Canine Caviar’s New Synthetic Free Dog Food Cans

Canine Caviar now has new synthetic free dog food for the public
Canine Caviar’s new Synthetic Free dog food cans

Canine Caviar is beginning the distribution of the new Synthetic Free Dog Food Cans. The line includes synthetic free duck, turkey, lamb, and salmon. This line is one of the few dog food products around the world to be synthetic free. And we know what you’re thinking, “What do you mean it’s synthetic free now? What was in it that was synthetic?”  some of you may be even asking “What does synthetic mean anyway?” Today we’ll talk about “Synthetic” and what this all means surrounding our cans. We’ll also talk about the benefits of a synthetic free diet and how Canine Caviar is helping provide better nutrition to your dog.

 

What Does Synthetic Mean?

Synthetic is not something most of us talk about regularly, but should we? By definition Synthetic means, (of a substance) made by chemical synthesis, especially to imitate a natural product. In terms of dog food products, it means ingredients that are man made and designed to reflect their natural counterparts. Synthetic ingredients do not grow on farms; laboratories create them and then factories mass-produce them.

Synthetic Free defined by AAFCO is as follows:

A feed or feed ingredient derived solely from plant, animal or mined sources, either in its unprocessed state or having been subject to physical processing, heat processing, rendering, purification, extraction, hydrolysis, enzymolysis or fermentation, but not having been produced by or subject to a chemically synthetic process and not containing any additives or processing aids that are chemically synthetic except in amounts as might occur in good manufacturing practices.

Do not confuse it for Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). GMOs are natural products, for example corn, that scientists alter through the organism’s genes. Scientists make these alterations to improve specific qualities of the organism. Synthetic ingredients are completely man made.

Synthetic Canned Dog Food

There are many types of canned dog food out there. You have your regular store brand canned foods, you have gourmet toppers, limited ingredient diets, and grain free diets just to name a few. Do these diets contain synthetic ingredients? The most common synthetic ingredients found in most canned dog foods are the added vitamins and minerals or gums. Most companies add vitamins and minerals and gums that are synthetic making dog food not really “All Natural.” There is an easy way to identify whether there are synthetics in your dog food. If you see any of these names pop out of the ingredients list, they are synthetic vitamins and minerals:

guar gum, sodium phosphate, potassium chloride, choline chloride, zinc amino acid chelate, iron amino acid chelate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin E supplement, copper amino acid chelate, manganese amino acid, sodium selenite, cobalt amino acid, niacin supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin supplement, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, potassium iodide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid

Why Do Foods Use Synthetic Products?

So now you know when a manufacturer is using synthetic ingredients in their dog food. You might also notice that 99% of the canned foods you’re checking have synthetic ingredients. The truth is the vast majority of dog food uses synthetic products even if they advertise as “All Natural.” The FDA does not clearly defined the word “Natural”, but states it is a “liberal term.” This is the FDA’s current criteria for the use of the word:

Breakdown of the Definition

  • There is no requirement or statement that natural feeds or ingredients are safer than those produced by a chemically synthetic process.
  • Natural is a liberal term that includes more ingredients than it excludes—most pet food ingredients are derived from “plant, animal or mined sources.” 
  •  A feed ingredient can be subject to a number of commonly-used processes during the manufacturing process and still be deemed natural.
  • A feed or feed ingredient can contain trace amounts of chemically synthetic compounds and still be considered natural

So as you can see by this definition, there is room for leeway. Dog food companies can use a certain amount of synthetics in their cans and still be able to use the word “All Natural” without repercussion. It’s also a lot more cost effective. Dog food loses many of the natural vitamins, minerals, and palatability  when it goes through its cooking process. Dog food products still have the duty of meeting standards so companies have to put minerals and vitamins back in. So instead preserving the natural vitamins and minerals, companies tend to add them back in after processing. And then to make it stick and more palatable, they use a variety of gums.

Benefits of Synthetic Free

synthetic free dog food cans and their benefitsLet’s switch gears and talk about the benefits of synthetic free dog food. Synthetic free dog food has shown through scientific studies that natural nutrients can be more effective to their synthetic counterpart. Here the key benefits of a synthetic free diet:

Better absorption of  Vitamins and Minerals: Some studies suggest that the body absorbs vitamins and minerals more efficiently through natural ingredients than synthetic ingredients. The reason is due to how you naturally absorb a vitamin or mineral. When you eat a natural item, the vitamin or mineral in question is usually mixed in with a spew of other nutrients. The body then filters and distributes the nutrients in this manner. This results in better absorption because the nutrients are going through the body’s natural processes.

Better Prevention Against Chronic Illnesses: Studies also suggest that the body’s ability to fight chronic illnesses is better though natural means. Natural nutrients are more effective to synthetics and have more potency against diseases. These illnesses include heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and premature death.

Lowered Exposure to Toxic Materials: When you exclude synthetics, there is less exposure to toxic ingredients. No synthetics means no chance for companies to misjudge dosages in their diets. Incorrect dosages can be harmful to your pet so switching to natural eliminates that possibility.

Canine Caviar Synthetic Free Dog Food Cans

No Gums in our synthetic free dog food cansSo now that we’ve had a small crash course on Synthetics, let’s get back to our announcement. As said before, Canine Caviar is releasing their new synthetic free dog food cans. Canine Caviar has removed the Guar Gum that was previously in our cans. We we’re using the gums as a binding agent but with the new synthetic cans, that has changed. We now use Fenugreek seeds to create the binding element needed to keep the food in place. This is the new change that makes our cans synthetic free. Fenugreek seeds improve digestion and aid in skin and coat issues and help reduce inflammation and make the food more palatable.

Our synthetic free dog food cans are still limited ingredient. There are only 3-5 ingredients for the synthetic free cans. Remember, our synthetic free dog food cans only contain meat and are not complete diets so don’t replace them with your dog’s current diet. Use our synthetic free dog food cans as a gourmet topper, treat, supplement or the base of a home prepared meal. You can also combine them with our synergy and sun cured kelp to make a whole meal.

Final Thoughts

Canine Caviar is always striving to make dog food better. For the past 4 years, we have been working on a natural fermentation culture to eliminate the need for synthetic ingredients. We have received approval for this special fermentation culture and are beginning it’s implementation for a line of synthetic free kibble. Our goal is to make all of our products synthetic free within 2019.

I hope this has helped you understand a little more about synthetics and the difference it has in your dog’s food. If you have any questions, please call our office at 1.714.223.1800 or e-mail us at Info@caninecaviar.com. We are available to answer your questions on our Synthetic free cans and other products. Check our blog for other great nutritional information such as the benefits of sweet potato or 3 easy step to detox your dog.