HALo holistic canned DOG FOOD Review

With less processing and a better carbohydrate content than dry dog food, Halo’s Holistic wet dog food is considered moderate risk with a score of 5.3. The average protein for the 5 recipes in this line of canned foods is 44% with average carbohydrates of 14.6%.

The carbohydrate content in the vegan recipe is excessively high but another grain-free recipe is equally as high. At the other end of the spectrum, the chicken and beef recipie have a negligible amount of carbs. Some of these canned foods are grain-free but the recipes still contain chickpeas, potatoes and peas so they’re not starch- or carb-free.

Holistic canned foods uses whole animal proteins and non-GMO vegetables and fruits. That doesn’t mean they are pesticide free so points are lost for using foods known to contain higher pesticide/herbicide residues like oat, chick peas and peas with some in the top 5 ingredients. Another safety concern is the use of natural flavor. This is often animal digest or MSG that are low quality ingredients with limited safety studies. 

All of these recipes have added vitamins and minerals which further reduces the score of ingredient quality. Five or more added minerals indicate a lower quality food that’s lacking naturally occurring minerals from whole food sources. Amino acids are added to 2 recipes, including the vegan recipe which is to be expected when animal proteins are not used. The vegan recipe also includes additional plant protein.  

Ingredient splitting is used in the vegan recipe. Ingredient splitting is a technique of manipulating the ingredient list to move ingredients higher or lower on the list. In this case, peas and potatoes are being split into 2 categories. 

It’s also worth noting that the line contains sodium selenite as a source of selenium. Dogs need selenium, and it’s usually added in very small amounts. However some research suggests that sodium selenite may be associated with potential toxicity, so selenium yeast is the preferred form of this mineral.

Canola oil is a seed oil that’s used and it’s also a GMO. Seed oils, such as safflower, sunflower or flaxseed oil are rich in omega-6 fatty acids, which can cause systemic and gut inflammation. Salmon oil is used minimally but it’s not noted whether it’s farmed or from wild-caught sources. Farmed fish is less nutritious than wild caught fish and does not contain the same healthy fatty acid balance. 

Halo doesn’t provide the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. They’re not the only one not providing this, but it’s important to know since diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation and disease. AAFCO allows a very high ratio of 30:1.