Tomato Pomace in Your Dog Food, Cat Food – Healthy or Not?
In this article:
- Tomato pomace in dog and cat food, healthy or not?
- A popular ingredient in dog and cat food
- Pomace is not a viable source of nutrition
- Preservative in pomace
- Petfood companies that use tomato pomace
Tomato Pomace in Dog and Cat Food, Healthy or Not?
NOT. Many pet food manufacturers include tomato pomace in their pet food
and treat products. Pet food manufacturers advertise tomato pomace as an
‘excellent’ source of bioflavonoids, lycopene, nutrients and soluble fibre.
Let’s take a closer look.
A Popular Ingredient in Dog and Cat Food
Those lovely photos of lush, ripe whole tomatoes on product packaging are
there to make you feel good about buying a product that appears to include
fresh, nutritious produce.
Tomato pomace is a WASTE product left-over from processing tomatoes for
tomato ketchup, tomato juice, tomato paste, etc. Tomato pomace is made
from tomato
peels, tomato seeds, and some tomato pulp.
Tomato pomace is what the food industry likes to call a ‘by-product’. So
what’s the difference between a waste product and a by-product? If the food
industry can find a way to profit from the sale of a waste product, that
product is then called a by-product.
Tomato pomace is a readily available, inexpensive, bulk filler - this is
why it is popular with pet food manufacturers.
Pomace is not a Viable Source of Nutrition
The pomace used in dog and cat food goes through two intense processing
stages. Initial processing during the manufacture of made for human products as
per this flow chart. Then
further processing during the making of dry or wet highly processed dog and cat
food.
While pomace retains nutritional value during the initial
processing, the second round of intense processing destroys that nutritional
value.
Ask yourself this - if the fruit and veg added to your dogs, cats
dry and wet food is viable – why does the manufacturer add reconstituted
vitamins (typically made from GMO corn and soy), and minerals to the pet food?
Because the vitamins and minerals in the fruits and vegetables are destroyed by
over-processing.
Preservatives in Pomace
Tomato pomace goes rancid very quickly.
Pomace must be either ensiled, sun dried, mechanically dried or chemically preserved. The Pomace
used in pet food is either dried or chemically preserved.
You cannot tell
from the product label what method of preservation was used. The chemical preservatives used to preserve pomace
are toxic and carcinogenic.
Grown with a Cocktail of Chemicals
The tomato pomace in dog and cat food products are contaminated with chemical
residue.
Tomato pomace used by the pet industry is sourced from
non-organic tomatoes. These tomatoes typically contain residue from 35 types of pesticide
residues.
- 14 of the pesticides are suspected hormone disrupters.
- 6 are neurotoxins.
- 5 are known probable carcinogens.
- 3 are developmental toxins.
The chemical residue is absorbed by, and most concentrated in the tomato skin. Tomato pomace is primarily tomato skin, followed by seeds, and
some pulp.
Pet Food Companies That Use Tomato Pomace
Which pet food product lines use tomato pomace? Dry food, wet food, air dried food, freeze dried food, raw food and treats. For example:
Artemis Fresh Mix
Avoderm
Blue Buffalo
Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance
Dog’s Well Nutrisca
Earthborne Holistic
Fromm’s
Chicken Soup for the Soul
Golden Eagle Holistic Health
Hill’s Prescription Diet
Hill’s Science Diet
I and Love You
Ivory Coat Natural Health
Nature’s Recipe
Nutro
Performatrin Ultra
Premium Edge
Purina Veterinary Diets
Royal Canin
Royal Canin Veterinary Diet
Simply Nourish
Taste of the Wild
Wellness Core
…and many more.
The list above represents a few of the many dog and cat
food product lines that include tomato pomace.
Notice the list above includes
three lines of veterinary prescription food products marketed to ‘address’ serious
chronic inflammatory health conditions. The pet food industry is not to be
trusted. The truth is, pesticides are toxins that contribute to, and cause
inflammatory conditions.
If you want to feel good about adding appropriate veggies, and fruit
(i.e. tomatoes) to your dog and cat’s daily diet, try some of the fresh vegetables and greens on this list. Follow the preparation instructions to ensure maximum absorption of nutrients.
Holistic Diet, Nutrition, Wellness Services Tailored to Your Individual Dog and Cat
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Affiliations to Companies
✓ None.
✓ I don't sell food or supplements.
✓ I'm not aligned with any companies.
✓ None.
✓ I don't sell food or supplements.
✓ I'm not aligned with any companies.
Article and graphics by Karen Rosenfeld
