I have fed the boys Fromm Four Star Duck and Chicken before and was comfortable with the ingredients. But now Fromm has moved there canned food processing to a new facility and also changed their ingredients, and also the name slightly to Chicken and Duck. They have added Xanthan gum and Locust bean gum :-( I am by no means an expert regarding cat food ingredients, this is why I spend a lot of time on cat food on sites like this and appreciate all of the helpful info. I have been trying to find more info on both of these gums and am only able to find a little. Can anyone tell me more info as far on these gums and if I should avoid Fromm food now? I have not purchased any more after seeing the change in ingredients and have switched to Castor & Pollux Grain Free for my next order.
Also unrelated, but can anyone tell me is there a way to get an email notification when a topic you have replied has had another reply so you are able to return and view it and not feel like a jerk for missing a reply to something you posted for a few months?
Thanks much in advance for any info.
I emailed the company asking about the change in ingredients and this some of their reply:
"In the process from moving production of our canned foods from a partner cannery to our new family-owned cannery here in Wisconsin, we have made a few changes to our recipes. Every ingredient our pet foods serves a specific purpose.
One of the changes you have questioned is the addition of xanthan gum and locust bean gum. During development we noted marked improvement in the pate loaf by utilizing these two natural thickening agents. With the utilization of xanthan gum and locust bean gum the finished product is more homogeneous, meaning the ingredients are very well distributed throughout the can. Without the use of these ingredients we noted fats separating from the rest of the product and settling in one area of the can which in turn affects how the product cooks, how digestible the product is, and how it eventually comes out of the can when you feed the product.
Xanthan gum is a natural plant-derivative used as a thickening agent. This thickener allows us to bind the ingredients in our canned recipes using a grain-free, gluten-free natural agent. The locust bean gum is also a plant-derived thickening agent that helps stabilize fats and proteins during the cooking and storage process."