Fromm Dog Food Review [2018]: Formulas, Recipes, & Recalls (2024)

Fromm is a premium-dog food manufacturer that produces a variety of excellent foods for dogs.

We’ll explain the company’s history, examine the principles behind their formulas, look at their manufacturing process, and analyze a few specific recipes below.

Quick Picks: Our Favorite Fromm Foods

But if you only want a quick recommendation, the following Fromm recipes are great options for different doggie needs.

History & Background

Fromm Family Foods has been involved in the pet health and nutrition industry for more than 100 years. The family began working in earnest in 1904, and they’ve maintained their “tradition of quiet innovation,” as they call it, ever since.

In the 1930s, the Fromm family developed the first canine distemper vaccine, and over the next two decades, they pioneered the commercial production of kibble, enabling them to bring “premium” pet foods to the masses.

A fifth-generation, family-run business, the company is now managed by several members of the Nieman family, who have been related to the Fromms through marriage since the mid-1800s. Fromm is proud of its long-term planning practices, which focus on generational timelines, rather than the next few years.

Recall History

Fromm foods are made in small batches to help ensure quality and product consistency, which has helped them avoid recalls for the most part.

However, Fromm did initiate a recall after their own in-house testing revealed elevated levels of Vitamin D in their 12-ounce cans of Fromm Gold Pate recipes. This recall occurred in March of 2016 and appears to be the only recall since 2009.

While Vitamin D toxicity can be a serious health problem, Fromm reports that negative reactions to the food were quite rare and most affected dogs exhibited nothing worse than a minor reduction in appetite.

It’s also worth noting that the recall was self-imposed, and discovered through Fromm’s own analysis. While recalls are never ideal to see, witnessing dog food companies initiate their own recalls – rather than being forced to recall by a 3^rd party – is always a bit more reassuring.

Formulas & Recipes

Fromm produces four key formulas (although they use the term “product lines”), which are designed to provide owners and dogs with different nutritional profiles and ingredients. Each formula or product line features a number of different individual recipes, which contain slightly different ingredients.

We’ll review the four primary product lines and a few selected recipes below.

Fromm Four-Star

Fromm’s Four-Star product line includes 23 different recipes. Thirteen of the recipes take the form of dry kibble, three of the recipes are canned products, and seven are treats.

The Four-Star product line is designed to provide your dog with a number of different delicious options, to prevent food fatigue and keep your dog’s palate satisfied. The foods are designed to be interchangeable so that you can switch things up periodically.

According to the manufacturer, the Four-Star product line provides the highest inclusion levels of meat, fish, fresh fruit, and fresh vegetables. Several of the recipes are made without wheat, corn and other grains, for those owners who prefer to offer grain-free recipes.

Fromm’s Four-Star product line provides more protein than either of their other two dry-food product lines (their canned diets do provide more protein, but canned foods usually do provide greater protein content than their dry-food counterparts). Several of the recipes include organ meats, which are both tasty and nutritious additions.

Many of the Four-Star recipes include very high-value carbohydrates, such as lentils, peas, and chickpeas. Several recipes also include cheese.

And, unlike many of Fromm’s other recipes, which are made without many fruits or vegetables, several of their Four-Star recipes do include things like squash, apples, and zucchini. These items help to improve the taste of the food and provide antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Generally speaking, Fromm’s Four-Star recipes are great choices for dogs who don’t have any specific dietary requirements (such as food allergies or low protein levels), and they are especially well-suited for dogs who have picky palettes.

There are a few mildly controversial items included in many of Fromm’s Four-Star recipes, including things like dried tomato pomace, pea flour, brewer’s yeast and alfalfa meal. While none of these ingredients should be considered dangerous or unhealthy, they may turn off some owners.

For example, some people suspect that brewer’s yeast can trigger food allergies; but this is only a problem if your dog happens to be allergic to it.

Additionally, brewer’s yeast provides several important nutrients. Tomato pomace is a good source of fiber, but some owners view it as an inexpensive filler.

There is nothing explicitly wrong with things like pea flour and alfalfa meal, but they are high in protein. This means that foods containing these items may not derive as much protein from meats as foods lacking these ingredients.

Nevertheless, these items probably shouldn’t cause you to avoid an otherwise high-quality food. Especially considering that these semi-controversial ingredients constitute a very small percent of the food’s composition.

Examining Fromm’s Lamb & Lentil Recipe

To better understand the quality and makeup of Fromm’s foods, let’s take a closer look at their Lamb & Lentil recipe – one of the more popular recipes in the Fromm Four Star product line.

Fromm’s Lamb & Lentil Recipe provides the following nutritional content (on a calorie-weighted basis):

Based on the Fromm Four-Star Lamb & Lentil Recipe

Fromm Four-Star Lamb & Lentil Ingredients

Lamb, Lamb Meal, Lentils, Chickpeas, Dried Whole Egg, Peas, Dried Tomato Pomace, Pork Fat, Pea Flour, Pork Liver, Salmon Oil, Cheese, Olive Oil, Yellow Squash, Zucchini, Apples, Flaxseed, Pea Fiber, Tomatoes, Carrots, Broccoli, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca schidigera Extract, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Taurine, Sorbic Acid (Preservative), Vitamins, Minerals, Probiotics.

Fromm Four-Star Recipes

• Shredded Beef in Gravy Entrée (canned)
• Shredded Chicken in Gravy Entrée (canned)
• Shredded Pork in Gravy Entrée (canned)
• Beef Frittata Veg
• Chicken A La Veg
• Chicken Au Frommage
• Duck & Sweet Potato
• Game Bird
• Hasen Duckenpfeffer
• Lamb & Lentil
• Pork & Applesauce
• Pork & Peas
• Salmon A La Veg
• Salmon Tunalini
• Surf & Turf
• Whitefish & Potato
• Chicken with Peas and Carrots (treats)
• Lamb with Cranberry (treats)
• Parmesan Cheese (treats)
• Salmon with Sweet Potato (treats)
• Cheese (treats)
• Cranberry Liver (treats)
• Liver (treats)

Fromm Gold

Fromm’s Gold Line is made with a holistic approach that seeks to provide complete and balanced nutrition for dogs of all life stages and lifestyles.

One of Fromm’s primary product lines, their Gold formulas come in 12 different recipes, all of which are dry kibbles.

Fromm’s Gold formulas are broken into three different categories:

• Fromm Heartland Gold, which includes several grain-free, red-meat-based recipes.
• Fromm Gold Coast, which includes grain-free, ocean-fish-based recipes.
• Original Fromm Gold, which features several duck-, chicken-, and lamb-based recipes.

These recipes are great choices for owners interested in providing their dog with holistic food options, as well as those who prefer to feed their dog a grain-free recipe (although such owners will need to stick to the Fromm Heartland Gold or Fromm Gold Coast categories to avoid grains).

Although these foods have less protein than some of the other options available from Fromm, they still have more protein than is required by the AAFCO, making them a good choice for most dogs.

Additionally, while the overall protein content is lower for Fromm’s Gold recipes than it is for their Four-Star recipes or canned diets, many of the recipes in this product line include several different protein sources at the top of the ingredient list.

There are a few questionable ingredients in some of Fromm’s Gold recipes, but none that should preclude you from buying them if you are otherwise satisfied with the recipe. For the most part, the undesirable ingredients include things like pea flour and brewer’s yeast.

Pea flour is rich in protein and may indicate that the food doesn’t contain as much animal-based protein as you’d like, while brewer’s yeast may play a role in the development of food allergies in dogs who are sensitive to the ingredient.

Do note that there are four recipes in this product line that are formulated specifically for puppies. These recipes contain more protein content than the recipes made for adults.

Examining Fromm’s Gold Adult Recipe

Fromm’s Gold Adult Recipe is another popular choice among dog owners. Below, we’ll dig into some of the nutritional information about the recipe to help you determine if it is a good choice for your dog.

Fromm’s Gold Adult Recipe provides the following nutritional content (on a calorie-weighted basis):

Based on the Fromm Gold Adult Formula

Fromm Adult Gold Ingredients

Duck, Chicken Meal, Chicken, Brown Rice, Pearled Barley, Oatmeal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Chicken Fat, Lamb, Potatoes, Dried Tomato Pomace, Dried Whole Egg, Salmon Oil, Cheese, Flaxseed, Brewers Dried Yeast, Alfalfa Meal, Carrots, Lettuce, Celery, Chicken Cartilage, Monocalcium Phosphate, Salt, Potassium Chloride, DL-Methionine, L-Tryptophan, Taurine, Chicory Root Extract, Calcium Sulfate, Yucca schidigera Extract, Sodium Selenite, Sorbic Acid (Preservative), Vitamins, Minerals, Probiotics.

Fromm Gold Recipes

• Reduced Activity & Senior Gold
• Gold Coast Weight Management
• Weight Management Gold
• Small Breed Adult Gold
• Heartland Gold Large Breed Adult
• Large Breed Adult Gold
• Heartland Gold Adult
• Adult Gold
• Heartland Gold Large Breed Puppy
• Large Breed Puppy Gold
• Heartland Gold Puppy
• Puppy Gold

Fromm Classic

Fromm’s Classic product line is comprised of only two dry, kibble-based recipes. Both of these modern recipes are based on the original Fromm Family recipes released in 1949.

However, these formulas have been updated to reflect current nutritional guidelines and food-making practices. For example, probiotics are included in the Fromm Classic recipes (like they are in all dry Fromm foods), but these were unlikely to appear in the original version of the recipe.

Fromm’s Classic recipes have adequate, if not spectacular levels of protein, so they are great choices for adult dogs. Fromm’s Classic line contains one recipe for healthy, active adults and another recipe for less-active adults and seniors; however, the Fromm Classic line does not contain a food designed for puppies.

Both recipes contain a single whole protein, as well as a combination of meat meals and animal-derived fats. Some of the meat meals used in Fromm’s Classic recipes, such as menhaden fish meal, provide plenty of omega-3 fatty acids, which can improve coat and skin health and reduce joint inflammation.

Flaxseed is also included in both Classic recipes. Flaxseed (if ground into a meal) is a great source of fiber, and it provides an abundance of omega-3 fatty acids too.

A few slightly controversial ingredients appear in Fromm’s Classic recipes, but none are especially troubling. For example, some owners find beet pulp to be an inexpensive filler, but in actuality, it is a good source of fiber for your pet. Similarly, brewer’s yeast is thought to trigger food allergies in some dogs, but only those who are sensitive to the ingredient should worry about this.

Examining Fromm’s Classic Adult Recipe

To help you determine if Fromm’s Classic Adult Recipe is a good choice for your dog, we’ll look at the nutritional information, including the ingredients and the relative proportions of protein, fat and carbohydrate content, below.

Fromm’s Classic Adult Recipe provides the following nutritional content (on a calorie-weighted basis):

Based on the Fromm Classic Formula

Fromm Adult Classic Ingredients

Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Pearled Barley, Oatmeal, White Rice, Chicken Fat, Menhaden Fish Meal, Dried Whole Egg, Beet Pulp, Cheese, Flaxseed,Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Calcium Sulfate, DL-Methionine, L-Tryptophan, Taurine, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca schidigera Extract, Sodium Selenite, Sorbic Acid (Preservative), Vitamins, Minerals, Probiotics.

Fromm Classic Recipes

• Adult
• Mature Adult

Fromm Pâté

Although a few of Fromm’s canned foods belong to their Four-Star product line, their Pâté product line contains the bulk of their canned food offerings. They offer 13 canned recipes in total.

Fromm’s Pâté product line is designed to provide complete and balanced nutrition so that you can offer it as a stand-alone food or as a delicious dry food topper. Using the food as a dry food topper not only helps to tempt finicky pups, it offers an easy way to increase the protein content of your dog’s diet.

Most of Fromm’s Pâté recipes feature a whole protein at the beginning of the ingredient list. Broth typically follows the primary protein and helps to make the food taste even more delicious. Hearty carbohydrates, such as barley and potatoes are included in the recipes, and vegetables like peas and carrots are included for vitamin and mineral content.

Like most other canned foods, Fromm’s Pâté recipes lack probiotics, but these can be added via a probiotic supplement if you wish. Or you can mix the Pâté with Fromm’s kibble, the vast majority of which contain probiotics. Similarly, there aren’t many omega-3-rich ingredients in these recipes. One exception is the Salmon & Chicken Pâté – salmon contains an abundance of omega-3 fatty acids.

There aren’t many controversial ingredients in Fromm’s Pâté formulas, although some owners like to avoid pearled barley, as they consider it a low-value carbohydrate.

Examining Fromm’s Beef & Barley Pâté Recipe

Whether you are looking for a kibble or a canned food, you need to examine the nutritional content of any food to ensure it is a good choice for your pup.

Below, we’ll look at Fromm’s Beef and Barley Pâté Recipe in detail.

Fromm’s Beef and Barley Pâté Recipe provides the following nutritional content (on a calorie-weighted basis):

Based on the Fromm Beef & Barley Pate Recipe

Fromm Beef & Barley Pâté Ingredients

Beef, Broth, Beef Liver, Pearled Barley, Potatoes, Carrots, Peas, Pork, Tomato Paste, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Minerals, Xanthan Gum, Calcium Sulfate, Locust Bean Gum, Vitamins.

Fromm Pâté Recipes

• Beef & Barley Pate
• Chicken & Duck Pate
• Chicken Pate
• Chicken & Sweet Potato Pate
• Lamb & Sweet Potato Pate
• Lamb Pate
• Salmon & Chicken Pate
• Turkey, Duck & Sweet Potato Pate
• Turkey Pate
• Venison & Beef Pate
• Venison & Lentil Pate
• Whitefish & Lentil Pate
• Beef & Sweet Potato Pate

Fromm: Pros and Cons

Like all foods, Fromm has some really good traits and a few not-so-great traits. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of these foods below.

PROS

By and large, we’d have to rate Fromm foods very highly. We love that their foods are made in small batches, which helps to ensure quality control and food safety, and most of their recipes are well-conceived and nutritious.

Every one of Fromm’s recipes features a nutritious meat at the beginning of the ingredient list, and several of their recipes include multiple types of meat or meat meals as primary ingredients. And unlike some lower-quality foods, which contain generically identified “meat meals,” all of Fromm’s proteins are specifically identified.

Several of their recipes also include valuable supplemental ingredients, such as menhaden fish meal and flaxseed, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and help keep inflammation at bay, or chicken cartilage, which is rich in chondroitin – a compound that can help support joint health.

Several of their recipes also include cheese, which is a very rare ingredient among other dog foods. Cheese provides some protein and fat content, but it is primarily included to improve the taste of the food (most dogs love cheese).

Fromm foods are made without many of the artificial additives, flavors, and colors included in other dog foods, and all of the dry formulas feature probiotics.

CONS

There aren’t many bad things to say about Fromm foods. Most of them contain everything you’d want in a premium dog food, most dogs love the way they taste, and they provide good nutritional profiles.

However, a few Fromm recipes include a controversial ingredient or two, which may give some owners pause. This includes things like tomato pomace, alfalfa meal, and pea flour. However, none of these ingredients are likely to upset your pet’s tummy or lead to illness (particularly in the relatively low amounts in which they are included in the recipes).

Additionally, we’d love to see more fruits and vegetables, such as blueberries, cranberries, spinach, kale and pumpkin, which can provide a wealth of immune-system-boosting antioxidants. Many other foods at similar price points include these types of items.

Aside from these relatively minor concerns, the biggest downside to Fromm foods is their premium price tag. Most Fromm foods are a bit expensive, although they are priced comparably to other foods of similar quality.

It would also be nice if Fromm would identify the probiotics included in the recipe, but this isn’t a huge problem.

Fromm: Final Thoughts

Fromm is a high-quality dog food manufacturer, who makes nutritious and delicious foods for dogs of varying life stages and with different dietary requirements. They produce foods with a number of different primary ingredients to appeal to all palates, and they come with most of the nutritional bells and whistles you’d want in a premium product.

As a family-owned and operated company, Fromm embodies the principles and values that appeal to many dog owners, and because they make their food in small batches, you can rest assured that every bag is safe, delicious, and healthy.

Fromm is clearly a premium food brand, so you’ll have to pay a little more for it than economy foods, but you’ll get great value for your dog-food dollar when doing so.

Your pup will likely find one or more of the recipes delicious, and you’ll be happy to provide your dog with one of the best products available by spending a few more bucks.

Do you feed your dog Fromm?What’s your dog’s favorite formula or recipe? Share your thoughts in the comments!

* Where did you get your data? We used data from the Fromm website & Dog Food Advisor.