schidigera extract, sorbic acid (preservative), L-tryptophan, taurine, DL-methionine, sodium selenite, probiotics
Using our evaluation criteria, Fromm Gold With Grain Dry is considered a high-risk dog food. Here are our concerns:
Ingredient Quality
Overall, there are a few concerns when it comes to ingredient quality:
High In Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates in this line average 38% as calculated, which is excessive. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrate but starch is required for extrusion in dry foods like these. Excessive carbohydrates are an indicator of low quality foods as they are used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.
Excessive Added Vitamins and Minerals
This line loses ingredient quality points for excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes.
Added Amino Acids
Protein from animals is more complete in amino acids than protein from plants – plus it’s more expensive. Foods with lower amounts of animal protein often need to add amino acids to compensate, so 2 or more added amino acids can be a marker of cheap, lower quality ingredients.
Ingredient Safety
Many pet food ingredients are unsafe or are grown using unsafe chemicals. Here are some of the issues with Fromm Four-Star Gold With Grain Dry line:
Ultra-Processed
On the ingredient safety side, this line loses significant points for being an ultra-processed dog food. The individual ingredients in dry dog foods are heated several times during processing, which can cause a significant loss of enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species.
High Pesticide/Herbicide Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
These recipes contain foods in the top 5 ingredients that are known to carry a large pesticide/herbicide residue. Unless organic, when crops are spray-dried with Roundup, it leaves them with more glyphosate/herbicide residue than other crops, even genetically modified ones. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases.
GMO Foods
Recipes in this line contain known GMO crops, including potatoes and alfalfa. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off.
Benefits
There’s one benefit in this line …
Probiotics
It’s good to see that Fromm Gold With Grain Dry contains probiotics, although they do not guarantee the colony-forming units (CFUs), the measure that determines the number of bacterial cells in a probiotic.
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Fromm Gold Grain-Free Dry Review
Score: 4/10
Package Ingredients For Fromm Gold Grain-Free Heartland Gold Puppy Recipe: Beef, pork meat and bone meal, peas, lentils, chickpeas, potatoes, dried egg product, pea flour, dried tomato pomace, pork fat, salmon oil, pork liver, flaxseed, cheese, lamb, brewers dried yeast, alfalfa meal, carrots, celery, salt, potassium chloride, vitamins, taurine, chicory root extract, minerals, yucca schidigera extract, sodium selenite, sorbic acid (preservative), L-tryptophan, DL-methionine, probiotics
Using our evaluation criteria, Fromm Gold Grain-Free Dry is considered a high-risk dog food. Here are our concerns:
Ingredient Quality
Overall, there are a few concerns when it comes to ingredient quality:
High In Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates in this line average 37% as calculated, which is excessive. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrate but starch is required for extrusion in dry foods like these. Excessive carbohydrates are an indicator of low quality foods as they are used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.
Excessive Added Vitamins and Minerals
This line loses ingredient quality points for excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes.
Added Amino Acids
Protein from animals is more complete in amino acids than protein from plants – plus it’s more expensive. Foods with lower amounts of animal protein often need to add amino acids to compensate, so 2 or more added amino acids can be a marker of cheap, lower quality ingredients.
Ingredient Safety
Many pet food ingredients are unsafe or are grown using unsafe chemicals. Here are some of the issues with Fromm Four-Star Gold Grain-Free Dry line:
Ultra-Processed
On the ingredient safety side, this line loses significant points for being an ultra-processed dog food. The individual ingredients in dry dog foods are heated several times during processing, which can cause a significant loss of enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species.
High Pesticide/Herbicide Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
These recipes contain foods in the top 5 ingredients that are known to carry a large pesticide/herbicide residue. Unless organic, when crops are spray-dried with Roundup, it leaves them with more glyphosate/herbicide residue than other crops, even genetically modified ones. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases.
GMO Foods
Recipes in this line contain known GMO crops, including potatoes and alfalfa. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off.
Benefits
There’s one benefit in this line …
Probiotics
It’s good to see that Fromm Gold Grain-Free Dry contains probiotics, although they do not guarantee the colony-forming units (CFUs), the measure that determines the number of bacterial cells in a probiotic.
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Fromm Classic Dry Review
Score: 4/10
Package Ingredients For Fromm Classic Mature Adult Recipe: Chicken, chicken meal, pearled barley, brown rice, white rice, oat groats, beet pulp, chicken fat, cheese, chicken liver, menhaden fish meal, dried egg product, flaxseed, brewers dried yeast, salt, potassium chloride, vitamins, minerals, monocalcium phosphate, chicory root extract, yucca schidigera extract, sodium selenite, DL-methionine, sorbic acid (preservative), L-tryptophan, taurine, probiotics
Using our evaluation criteria, Fromm Classic is considered a high-risk dog food. Here are our concerns:
Ingredient Quality
Overall, there are a few concerns when it comes to ingredient quality:
High In Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates in this line average 41% as calculated, which is excessive. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrate but starch is required for extrusion in dry foods like these. Excessive carbohydrates are an indicator of low quality foods as they are used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.
Excessive Added Vitamins and Minerals
This line loses ingredient quality points for excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes.
Added Amino Acids
Protein from animals is more complete in amino acids than protein from plants – plus it’s more expensive. Foods with lower amounts of animal protein often need to add amino acids to compensate, so 2 or more added amino acids can be a marker of cheap, lower quality ingredients.
Ingredient Safety
Many pet food ingredients are unsafe or are grown using unsafe chemicals. Here are some of the issues with Fromm Classic Dry line:
Ultra-Processed
On the ingredient safety side, this line loses significant points for being an ultra-processed dog food. The individual ingredients in dry dog foods are heated several times during processing, which can cause a significant loss of enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species.
High Pesticide/Herbicide Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
These recipes contain foods in the top 5 ingredients that are known to carry a large pesticide/herbicide residue. Unless organic, when crops are spray-dried with Roundup, it leaves them with more glyphosate/herbicide residue than other crops, even genetically modified ones. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases.
Rice
The use of rice in several recipes costs food safety points because of potential arsenic contamination. Arsenic contamination is a significant concern with rice since it naturally absorbs arsenic which can contaminate the water it’s grown in. Arsenic is linked to chronic health issues.
Benefits
There’s one benefit in this line …
Probiotics
It’s good to see that Fromm Classic Dry contains probiotics, although they do not guarantee the colony-forming units (CFUs), the measure that determines the number of bacterial cells in a probiotic.
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Fromm Classic Canned Review
Score: 5.3/10
Package Ingredients for Fromm Classic Turkey & Rice Pâté Recipe: Turkey, turkey broth, white rice, potatoes, carrots, salmon oil, minerals, potassium chloride, salt, vitamins
Using our evaluation criteria, Fromm Classic Canned is considered a moderate risk dog food. Here are our concerns:
Ingredient Quality
Overall, there are a couple of concerns when it comes to ingredient quality:
High In Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates in this line average 38% as calculated on a dry matter basis, which is excessive in a wet dog food. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrate. Excessive carbohydrates are an indicator of low quality foods as they are used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.
Excessive Added Vitamins and Minerals
This line loses ingredient quality points for excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes.
Ingredient Safety
Many pet food ingredients are unsafe or are grown using unsafe chemicals. Here are some of the issues with Fromm Classic Canned line:
Highly Processed
Canned foods are heated before and during canning, which will cause significant losses in some active enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species.
GMO Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
Recipes in this line contain known GMO crops in the top 5 ingredients, including potatoes. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off.
Rice
The use of rice in several recipes costs food safety points because of potential arsenic contamination. Arsenic contamination is a significant concern with rice since it naturally absorbs arsenic that can contaminate the water it’s grown in. Arsenic is linked to chronic health issues.
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Fromm Pate Review
Score: 6/10
Package Ingredients For Fromm Venison & Beef Pâté Recipe: Beef broth, venison, beef, beef liver, pearled barley, potatoes, carrots, peas, pork, tomato paste, salt, potassium chloride, calcium sulfate, minerals, xanthan gum, dicalcium phosphate, locust bean gum, vitamins
Using our evaluation criteria, Fromm Pate is considered a moderate risk dog food. Here are our concerns:
Ingredient Quality
Overall, there are a couple of concerns when it comes to ingredient quality:
High In Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates in this line average 24% as calculated on a dry matter basis, which is rather high for a wet dog food. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrate. Excessive carbohydrates are an indicator of low quality foods as they are used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.
Excessive Added Vitamins and Minerals
This line loses ingredient quality points for excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes.
Ingredient Safety
Many pet food ingredients are unsafe or are grown using unsafe chemicals. Here are some of the issues with Fromm Pate line:
Highly Processed
Canned foods are heated before and during canning, which will cause significant losses in some active enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species.
High Pesticide/Herbicide Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
These recipes contain foods in the top 5 ingredients that are known to carry a large pesticide/herbicide residue. Unless organic, when crops are spray-dried with Roundup, it leaves them with more glyphosate/herbicide residue than other crops, even genetically modified ones. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases.
GMO Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
Recipes in this line contain known GMO crops in the top 5 ingredients, including potatoes. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off.
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Fromm Family Recipes Wet Review
Score: 5.4/10
Package Ingredients For Fromm Family Recipes Lamb, Vegetable & Rice Stew Canned Recipe: Lamb, pork broth, beef broth, pork, potatoes, carrots, white rice, peas, dried egg product, xanthan gum, salt, salmon oil, minerals, potassium chloride, vitamins
Using our evaluation criteria, Fromm Family Recipes is considered a moderate risk dog food. Here are our concerns:
Ingredient Quality
Overall, there are a couple of concerns when it comes to ingredient quality:
High In Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates in this line average 25% as calculated on a dry matter basis, which is high for a wet dog food. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrate. Excessive carbohydrates are an indicator of low quality foods as they are used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.
Excessive Added Vitamins and Minerals
This line loses ingredient quality points for excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes.
Ingredient Safety
Many pet food ingredients are unsafe or are grown using unsafe chemicals. Here are some of the issues with Fromm Family Recipes line:
Highly Processed
Canned foods are heated before and during canning, which will cause significant losses in some active enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species.
High Pesticide/Herbicide Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
These recipes contain foods in the top 5 ingredients that are known to carry a large pesticide/herbicide residue. Unless organic, when crops are spray-dried with Roundup, it leaves them with more glyphosate/herbicide residue than other crops, even genetically modified ones. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases.
GMO Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
Recipes in this line contain known GMO crops in the top 5 ingredients, including potatoes. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off.
Rice
The use of rice in several recipes costs food safety points because of potential arsenic contamination. Arsenic contamination is a significant concern with rice since it naturally absorbs arsenic that can contaminate the water it’s grown in. Arsenic is linked to chronic health issues.
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Fromm Diner Canned Review
Score: 5.9/10
Package Ingredients For Fromm Diner Specials Chicken Canine Bleu Entrée Recipe: Chicken, chicken broth, pork broth, potatoes, carrots, pearled barley, ham, peas, cheese, sunflower oil, minerals, xanthan gum, natural hickory smoke flavor, salt, potassium chloride, vitamins, choline chloride
Using our evaluation criteria, Fromm Diner Canned is considered a moderate risk dog food. Here are our concerns:
Ingredient Quality
Overall, there are several concerns when it comes to ingredient quality:
High In Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates in this line average 25% as calculated on a dry matter basis, which is high in a wet dog food. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrate. Excessive carbohydrates are an indicator of low quality foods as they are used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.
Excessive Added Vitamins and Minerals
This line loses ingredient quality points for excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes.
Unnamed Animal Ingredients
Unnamed animal ingredients are a sign of low quality. These foods contain fish oil that can be made from any type of fish. Unnamed animal ingredients are often a less expensive, low quality ingredient that can be made from rendered waste of many proteins.
Contains Seed Oil
Some of these recipes contain sunflower oil, which is a highly processed and inflammatory oil. It’s an inexpensive alternative to higher quality animal fats and oils.
Ingredient Safety
Many pet food ingredients are unsafe or are grown using unsafe chemicals. Here are some of the issues with Fromm Diner Canned line:
Highly Processed
Canned foods are heated before and during canning, which will cause significant losses in some active enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species.
High Pesticide/Herbicide Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
These recipes contain foods in the top 5 ingredients that are known to carry a large pesticide/herbicide residue. Unless organic, when crops are spray-dried with Roundup, it leaves them with more glyphosate/herbicide residue than other crops, even genetically modified ones. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases.
GMO Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
Recipes in this line contain known GMO crops in the top 5 ingredients, including potatoes. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off.
Rice
The use of rice in several recipes costs food safety points because of potential arsenic contamination. Arsenic contamination is a significant concern with rice since it naturally absorbs arsenic that can contaminate the water it’s grown in. Arsenic is linked to chronic health issues.
Natural Flavor
Recipes in this line contain natural flavor, which is added to make processed food more palatableNatural flavor is often either MSG or animal digest, both low quality ingredients with limited safety studies.
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Fromm Four-Star Wet Review
Score: 5.7/10
Package Ingredients For Fromm Four-Star Shredded Beef in Gravy Entrée Recipe: Beef broth, beef, potatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, pinto beans, kidney beans, white beans, salmon oil, tomato paste, dicalcium phosphate, salt, potassium chloride, minerals, xanthan gum, vitamins
Using our evaluation criteria, Fromm Four-Star Wet is considered a moderate risk dog food. Here are our concerns:
Ingredient Quality
Overall, there are a couple of concerns when it comes to ingredient quality:
High In Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates in this line average 30% as calculated on a dry matter basis, which is excessive in a wet dog food. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrate. Excessive carbohydrates are an indicator of low quality foods as they are used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.
Excessive Added Vitamins and Minerals
This line loses ingredient quality points for excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes.
Ingredient Safety
Many pet food ingredients are unsafe or are grown using unsafe chemicals. Here are some of the issues with Fromm Four-Star Wet line:
Highly Processed
Canned foods are heated before and during canning, which will cause significant losses in some active enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species.
High Pesticide/Herbicide Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
These recipes contain foods in the top 5 ingredients that are known to carry a large pesticide/herbicide residue. Unless organic, when crops are spray-dried with Roundup, it leaves them with more glyphosate/herbicide residue than other crops, even genetically modified ones. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases.
GMO Foods In The Top 5 Ingredients
Recipes in this line contain known GMO crops in the top 5 ingredients, including potatoes. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off.
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Is Fromm A Good Dog Food?
Fromm has 5 lines of dry dog foods and 5 lines of canned dog foods. All of the dry dog foods are considered high risk according to our evaluation criteria. Fromm’s canned dog foods are considered moderate risk, with most at the low end of that scoring category. Dry and canned dog foods both involve several stages of heating that cause a loss of nutrients and result in lower scores.
Fromm positions itself as a premium pet food in the marketplace, yet all of its recipes have high carbohydrate levels with added synthetic vitamins, minerals and amino acids similar to many other brands. Added vitamins and minerals usually reflect poor quality or overly processed ingredients. It’s preferable that most or all vitamins and minerals come from real foods that are more bioavailable to dogs. Added amino acids are also a reflection of low quality or lower amounts of animal proteins. Plant protein is another low quality ingredient in some recipes.
There is no information on the Fromm website about sourcing methods or quality of ingredients. Many of the recipes contain ingredients known for high pesticide or herbicide residues.
Fromm states it has added probiotics to its dry foods to aid digestion, and includes different strains, however, it fails to state or guarantee the number of CFUs (colony forming units).
There are additional concerns with the food and marketing. These don’t affect the Fromm dog food reviews score, but they’re worth mentioning:
Glam Ingredients
Some Fromm recipes contain glam ingredients. These are expensive or desirable ingredients like blueberries or cranberries, often added to appeal to consumers but may be in minuscule amounts. They contribute little or no nutritional value to your dog.
Ingredient Splitting
This is a technique of splitting ingredients into sub-categories to move certain ingredients higher or lower on the ingredient list. This is often used to disguise the amount of lower quality ingredients in the food, such as corn, potatoes or peas, and moves desirable ingredients, like animal proteins, higher.
Does Not Provide Omega-6:Omega-3 Ratio
It’s also worth noting that Fromm does not state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their foods. While this is true of most foods, AAFCO allows a very inflammatory limit of 30:1. Diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation and disease.
Does Not State Farmed Vs Wild Caught Fish
These foods don’t specify whether the fish is farmed or wild caught. Farmed fish is less nutritious than wild caught fish and does not contain the same healthy fatty acid balance.
FROMM DOG FOOD RECALLS
Fromm has had one recall.
10/2021: Voluntary recall of Fromm Four Star Shredded canned food for potentially elevated Vitamin D.
Evaluation Criteria
We evaluate and score dog foods based on two criteria:
Are the Ingredients High Quality?
Here are some common low quality ingredients or markers we look for:
- Is there excessive carbohydrate content, which can cause gut imbalances?
- Does the food contain unnamed proteins, which are low quality?
- Does the food use cellulose (wood pulp) as a source of fiber instead of real food?
- Are there excessive vitamins and minerals added in place of real food nutrition?
- Are there excessive added amino acids or plant proteins instead of expensive meat protein?
- Does the food contain inflammatory processed seed oils?
How Safe Are the Ingredients?
Many ingredients come from unhealthy, inflammatory sources or are full of pesticides so we look for:
- How processed is the food?
- Does the food contain known genetically modified foods?
- Does the food contain ingredients known to be high in pesticides?
- Does the food contain natural flavor, which are often MSG or animal digest?
- Does the food contain rice, which is high in arsenic?
Each food is objectively evaluated by these criteria and a score is assigned using the average of ingredient quality and safety. This is NOT a paid list and there are no affiliate links. Dogs Naturally has partnered with DogFoodReviews.com to make sure dog owners have unbiased, objective criteria to help them choose the best dog food on the market. You can view the full Evaluation Criteria at DogFoodReviews.com.
