Castor & Pollux Grain-Free Organic | Dog Food Review

Nutrition

This food has a good amount of protein but is high in carbs, which is lowering the fat content somewhat and making it less nutritionally balanced compared to other dog foods we evaluated. Carbohydrates are cheap so they keep the food’s cost low. They are nutritionally useful to dogs in the right amounts, however, high amounts of carbs can reduce the much-needed meat-based protein and fat content.

To evaluate dog foods, we first calculate out the moisture. This is called the “dry matter basis” and shows you only the solid ingredients in the food. These estimated “dry matter” numbers are different from the food label, but a better way to understand the real nutritional value of the food. We also calculate the carbs. Find out more

Dry Matter

Min. Protein 42.11%

Min. Fat 21.05%

Min. Carbs 26.32%

Max. Fiber 7.37%

Max. Ash 10.53%

Max. Moisture 0.00%

Food Label

Min. Protein: 7.5%

Min Fat: 6.0%

Min Carbs: N/A

Max Fiber: 1.0%

Max Ash: N/A

Max. Moisture: 78.0%

Calories

434 Calories per Can

This product has an above average amount of calories for wet food. It’s important to understand how many calories you are feeding to prevent under or overfeeding. Based on your dog's current weight and activity level you may want to feed more or less than the recommended amount.

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FDA Alert

Grain-Free Dog Foods

This is a grain-free dog food. The FDA is investigating a potential connection between grain-free diets and canine heart disease. There is not enough evidence yet to affect our ratings but we've created an article for you explaining the topic.

Learn More

96.5%

WATCHDOG
SCORE

Ingredients

96%

Total Ingredients

Controversial Ingredients

Organic Chicken, Water Sufficient for Processing, Organic Pea Flour, Organic Potatoes, Organic Carrots, Organic Coconut Flour, Organic Flaxseed, Organic Chicken Liver, Organic Apples, Organic Blueberries, Tricalcium Phosphate, Salt, Organic Guar Gum, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid), Organic Garlic Powder, Potassium Chloride.

The average dog food we reviewed has 39 total ingredients, with 1 controversial ingredient. This Castor & Pollux wet dog food does not include any controversial ingredients.

Top 5 Ingredients

Dog food ingredients are listed in descending order of weight. So when looking at a dog food label, take a close look at the first 5 ingredients. They make up about 80% of the total weight.

Organic Chicken
Organic chicken is generally a healthy dog food ingredient. It provides nutrients like protein, fat, B vitamins, selenium and choline. Organic dog food ingredients are free of antibiotics, synthetic hormones, pesticides, chemical fertilizers and artificial preservatives. They are also not allowed to be genetically modified.

Water Sufficient for Processing
This is just another name for water, which doesn't add nutrients to the food but is routinely used in dog food manufacturing (especially for canned foods). It's a standard dog food ingredient.

Organic Pea Flour
Pea flour is produced by heating or roasting peas. This allows for greater nutritional value because it gives greater biological access to protein and starch. Peas are a good source of carbs, fiber and protein. Peas are starchy but high in vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc. We consider this a healthy dog food ingredient. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that there is a potential link between peas and canine heart disease. It is still too early to draw conclusions so we cannot yet say if peas are a generally high-quality dog food ingredient or should be avoided. Organic dog food ingredients are free of antibiotics, synthetic hormones, pesticides, chemical fertilizers and artificial preservatives. They are also not allowed to be genetically modified.
Organic Potatoes
Potatoes provide carbohydrates (mostly starch) and are a rich source of vitamin B6 and vitamin C. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that there is a potential link between potatoes and canine heart disease. It is still too early to draw conclusions so we cannot yet say if potatoes are a generally high-quality dog food ingredient or should be avoided.
Organic Carrots
Carrots are a root vegetable and contains healthy nutrients like carbohydrates, fiber and beta-carotene. We consider it a high-quality dog food ingredient.

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‍Controversial Ingredients

Castor & Pollux have not included any controversial ingredients in this product.

‍Country of Origin

Castor and Pollux products are made in the US.

Meat & Fat Quality

Castor & Pollux have included named two named meat sources: organic chicken and organic chicken liver. This is good, the animal species the ingredients come from is clearly named. The same goes for flaxseed a named source of fat in this product.

Artificial Preservatives

This product contains 0 of controversial preservatives. It’s good to know that ‍not all artificial preservatives are bad. That’s because they serve an important purpose, which is to prevent food from spoiling. However, we consider 11 artificial preservatives controversial because of their potential link to cancer and other serious health conditions.

Artificial Colors

No Artificial Colors.

Artificial Flavors

No Artificial Flavors either. This recipe is free of artificial ingredients.

Recalls

100%

Brand Recalls

Castor & Pollux has no recalls in their history. This is a great sign of a company with thoughtfully enforced safety standards.

Transparency

95%

We love dog food brands that are committed to transparent business practices. If you make quality dog food you should be willing to openly talk about how it’s sourced and produced. That’s why we reached out to pet food companies, asking questions about all their brands and products. Each company had three weeks to reply to our messages.

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How Easy Was it to Reach the Company?
Castor & Pollux responded within 1 day with complete answers. Unfortunately, they have an aggressive disclaimer in their email that prohibits us from sharing the answers they provided.

Does Castor & Pollux have a veterinary nutritionist on staff? If so, who are they?‍‍‍