I don't think I'd care for a cat toy that dropped bits of cat food all over the floor.
Cute cats though.
I just keep mine on linoleum. The game does not last longer than about 2 minutes, but I get your drift. It could be gross on carpet and painful when the fire ants are moving.
I can understand how you feel, but one of our cats has an eating disorder and he'll compulsively eat and then throw up repeatedly unless he's controlled (he was a rescue from an ugly hoarding environment and still carries those scars two years later).
Our toy is larger than a ball and not as mobile, and while he will drop pieces on the ground, he's obsessive about eating them all, so there's not much mess when he's done.