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When a Celebrity Housewife Manufactures a Pet Feed

People who don’t understand the difference between feed and food, shouldn’t manufacture pet food. Sparkle Dog Premium Pet Food doesn’t shine, it’s pink feed.

People who don’t understand the difference between feed and food, shouldn’t manufacture pet food. Sparkle Dog Premium Pet Food doesn’t shine, it’s pink feed.

“Sparkle Dog” pet food is the idea of “Real Housewives of Dallas” celebrity Kameron Westcott. The SparkleDogFood.com websites states “Kameron Allen Westcott, known for her appearance on The Real Housewives of Dallas, has combined her love for canines and her passion for pink by creating SparkleDog Premium Dog Food. Kameron noticed that the dog food industry has overlooked the purchasing power of women. She has made it her mission to create packaging that would appeal to women using bold pink colors, a unique shape and easy to carry bag. Her pièces de résistance was adding pink heart shaped kibbles.” Image from the SparkleDogFood.com website…

Ingredients of Sparkle Dog pet food…

“Chicken, chicken meal, chickpeas, pea flour, pea starch, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), dried plain beet pulp, menhaden fish meal, natural chicken flavor, flaxseed, dried egg product, dicalcium phosphate, canola oil, salt, potassium chloride, choline chloride, DL-methionine, blueberries, cranberries, apples, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, spinach, L-lysine, taurine, L-carnitine, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, folic acid, biotin, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, L-ascorbyl 2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, titanium dioxide, red #3.”

Review of ingredients…

All ingredients are feed grade. Three of the first five ingredients are starches; the pet food is about 40% starch. There is more “salt” in this pet food than numerous food ingredients (blueberries, cranberries, apples, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, spinach). The pet food contains copper sulfate – a supplement linked to copper storage disease. And the pet food contains artificial coloring – “red #3”.

 

Opinion…

What a shame – another celebrity pitching feed. I assume this celebrity believes the product is food, I assume she has no clue that ‘real chicken’ in pet food is very different than chicken in human food. Why don’t they take the time to learn the significant difference between feed and food? Maybe one has. Celebrity Ellen DeGeneres was once significantly linked to Halo Pet Food. In recent years, her image and name was front page on the Halo Pet Food website. From Wayback Machine

Today, her link to the pet food (feed) cannot be found on the Halo website.

It makes me wonder…if pet food was termed what it actually is – Feed or Food – would any celebrity associate their name with a Cat or Dog Feed?

 

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food

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30 Comments

30 Comments

  1. marspolarlander

    November 1, 2017 at 2:07 pm

    I watched the episode where she visits the manufacturer. Her concern is for the color and shape, not for the nutrition for the dog. This makes me sick.

  2. Jan

    November 1, 2017 at 2:07 pm

    First of all, it is a tragedy that there are enough people that put trust in celebrities believing they have the knowledge behind what they are pitching and therefore, know what is best. However, to be fair I can’t say that is true of all celebrities. Secondly, to think that a pink packaging theme would draw me to a product in itself makes me gag, not to mention the color dye — a well-known problematic ingredient on multiple levels! Good grief!

  3. Gary Hurd

    November 1, 2017 at 2:40 pm

    Sparkle is probably worse but another celebrity who has created her own dog food (feed) is Rachael Ray which, by my calculation, is over 40% starch for her dry dog food.

  4. Jane

    November 1, 2017 at 2:46 pm

    Wow! The ingredients in general are pretty awful (I’d be surprised if the the fruits and vegetables were present in any significant amount), but there’s absolutely no reason and no excuse for putting artificial color in a pet food! It’s purely an appeal to the vanity of the pet owner and could do real harm to the dog. Dogs can’t even see pink – their eyes perceive shades of red as shades of gray – so it doesn’t make the food more appealing to them. It’s an unnecessary and unconscionable risk, even if she does think it’s “cute.” That poor little dog!

  5. Fabienne Lawrence

    November 1, 2017 at 2:54 pm

    Unbelievable!

  6. Cynthia W

    November 1, 2017 at 3:14 pm

    I think I’m going to vomit. She “noticed” that the pet food industry has overlooked the purchasing power of women, so she created a pink, heart shaped kibble in a sparkly bag?? *insert eye roll* Seriously??

    • Mary Sue

      November 1, 2017 at 5:06 pm

      I had the same initial reaction – vomit, which I’m guessing many dogs will also do.

    • Ian

      November 1, 2017 at 8:28 pm

      Thank you Cynthia W ! I agree 100% !

  7. Roxanne Stephens Anderson

    November 1, 2017 at 3:27 pm

    Thank you once again for your care and concern.

  8. Sherrie Ashenbremer

    November 1, 2017 at 4:07 pm

    that is just sad, people fall for another bad food

  9. Dr. Laurie Coger

    November 1, 2017 at 5:46 pm

    Will a dog’s poop sparkle like that of a unicorn, or just be pink if they eat this food? Prospective customers need to know!

  10. dnc

    November 1, 2017 at 6:06 pm

    So women are inclined to purchase items that are pink? I think Kameron must have pink marbles in her head instead of brains.

  11. Linda Horn

    November 1, 2017 at 8:18 pm

    Just when you think you’ve seen how stupid humans can be, here comes this “Celebrity Housewife” peddling pink poisoned dog food. This woman just reinforced all of those nasty stereotypes about how women are so dumb. I truly hope no one will feed this crap to their poor dogs! SMH.

  12. Lynn

    November 1, 2017 at 9:27 pm

    This woman feeds raw to 3 dogs for 7 years, not interested in sparkle unless it’s in my dogs eyes!

  13. Marilyn C. Klein

    November 1, 2017 at 10:51 pm

    Has anyone had any bad reactions regarding cat food? I have been feeding canned Wellness mixed with Fromm canned to my cats and they have not had any bad reactions. I decided to purchase a case of Nature’s Logic Feline Sardine Feast, grain free & add it to the mix, just for variety. Last week my one cat, a 9 year old, started vomiting , having smelly diarrhea & stopped eating. Yesterday, my 12 year old had diarrhea and didn’t want dinner. They all have dry for breakfast and for dinner get the canned mixture. I am not saying that the cause is from the Nature’s Logic as I have bought individual cans previously and everything was fine. They both are under the care of their vet, receiving fluids and antibiotics. Blood work showed huge kidney infections. With all that’s been going on with pet feed, I hope it’s not that but wanted to see what anyone thought. Thanks.

    • Barb

      November 2, 2017 at 6:30 pm

      I hope your cats are recovering. For general information about Wellness canned cat food, one ingredient is carregeenan. According to a blog by Dr. Weil, carregeenan is a common ingredient in human foods that causes inflamamatory conditions. I lost my 9 year old cat to intestinal lymphoma. Another cat has kidney failure. I fed them both for four years with Wellness.This is Dr. Weils blog: https://www.drweil.com/diet-nutrition/food-safety/is-carrageenan-safe/

      • Rachel

        November 4, 2017 at 4:49 pm

        Wellness has removed the carrageenan in their latest cat food cans. They did this because that’s what the pet parents wanted

  14. M. Carlin

    November 1, 2017 at 11:53 pm

    Anyone with real knowledge of canine nutrition wouldn’t refer to an ingredient like pea flour or chickpeas as “starch”

    • Susan Thixton

      November 2, 2017 at 8:47 am

      How would you refer to those ingredients?

      • Lynn

        November 2, 2017 at 10:07 am

        I consider the glycemic index, peas and beans are high glycemic index so a starch like corn. Green leafy vegetables are very low glycemic so not starch.

    • JaneeS

      November 2, 2017 at 3:05 pm

      As far as starch in pet foods go, peas, beans and lentils are definitely high starch, but they are the best type of starch compared to potatoes, corn, rice, etc. While they have a lower glycemic index due to the protein, fiber, and resistant starch, peas, beans and lentils have long been recognized as high starch in starch-regulated diets. Also, cooking reduces the amount of resistant starch, the starch that is resistant to digestion and passes into the large intestine where it acts similar to dietary fiber.

      As an example, check out some quotes from the article: “Ask the Expert: Legumes and Resistant Starch” by Dr. Guy Cosby, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, with many scientific citations given.

      On average, legumes contain about 20-25% protein by weight on a dry basis……The content of total carbohydrate, including complex carbohydrates, ranges from 65-72% by weight on a dry basis, of which 85% is composed of starch, while dietary fiber constitutes anywhere from 10-20% of the weight of dried legumes (1).

      As with all high starch foods, when legumes are cooked in boiling water large portions of the crystalline regions are destroyed, reducing the amount of resistant starch. …….Fully cooked legumes contain only about 4-5% of their total weight (on a dry basis) as resistant starch, regardless of how long they are cooked.

      https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2015/11/16/ask-the-expert-legumes-and-resistant-starch/

      The internet abounds with information about the high starch of peas, beans, and lentils.

      • Lynn

        November 3, 2017 at 10:56 am

        Go to Dogs Naturally magazine for an article entitled ArePotatoes Good for Dogs. Also I’m a prey model feeder with a veg mix I make, I just can’t see carnivores eating much peas or beans by choice.

  15. n

    November 2, 2017 at 2:57 am

    Guess I haven’t gotten the memo – I still refer to Halo as Ellen DeGeneres’ food, or at least the one she’s associated with. (And have since found it odd that her pet products are sold at a store that doesn’t carry ‘her’ food – it’s starting to make sense.)

    • Regina

      November 2, 2017 at 2:55 pm

      That’s an interesting point, n.

      I do wonder if Ellen is still involved with Halo Pet products. They have been coming out with reformulated packaging AND food/feed. Soy is now in their products.

      • Ms. B Dawson

        November 3, 2017 at 1:49 pm

        At the time she started pitching their products (2008), she was described as “an owner” of the company. My sales reps at the time told me she was given part ownership as compensation for being the face of the company.

  16. Ms. B Dawson

    November 3, 2017 at 2:02 pm

    I agree with all the comments, re: women buy pink products. This is a double insult – crappy food marketed on the basis that women will purchase anything with a pink theme. The sad thing is, it’s working. I’ve had two clients gush over switching their little pocket puppies (whose paws rarely touch the ground and who have a larger wardrobe than I do) pink food because it’s “so much better than what they eat now” (Purina One). Oh well, I’ll be continuing to treat their poor little guys for the skin and digestive issues we’ve been battling for a year now. Why oh why do consumers purchase cheap food and then doctor it up with expensive supplements? Do they feel more involved because they are fussing over the kibble? That mixing in stuff means they are good pet parents? Sigh.

    On another note about ingredients….I rarely watch commercial TV, but a recent pet food ad touted the fact the company used “farm raised chicken”. As opposed to what, exactly, I wondered. Apartment raised chicken?…..Laboratory raised chicken? Wow.

  17. Tammy

    November 5, 2017 at 1:45 am

    I feed my dogs and cat what I know they would eat in the wild. That’s it. No fancy mixes of veggies and starch. Just plain real meat and organs. Always surprises me when ppl claim that raw will kill my pets. I tell them that the cereal they feed will definitely kill theirs.

    • Lynn Lassen

      November 5, 2017 at 9:51 am

      True! I’ve heard that carnivores eat the stomach contents, however, it would be predigested and only the lowest member of the pack would get it. So I choose to feed my dogs as the alpha. I do give vegs and a very small amount of berries occasionally because the meat now is different than wild.

  18. sparkydog

    November 18, 2017 at 3:10 am

    I thought plenty of women were already buying dog food for their dogs? Why does the packaging need to be pink?

  19. Mary Meyer Johnson

    December 1, 2017 at 12:32 pm

    I recently messaged Halo on Facebook and requested a response as to why Ellen D doesn’t appear on their website any longer. They replied that Ellen is still a co-owner. I’m about to send them this link, per their request, and look forward to their response. I also asked them to consider taking the pledge. It would be great if Ellen became a vocal supporter of Truth About Pet Food. Personally, I’m #sickofcelebrities, but Ellen is one of the very few I want to believe is an activist and advocate for truth and transparency.

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