Can you guess this product from these ingredients?

Ingredients:

Ground Whole Wheat

Wheat Flour

Meat and Bone Meal

Poultry By-Product meal

Beef Fat preserved with BHA/BHT (butylated hydroxyanisole/butylated hydroxytoluene)

Salt

Chicken Meal

Turkey By-Product Meal

Bacon Fat

Dicalcium Phosphate

Brewers Dried Yeast

Malted Barley Flour

Vitamins (E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, B12 Supplement)

Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite)

Sodium Metabisulfite (preservative)

Iron Oxide (color)

Red 40

BHA (preservative)

Yellow 6

Yellow 5

Blue 1

Natural Sausage Flavor

Just an FYI

Meat and Bone Meal: meat obtained by cooking, defatting, sterilizing, grinding, and sifting by-products of terrestrial animals, along with the some of the bones, but only the second quality bones as they may have previously been used to manufacture gelatin. Add the skin appendages including horns, hooves, and nails and you get Meat and Bone Meal.

Poultry By-Product Meal: Whole chickens, including feathers, dried and crushed.

BHA: FDA says this chemical is safe in small doses, but in high doses, it is known to cause cancer in rats. National Institutes of Health says it’s “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.”

BHT: Short-term repeated exposure produced toxic effects in rats.

Sodium Metabisulfite: This is on the Hazardous Substance List cited by ACGIH, DOT, HIOSH, and IARC. Side effects include: allergic reactions, breathing constriction and shortness of breath, gastrointestinal disturbances, rapid swelling of the skin, flushing, tingling, and shock.

Dicalcium Phosphate: Not a carcinogen, but side effects include: nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite, constipation, increased thirst, increased urination.

Red 40: FDA color derived from petroleum distillates or coal tars. Center for Science in the Public Interest says food dyes pose a rainbow of risks including cancer, hyperactivity, and allergic reactions.

Yellow 6: See above.

Yellow 5: See above.

Blue 1: See above.

Natural Sausage Flavor: Could be just about anything! Only 5% of the ingredients need to come from anything “natural” to be classified as Natural. The rest is a guessing game, probably made up of a synthetic, factory-made ingredient.

Did you guess the product yet?

Okay, here’s my homemade recipe:

3 cups white or wheat flour

¾ cups corn meal

1 cup broth/stock

1 egg

½ stick (4 oz) of melted butter

Mix all ingredients and roll out to 1/4 inch with a rolling pin.

Cut into desired shapes.

Bake for 35 minutes at 325 degrees.

Store in fridge and use within two-three weeks.

Did you guess the product now?

Here’s a hint…

Pippa wants a little something…

The top ingredients are the most popular store-bought dog treats.

The second list is my healthier version – a fraction of the cost with a lot more peace of mind.

Try the recipe and let me know what you think.

Yes, my pups are spoiled and get dog-bone shaped treats.