Castor & Pollux Organix Canned DOG FOOD Review

With a score of 7.3/10, Castor & Pollux Organix Wet Canned dog food Is considered a moderate risk dog food. There are 6 recipes that average 36% protein and 26% carbohydrate as calculated on a dry matter basis.

This line loses ingredient quality points for its high carbohydrate content that is high for a canned dog food. Protein is also lower than we’d like to see for a canned dog food. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates but they are used for energy, texture and taste. Starch is also required for extrusion in dry foods. Excessive carbohydrate is an indicator of lower food quality as it can be used to reduce manufacturing cost. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance. 

Five recipes are grain-free but they include pea products, potatoes and sweet potatoes which are starches and contribute to the carbohydrate content. 

These recipes have excessive added vitamins and minerals. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources and their inclusion is usually due to poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes. 

Plant proteins are used, which are a less expensive substitute for quality animal protein. You want to see animal sources because they contain a wider array of amino acids than plant based protein sources. However, there are no added amino acids. Animal protein is more digestible. 

On the ingredient safety side it’s noteworthy that all dog foods in Castor & Pollux’ Organix line are made with organic ingredients. Organic ingredients are non-GMO and minimal

 pesticide/herbicide risk compared to conventionally grown crops. 

But like all canned dog foods, Organix Wet Canned dog foods are highly processed. All canned dog foods undergo several stages of heating that can cause significant losses in some active enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. 

Organic brown rice is used but rice is still a safety concern because of arsenic contamination which has been linked to chronic health issues. 

There’s also a concern about ingredient splitting in these foods. This is the practice of splitting ingredients into sub-categories (like peas, pea protein and pea flour) to make them appear lower in the ingredient list. It’s often done to disguise the amount of lower quality ingredients in the food.

It’s also worth noting that the line contains sodium selenite as a source of selenium. Dogs need selenium, and it’s usually added in very small amounts. However some research suggests that sodium selenite may be associated with potential toxicity, so selenium yeast is the preferred form of this mineral. 

The label does not provide the omega-6:omega-3 ratio, which is a concern since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.