Blue Buffalo Spa Select Dry Formula for Cats Recalled
Due to the melamine found in the Wilbur-Ellis rice protein, Blue Buffalo has recalled one production run of their Spa Select Kitten dry food marked “Best Used By Mar. 07 08 B.”
Of the 4,752 bags produced in this one run, we were able to prevent the majority from ever entering retail distribution.
FDA confirms that Blue Buffalo is one of four other companies that received this supply.
Full release after the jump.
(Post bumped. Original timestamp 4:45pm Eastern)
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Voluntary Recall of Spa Select Kitten Dry Food
Dear Pet Parents:
The Blue Buffalo Company has undertaken a voluntary recall of one production run of our Spa Select Kitten dry food. The production code on the recalled product is:
“Best Used By Mar. 07 08 B.”
We have taken this action because the rice protein concentrate used for this run was obtained from Wilbur-Ellis, the same company who supplied this ingredient to Natural Balance. Test results received late last evening (4/18) indicated that this rice protein concentrate tested positive for melamine. This is the first and only time our manufacturing partner sourced an ingredient from Wilbur-Ellis, and we had no knowledge that they had imported the ingredients from China.
We have advised the FDA of this finding and will be working closely with them on this issue.
Of the 4,752 bags produced in this one run, we were able to prevent the majority from ever entering retail distribution. We are working closely with our retail partners to remove this product immediately and will be re-stocking the shelves with Spa Select Kitten dry food that was produced without any rice protein sourced from Wilbur-Ellis as soon as possible.
If you currently have a bag of Spa Select Kitten dry food, please check the code date and if it matches the one shown above discontinue use immediately and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. If your cat has eaten any of the recalled food, please call your veterinarian immediately to discuss if there are any risks to your pet.
Should you have a specific question call our Customer Service Department at 1-800-919-2833 or email us at info@bluebuff.com. We understand your desire for immediate answers and we will be working to get back to you as quickly as we can.
No other Spa Select cat food or dog food, canned or dry, is included in this recall.
As a family owned company whose reason for being is to provide cats and dogs with the highest quality natural foods, we are extremely upset by this recall and can’t begin to apologize enough to our customers. From our perspective, it is unacceptable to produce even one bag of food with the potential to cause a pet to become ill, and we will further tighten our ingredient sourcing and quality assurance procedures as a result of this incident.
Sincerely,
Bill Bishop
President
The Blue Buffalo Company
April 19th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
According to the post on Blue Buffalo’s website it is ONLY the KITTEN SPA SELECT DRY being recalled. It is NOT ALL of their SPA SELECT line as you have indicated in your headline. Most of the products in the Spa Select line do not even contain rice protein concentrate.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Yes, Joyce, let’s defend a company that needed to wait until their rice protein was tested before recalling the product, even while their supplier was urging these companies to come forward. How many people continued to feed their pets this kitten food in the meantime? I could care less whether or not every other Blue Buffalo food is fine - the company itself just made a very poor decision to keep quiet *just in case* their ingredients weren’t compromised. Wouldn’t want to ruin their reputation or anything. And now it’s ruined beyond repair, in my opinion. These companies need to take responsibility for putting these fillers in their foods and not being more vigilant about the source(s) of those ingredients.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
What kills me is I switched to Blue kitten food because of the recall. I had been feeding brands like Iams and Purina, but because other products had been recalled I wanted to avoid these brands. Blue had all this stuff on their website about how they don’t use wheat, corn, or soy, how they are not involved in the recall and blah blah blah.
My kitten did not eat food with the March 08 date - she ate Blue kitten food with the Sept 07 date, and is not showing any symptoms. But I still feel horrible knowing that this happened with the type of food that I use. I thought I was doing the right thing by switching to a natural brand with no wheat gluten.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
We need to know WHO their manufactures their product.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Itchmo… someone on petconnection just mentioned that the Blue Buffalo is the brand that the lawyer got all huffy with you about… have you heard anything else since?
April 19th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
It appears that any food contianing wheat gluten, rice protein or corn gluten should be avoided until this whole situation is resolved.
Solid Gold has some quality dry foods that do not contain any of these three ingredients. I am feeding both Wellness canned ( the West Coast lot, not manufactured by Menu foods) and dry chicken and Solid Gold dry Barking at the Moon and have not seen any problems in my 3 dogs.
When the ’safe’ cans I have run out, I will not buy any more canned food during this current mess and when I do, it will not be a company that uses Menu foods for ANYTHING.
As the contamination continues to escalate and unfold, it is impossible to know what is safe. Good luck to all of us and our adorable precious pets!
April 19th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
Like they didn’t know for the past few days who they got their rice protein concentrate from? I don’t believe it for a minute. Bas+++d companies.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
tinydogsrule,
How can you tell that your canned Wellness is from the west coast lot? I have some Wellness food I’d like to check.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
I called it. I wonder how many of the others I listed will also be recalled.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
tinydogsrule I would go further and say any gluten and any non meat derived protein should be avoided. After all we started with wheat and now the others have come on board, how long till soy and the others follow?
April 19th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
CL - I did the same thing only with NB; I switched from Iams and Fancy Feast thinking I was doing the right thing only to have it come back and bite me in the a$$. Luckily, like you, my kits are not showing any sign of trouble except for some minor food-switch reactions. I’m keeping a close eye on them and have since switched them to Nature’s Variety Raw Instincts - I just hope it doesn’t wind up getting recalled, too. Although it shouldn’t since it’s supposed to be 100% grain free. At this point I’m at my wits end, this recall has me exhausted, it has lightened my wallet, and stressed me out. I want answers, I want clean, safe food, and I want to stop having to worry about the simple act of feeding my pets. My point is - I feel your pain. Glad your kitten seems to be doing well - I hope we both missed the contaminated stuff if only by an inch. And my heart goes out to those who are going through the trauma of pet illness and loss due to this mess.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
I want a bumper sticker just like this!
Breaking News Who’s Food is Killing Our Pets
http://www.itchmo.com/
April 19th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
I emailed Blue Buffalo to see if they will tell me who manufactures their product. As yet, all they say is it’s CONFIDENTIAL.
CONFIDENTIAL my ***
Those B******* need to tell us who makes their food.
I get angrier by the minute.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
teric,
I’m working on that. So far, I’m told it’s distrubuted by a company out of Colorado. But source didn’t remember name of company.
Does Evy know where Blue Buffalo is maufactured?
April 19th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
5CatMom are you looking for a distributor or a manufacturer? I didn’t think we had any of the plants that made dog food here in Colorado. I would be very interested in knowing who that might be.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
blkcatgal ~
From the information I received, if the beginning code on the dog food can starts with ‘S1′ it was maufactured at Menu Foods. If not, it was manufactured at another (unidentified) plant.
And I totally agree with you, kellkell!
April 19th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
[…] read more | digg story […]
April 19th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
“This is the first and only time our manufacturing partner sourced an ingredient from Wilbur-Ellis, and we had no knowledge that they had imported the ingredients from China.”
Sure it was and sure you had no knowledge.
Bottom line is that you can’t trust anyone anymore. When are humans gonna start dropping from kidney failure. Chemicals are getting into the food chain because the companies are allowed to make both. When you’re dead, testing doesn’t cut it.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
I do not understand how these companies can say all of their ingredients are from the U.S. then suddenly the recall involves stuff from China! I almost ordered BB today for my cat and puppy, thinking it was one of the safest choices…
KC
April 19th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
teric,
Their address is:
Blue Buffalo Co.
P.O. Box 770
Wilton, CT
Do we know of a contract company close by?
April 19th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Don’t know if this helps, but you might look at Natura and Kumpi.
Maybe other good ones as well!
April 19th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
Has anyone explored the possibility of pain and suffering lawsuits against these jerks. No doubt this has taken several years off my own expected life span if not more then that.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Wasn’t their a list on the FDA website of registered or licensed manufactors in each state? Thought I found it the other day, can’t seem to find it today. Link anyone?
April 19th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
And to think I spoke to Blue Buffalo on Wed. afternoon, and being reassured their products were safe……Shame on you Samantha W. at Blue Buffalo.
Lets see what other food we can buy thats supposed to be safe. It started with IAM’s and have a dead pet dog.
Then my daughter changed food for her pets to Natural Balance then Blue Buffalo. Now home cooked to the best of her abilities.
How long did Blue Buffalo know?
Why is Wilbur-Ellis holding out? Our pets are dying while these pet food companies are hiding their heads in the sand or maybe dumping more stocks.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Chad I thought I saw that on there too and was just looking for it. I figured I just had looked at too many sites and that I didn’t really see it there until your post. I can’t find it either but it could be because after staring at the computer like I have been I am going blind!
April 19th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
I had been using Eukanuba dry on my dogs for years. I will never use it again. I will not use another Purina product. I switched to Blue Buffalo, but not that one is out as well. I’ve gone to Chicken Soup for Dogs. Even though it is made by Diamond, it seems to be a good food without any glutens or weird proteins. I don’t feel like I can trust any of these companies totally. I had one cat die, one is on fluids, the other won’t eat (luckily) canned food. It’s time for people to wake up to what is happening here. Purina for one, has two plants in China. China is pulling dogs out of their homes and clubbing them to death. Why in the world are we buying anything from China. I’m probably one of very few that is on a total boycott of anything made in that country. No matter how bad I might want or need something, if it’s made in China, it goes back on the shelf. I am truly disappointed in Blue Buffalo as well for this mess. You think your doing good by going to such a company and you still get screwed.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Oh, Marilyn, I certainly am not and most likely will NEVER defend Blue Buffalo or any other pet food manufactuer. You took my comments incorrectly. That is, when I saw the original headline , “Blue Buffalo recalls Spa Select” (no mention of Dry or Kitten food in the original headline) I got scared that the entire line was contaminated. There were no specific products mentioned in the original headline only Spa Select. I went to BB’s website and read the press release where specifics were mentioned. So I passed the info along. Defend them, absolutely NOT. What’s happening within the entire pet food industry is at once both despicable and horrifying.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
I just dodged another bullet. I was feeding them Spa Select Kitten Dry. My bag is dated 11/07 & 2/08. Dear, God, when will this end?
I’m having to buy food today and I think I’ll get Felidae. I pray it’s going to be ok.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
Chad and kellkell,
you could be experiencing the every changing web page syndrome. there seems to be a MAJOR outbreak recently and it is advisable to copy any info the minute you see it. archive and screen shots are aslo a suggested remedy . . . .
April 19th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Chad and Kellkell,
Go to FDA A-Z at the top of the page. You can look up feed mill licensing there. They have them listed by name and by state.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
I am appalled that NOTHING has been done since the recall to make sure that this doesn’t happen in the future….again and again. Can we count on these companies (who have consistently lied to us) to insure that our precious fur-babies are safe?? I am so upset at being lied to, pray every time I open a can or bag to feed by boys that it’s safe, am afraid to check daily to see if the foods that I DO feed them are on the recall list and am so stressed over this, I can hardly think straight. My boys look to me to provide safe, healthy food for them. Blue Buffalo was one of the foods I counted on for safety. My list is now down to 3 safe foods…..
April 19th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Joyce, I apologize for taking your comment wrong. I was caught up in my anger at Blue Buffalo as it was one of the companies I was *about* to try. I shouldn’t have jumped on you so quickly. Thank you for explaining. (As a side note, I’m wondering why they aren’t recalling other products with the rice protein concentrate. I think their Cat Hairball formula is supposed to have it, as well as some dog products.)
April 19th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Marilyn,
You took the words right out of my mouth. Thanks for your post.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
I am also frustrated with the Blue Buffalo answer-I switched to their adult cat canned and dry last week and checked the bag which says 12/07 but I still wonder-my cats all adults are still eating Fancy Feast’s Tender Beef canned food once or twice a wk because it is their favorite and I have them also on Life’s Abundance dry and canned-they are all used to a variety of food-even some beef baby food is going into their meals now.
Thank God for Itchmo and all you wonderful cat and dog people-I feel like I’ve come home when I see what you’ve all written and I trust you much more than our vet and pet food stores.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Thanks Stephanie!
April 19th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Still waiting for a comment from the Blue Buffalo attorney who threatened us citizens here with legal action.
Come on Pal. I DARE YOU.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Gotta love it, they can wire tap my phone, pull my credit card records and do whatever else they want. With no reason nor suspecion. But we can’t find out who in the hell is canning our pets food!
April 19th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
I can tell you EVERY company that has not come forward will lose my business forever. They are KILLERS. When they KNOW they have purchased crap and do not pull it ASAP which NB DID do as soon as they saw issues (I will give them that) these companies will lose massive amounts of money and customers..Yes I think lawsuits and changes with the FDA will happen in TIME…SADLY, time and many deaths.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
I switched over to Natural Balance from Iams a little over a year ago as I wanted to give my 4 girls good quality food. I had just purchased their Venison/Brn Rice biscuits for the 1st time last wk. After several days - all 4 girls were outside eating grass & vomiting.
It was that same day that I heard about the recall. I am furious. I’ve decided to swith to Canidae…and the following is part of the response they sent me…”CANIDAE in no way is affiliated, nor has any common characteristics with the current pet food re-call, as we do not use wheat gluten, rice gluten or rice protein in any fashion, and we are not produced in any of the recalled facilities. All ingredients are proudly raised and grown in the USA.”
April 19th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
I thought when this first started Canidae was made at one of the plants. Or at least by Menu Foods? I could be way off. Can anyone confirm if the email Vicki D recieved is actually truthful.
Good to have a back up food, until I figure out how to cook my boys food.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
In my earlier note I forgot to mention to Kathleen that I am trying to do the same thing in everything I buy-specially anything to do with my cats’ and dogs’ needs (and toys). NOTHING FROM CHINA–I spend more time looking at every item to see if it’s made in China, Vietnam, Thailand, etc. than I do actually shopping for myself.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Chad,
I’ve been told the same as Vicki D. I switched to Canidae last month. I just hope thay are being honest.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
5CatMom ~
I don’t know where Blue Buffalo is manufactured. Therese over at thepetfoodlist.com is the one who was calling all of the companies to get that information. If she couldn’t get it, maybe the company directly would say? I don’t know.
Too many people are unfamiliar with me and all of the posts I have made over the weeks to try and help. I am now perceived as a ’schill’ trying to promote my products. This has made me sadder than you can ever realize.
You are all just now finding out things I have known to be true for nine years. I haven’t bashed companies, I have tried to educate, I have been an advocate for FurAngels beyond my physical capabilities sometimes.
Talking with the people who have lost their pets and/or are living and loving with those who are severely compromised - well, it has just put me into a place that I cannot describe. The sorrow is overwhelming.
All I can do is my best each day. I have my statement posted on my site and can verify my product is safe.
I have my suspicions that some of these posts are actually people from other pet food companies trying to disguise themselves as ‘general online’ community folks. I’ve had no use for them in the past and I have no desire to engage with them now.
At this point, if anyone has questions they would like me to answer, please send me an email at kumpi@earthlink.net and I will get back to you. Other than that, please do not look for me on the blogs for awhile. Some of you are really nice people and I’d be happy to provide any information that you would like to repost online.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
Well, here it is….. the email I’d been waiting for!! Thank you itchmo!!! Something is dreadfully wrong with this country of ours. We can blame all we want on China. Bottom line, it’s our responsibility (FDA, etc), to test the foods we consume, both for people and pets, shouldn’t make a darn difference. If we don’t have the means to test from foreign countries like filthy China then we shouldn’t let the disgusting food in here to begin with. As far as I’m concerned, dog food companies are the biggest joke on the planet right now. How dare they market their products showing such deceit? Bright colored vegetables, pure grains, fresh poultry and meats…. yeah right! They’re all a bunch of liars. Blue Buffalo comes out now??? I’m beyond disgusted. Thanks for letting me vent.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
This is from http://www.naturapet.com/tools.....ngredients
Are your pet food ingredients human grade? Why isn’t that written on the bag?
Our dog food and cat food ingredients are all human grade, and fit for human consumption. In fact, our pet foods go above and beyond human grade. Many things qualify as human grade but wouldn’t be considered as an ingredient in our foods because of their poor nutritional value.
The term “Human Grade” is not printed on the packaging because AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials, the governing agency for animal feeds) regulations prohibit us from printing the grade and/or quality of any ingredient contained in pet foods.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
5CatMom,
Is the manufacturing plant in CO? This makes matters worse as they didnt say one word about anything going to CO.
KS, MO, NY, & UT
I havent heard back from Blue Buffalo. Bet I wont either!!!! ;-[
April 19th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Thanks Robin. I’ve read so much the past few weeks it’s hard to keep everything straight. Add in a sick dog (NOT from the recall, or so I have been assured) and neither of us have gotten much sleep. Getting a little punchy and irrate!
April 19th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
To Lioness0811, a big THANK YOU. I too take up most of my time reading everything instead of buying. My cats and my dogs mean everything to me. I have put my trust in these companies only to find out that they have deceived us. Every other product in this company is made in China. I don’t know if anyone else out there has seen some of the horrific pictures of what they have done to the dogs in that land, but I still cry about it. Please everyone, just take a stand and fight back. I will not buy from liars nor companies only thinking of how cheaply they can make their products without regard to who they are hurting. They lie with their fancy advertising. Great packaging. Big prices. But all we get is poison. It’s hard to figure out where to turn. As for making the food, it’s almost impossible with seven dogs and three cats as well as horses and foul. As a country, we have grown to trust these companies. Now we have to make a stand and denounce them all.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
I can’t believe we are still not hearing anything on the media! WHY???? It didn’t make sence to me yesterday and makes less sence today. I went to our location health food store today and the owner still didn’t know the lastest news on the rice protein, she hasn’t been on-line. She carries wellness, paul newman etc. but still, until we know for sure. she pulled all her products, just to make sure. We need to find out why the media isn’t talking. I read on the Huffington Post the FDA has confirmed some of this dogfood was regenerated and feed to HOGS! If that is true, are we humans in the same situation as our pets. I have horses, chicken and I’m checking all their lables closer too. We need to start flooding emails boxes of the FDA, FOX, CNN, MSNBC, Sen. Durbin and anyone else we can think of to make this the news it should be and not the cover-up which it seems to be.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
I found an informative site containing the following:
“Menu manufactures canned foods for many companies that weren’t affected by the recall, including Nature’s Variety, Wellness, Castor & Pollux, Newman’s Own Organics, Wysong, Innova, and EaglePack. It’s easy to see from their ingredient lists that those products are made from completely different ingredients and proportions. Again, the issue of cleaning the machinery out between batches comes up, but hopefully nothing so lethal will pass from one food to another.”
This and other enlightning info about the pet food industry can be found at this link:
http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&more=1
April 19th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Everyone out there! You cannot believe anything! The companies do not even know themself about the products they send out for to put in the pet foods. They call a US cmpany. They do not ask if it is made in China. And!!! I cannot stress this enough. There are not that many canning places in the US. If it says distributed by on the label that means they did not make it, only their name is on it. For instance Paul Newmans line of pet foods. The wet is made by menu foods. Almost all wet food is made by them. They have the canning process to do it. Alot of places do the dry foods only. When these companies say all products are made by a US supplier, this only means that they get their stuff from them, but it does not mean that the supplier gets it from the US! American nutrition is another packing place and diamond uses them, but they have also used menu foods in some of their wets. don’t let them fool you!! I know about foods. I used to work in the grocery business and was surprised at the sources of some of our products. Merrick says they make all of their dry and canned products in their own facility and they do not contain wheat gluten, but if they contain rice protein that they could not make themself then they have to order it from an outside source. just like so many of the products put in the pet foods. So none of us know for sure. Another thing i found out. My dog does not like anything and he was eating the Alpo tainted stuff. He is okay for now, I guess. The vet said he was clear, but i still wonder. i tried several kinds, holistic, organic and returned them. he hated them all. i was getting really upset. I tried the home made.. he ate just a little.. not much! Probably from hunger only. I finally went to the store and picked up some pedigree. I read the labels. Almost all of them said wheat gluten. I read the ground beef and ground chicken. Neither one of them said anything about corn gluten or wheat gluten. i thought okay for a little while maybe i am safe and maybe he will eat it. i looked on the pedigree sight and read about the kind i bought. WEll!! The beef still states that it does not have any corn or wheat gluten in it nor rice protein. but the rice said it had wheat and corn gluten both. NOW this does not say this on the cans i have, But only at their sight!! Why is that??? Really made me angry!!! now i wonder if they are lieing about all of it!!! What is in this pet food???? Will someone somewhere tell us the truth!! I am going to have a nervous break down from all of this HELP
April 19th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Hi All, Since the recall I have been cooking for my dogs. About 4 days ago after doing much research on Blue buffalo, I started feeding them the dry the canned and treats. Much to my horror while searching the web, I found blue buffalo had the rice protein concentrate in it. I looked on my bag and sure enough the ingrdients are there. I knew last night they were going to start recalls. It is not even on the FDA site yet, I just checked, but the blue buffalo site says the are recalling some BB cat food. Just a matter of time before all their products with the rice protein concentrate are recalled. On there web site they say the have received shipments from WILBUR-ELLIS. www.bluebuff.com
After researching I found the supplier is WILBUR-ELLIS. They imported the rice protein concentrate from BINAHOU FUTIAN BIOLOGY TECH in China. When Wilbur-Ellis received the bags, they were all white except for one that was pink. The pink one had the word MELAMINE stenciled on it. They had shipped out bags before discovering this to 5 US pet food manufacturers in Utah, Ny, Kansas & two in Missouri. Blue buffalo is in CT and Ntural balance is in CA. So what is going on here?
BTW, the FDA doesn’t even have it on their site yet about the cat recall from blue buffalo!
April 19th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Lioness0811,
I was told that Canidae makes their own canned food at there own plant. Dry food is from their own plant in Texas. I have asked numerous times “Where is your plant in Texas”? The question has never been answered. They say they DO NOT USE MENU & no gluten of any kind. I really hope they are telling the truth.
Anymore it’s just a crap-shoot!
April 19th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Now how did we know that this was going to happen. I checked the ingredients in my dog and cats BB dry food just to be sure that there was no rice protein concentrate in the ingredients. I wouldn’t trust wheat gluten nor rice protein concentrate in any pet product. This is almost dejavu when they were recalling wheat gluten products one by one..DON’T TAKE ANY CHANCES!
Oh, and the fact that we were LIED to about BB using only products from USA just makes me want to scream! If they don’t know for sure, they sure as heck shouldn’t announce that!
The whole “confidential” manufacturing is just a big fat clue that they don’t trust where their food is being processed.
We need to stamp a STUPID sign up on each of these irresponsible companies!!
April 19th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Vonne44 I agree with you more with rice protien are coming was talking to a lady at my organic store today and she said she heard Wellness and Nutro dry are having issues and it is only amatter of time. before they are recalling somethings
April 19th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
to answer wolley’s question in forum–hypercalcemia causes nausea, vomiting, pancreatitis, bladder stones, increased urination, depression, confusion, etc. yes, my dog got sick on royal canin with these symptoms
April 19th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
FDA will not name companies until the companies say they used the shipment of rice protein in the manufacturing of foods.
WHY NOT!!!! What’s the point of having these Jack Asses if they dont advise us when they know there is a problem!!! Dont we as tax payers pay their salary?
April 19th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
Let me make it clear. I don’t want to feed my pets or my family BIOLOGY TECH or BIO TECHNOLOGY FROM CHINA.
Do you understand that?
April 19th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
Re: Canidae, I’ve been trying to find out who makes their food as well. I ran across an article in a newsletter or something that said Canidae dry is manufactured by Pied Piper. I e-mailed them to ask if they used Diamond before I found the reference to Pied Piper, and I received a form response, with a cryptic one line added (almost in broken English) that said no (which I took to mean that they do not use Diamond). Their canned is made by a “family-owned facility” in IN I think (could be Evanger’s?).
April 19th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Correction, I just re-checked the e-mail and they say it is a small family-operated facility in Illinois. Evangers is a small family-operated facility in Illinois. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Evangers makes the Canidae canned.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Just like many of the other DISGUSTING pet food companies, Blue Buffallo waited until 5:15pm to announce the recall. AND why don’t we have the right to know who the other companies are! THis is disgusting. GREED personified!
April 19th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Evy,
Talk to you soon. Your food arrived today. Smells great. Looks great. Nice foil bag. Cats are grinnin’.
Thanks for your help - I’ve learned tons from your posts.
Most of all - Thanks for Kumpikat!
April 19th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
TERIC,
According to info I have seen online on various sites, Canidae is made by Pied Piper in Hamlin, Texas.
Pied Piper website says
” ATTENTION: Pied Piper Pet Foods is not involved in
any recall of our dry pet foods or treats.
Pied Piper Pet Foods uses grain products grown in the USA.
WHEAT GLUTEN AND RICE PROTEIN CONCENTRATE
ARE NOT USED IN ANY OF OUR PRODUCTS. “
April 19th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
I was just trying Felidae for my cats (since Sunday). I only put a few cans at a time to make sure they would eat it. Just picked up a few more today since I still wasn’t sure about one of the cats liking it. I noticed right away that the can I purchased today looked different - darker color, more broth. My picky cat gobbled it up right awy. I noticed the dates on the older cans were use by August 2007, the ones today are use by 2009! Thought that was odd. Just how old were the other cans I wonder.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
meant to say “bought a few cans at a time”
April 19th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
TERIC,
I have found numerous places online that state that Canidae is made at Pied Piper in Hamlin Texas. The Pied Piper website says:
“ATTENTION: Pied Piper Pet Foods is not involved in
any recall of our dry pet foods or treats.
Pied Piper Pet Foods uses grain products grown in the USA.
WHEAT GLUTEN AND RICE PROTEIN CONCENTRATE
ARE NOT USED IN ANY OF OUR PRODUCTS. “
April 19th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
I just found the Pied Piper website up, it wasn’t working yesterday:
www.piedpiperpetfood.net. They talk about recent expansion, which Canidae does in their e-mails. Also, Pied Piper’s site says that all of their raw materials are from the USA and none of the products produced there have rice protein concentrate or wheat gluten in them. So it does sound like this could be Canidae’s manufacturer…Anyone else have any other clues?
April 19th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Beware of all who post here promoting their homemade foods and companies. I am making my own food for my pets NO corn…no rice protein and no wheat
April 19th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Jenny,
I noticed that also. I’m wondering if the older cans may be safer than the new?????
April 19th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
I’ve been following and reading the blogs all week, I have sure learned a lot. This whole pet food thing is a nightmare! I feed my fur kids (I have 3 dogs) dry food in the morning, raw at night. I’m at my wits end as to what dry food to give them anymore, if any.
I was reading an article on Forbes web site. They think some of the contaminated rice protein concentrate made its way in to hog feed. Grrrr, this could get even uglier than it is. Here is the link if anyone wants to read the article. I hope I did it right and the link works…..
http://www.forbes.com/forbesli.....03892.html
April 19th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
I was just wondering what George Bush is feeding his dogs.
I havent heard him speak one word about this horrible mess.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Thanks Bonni! I only found the one reference to Pied Piper. I feel better now.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
An interesting bit on Solid Gold - don’t know if there is any truth to it since there is no source given.
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forum.....683.html?9
April 19th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
I have switched my dog from Natural Balance to The Honest Kitchen. 100% of the ingredients are made in USA, FORCE and EMBARK are GRAIN free (so no wheat or rice protein). All ingredients are human grade. I can’t trust NB any more. — Paul
April 19th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Teric - just don’t know. I have three cats and I had to prod one of them to eat the older cans. He loved the new stuff. Interesting that you noticed it too.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Apparently, the good folks at Blue Buffalo don’t have a clue where the crap they put in their food comes from. How can they when they “source” and have “manufacturing partners” and so many layers of suppliers, dealers, and manufacturers that they can’t possibly keep track of? And yet, they dare to assure people that their food is safe, but for that “oops — one got by us — we had NO idea!” When I made inquiries a few weeks back they replied and told me that they don’t get ANY of their ingredients from China or overseas. I think this pet food company, and all the others, had better pull their damn heads out. The letter they sent me assuring me that they don’t get any ingredients from China or overseas is going to be copied to Senator Durbin. I’m so sick of the lying, obfuscating, money-grubbing pet food companies.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Paul,
We use the Honest Kitchen and Canidae. I sure hope those are good choices, too!
April 19th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Well, and if Blue didn’t want people to keep asking about their Menadione, they should have updated their web page to remove it before last week (or it may have been the week before).
April 19th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Lorie,
Just switched my cat today to Wellness wet and dry on my vet’s recommendation because the Rx. Royal Canin weight mgt had corn gluten and I was worried about. . . what did the organic store lady specifically say. Now I’m worried I may have made a worse decision!
April 19th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Any gluten or “protein” in the Wellness?
April 19th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Royal Canin has been recalled in South Africa for melanine in the corn gluten.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Jenny,
I thought it was just me being paranoid. I called Canidae about it and they said they had not had any problems and it must be due to the freshness of the new can.
The older can’s contents was much smoother than the newer. I dont know what to think?????
April 19th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Chad,
Menu makes Wellness.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
Wellness has a couple of things with rice protein concentrate. I believe the wellness bars (brown rice protein concentrate) and two of their foods.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Some info on MENU FOODS:
http://www.zoominfo.com/Search.....3df4ed80ff
Summary
Industry: Manufacturing, Consumer Goods, Pet Products
Revenues: $315 Million
Employees: 721
Menu strives to execute a “quick-to-follow” strategy whereby once a leading brand establishes a popular product format or formulation, Menu offers an analogous product to its customers. Menu’s manufacturing and product development capabilities often permit it to introduce analogous products for retail customers within a matter of months following the introduction of the new product by a branded manufacturer. Menu also develops proprietary and innovative products at the request of certain customers
Translation: The BRAND hooks you with slick advertising, then turns to MENU for low cost production.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Chad,
There is no gluten or protein; just rice and ground rice. Their website says:
“We do not source rice protein concentrate from Binzhou Futian Biological Technology, the manufacturer of the contaminated rice protein concentrate used in the Natural Balance products.
We do not purchase rice protein concentrate from Wilbur-Ellis.
We have visited the plants where we source our rice protein concentrate, and they have consistently met our stringent standards. We have been purchasing from them for several years and have not recently added any new suppliers.” Further added that only four items actually contain the RPC. So I initially had no concerns–at least no more than we’re all feeling with the constant “shifting sand” so to speak. . .
April 19th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
I have been feeding Solid Gold to my pets for about 9 years.
I did alot of research on dog food before I got my first dog, and I continue to do so. I have not found a kibble other than Solid Gold that I feel 100% comfortable feeding to my dogs and cats. If something was to happen and I had to switch foods, I would go with a totally home cooked food with supplements. Believe me I’ve been researching that too.
When ever I called Solid Gold I would end up talking with the owner. She has always been very helpful and is extremely educated on pet nutrition.
Below is a quote from Solid Gold.
“INGREDIENT SOURCING
We would like to assure our customers that all the ingredients in Solid Gold products are sourced domestically with three exceptions. The lamb meal used in our dry foods is sourced from New Zealand, which produces some of the cleanest meat in the world. The potato protein used in Barking at the Moon is sourced in Europe. Our Blended Tuna canned cat food is produced in an American owned plant in Thailand, due to the lack of tuna processing plants in the United States.”
April 19th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Teric - at least all my cats liked it. Althought that isn’t necessarily a good thing today!
April 19th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
After $3000 in Vet bills and four biopsy done to my Bichon Fise Lacey I find that her Natural Balance and Blue Buffalo might be the one to blame. She is improving I think, but sure hope that she will be well. I am going to make my own dog food from now on I think. This is horrible what is happening.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
The recall has exposed the fact that, although sold under many different brand names, most pet foods are created only a few manufacturers, such as Menu Foods, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.
The companies that own the brand hire these “contract manufacturers” to make their particular pet food. The contract company owns the processing plant where the food is made and rent out time on their production equipment to make each particular kind of food. Officials explain it is a much cheaper way of making the food because each individual brand doesn’t have to buy the expensive manufacturing equipment themselves.
The manufacturing company purchases the ingredients while the brand often provides the recipe or formula for their particular brand of pet food.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Well, and one of my other cats with pancreatitis/IBD just gobbled up the remains of his Felidae dinner. So, I certainly hope that one is OK. Odd how the cans changed. And two years between the dates?
April 19th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Jenny,
I feel exactly the same way…..
April 19th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
The problem with most of these companies is they spend more on marketing and packaging and clothing lines and executive salary packages and options and golden parachutes then they do on quality food.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
And a Thank You to Steve also. No more China!!!!!!
April 19th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Just a heads up…Canidae uses only ingredients grown & raised in the US…They manufacture their own dry food in their own facility…Their canned food is manufactured by “a small family owned cannery in IL that deals in organics foods” which I happen to know is Evangers located near Chicago IL…All ingredients are USDA approved human grade ingredients…No wheat gluten, corn gluten, or rice protein concentrate…No artificial preservatives & an awesome ingredients list…& all meat is free range raised!…We’ve been feeding Canidae for over a yr. now & couldn’t be more pleased & we still trust in Canidae after this horrible mess…I am paying about 30.00 for 40 lbs.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Canidae is also in IL. Not a State they are mentioning that purchased this junk. That’s a good thing!!
April 19th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
To Any Pet Food Manufacturers & Distributors reading these comments: I do not want to buy anything that contains ingredients sourced from China. If any of you want to get my business, you must certify, in writing that your products do not contain any protein boosting ingredients and no ingredients from China. Unless you do that, you will never see another penny of my money. I have a post-graduate degree, and I’m a very good cook. I love my dogs and will spend whatever time it takes to learn enough about pet nutrition to feed them safely. Most of the others on these blogs are smart enough and love their pets enough to do the same. You need to heed our desire for safe pet food, or go out of business.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
I frankly cannot afford the “high-priced spread” for my dog and cat. My cat gets Friskies canned and Purina Special Care dry. My dog gets Beneful dry and a spoonful of Mighty Dog canned (not pouch) twice a day to take medication. (She has Cushings Disease.) I know Beneful has corn gluten, but no idea where it comes from. Does anyone know anything else about Beneful, Friskies, Purina Special Care or Mighty Dog not the pouch?
April 19th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
I DITTO PAM’S COMMENT!!!
April 19th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
To those discussing the safety of continuing to feed Wellness, this was just posted on their site (http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/wellness/aboutus_philosophy.html)
__________________
Dear Pet Parents,
Like many of you, we were upset to learn that the presence of an illegal contaminant has again been found in the pet-food supply, this time involving rice protein concentrate.
We have no reason to believe that any Wellness or Old Mother Hubbard products are affected in any way. In fact:
We do not source rice protein concentrate from Binzhou Futian Biological Technology, the manufacturer of the contaminated rice protein concentrate used in the Natural Balance products.
We do not purchase rice protein concentrate from Wilbur-Ellis.
We have visited the plants where we source our rice protein concentrate, and they have consistently met our stringent standards. We have been purchasing from them for several years and have not recently added any new suppliers.
_______________________________
It goes on to talk about the recall and their quality assurance process, etc…
April 19th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
And you know I’m even beginning to wonder if some brands aren’t actually overdoing it on the ingredients.
Some of these options look interesting but they have crammed so much stuff into it I’m not even sure if thats wise. Apples! Oranges! Beets! Avocado! Extra B-12! C-D-E! Stress Complex! Lamb! Chicken! Beef! Turkey! Fish! Fowl! Echinaciea! Herbs! Essential Oils! and more! Complete!
How bout just some wholesome and SAFE food.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Deb G. Says:
April 19th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
I can’t believe we are still not hearing anything on the media! WHY???? It didn’t make sence to me yesterday and makes less sence today. I went to our location health food store today and the owner still didn’t know the lastest news on the rice protein, she hasn’t been on-line. She carries wellness, paul newman etc. but still, until we know for sure. she pulled all her products, just to make sure. We need to find out why the media isn’t talking. I read on the Huffington Post the FDA has confirmed some of this dogfood was regenerated and feed to HOGS!
If history repeats itself, the plant was a Diamond one:
http://72.14.209.104/search?hl.....d+pet+food
Gary Schell
President
Schell and Kampeter Inc.
103 N. Olive Street
Meta, MO 65058
Dear Mr. Schell:
An inspection of your pet food manufacturing facility located at 100 Wood Trail Drive in Gaston, South Carolina was conducted by a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigator from December 21, 2005 through January 19, 2006. Our investigation determined that your firm manufactures various dog and products under several labels including Diamond, Country Value, Professional, and [redacted].The inspection revealed significant violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act). Our investigator documented that your firm manufactured a number of lots of dog food between September 1, and November 30, 2005, which were released for distribution in interstate commerce, that were adulterated under section 402(axl) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 342(a)(1)] because they contained a poisonous or deleterious substance (aflatoxin) which may render them injurious to health.
In addition, these lots of pet food were adulterated under section 402(a)(4) [21 U.S.C.§ 342(a)(4)] of the Act. The inspection revealed that you failed to implement appropriate controls at the Gaston facility to prevent the adulteration of this pet food. The investigator also found that Gaston plant personnel failed to follow established procedures, which, if followed, could have prevented these violative lots from being distributed.
A review of the aflatoxin testing results performed on retained corn samples by an outside test laboratory revealed that four incoming shipments of corn that should have been rejected were instead accepted at the Gaston facility. Testing of the retained samples from these four shipments revealed aflatoxin levels between 90 and 1851 ppb. The Incoming Ingredient Inspection forms for three of these lots indicate that the product was tested and found to contain less than 20 ppb of aflatoxin. The fourth inspection form does not indicate whether the lot was tested at all. In fact, twelve of the [redacted] Incoming Ingredient Inspection forms reviewed from the September-October 2005 time frame -did not indicate that an a,flatoxin test had been performed.
A comparison of the analytical results from an outside testing laboratory on retained samples and your in-house testing results revealed some discrepancies that raise concerns as to the adequacy of the test you were using. Four corn shipments that were found to contain less than 20 ppb at the Gaston plant were found to have aflatoxin levels of 90 to 1851 ppb by the outside lab. Two com shipments found to contain over 20 ppb by in-house analysis were found to contain 2 to 4 ppb by the outside lab. Due to a lack of documentation, the investigator could not determine whether the positive and negative controls were utilized for the in-house testing.
Your Gaston facility did not follow significant quality control procedures that were in place to prevent aflatoxin contamination. Although retention samples were supposed to be maintained for incoming corn shipments, over 50% of the retained samples were missing for September- November, 2005. Quality control personnel did not ensure these retention samples were collected. Your firm also has procedures in place calling for incoming ingredients to be analyzed by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIR). For example, incoming whole corn was to be tested for several characteristics, including moisture. There was no documentation of any NIR test results for whole corn for 2005.
Our inspection also revealed that the waste or salvaged material from pet food production (scrapes) was being sold to a local hog farmer in bulk. Some of the pet food manufactured at your plant contains protein derived from mammalian tissues. This scrape product, which may contain prohibited material, was not labeled with the statement “Do not feed to cattle or other ruminants,” as required by Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR), 589.2000(d)(1) (21 CFR 589.2000(d)(1)). This regulation is intended to help prevent the establishment and amplification of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). This labeling deviation causes the pet food scrapes you distributed to be misbranded within the meaning of section 403(a)(1) [21 U.S.C. § 343(a)(1)] of the Act.
At the conclusion of the inspection, the Inspectional Observations, Form FDA 483, was issued to and discussed with Robert R. Petruzzi, Plant Manager. A copy of the Form FDA 483 is included for your review in this letter. Neither the Form FDA 483 nor this letter is intended as an all-inclusive list of violations at your firm. As a manufacturer of pet foods, you are responsible for ensuring that your overall operation and the products you manufacture and distribute are in compliance with the law at all of your facilities.
We note that you initiated same corrective actions during the inspection, including undertaking a voluntary recall. We also acknowledge receipt of a response to the FDA 483, dated January 27, 2006, from Robert Petruzzi. The response appears to set out actions that would adequately address the violations. Please provide us with copies of a11 new procedures and protocols implemented at your firm. These copies should be sent to Philip S. Campbell, Compliance Officer, at the address noted in the letterhead. We will verify the adequacy of the corrective actions taken by your firm during a future inspection. If the actions have not adequately corrected the violations, we may initiate regulatory action without further notice. Such action includes, but is not limited to, seizure and/or injunction.
Sincerely,
/S/
Mary A. Woleske, Director
Atlanta District
Now–you CAN’T find this letter from FDA where it should be at:
http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/g5811d.htm
Doing a main page search there for “Schell” will turn up the reference, but when you try to access the letter at the link above, you get “page not found”; asking for the cached page WILL bring this letter up. There’s no further information that I found there regarding what was done about this aflatoxin situation last year; no response letter from Schell & Kampeter AKA Diamond Pet Foods or any records of follow-ups from FDA. If you do a Google search on “Schell and Kampeter”, you will find out that the firm is an elector in the New York State Health Care Reform Act:
http://www.health.state.ny.us/.....ect_d2.htm
JANUARY 1, 2002 (Term began–it has no end date so it’s still very valid)
DIAMOND PET FOODS DBA (doing business as)
See SCHELL KAMPETER INC.
http://www.health.state.ny.us/.....ect_s2.htm
JANUARY 1, 2002
SCHELL KAMPETER INC.
META MO
DRU HAINES (573)229-4203
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aflatoxin
Aflatoxin in dry dog food manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods was responsible for at least 23 dog deaths due to liver failure between Dec 2005 and early 2006. In an April 12, 2006 letter FedEx’d from the Department of Health and Human Resources to a manufacturing plant, the FDA warned Gary Schell, president of Schell and Kampeter Inc. of Missouri that independent testing of three samples of incoming corn to their processing plant showed between 90 and 1851 ppb, while paperwork on three (of four samples) showed aflatoxins levels
April 19th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
I personally will not EVER purchase any foods made by Menu or ANY of the other manufactures (once the names are released).
Old Mother Hubbard (verified by company 3/26/07)
“Menu does make some of our canned cat and canned dog foods. They make OUR recipes according to OUR quality standards.”
Wellness (verified by company 3/26/07)
“Menu does make some of our canned cat and canned dog foods. They make OUR recipes according to OUR quality standards.”
April 19th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
“Our facilities are regularly audited by Cook & Thurber, a HUMAN FOOD auditing firm.”
Maybe Wellness would like to supply a audit report from Cook & Thurber?
April 19th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Sara WISC, it is more the wellness dry dog products that contain the rice protein, 2 foods and some treats for dogs. The wet food however is caned by Menu so I am scared of it.
I also wanted to comment that I notice Merrick New England Boil the only Merrick food both my cats will eat looked different when I open cans from to different stores, made me nervous. This whole thing is enough to make you crazy. Still have not found a dry to use, that I feel safe with.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
This is one pet food company that several of us who work together are trusting for now. We have spoken to them. They are not a huge company
http://www.bil-jac.com/
April 19th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
Anyone ever research how many other brands have menadione.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
Anyone with thoughts on Canidae dry dog food ? After losing one dog due to this outrageous issue, we surely don’t want to lose another. We switched to Canidae All Life Stages ‘dry’ dog food after so much confusion on what to do, who to go with, (after we made the switch to Canidae we almost thought we should have gone instead with blue buffalo, thank goodness we didn’t). So if anyone can shed more light on Canidae’s ingredients / manufacturing etc, please help a very very confused pet parent here.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
I’m sorry Michele, but Bil-jac uses by-products and BHT. I would rather make my own pet food if I’m going to feed something with those ingredients
April 19th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Ok, all this is making my head spin…so does anyone know who makes an adult dog and cat canned and crunchies that won’t kill my pets? Has anyone made a list of companies and foods that are safe as of now 4-19-07 8;45 pm Chicago time?
April 19th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Thanks, Michelle. We don’t use the canned Canidae (only the dry and the Honest Kitchen) but its good to know that the canned version is made in a good factory too.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Blue Buffalo was telling people right after the first recall where there food was manufactured and then a few days later said it was confidential. Dry food manufactured by C.J. Foods in Kansas, and wet food manufactured at American Nutrition in Utah. I stopped feeding Blue Buffalo when I called C.J foods and asked about outsourcing. They couldnt guarantee that their suppliers didnt outsource to other countries. So I stopped using it. They also asked how I heard that they manufacture Blue Buffalo. They sounded upset that I knew…..
April 19th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Jenny that information on Solid Gold without a source seems to have been floating on the net for a while with both sides (those for and those against Sissy) freaking out on the other. I have spoken personally with Ms McGill and she has a very polarizing personality shes certainly someone you’re either going to like or hate. I think that she rubbed the FDA the wrong way and they decided to smack her on the hand and now we have these stories.
All I can share with you is that the reason we have called her is because we had issues with our dog that the vet was unable to “cure” we called Sissy she gave us advice we followed it and the repeat tests showed that the issue was cleared up. The first time was for crystals in urine and the second was for a ear infection that would not go away for months. She seems to really know her stuff.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
We use Eagle Pack Holistic Select dry and canned, cans are made at menu which worries me, but contain none of the involved ingredients. Dogs are perfect! Might want to check into it, so far very pleased been using for several years.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Concerned&Worried,
We are all confused. I’m feeding some Canidae to my kitten as well. I am just waiting for them to release the other companies that purchased the tainted products.
Canidae claims to have good ingredients but so did the rest. I just hope they are telling the truth.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Wendy, we’re all in the same boat. No one knows what is safe or who to trust. I love my three dogs dearly, and have tried to do what is best for them. Based on the current situation, the best I can suggest is that you visit the Pet Food List and try to pick something that contains no gluten or plant-based proteins. Then call that company on the phone and ask them to e-mail you and tell you in writing that they don’t source anything from China. Of course, their supplier or “co-packer” might mislead them, so nothing is risk-free. I wonder if the Pet Food Institute and its members realize just how much they have harmed themselves with their despicable behavior. They will never be able to regain my trust and I suspect many others feel the same way.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
I’ve been alternating Natura Evo and Homemade for my cats. Natura Evo doesn’t contain any grains, so I think I can use (cannot use the word trust) them for a while. I cannot recommend this for a cat with CRF, because of it’s high protein content. Also it’s expensive.
http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp
April 19th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Lacy,
Thanks for your post!!!!!
Rice protein concentrate shipped to Diamond Pet Foods plus 4 others. They are located in Utah, NY, Kansas and 2 in Missouri.
1) Diamond Pet Foods
2) C.J. Foods in Kansas
3) American Nutrition in Utah
4) ? - Missouri
5) ? - Missouri
2 more guys. Now we need to list what products they make. Any assistance here would be appreciated.
5Cat Mom - you out there?
Once we get Missouri we will
April 19th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Correction: They said 4 others - I count 5.
Lacy,
Thanks for your post!!!!!
Rice protein concentrate shipped to Diamond Pet Foods plus 4 others. They are located in Utah, NY, Kansas and 2 in Missouri.
1) Diamond Pet Foods
2) C.J. Foods in Kansas
3) American Nutrition in Utah
4) ? - Missouri
5) ? - Missouri
6) ? - NY
3 more guys. Now we need to list what products they make. Any assistance here would be appreciated.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Pam The Pet Food Institute has zero credibility. First Rate Slime balls. They fought against product labeling and tracking by manufacturers and retailers during the mad cow virus scare a few years back.
Consumer Reaction to the Proposed Label
In short, PFI can determine no positive consumer effects of the proposed label. The
potential economic damage to the industry and the erosion of the positive nutritional gains
provided by commercially prepared pet food to companion animals far outweigh any possible
gains in public and animal health protections by the labeling of pet food sold at retail. PFI and its members strongly believe the use of the caution statement “Do not feed to cattle or other
ruminants†would have a devastating effect on the pet food industry, its suppliers, agricultural
commodities used in pet food products, and, possibly even, sales of products for human
consumption that contain beef, lamb and other animal-derived ingredients.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Conclusion
Members of the Pet Food Institute support the FDA’s ongoing efforts to prevent the
introduction and amplification of BSE into the United States. Under the current rules, according
to the Harvard Study, even if BSE were to be found in the US, it would not spread as it has in
other nations with the disease because of the effectiveness of the rule and its enforcement. As
PFl’s consumer survey shows, changes to the rule that would require cautionary statements on
retail pet food products would have the unintended effect of alarming consumers who purchase
pet food, as well as beef and other meat products.
The economic damage caused by the imposition of a cautionary labeling scheme would
be enormous and unnecessary since, as all government agencies recognize, BSE is not present
in the United States. Therefore, PFI would urge the agency to abandon its proposal to place such a damaging cautionary statement on retail pet food and use its resources to attain its goal
of 100 percent compliance with the current rule.
Docket No. 02N-0273
April 19th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Diamond makes Solid Gold and some other “premium” foods, right? Does that mean they are now suspect?
KC
April 19th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKE.....4d34a.pdf.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
A higher up at petsmart (and family friend) told me they didn’t even want to pull the kittem, but Blue insisted because they want thier customers to know they aren’t taking any risks. I completely stand behind them for this reason, you’re all a bunch of crazies… the ingredient was actually organic so have fun with your welness… could happen to them too, but I doubt they’ll take the initiative!
April 19th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
I would suspect ANY food made in a diamond facility - those foods include, but are not limited to, Solid Gold, Timber Wolf, Natural Balance, Chicken Soup, Kirkland, and others…
Last year it was Aflotoxin in the Diamond plant that killed all those dogs, this year it’s Melamine. What’s next?!?
If their track record is any indication of their quality, then I will make sure that I NEVER feed a food made at Diamond
April 19th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
For that matter have they checked for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)?
April 19th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
I think Blue Fan has a point. It could happen to anybody. The best we can do is research, research, research - and observe our pets. My thinking is that we need to be careful with the bigger companies. They are always trying to make their dollar go further by buying cheaper. Often they are more concerned with the bottom line then the welfare of our animals. Smaller manufacturers with a proven track record: that’s the way to go. Somebody mentioned Honest Kitchen - great. Other companies to consider: Addiction, FirstMate, or ZiwiPeak
http://www.addictionfoods.com
http://firstmate.com
http://www.ziwipeak.com
April 19th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
www.firstmate.com
April 19th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
From the safe pet food list I found
Back to Basics -Chenago Valley Pet food NY
All American Pet Co- CJ Foods
Burns Pet Health-CJ Foods
Diamond canned-ANI Utah
Dr Fosters Dry- Chenago Valley Pet Food NY
I have no proof but I am betting that on of the MO ones is Purina since my cat was made ill from Fancy Feast and so many Beneful complaints
And I am wondering if Mars plant that make Pedigree is located in MO as well lots of complaints about them also
April 19th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
Lorie, I know my mother has been using the California Natural made by Natura and so far all has been fine; sad we have to say “so far.”
According to http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/petfoods_pg2.htm : regarding Natura:
Brands include Innova, Evo, California Natural, Healthwise, Mother Nature, Karma Organic
Manufacture their own dry food, using their own formulas
They use only US suppliers - no ingredients come from China or other foreign countries.
They use no corn or wheat products (including wheat gluten)
Wet foods made by Menu Foods (S. Dakota plant) but not involved in the recall.
No products manufactured by Natura Pet Products were implicated in the recent recalls, including the latest recall involving organic rice protein concentrate. (from website 4/18/07)
April 19th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
I don’t care where they source their rice protein concentrate, it still isn’t a natural food for any thing: they are only trying to save money. They don’t get it! I for one am willing to pay whatever I need to pay to assure my pets a healthy diet, and no I can’t afford it.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
has anyone heard of Azmia Holistic Animal care dog good? does anyone know about Solid Gold, Senior Holistic dog food. It his one okay or because it is made by Diamond should I be worried. Please advise if anyone knows and can help. Thank you.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
Cats and Dogs don’t want Rice Protein Concentrate. If they did they would stalk rice in the wild instead of wild prey.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Blue fan, did you miss the fact that Blue Buffalo tested the kitten dry food and it TESTED POSITIVE FOR MELAMINE??? Further, most people here understand that it “could happen to anyone”, why else do you think that people keep posting things like “sure hope it’s safe”? You must work for Blue Buffalo and you come off as the “crazie” not us!
April 19th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Lorie,
I have no proff either but bet you are right. Could be that such a power monster in the pet food industry has the ability to keep the FDA from releasing the companies involved.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Proof,..I mean. I’m getting tired.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Blue fan, further, your Blue Buff also admitted that they purchased from Wilbur-Ellis who purchased it from China, supposedly unbeknownst to them. And again, Blue Buff ADMITTED that their rice protien concentrate tested POSITIVE. Argh!
April 19th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
Anonymous,
Regarding Diamond making Timber Wolf, do you mean TimberWolf Organics and Serengeti? Although they do not divulge their production facility, they flat out say on their website: “At one time, Diamond Pet Foods manufactured our food; however, we have moved production to another facility owned by another company.” I thought I read somewhere in the “northeast.” Do you know something to the contrary? I was thinking of trying Serengeti this week attracted by their grain-free ingredients.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Teric,
I went to yahoo yellow pages in St Louis MO and there are 3 different address listings for nestle-Purina 2 have web site links on them one goes to their live stock web site the other one address something Checkerboard square street goes to the pet food info site. Kinda makes you wonder. To be honest I know in my heart one is is Purina I have a sick cat to prove it 2 cans in to a new case of their food. Going to research Mars tomorrow
April 19th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
To Sheri in Ct:
In Feb one of my dogs collapsed and died before I could get him in to the vet. We had switched to Beneful 2 weeks before. Another of my dogs started vomiting up bile and having seizures. The vet couldn’t find a cause but told me to take her off of Beneful. He didn’t have anything good to say about the food. When I stopped giving her Beneful, her seizures stopped and she stopped vomiting. After that, I did a google search on beneful and seizures..there’s been many instances of dogs becoming ill and dying after being fed Beneful. The website doggybling.com has a lot of messages from people that have lost dogs to it. I called Purina and they said it couldn’t be their food and offered me coupons. I filed a complaint with FDA..I can’t understand why this food hasn’t been recalled. I have no doubt it killed one of my dogs and almost killed the other one.
April 19th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
And now that I think about it, what IS rice gluten??? Rice supposedly does not contain gluten! Wheat gluten, corn gluten, all that is not what animals or people eat! Correction—some vegetarians eat wheat gluten, hopefully they make it themselves.
April 19th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
Is Timber Wolf made in Diamond facility? They say “privately owned manufacturer in the Northeast” and their website states:
“Is Timberwolf Organics, Inc. owned by Diamond Pet Foods, Inc.?
No. We are a private, independently owned company. At one time, Diamond Pet Foods manufactured our food; however, we have moved production to another facility owned by another company (we cannot give this information out, as it is proprietary). They specialize in manufacturing specialty formulas of pet foods and meet our high standards for exceptional quality production.
We are certain that Diamond Pet Foods, Inc. is a fine company, but to answer the above question, we have no business affiliation with them. “
April 19th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
“Blue Fan Says:
April 19th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
A higher up at petsmart (and family friend) told me they didn’t even want to pull the kittem, but Blue insisted because they want thier customers to know they aren’t taking any risks. I completely stand behind them for this reason, you’re all a bunch of crazies… the ingredient was actually organic so have fun with your welness… could happen to them too, but I doubt they’ll take the initiative!”
This is straight from the Blue Buffalo website:
“We have taken this action because the rice protein concentrate used for this one production run was obtained from Wilbur-Ellis, the same company who supplied this ingredient to Natural Balance. Test results received late last evening (4/18) indicated that this rice protein concentrate tested positive for melamine. This is the first and only time our manufacturing partner sourced an ingredient from Wilbur-Ellis, and we had no knowledge that they had imported the ingredients from China.”
April 19th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
Thanks, Alek. That’s the same info I got and was hoping to try it; would feel more comfortable if I knew WHICH manufacturer. . .
April 19th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
We can not trust packaging or company websites for ingredients!
April 19th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
Java’s Mom, I am using Serengeti since I am running out of options what to feed. I have started it recently, wanting to replace Felidae with grain free chicken based food. I used to rotate foods, one lamb based (Solid Gold or Nature’s Variety), one venison based (Natural Balance), and one chicken based (used to be Felidae, switched to Serengeti in Feb).
So far so good. Soon after the mess started in March I stopped Solid Gold and Natural Balance (fortunately!) when I found out they were made by Diamond so I used the food I had and didn’t buy new ones. I would also feel more comfortable if Timber Wolf would disclose manufacturer, but I guess I’ll stick with it while my supply lasts (I have more bags from the same batch that I am currently feeding and cats are doing OK). Not sure what will I do when I run out. They will not eat home cooked, but I’ll keep trying. They will eat freeze dried, so I may substitute that instead of dry.
April 19th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
Somebody PLEASE tell me whether Fancy Feast canned grilled chicken in gravy is safe???? I can’t find out from Purina…they say no Purina products have been involved in the recall…EXCEPT Mighty Dog something or other in pouches…..and the other one that keeps saying their dry food is in no way affected is IAMS!!! We have 8 indoor cats and they love Fancy Feast dry food (chicken flavor) and IAMS Lamb & Rice. Now I’m afraid of both of those…and the canned Fancy Feast is the only canned food several of them will eat! HELP!!!!!! I am SOOOOO angry at these pet food people!!! It gets worse every day! I bought a Healthwise bag of food the other day to try, since it said it had no additives, preservatives, etc., etc. Tonight I read on the bag and one of the ingredients is CORN GLUTEN!!!! What’s a pet person to DO?????
April 19th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
Forgot to add, I have e_mailed them to ask to confirm that Serengeti is indeed grain free and they did, but I am not sure whether that can be trusted. It wasn’t a standard response, but it wasn’t very detailed either. Some freeze dried manufacturers have responded faster and in a more friendly manner, though I suppose they probably haven’t recieved same volume of inquiries.
April 19th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
And furthermore, Blue Buffalo lied to Therese at petsitusa.com, and told her that all their ingredients were US grown, with the exception of lamb from New Zealand…which is why I went out and bought 2 heaping bags of the crap.
Big Blue Liar
Blue fan, tell your buddies they owe me $32
April 19th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
SLY,
Fancy Feast without gravy maybe okay but I swear ro you my cat is being monitored for kidney problems from eating FF elegant medley. The other cat show similair symptoms 12 hours after the little one did, vomiting, not eating, drooling, trouble with back legs, hiding, gagging at sight of food. I feel that if it is in the Alpo gravy from Purina it is in the FF.
April 19th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
Alec, I’ve been using California Natural for a year but about to run out of current bag. Last week bought a bag of Fromm (small family company in Wisc.) which appears safe enough and the 3 boys have been eating it and all are doing fine. But I have cats that like a variety! I’m just nervous about buying food produced in the last month or two and thinking that going grain-free at this point might be a good decision. Thanks for your input.
April 19th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Java’s Mom - not sure where Fromm’s dry food is made, but the canned is manufactured in China.
April 20th, 2007 at 12:00 am
On their website: “All of our dry pet foods are manufactured at our own USDA-certified plant in Wisconsin where we utilize ingredients like fresh sweet potatoes, apples, cranberries, cheddar cheese, and other fresh produce from local markets in the area. The fresh hand-trimmed meat and fish we use is ordered as needed depending on what recipe is being made that particular day. We accept nothing less than the choicest cuts of meat and fish and each delivery is thoroughly inspected to make certain it meets our stern quality standards. ”
It’s actually only a couple hours from here– I think it’s time for a road trip :-)
April 20th, 2007 at 12:15 am
“where we utilize ingredients like fresh sweet potatoes, apples, cranberries, cheddar cheese, and other fresh produce from local markets in the area.”
Cats and dogs also don’t hunt for that stuff in the wild. Cheddar Cheese?
Sheesh. And I thought I heard it all.
April 20th, 2007 at 12:26 am
Java’s Mom - not sure where Fromm’s dry food is made, but the canned is manufactured in China.
———————————-
That’s like corporate suicide. What the heck were they thinking???
April 20th, 2007 at 12:28 am
What about Purina one? Is it safe? I just purchased a new bag and have not heard anything about it yet, but Im so afraid to keep feeding it. It does have corn gluten in it.
April 20th, 2007 at 12:31 am
Steve, maybe that’s merely because they don’t FIND it in the wild–maybe they’d like it. . . my cats love the stuff. But then they’re domesticated; a number of generations removed from their ancestors and hunters they’re not. They think a mouse is something put on this earth to entertain them until it’s time for a nap on our down comforter. Then again, I don’t know too many pet dogs and cats who DO actually have to hunt in the wild for their food.
April 20th, 2007 at 12:46 am
I just ordered from Honest Kitchen. I’m too leary of Purina now to continue feeding it. Thanks for all your imput. It helped me make the decision to switch over.
April 20th, 2007 at 12:47 am
Java’s thats fine we had a cat once that just loved honey due Melon and cantaloupe. Enjoyed it for her whole life. The only cat I ever knew that loved Melon. We would give her some small slivers. Then when we were done just put the scooped out melon half down and she would stick her head down in it and go at it.
April 20th, 2007 at 12:51 am
Thank you everyone for all the advice, reports, and moral support. I’ve been at my wit’s end sorting out how to care for my two kitties, and the information being reported here has been very helpful. Like many folks, I’ve bounced around among cat foods, and been frustrated at the pattern of lies and deception. I expect we’ll see a lot more before this is all over.
I’ve decided to make my own cat food for the girls, so that I have more control over what they are eating. The transition is a little bumpy, but with determination (and two hungry cats), we’ll get there. I tried to feed them Felidae canned, as one last try among the commercial foods, but they wouldn’t touch it. I’m not inclined to argue with them anymore.
Tonight I made them a mix of (cooked) ground turkey and leftover homemade chicken gravy. They didn’t go for it initially, but after a while I thought to sprinkle it with fish oil. I broke open a half dozen capsules and made the turkey smell good and fishy. The girls started licking the food and soon were eating the chunks. I think we’re on our way . . . They’re sleeping contentedly, and ate a lot less than when eating commercial foods. I guess that says a lot about nutritional content.
I’m grateful to have my girls in good health. My heart goes out to the many pet owners whose dear companions are fighting for their lives or worse. We will never forget this betrayal.
April 20th, 2007 at 12:56 am
Betrayal! Yes, that says it better than anything. I feel totally betrayed by these companies that I trusted to deliver nutritious healthy food for my pet. Only a few months ago, I was under the belief that my baby needed to eat his purina one so that he would get the nutrients he needed for a long life, only to find out that his life might be shortened if not given supplements (from my table) to the “nutritious” food these companies are supplying us with. What a hoax!!! I’m just really hoping that honest kitchen is as honest as they lead us to believe.
April 20th, 2007 at 1:04 am
I’m new here but what the hell am I supposed to feed my cats? They were originally on Natural Balance but then I switched them to Blue Buffalo because of the recall . Now what do I feed them?
April 20th, 2007 at 1:24 am
Please support our petition for safer pet foods!
http://www.rallycongress.com/s.....ocates/766
April 20th, 2007 at 1:41 am
RESPONCE TO C J foods being a possible mfg. in problems with rice protein:
Organix is manufactured by CJ foods and the Ultramix dry contains rice protein concentrate -believe from china!
The canned Organix Turkey has organic rice protein concentrate -from U.S.-but is it-?
April 20th, 2007 at 1:51 am
Have to agree with Java’s Mom. My Maine Coon will not eat “people” food. He is absolutely positive everything edible comes out of a bag or can! Great when we have food out at parties - not great trying to get him to eat home cooked now! I’ve joked for years that the perfect cat food would be canned mouse, but I’m not sure he’d eat it without the proper seasonings! Unlike my rescue cat, he has never had to fend for himself. And I’m sure his taste buds and digestive system have both changed from generations of cattery breeding.
April 20th, 2007 at 2:00 am
http://www.extrudedpetfood.com.....nformation
CJ Foods-KS
121 Main Street
Bern , KS 66408 P.O. Box 348 North Hwy. 50
Pawnee City, NE 68420
Voice 785-336-6132 ext 125
C.J. Foods Pet Food Recall Information
C. J. Foods today, April 19 2007, supported a voluntary recall of pet food made with rice protein concentrate previously thought to be unaffected by the melamine contamination.
The contamination was linked to a single bag of rice protein concentrate which was found to contain melamine, a substance not approved for use in food. The contamination was limited to a single product.
The rice protein concentrate in question was approved for use and provided by Wilbur-Ellis, a grain and food company. The contamination was discovered during special testing for melamine by C. J. Foods and Lortscher Agri Service, a supplier of raw materials. The contamination was limited to a single bag of rice protein concentrate and a single production run. Most affected bags of product did not reach retail shelves and those that did are now being recalled.
The company immediately notified the Food & Drug Administration and our client to initiate a voluntarily recall of the affected brand and to notify retailers and pet owners of the situation.
“This situation is especially disappointing given our 20 years of quality pet food production without incident,” said John Kuenzi, Chief Executive Officer. “We are taking this matter very seriously and have taken a number of steps to further ensure the safety and quality of our customers’ products moving forward.”
The steps include:
· No longer using protein sources from exotic locations.
· Implementing additional testing procedures to detect the presence of melamine or other contaminants
· Participating in a task force of industry and university experts to explore more stringent “source of origin” labeling.
If you have questions about this recall, please contact Jerry Kreuger Vice President at 402-239-9589
From the Blue Buffalo and the CJ accounts of the recall(s), it looks like their client is Blue Buffalo–for Spa Select Kitten at least.
April 20th, 2007 at 2:31 am
Lori, Purina is not one of the companies that purchased rice protein concentrate from Wilbur-Ellis. They were one of the companies named in the original article in USA Today regarding the Natural Balance recall that had not purchased this ingredient. On their website you will find that they state they do not use any rice protein in any of their products. There is also further information regarding where they source their wheat gluten. I hope they are being truthful as I also use Fancy Feast. All of their Gourmet flavors do not contain any grains, if that is helpful to you.
April 20th, 2007 at 3:15 am
Katheen says, I agree about the cruelty to animals in China. They eat cats and dogs. If you have seen pictures like I have of dear little tabbies in cages too tight to move in food markets in China waiting to be slaughtered - their eyes blank and hopeless.
All Creatures is a humane site with an animal exploitation photo gallery. http://www.all-creatures.org/index.html
if you clock on cats you can see photos of cats packed in cages at a fur factory in China. It is a nightmare. Do not go there if you cry easily. That is why I will no longer by the furry little mice toys at the pet stores. I assume they may be cat fur.
Dogs are sold at China markets for meat. They are kept alive until sold because there is no refrigeration - don’t want the meat to spoil. A dog sold is slaughtered in front of the other dogs waiting their turn.
I read Hong Kong citizens try to buy Australian meat because of the bad Chinese food supply, yet this junk is being slipped into our food.
I believe the coverup is massive because the Chinese connection is widespread and includes human food too. All to save a few pennies.
April 20th, 2007 at 3:29 am
On the local news tonight: “Recalled Pet Food May Have Affect on Human Food Supply”. Did you hear that it has been confirmed that a hog farm in California has hogs that tested positive for melamine in their urine? These hogs are sold for human consumption, so it means the tainted pet food issue may be making its way into the human food supply - gee, any surprises that this finally happened???!!!
Apparently Diamond sold salvage pet food that was found unsuitable for pet consumption to American Hog Farm for hog feed. Unbelievable!
Here’s one link that has some more info on this hog contamination issue, as well as info about the FDA’s theory of possibility of the intentional addition of melamine by the China suppliers (to artificially increase the protein content):
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2.....ll,00.html
This is crazy!!!
BTW, I just wanted to say a big Thank You to Itchmo!!
I have a 3yr old kitty that I was feeding the NB venison and green pea dry food for the past 2yrs. She started vomiting this past weekend and then I got the Safety Alert email from Itchmo over the weekend about the NB food, before it was “officially recalled”. I immediately stopped feeding my kitty the food and got her to the vet for testing on Monday. Luckily it looks like she will be fine.
For now I’m feeding her Innova Evo dry and she seems to like it (she’s a very picky eater, won’t eat cooked turkey etc so a homemade diet would be difficult with her for now.) I hope the Innova Evo is OK - anyone know anything about the manufacturer/location etc??
April 20th, 2007 at 5:35 am
Can anyone who’s savvy help me out?
I want to know who OWNS Canidae, who the CEO is, the officers, and at what other Manufacturer’s plant their Canidae building is located.
Actually, with my first email to them, Canidae sent me the same form email reply others have posted in part, here and on other threads on Itchmo.
They would not answer my second email asking for specifics. So I called Canidae today, and talked to a very nasty and unprofessional customer service rep named Diane. She actually HUNG UP ON ME because I had questions and asked for specifics. I could not get one bit of information at all. All info she said was “proprietary contract” a.k.a. secret.
She called me a conspiracy theorist, and also called me paranoid because I would not just take her word for things. I told her I wanted to research things myself.
I had switched to Canidae and now I will boycott the company and keep telling anyone who will listen about the horrific treatment I rec’d by this person when I called today. She actually laughed at me for being concerned about pet food. ??????????????
I’d like to know why they will reveal NO information, other than the name of the company, Canidae, and her admission that Canidae makes food at a building located on another secret manufacturer’s grounds.
Why would the owner and other officer info be hidden/confidential? How does one find out the manufacturer Canidae is squatting on and who actually owns the company? I’m not knowledgable on this business stuff. I do know they are dba (doing business as) and have an address it took hours of research to find:
Canidae Pet Foods
1975 Tandem Way
Norco, CA , 92860-3608
Phone: 909-599-5190
Website: www.canidae.com
Products Description:
Manufactures dog & cat food & supplements
thanks for any help,
Em
April 20th, 2007 at 5:53 am
Linda Plack, Your FF maybe fine but mine had the wheat gluten and soy protien concentrate which has yet to make the list in it. My vet is convinced it was the FF and so am I the vet bills ruling everything else out 1300 dollars. They have eaaten FF for 6 years. All it took was on new case and 2 new cans to wind up where I am now. May luck be with you in your use of their product. You believe what you want and so will i.
April 20th, 2007 at 5:56 am
Linda one more thing all these other companies claimed safety when this first started and where are we no they all lie. not even sure what I am using now is safe Merrick New England Boil, but like many people on here are saying people food is only good enough when it is on my plate at meal time once it is in a cat food bowl they are not interested.
April 20th, 2007 at 6:49 am
Teric,
If you ever find out who OWNS the Canidae company, who the CEO or officers are, and who owns the pet food manufacturing plant where Canidae squats with their own building, (as I was told on the phone), as Canidae doesn’t own the plant, (not unusual, I know, but I want to know who the manufacturer is who owns the gorunds) I’d be beyond interested to know.
I called yesterday, and beyond the squatting info., found out NOTHING. I talked to a nasty, abusive customer service rep named Diane, who HUNG UP ON ME because I had questions and wanted to research things myself.
Every single thing, including who OWNS the d**n company, is “proprietary contract” a.k.a. top secret.
She called me a conspiracy theorist, and she called me paranoid for asking questions instead of taking her word for it. It was the most horrible, unsettling call I’ve ever been part of, and the most horrendous customer disservice I’ve ever experienced. Diane was actually laughing at me, for being concerned about pet food. It was a troubling, surreal experience.
Because of this, I am boycotting Canidae. They’ve lost my business and I will tell anyone who will listen just what I was subjected to when calling them.
I want to know who owns the company. They’re a dba (doing business as) and I will continue to do research to find answers. There’re too many secrets with this company, and it can only make you wonder why. I want to buy pet food, not secrets.
Em
April 20th, 2007 at 7:06 am
SmileOnADog,
The following has company & product info for brands/companies NOT on recall list: http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/petfoods_pg1.htm. Canidae is still on this list - for now. The owner spoke with all these companies to compile the list and may be able to answer your questions are stear you in the right direction. Hope she can help you.
April 20th, 2007 at 7:13 am
On one of the blogs they were giving an educated guess as to who Candidae uses to manufacturer their canned - I think the company has something like Pied in the name. I believe they manufacturer their own dry food.
April 20th, 2007 at 7:19 am
Actually it’s above - they think it is Evanger’s that makes their canned food.
April 20th, 2007 at 7:41 am
Don’t eat pork!!!! Not only our pets are at risk. Read Sherri’s post. I also have read several on-line papers this morning, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is saying the “Humans” may be at risk. No main stream media yet. I can’t help but wonder how BIG this really is. Why isn’t it on the news??????
April 20th, 2007 at 8:12 am
Em,
I cant believe Canidae treated you so that way! The CEO needs to hear about Diane!!!
I have not been able to find information about the plant in Texas. I did find the corporation info.
CANIDAE CORPORATION
Number: C2000025 Date Filed: 1/28/1997 Status: active
Jurisdiction: California
Address
P O BOX 3610
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93403
Agent for Service of Process
JOHN P GORDON
142 WEST BONITA AVENUE
SAN DIMAS, CA 91773
April 20th, 2007 at 9:03 am
Steve, no, cats and dogs don’t hunt cheddar cheese in the wild. But my dog sure hunts it in the kitchen!! :)
April 20th, 2007 at 9:07 am
Sandy C, thank you for your response about Beneful. And for all the responses about corn gluten. Although my babe has been eating Beneful for 2 03 3 years with no problems, now I’m getting very concerned. Guess more trips to the pet food store and label reading is caled for!
Does anyone know anything about Friskies? Or Whiskas?
Thanks.
April 20th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Hmmm. That should be 2 or 3 years. More caffiene, please!!
April 20th, 2007 at 9:13 am
Howdy all. Thanks for all the great info. I’ve recently switched to Innova and California Natural for my 4 cats. I was of course distressed to learn the canned was made by Menu. I haven’t read all the posts on here, so forgive me if this is a repeat, but Natura has said they will no longer be using Menu for the manufacture of any foods, and are currently seeking to build or acquire their own plant to manufacture their own foods. That coupled with the fact their foods contain none of the suspect grains has made Natura my choice. Now, if only Wellness would make such a committment….
April 20th, 2007 at 9:15 am
I was just thinking…..China is going to have a lot of PR work to do from this entire fiasco considereing the fact that the 2008 Olympics are in Beijing, China.
I sure as heck won’t be going and giving them my tourist dollars. I wish some of our atheletes would also boycott the olympics (especially if they have lost their pet). If the US government won’t ban trade with China, then it’s up to us to inspect the labels on everything that we buy and just say no with our almighty dollar if it says “Made in China.”
April 20th, 2007 at 9:15 am
Did anyone read on PetConnection that melamine wasn’t the only contaminant found in the blood of pets that died from tainted food?
http://www.petconnection.com/b.....od-recall/
April 20th, 2007 at 9:16 am
urine, sorry. not blood
April 20th, 2007 at 10:04 am
Rhonda, I don’t think China is all that concerned with PR . If they were they wouldn’t allow government representatives to continue killing people’s dogs. Just my opinion.
April 20th, 2007 at 10:07 am
Someone posted about which foods contain MENADIONE and I bought some
EVANGERS cans and they list that in the ingredients. I haven’t fed any because that ingredient was one of the things I remembered from another forum and i’m still not sure how and why it’s bad for cats. Does anyone have info? The only thing I did was look up VITAMIN K and how it affects cats and supposedly it isn’t toxic so i’m confused.
For now I am feeding MERRICK wet and FROMM dry but honestly don’t even feel comfortable with those two (I just switched this week as cats and dogs have been on Natural Balance since Jan. 07) I also tried FELIDAE but my guys will not touch it.
Also, does anyone have any experience with LIFE’S ABUNDANCE or INSTINCTIVE CHOICE from the HealthyPetNet? I tried the free samples they offer and all the pets loved it. Thing is the dry is made by Ohio Pet and wet is made by Menu. Any info on this product?
April 20th, 2007 at 10:39 am
I’m almost afraid to ask (since I’m staring at $80 of cat, and $75 of dog goods from Blue Buffalo I switched to)…but does anyone have any “negative” info on Paul Newman’s cat and dog foods? Feeling a little “gut feeling” last week, I ordered Newmans, which just arrived and the cats have eaten two cans already. Please….any advise appreciated. While the BB was NOT the kitten food, but Spa Select Adult cat food, I’m not feeding them that anymore and will hang on to the bags I have, “just in case”. But before I call in another order for Newman’s, I’d like to know if I’m throwing yet more dollars out the window. We’re going to be living in a tent if this keeps up! - Eileen
April 20th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Concerned & Worried,
I have been researching for weeks to find dry & canned dog food not manufactured by Menu or Diamond and that doesn’t import any ingredients, or contain wheat or corn. I settled on Canidae. From internet research and other posters I’ve learned that their canned is made by Evangers and their dry is made by Pied Piper Pet & Wildlife (which does not use wheat gluten or rice protein in any of its products). I would buy Evangers dry also, but the bags aren’t big enough to feed my 3 dogs economically. I’m going to add Evangers canned, and Honest Kitchen to the dry as soon as my pet store gets it in.
Em,
I have yet to find a company that is totally responsive and up-front with answers in this whole mess. I’m sorry the Canidae people were rude to you, and I’d definitely lodge a complaint with the CEO. A Google search should turn up some name for you. But rudeness aside, if its one of the best food out there not affiliated with Menu or Diamond, I’d seriously consider feeding it to your pets.
April 20th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Menu foods cans newmans own
April 20th, 2007 at 10:52 am
Does anybody know anything about Friskies or Whiskas , I lost my cat dec 9th , before we knew anything about this . Recall went back to dec 3, he was on special kitty . My new one is on the above , if there’s any information , Please let us know.
April 20th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Em,
I did some research and I don’t think Canidae Corporation has a CEO. If it really is a fairly small corporation, it might not. Corporations generally are only required to have 2 officers, President & Secretary. Anyway, the President of the corp. is John Gordon. See here: http://www.manta.com/comsite5/.....;id=htzdj.
The California Secretary of State charges for copies of annual reports listing the officers. The only information available for free on their website is the agent for service of process (who to serve a summons on if you sue them.) If you don’t want to order a copy from the SOS, I would send a letter to John Gordon at the service of process address, which is usually the address where you are most likely to find the agent. Hope this helps.
April 20th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Em, Just noticed that link isn’t working. I found it by doing a Yahoo! search for “Canidae Corporation” & president (use the quotes) and it was #8 on the results list.
April 20th, 2007 at 11:25 am
Thanx for replies, I appreciate the help, I can’t stand the feeling of worrying that I’m possible feeding more poison to the ‘buddies’ I have left; I don’t want to lose any more, the one loss is killing me (emotionally). And I know everyone else is feeling the same say also :(
—————–
Danielle - thank you for your post, your info is very helpful to help settle my current worries. For the wet food (to get vit’s in the puppy (our vet recommended extra vitamin C until she is 18 months old), we’ve been staying away from the cans (I have a closet of alpo now, since that recall; it goes along with the Nutro Senior and Nutro Puppy bags of food in the closet - we can barely get in the closet anymore!) - anyhow we’ve been using baby food - Gerber Stage 3 Vegetable Beef, /or Turkey, a few teaspoons’ful to mix into the dry Canidae, this helps make the vitamins adhere better for the puppy. Right now we’re trusting the baby food more than the wet pet food ! I never used alpo before, until trying to entice the dog that I lost to sudden kidney failure to eat her nutro dry dog food that she didn’t want to eat, I feel so darn guilty for enticing her with more poison; I can’t even begin to explain how I feel. The alpo alone wasn’t the culprit as she didn’t want the Nutro ‘all of a sudden’. I blame the nutro and the alpo wet just added salt into the wound :(
———————
Em, regarding your post, I would hope any info on Canidae’s contacts like the one post above and more if anyone else finds out more info on Canidae’s owners/officers etc. (I did a google search right after reading your post to try and find their officer’s etc.) as I for one would like to write them about how you were treated by their rep Diane ! If we are changing over to their food, they should as a reputable company be forthright about their mfg’ing plants, ingredients and anything else a customer needs to know in order to feed their pets their food (especially after this whole darn incident), and customer service should be MORE UNDERSTANDING of their customer’s plight and losses, and help them , not be rude. IF CANIDAE IS READING THIS, take it into consideration the pain and suffering we are going through, and the confusion due to ‘tibits of information’ coming out here and there about contaminated food, ingredients, and plants manufacturing the same, be more understanding, and help us trust you and what you say. Remember these other companies are saying the same thing via telephone, emails and on their websites, and their commercials of how great their pet food is ! They don’t admit up front there is a problem, until a test proves there is a problem with contamination ! So after ‘more time’ of feeding these foods to our ill or still healthy pets, we come to find out ‘late’ again, that we’re still feeding them contaminated food/poison. Talk about trust ! We trusted their word that ‘their food’ was not involved. How can WE be blamed for our distrust in mere words at this point in time(?) , and how can YOU not understand (any company out there) that we need INFORMATION, so WE can try and make the best choice possible until this issue is resolved. And by resolved, I for one don’t mean, when the contamination is gone ‘for now’; I mean when stricter manufacturing standards are implemented/enforced, when stricter rules on ingredients added and where those ingredients come from, and chemical lab testing (NOT ON ANIMALS!) and so on and so on ! We pay good money for your product and services, we deserve to be treated with more respect.
—————
Speaking of paying for product, has anyone else noticed an increase in the holistic / better foods since this incident ? We paid $32.00 for a 40 pnd bag of Canidae at our store in March 07, and this week (April 07) we went back for our second bag (since this scare and changing to their brand), and it cost us $35.00. Sign of the times, we’re not only paying in loss / illnesses (vet bills etc) of our pets, but the better foods will raise prices as well, or the shops selling them ! incredible. You would think more sales, means more money for the brand’s company, (and shop owner). You would think a larger customer base with faith in your product would be a positive thing,,,
April 20th, 2007 at 11:32 am
I went to Newman’s Own Organics website, and the first thing that comes up is their notice that they do NOT use the gluten or the rice protein in any products. I checked the label, and the only “rice” used written on the can, is brown rice. It seems that there isn’t ANY product that doesn’t have a single thing, be it in the making, contents, or possible financial considerations. Short of making everything - which leaves pets open to poor nutrition and problems with even “human food” products - it seems the entire quandry of what to do is just like those games of chance at fairs and boardwalks where you throw a dart at a wall of balloons, and “take a chance” at what prize is uncovered when you pop one. I think the majority of those balloons read, “EVERYTHING IS A GAME OF CHANCE AND THE ANSWER IS - THERE IS NO ANSWER”. Period.
Eileen
April 20th, 2007 at 11:56 am
Monika, I have been using Merrick for my cats now since Saturday, March 24th after my smallest cat started showing problems from a new case of FF Elegant Medleys. I keep my fingers crossed everytime I open a can. I buy the small cans of New England Boil not brave enough to buy ones with gravy and now I am scared of rice in Calf Roll and Beef in Surf n Turf due to BSE. I will even go one step further with my madeness scared to push my luck and buy the larger 5.5 cans because it might be a different batch with issues. I think vets need to start Rx of nerve meds for pet parents
April 20th, 2007 at 11:58 am
Please feel free to cross post:
Jay Edelson, the attorney who is suing Menu Foods and the pet companies,
wants to hear from anyone and everyone whose pet was sick or died as a result of
the recall food.
He needs to hear from shelters and independent rescue groups who lost pets.
Bear in mind we are getting complaints of deaths that go back to November,
with speculation that food was tainted as early as last September.
So please post an announcement to all of your many groups to contact
Attorney Jay Edelson, _jay@blimlaw.jay_ (mailto:jay@blimlaw.com) .
His firm has filed suit, has been before Congress, and will be going back to
Congress and will be filing more suits. We need ALL THE AMMUNITION we can
get. We need to also round up as much tainted food as possible. The companies
are destroying evidence.
So post everywhere you know to post to have anyone contact Jay. I know there
are other law firms involved, but since Jay’s firm has already filed suit
and has direct contact with Congress, that is our single best resource to get
action.
Even if they only have tainted unopened food, they need to contact Jay. If
they suspect illness or death, have them contact Jay.
Aaron Davis
Pet Advocate, Volunteer
Washington State
April 20th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
My dog was eating Nurto Ultra and became ill… when I brought her to the vet, she only had 30% of her kineys functioning! Her blood test came back normal several weeks later after she had an IV flushing out her kidneys and antibiotics fighting the bacteria in her bladder. I changed her food to Natural Balance, thinkning that was safe, and now they are recalled as well. I also have three cats that have been eating Fancy Feast for about ten years now… can anyone give me any advise as to what food I could use that will be safe for my loved ones? Does anyone know if Merrick is safe and where they get their ingrideints from?
Please help!!!
April 20th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Cory I have been using the Merrick wet without gravy since march 23rd. All they get is that and people chicken breasts. So far so good. praying it is safe because ff feeast made them both ill form all this. chose Merrick because it was the only one I could find not assc w/ menu purina or diamond. the only other one I could find was felidae dry. Merrick does not make dry cat food
April 20th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
(Please forgive if this topic has has already been discussed)
Regarding the following from Blue Buffalo site about recall, I have grave concerns that (if in fact their statement is true):
>The pet food manufacturing companies switch up ingredient sources at will, anytime and without notifying the contract client ( bluebuff)
>The contract client (bluebuff) really has no idea/concern where the ingredients come from or if a change occurs
>Both of the above mean that what is a good product ‘today’ can be toxic next time you buy a bag, what is sourced ‘USA’ today could be spourced from China or who knows were the next bag you buy and no one knows/cares until your pet dies!
Here is the statement:
“Test results received late last evening (4/18) indicated that this rice protein concentrate tested positive for melamine. This is the first and only time our manufacturing partner sourced an ingredient from Wilbur-Ellis, and we had no knowledge that they had imported the ingredient from China.”
This is all so overwhelming, I am afraid to feed my three tiny poms. I switched from Eukanuba and Nurto Natural Choice to Wellness and Solid Gold right before the recall and had 12 pouches of the contaminated food in my pantry when the recall was announced. Close Call!
I am now aware that some of Wellness’ canned food is made by Menu and Solid Gold dry is made by Diamond. None of the canned or dry I am feeding have wheat gluten or rice protein or corn gluten in them, however, at the rate of escalation I am terrified what tainted ingredient will be revealed next.
The 5 suspect foods referenced by the Veterinary group (unnamed to date) and the complete list of manufacturers that purchased rice protein from Wilbur-Ellis (unnamed to date) are causing unneccesary risk to our pets.
I do not know what to do at this point to guarantee the safety of my adorable dogs.
April 20th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
Lori,
I’ve been looking for the info. about Menu doing Newmans food. Where did you find that? I’ve been looking.
April 20th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Lori,
What about Newmans dry?
April 20th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Newman’s Own Organics (verified by company PR firm 3/30/07)
At least some products made by Menu Foods but not involved in the recall.
Products not produced in the suspect Menu Foods plants.
Products do not contain wheat gluten.
All ingredients are certified by Oregon Tilth.
http://thepetfoodlist.com/petfoods_pg2.htm
April 20th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
THANK YOU!
April 20th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
Please let me say thank you to the folks out there willing to boycott all products made in China. What you all have to remember though, is that some of these companies that made the deadly pet food such as Iams, Eukanub and so forth, have many other products. Proctor and Gamble makes Iams. They also have many cosmetic and hair products. I had used Pantene for years. I will no longer use it. We as a people, need to not let our pets sickness and deaths go without making a stand. If everyone would just stick together and quit supporting this horrible, anti pet country, our pets deaths would not be unnoticed. There is not a single pet food out there that I now trust. Some of them seem to be taking advantage of the situation by raising the cost to such an amount that it is impossible for some multi pet households to buy it. Does anyone out there have good information on Innova? I surely would appreciate some feedback on it. I actually went out yesterday and bought Chicken Soup for Dogs made by Diamond because it didn’t have any of the deadlyl products in it, or so it said. I still don’t trust Diamond, but I had been using Blue Buffalo up until then.
April 20th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
Everyone,
I agree with Kathleen! I have already started. I haven’t heard anything about Innova, but if I do, I’ll let you know. I think it’s GREAT that so many of you have spent so many hours doing research. Boy, I thought I spent alot of time, but not near as much time as you all have. It’s ashame we have all meant under these condictions, but we all want the same thing. It’s so nice everyone is trying to help one another. See, there still are nice people in the world. Sometimes hard to find.
Guess what my kitties are getting for supper? HOME MADE HADDOCK!
Lori, thanks again for the site. I was just on it.
I’m sorry to hear of so many losses. My heart goes out to you. I know what it’s like to lose your friends.
April 20th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Somewhere in the web of websites I read that Newmans was processed by Diamond pet food company.
So I went to the Newmans website and wrote an inquiry asking if that was true. No response. This was weeks ago.
Diamond had a recall on their dry dog food for toxins in Dec05 And Jan 06 after pets started to die.
During the subcommitte hearings on the pet food industry, it was said that the processing machines aren’t cleaned out but only when medical pet food was processed. Honestly, how truthful do you think this is?
And when tested other food kibbles were found mixed in a batch.
Personally, I wouldn’t buy any food that was processed by Diamond or Menu Foods.
Or IAM’s even though they are giving free food or coupons. My pet died after eating the dry food and they keep saying its safe.
And now its Blue Buffalo, after I had just spoke with them on Wed. and they come out Thurs that some of their food was tainted.
Now its the hogs being fed the tainted stuff and those are hogs processed for human food.
Purina has 2 companies in China, how safe do you feel feeding that to your pets. Beneful has come under fire for pets getting sick or dying.
April 20th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Susan Pike. Help!!! I’ve tried sending an e-mail to the lawfirm you mentioned in your blog. It won’t go through. Do you know of another mailing address for them????
April 20th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Kathleen,
I found info. on Innova. It sounds real good. Wet food made by Menu in the S.D. plant, but no racall. Verified 3-24-07.
Go to http://www.petfoodlist.com/petfoods_pg2.htm. Thanks to Lori, I now know this.
April 20th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
WHAT ABOUT THE BROWN RICE FLOUR. I FOUND THAT IN TUNA WITH SHRIMP IN NATURAL BALANCE? MY KITTIES HAVE HAD THIS AND SEEM TO BE DOING WELL, BUT I’M CONCERNED ABOUT THE FLOUR.
I’M TRYING MERRICK NEXT ALSO.
April 20th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
teric,
There’s a BB DISTRIBUTOR in CO. (I’m told by the owner of a small natural store here), but I’m not able to find out where it’s MANUFACTURED.
The address for BB is Wilton, CT so the manufacturer may be somewhere in that part of the country.
As screwey as the industry is, it’s hard to make an educated guess.
Maybe a BB employee will see this and post a comment.
How about it BB??????
April 20th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
I’ve found that Wellness Core Cat food and Caned except for their seafood variety have no grains in them at all. Finally a safe food! Fingers crossed and pray it stays that way. God Bless all of our furry kids.
April 20th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Teric– thank you for your reply, and thank you for your research on Canidae. I really appreciate it, and the time you put in. Thank you.
Danielle– I did switch my pets and rescue dogs to Canidae about a month ago. I’ve been lucky to have dodged all the pet foods in the recall so far from the start of it, but I didn’t want to wait for new recalls to crop up, so I looked for a better food, which I want anyway. I’m far from rich, and have given up some pleasures and outings and such to afford to feed Canidae to my 5 dogs and 8 rescue puppies.
I knew nothing about pet foods, and believed Science Diet (which I had no problems with, senior feline hairball kibble and adult and senior dog kibble) and purina adult dog and purina puppy chow kibbles were great food!
But as I learned what’s in pet food due to the recall, and that there are actually healthy foods available, I switched to Canidae. I am still feeding Canidae as I research other options. I will probably stick with Canidae (grrrrrrrr) until the whole recall sorts itself out, since my dogs are doing fine on it. But after that, I’ll be switching. It’s important to me to be treated better than Canidae treats its customers, especially for my money.
Yes, you’re right — After reading so many posts, I do see it’s not just Canidae but lots of companies keeping information confidential. I just think it’s ridiculous not to know who owns Canidae or have a CEO or such to speak with. I couldn’t even report Diane because there’s no one to report to.
My big worry was that Canidae was secretly owned by a large commercial company masquerading as conscientious and healthy, but I’m beginning to think it’s small and family run, and the person who talked to me was sitting in a house somewhere with the main family. But that’s just a thought — I have no actual idea of the runnings of the company.
All of this is new news to me, as I research both the business and ingredient sides of the pet food industry. Since my cat won’t eat the Felidae, and is so, so finicky, I’ll be switching him to KumpiKat. At least Kumpi is forthright and the owner available.
In sum, I feel there’re two parts to a happy ending with chosen pet food — peace of mind, and healthy animals. Of course, I need both when it comes to what I feed my animals. They are my family members, my children, and mean the world to me.
Em
April 20th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
sherri,
I’m using Natura too, but switched from ECO to INNOVA because my vet was concerned about EVO having 50% protein.
He was concerned that my cats aren’t young and may have subclinical kidney damage, so the higher protein wouldn’t be the best choice for them.
Also, I tried KumpiKat, and my cats like it as well as the Natura.
April 20th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
I have been using Merrick also. I’m so paranoid over this and it’s taken on a life of its own with me. I have called Merrick several times… They don’t use rice protein or any other type of gluten type crap. I called them and asked what their “gravy” was made of and they said it was cassia gum. They have their own plant.. and said they only use U.S. ingredients according to the person I’ve talked with who also said their rice is the same rice that would be considered “store bought” by people. Having said that I still don’t trust anything any of them say. Im also concerned as I’m reading in different newpapers that some experts think that Melamine is NOT the culprit as even at higher levels it shouldn’t have caused the illness in dogs and cats…and I just heard the same thing on CBS news. I just read on another site that some vets think Cyanuric acid might be the culprit which has something to do with pool chlorine. Has anyone else heard this THIS IS NUTS!…
April 20th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
Gen — thank you so much for your reply and the link. I will definitely check it out.
Em
April 20th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Kathleen,
That web site is htt://www.thepetfoodlist.com/petfoods_pg2.htm. Not petfoodlist although that is a web site also. Sorry for the confusion.
April 20th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
Thank you for the great new info, Danielle. As soon as my hungry animal mouths are fed, I’ll be spending my Friday night doing research with your clues. Your reply and your taking the time for me is very appreciated. Thank you so much! Knowledge is power, and it definitely makes me feel better to find out what I can. It’s the only way, at this point, I’d ever be able to forgive myself if one of my brood got the poisoned food.
Em
>>>>>Danielle Says:
April 20th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Em,
I did some research and I don’t think Canidae Corporation has a CEO. If it really is a fairly small corporation, it might not. Corporations generally are only required to have 2 officers, President & Secretary. Anyway, the President of the corp. is John Gordon. See here: http://www.manta.com/comsite5/.....;id=htzdj.
The California Secretary of State charges for copies of annual reports listing the officers. The only information available for free on their website is the agent for service of process (who to serve a summons on if you sue them.) If you don’t want to order a copy from the SOS, I would send a letter to John Gordon at the service of process address, which is usually the address where you are most likely to find the agent. Hope this helps.
Danielle Says:
April 20th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Em, Just noticed that link isn’t working. I found it by doing a Yahoo! search for “Canidae Corporation†& president (use the quotes) and it was #8 on the results list. >>>>>>>>
April 20th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
No problem, Em. I’m quite obsessed myself with checking all the blogs to see if there’s something I’ve missed. I feel sometimes like I’ve become a cheerleader for Canidae, but after all my research that’s the best I could come up with for my 3. I also think Orijen sounds good (but not available in my area) and Evangers (not big enough bags for my boxers). They are both produced in their own plants. I used to feed Wellness and the Canidae is about $10 cheaper for an extra 10 lbs.
April 20th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Jenny– thanks for the extra info. on Canidae. I feel I’m finally getting somewhere with the generous replies here. Thank you!
Cheryl in CA.– you wrote:
>>The whole “confidential†manufacturing is just a big fat clue that they don’t trust where their food is being processed. >>
That’s also my belief and fear.
Em
April 20th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
What is the organization that certifies pet food - four letters that starts with an “A”? My vet mentioned looking for that certification on the smaller “natural” food lines. (Today she recommended Bill-Jac, but who knows what’s in any of the foods.)
KC
April 20th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
To: sheri in ct
Kay Says
Might be best to stay away from the BRANDS for a while, at least until they get their grain elevators cleaned out.
Also, the fact that some of the BRANDS decided to get involved with MENU foods is disappointing, and many folks have switched.
Also, we’ve learned that there many non-BRAND foods that are much better quality.
Lots of good info posted tonight about good foods.
April 20th, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Lorie,
Thank you for your response… I just bought a few cans of Merrick tonight and will try it. Do you think the smaller cans are safer than the large ones? I am so afraid to feed my babies any pet food now and I am even reading books on making my own dog and cat food. My husband and I feel that our dog and cats are our children… I am sickened by this recall. Companies selling any type of food in this counrty should be watched over more closely… we all need to write letters to our congressmen!
April 20th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
I thought “we” had mentioned in earlier posts that the Merrick’s have rendering plants in TX and that Mr. Garth Merrick sent a letter to the FDA denouncing them for not wanting to continue to allow them to use dead (downed) cattle from the Wisconsin Dairlyands. (Now if this company is in TX–I’m not sure how “fresh” those cows tend to be once the are found dead out in the pasture and then shipped to TX). I’m not sure Merrick is a safe food? Anyone find out the Merrick Rendering plant connection with the dog food producer Merrick?
April 20th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Cattailgal,
Your vet may be referring to AAFCO, that’s the Association of American Feed Control Officials, Inc.
http://www.aafco.org/
“The term AAFCO stands for the Association of American Feed Control Officials. A basic goal of AAFCO is to provide a mechanism for developing and implementing uniform and equitable laws, regulations, standards and enforcement policies for regulating the manufacture, distribution and sale of animal feeds; resulting in safe, effective, and useful feeds. The Association thereby promotes new ideas and innovative procedures and urges their adoption by member agencies, for uniformity”
Just one person’s opinion, but if AAFCO was doing what they claim to do, I wonder why the recall happened?
That might be an interesting question to ask your vet.
April 21st, 2007 at 12:36 am
Concerned and Worried,
My heart goes out to you, I am so, so sorry to hear you lost your dog. Brought me to tears to hear you blaming yourself, although I understand your feelings and would feel the same too. But, really, it’s nothing you did — the responsibility lies with the pet food people and lax laws. You, nor none here would knowingly give a pet something poisonous.
Thank you so much for your words about Canidae — you made me feel so much better! : ) I ditto all you say. You said exactly what I think and feel. It’s such a sensitive, worrying time for pet owners, and our worries are well founded and documented. On top of that, we get lies and beytrayals for our money and trust, and no remedy, and never a remedy, when a pet has died. Nothing can remedy that. : (
We surely don’t need cust. service reps like Diane, when we just want some peace of mind and a safe food, and the right to know what we need to know to accomplish those goals.
you take good care, and please hang in there,
Em
April 21st, 2007 at 9:38 am
DOES ANYONE KNOW ABOUT A COMPANY CALLED AZMIA HOLISTIC ANIMAL CARE DOG FOOD……???????????
I was feeding my do Natural Balance Venison and Brown rice and have stopped. I am looking into Azmia Holistic food and was wondering if anyone can give me heads up about this food.
Thank you.
April 21st, 2007 at 10:20 am
I didn’t know that about Merricks owner…. it seems that greed has touched everyone in the pet food industry. Funny, when I called about the recall on the rice protein, the woman said they at first thought it was Venison and that they got their Venison from New Zealand to avoid any mad cow disease… yet the owner threw a fit when they told him he couldn’t use downed cows? This makes me sick….
April 21st, 2007 at 10:28 am
I did a careful search for new dry cat food and ended up choosing Fromm Gold Adult dry. The website lists quality, premium ingredients. so I went and special ordered it and picked it up yesterday. As I was starting to feed my cat the new bag, I started reading the bag!One of the top 10 ingredients is RICE GLUTEN!! That is NOT what their website lists, so I called them. I was told they stopped using RICE GLUTEN over 1 /1/2 years ago, but they are using old bags with the wrong ingredients list. So is this a case of an “innocent’ error in good judgement to save money on bags and most likely lose more customers in the long run. Or is a a big lie and there really is RICE GLUTEN in the food?? I just feel badly for the feed store where I purchased it, he had to buy 4 bags and now I am returning mine. BTW, Fromm said that my bag, dated Nov 07, was manufactured in Nov 06, well after the ingredients change, and gave me option of believing her and using it or I could return. Guess what I’ll be doing??They also said they were coming out with a press release this weekend. Buyer beware!How can it be legal or ethical to not have to change your ingredients list within a timely fashion (weeks not years)?
April 21st, 2007 at 10:31 am
I just wanted to post something about companies keeping the names of co-packers confidential. I used to work for a law firm that represented a major chemical company. This company would sign contracts with the company that was producing their formulas for them to ensure that both sides kept this agreement confidential. I believe the same thing is happening with pet food companies. Neither side wants the agreement made public in the event something goes wrong. Some companies refuse to give out the information about who produces their products because if they do, they will breach the contract, be subject to heavy damages and probably lose their packer. From a legal perspective, they are trying not to get sued by their packer. From a PR perspective with customers, it is not good for the company who is seen as lying. But the laws right now protect this secrecy and that is where the problem lies. The companies are caught in the middle, and the only way to get full disclosure is for Congress to pass a law mandating disclosure of where the pet food is manufactured. Then companies have to comply, no matter what their co-packing contracts say.
April 21st, 2007 at 10:33 am
I feed Merrick to my dogs. I have emailed them 2xs in past, one about a question about kibble style treats (there are none) and lately concerning the recall (I wanted to verify they are using US products, etc), they’ve never responded to either email, which doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but is suspicious, just in good customer relations .I usiualy don’t feed the beef variety, but I did buy one small bag as a variety, is there a problem with the beef? Anything else I should be aware of??
April 21st, 2007 at 10:40 am
Linda.. I have called them several times and the woman was very helpful (her name was Ruby). Try calling them during the week at 1.800.664.7387.
April 21st, 2007 at 10:49 am
Thanks Cathy , I will call them!
April 21st, 2007 at 10:56 am
A question regarding Newmans - the cans have a “certified organic’ by Oregon Tilth on them. (What the heck is “Oregon Tilth”?????), and how can they certify it as organic if there are imported ingrediants in it, without knowing what conditions the foods it contains are grown under or what might be added or done to them prior to the shipping?
And thinking on it, ditto for Blue Buffalo! “Organic” statements have an implicited meaning to them which would seem to be misleading, at best, if the maker cannot also “certify” that they are fully aware of the growing conditions of ANY items. Or do they just take the word of everyone from the grower, seller, manufacturer and distribution of ingrediants folks as true? I’m confused as to this…and as to what “organic” is SUPPOSED to mean as opposed to DOES MEAN. I now have to see if I can google “Oregon Tilth”! - Eileen
April 21st, 2007 at 11:40 am
Just found “Oregon Tilth”….and the organization indeed certifies organic foods……and certifies the products in them. The web address, for those interested is: http://www.tilth.org/
So, how can they certify the contents if anything might be imported. I’m going to have to ask them.
April 21st, 2007 at 11:46 am
e wem:…..
Just went to that link you posted …showing how China treats animals!
You were so right when you warned people about going to that link if they cry easily!!!!
My curiosity got the best of me…so I went to it!….But I couldn’t stand it..I was blubbering away not even 1 minute into viewing the utter cruelty!!!! I left the site immediately…..it’s so disturbing..and….unfortunately, it’s so real!!!………
Gotta’ go……I need a box of tissues!!!!
April 21st, 2007 at 11:56 am
Cory, I am only using the Seafood varieties of Merrick, there are the rumors about the rendering plant, but at his point does anyone really thing there are not render animals in all the food. At least so far it is not poison. Fingers crossed. People up until a week ago where praising NB Venison products do they really think those deer are not road kill. Deer carry more illness then cows, and the lady at the pet food store told me to stay away from chicken products not only for my cats but for me because the put arsenic in the chicken feed to keep the bugs out. GREAT.
April 21st, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Btw…..I also seen a comment above regarding “China’s hosting of the Olympics”.
I made a comment on here (Itchmo) yesterday….can’t remember where (sorry)….about doing the very same thing! It was after I had read the Pittsburgh Trib. article, which had commented on how Chinese Officials were hanging the phones up on people etc….and other non-compliance actions that they have taken……that I thought……hmmmm……these SOBs DO NOT deserve to host the Olympics (that they will no doubt make substancial gains from!)……
AND….since it has NO DOUBT trickled into the HUMAN food chain…..deserves the attention of the W.H.O and the U.N…….who could have China banned as the Olympic hosts….for safety reasons of course!!
There are many other countries (such as USA and Canada) who allready have the facilities (from past Olympics) to take over as the host country!!!
I say…..BAN CHINA’s HOSTING OF THE OLYMPICS!!!!!!!
Surely, if enough on-going action is taken that way…….it will also garner the attention of news networks!!!!
So…how should we go about this???? Who’s got some really good contacts to start this thing going?….Let’s do it!!!
I may lack the political savvy…..but hey!!!…..I’ll strap that sign on me and walk 24/7 with it on!!!!
Besides, it’s better excercise than sitting in front of the computer all day!!….Plus the weather is really getting nice!!
Any comments?
April 21st, 2007 at 2:49 pm
I started feeding EaglePack - I know they use menu but I asked them about their ingrediants and this is what they sent me. “We at Eagle Pack are being up front with all our customers. Our plant is in Mishawaka, Indiana and we do have an onsite lab, where all of our ingredients are tested.
We buy all our grains from the US, and they are all grown in the US. Our rice is from and farmed in Arkansas, Corn is from and farmed in our own state of Indiana, Oatmeal is from and farmed in Wisconsin, Flaxseed is from and farmed in North Dakota, and Beet is from and farmed in Michigan, and also processed into Beet Pulp in Michigan.
Our Pork & Chicken are from the US.
Are Duck is from Germany, Lamb is from Australia, and Fish is from the ocean waters or Argentina.”
Any thoughts or comments on EaglePack?
April 21st, 2007 at 6:38 pm
It sounds good, BUT who knows at this point. It would great to be able to believe someone now. I know I’m washed out from this. I don’t know about anyone else.
April 21st, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Eileen,
Thanks for the onfo. about Newman pet food. That was one guy I thought I could trust to put his name on something good. Well, wrong again!
Rhonda,
Where did you find the news about Merrick using dead animals?
Lori,
Do you know for sure if NB was using road kill in the Venison. I sure would like to know if thats true. I hope not.
April 21st, 2007 at 8:55 pm
As far as Eaglepack, I would check on thepetfoodlist to do more research.
April 22nd, 2007 at 3:17 am
Barbara, I am not sure o anything at least point it is 3AM an d I am up with my Cats, the little one is acting odd again…………………….now I am afraid of the food I have been using since March. Can someone please just make this madness end. I have all ready been burned once could I have possibly made a bad choice again. As far as the venison in NB goes where would they get all those that deer meat……………………….all I can figure after everything we have heard is slaughter house left overs at hunting season and road kill. My nail tech from Vietnam told me she only feed her dog people food because her uncle back home owns a chicken farm and has a specail dumpster on the property just for dead chickens to be put in for the pet food people to come and get. ICK
April 22nd, 2007 at 11:27 am
Lorie… I hope your little one feels better soon! Do you think this acting odd was from the Merrick?
Also, what do we know about Menadione?
This is absolute madness!!!!
April 22nd, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Summit Pet is another one who distributes Blue Buffalo, with sites in both NC and GA.
I still do not have information on who manufactures their products however.
April 22nd, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Some info for all of you. I DO NOT WORK FOR BLUE BUFF!!! I am active in the German Sheperd Dog Club of America and I co-authored the 2007 Blue Book, a health and genetics book, for the GSDCA.
I just got off the phone with a Blue Buff canine nutrionist. I had called Blue Buff, quite concerned, as I feed Blue Fish and Sweet Potato to my dogs. Blue Buff returned my call quickly and on a timely basis.
Blue Buff’s food is made at CJ Organic Foods and their canned foods and health biscuits are made at ANI- American Nutrition Incorp. Both of these facilities are certified organic facilities where human food is also made. These companies are members of the American Institute of Baking, where only certified organic goods can be made. The inspection records show these 2 entities to have a superior/excellent rating on their inspections. Sterilization of the equipment is mandatory in such facilities.
Blue Buff randomly tests all their food and continues to test until the expiration date on the food bag. They also save samples of every ingredient of every single batch of food, so retests can be made, if necessary! They have strict qualifications as to their criteria for ingredients that goes into their food. One of their suppliers ran out of an ingredient, and without notifying or authorization from Blue Buff, outsourced to China. Again, I reiterate, Blue Buff did NOT authorize this, and has FIRED the company that took this action behind their backs. The new suppplier hired by Blue Buff has guaranteed and signed an agreement they will adhere to Blue Buff’s high standards.
I hope this will clear up some of the confusion about where Blue Buff food is made, and the high quality of standard adhered to by Blue Buff.
April 22nd, 2007 at 12:47 pm
UGH- too hurridly posted, as I am going to mygrandaughter’s birthday party and I am late- I made the ridiculous mistake of typing sheperd- of course it should be ShepHerd… UGH!
April 22nd, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Lori,
How is your little one doing this afternoon? Hopefully she was just tired.
April 22nd, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Guys this whole thing has me drove crazy, now I am scared of Merrick also. Geisha was having the same funny mouth gestures but less severe she that she had when she was poisoned. Bigger cat Topaz seems fine though……………if I live through this ordeal it will be a miricale. I am trying to stick with cooked chicken for now and trying to tell myself maybe just the one can was bad for whatever reason that I feed them last night threw the rest away this AM.
Does any one know if cats who where all ready exposed to a tainted food can just have a relapse?
April 22nd, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Lorie,
I had a CRF cat (chronic renal failure, as opposed to an ARF cat, acute renal failure, as occurs with poisoning) and she did have periodic relapses due to her initial renal failure. I’m not saying that’s what’s happening to your Geisha, but with poisoning or CRF, the kidneys are damaged and the kidneys do not regenerate cells, so what you’re left with is what you’re left with, kidney function-wise. The kidneys do a lot of detoxing for the body plus absorption of needed nutrients, and it can be tricky to take over manually to help the damaged kidneys work most efficiently. If you can afford to, perhaps another blood panel could let you know where her kidneys stand. Renal failure cats need to be followed by a vet and meds/interventions adjusted from time to time.
good luck, I’m so sorry your babies were affected,
Em
April 22nd, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Apparently not only does the chicken in pet food have aresenic in it but also many of the chicken products we use. I switched over to Tyson chicken products when I learned they don’t use arsenic in their chicken. I use Merrick that has the “organic” chicken (Grammys Pot Pie) for whatever that is worth at this point and Thanksgiving Dinner with Turkey. I worked with a guy who told me that both he and his wife got arsenic posioning from eating chicken 2-3 times a week. THey both got a rash and had to be treated and now only eat organic chicken. It appears that a great deal of the chicken we buy in the grocery stores have poision in them and they have known about this for many years. At least Tyson did something about it as have a few others. Europe banned the practice of using arsenic years ago but not this country….. GREED once again reigns supreme.
April 22nd, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Kathy,
Oh, that sounds just wonderful( NOT). More good news. Just what we need, a little arsenic with our chicken. I hope it’s not in Merrick or Performatrin ULTRA (chicken stew). I just opened one tonight after I heard NB Venison & Green Pea can food for cats may have a problem. I’ve heard two versions. I’m not giving ot to mine anymore, although they seem fine and have been eating it for 2 weeks. I haven’t opened Merricks yet. I also bought Thankgiving Turkey and Pot Pie.
How did that guy and his wife know that had posioning? How did they feel? I hope thet are alright now.
April 22nd, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Hi Marjorie,
Thank you for passing along the information about Blue Buffalos manufacturing facilities and steps they are taking to keep our pets food safe during this mess. I also feed Blue Buffalo dog food and Spa Select cat and I would have loved to share this information with the board but you beat me to it! Happy b-day to your grand-daughter. I have a cousin, Sally Sue in Montana with the same birthday!
Toni Kaye
April 22nd, 2007 at 11:00 pm
You’re welcome, Toni. I spoke with Kevin Wells from Blue Buffalo. We must have talked for over 1/2 hour. I asked pointed questions, and he answered in a forthright manner. I was surprised the company cared enough to have someone get in touch with me on a Sunday, in response to my email to them, and spend so much time answering each question. I was contemplating switching to a home cooked diet, before speaking with Kevin, but after our conversation, I felt a lot better and will continue to feed Blue Buffalo. While home cooked is good for a short term, to get a balanced diet for the long run is really quite a challenge. I have been doing my homework..
The FDA has to take a more proactive role, IMHO. If China wont allow inspections, and they are supplying food for US companies, the FDA should allow zero foodstuff into the USA from that country. Period, end.
Happy Birthday to Sally Sue :)
April 23rd, 2007 at 1:35 am
This is my response to the person who slammed Blue Buffalo:
Hey! What makes you think Blue Buffalo waited to recall their food? It’s my understanding that they started testing even before they should have been suspicious. They had no reason to suspect that their rice protein was contaminated because they thought it was coming from the U.S. Most of the tainted food never left their plant and they went way overboard by pulling all their kitten food even though they knew the stuff with other expiration dates was safe after testing it all. Did you read the apology on their website? How many other companies agonized over what happened and sincerely apologized? This family really cares and understands how we feel about our pets. Please get your facts straight before firing off next time.
ITCHMO ADMIN: Meagan, I applaud your enthusiasm. But I hope that cooler heads prevail and I would like to believe that your language sounds more aggressive than you intended. We all would like to see positive criticism rather than words that could escalate arguments.
April 23rd, 2007 at 8:07 am
THANK you for the Blue Buffalo info! I was worried about giving the Spa Adult Cat to my two orange tabby’s……after they recalled the kitten food. I feel a little better now, and really appreciate the info.
The cats don’t like the Newmans - they actually wanted to have the Vet offices stuff - which is the OM by Purina for “chubbies”, which is NOT a full nutrition item, but their “fill in”. Read so much here, and ordered from Honest Kitchen on Saturday, in the hopes that I can find something they will like. They were really nuts about the Purina in cans (not with any gravy), but this is all so crazy that I’m worried about everything!
To all of those who put up all the info on various foods - God bless you for all the work you’ve done. And this site……I’ve told a good number of friends and family about it, as about the darned best for info and recall on the net! With all this, Conner and Cosmo the chub-brothers, don’t seem to have lost any weight, and at this point, I’m actually happy - if they suddenly refused food, I’d be worried out of my mind! - Eileen
April 23rd, 2007 at 8:27 am
Marjorie - the info you posted, about not approving the purchase by one of it’s companies from China - that helps quite a bit on BB. I couldn’t understand how the food could be certified organic if the conditions of the growth were such that they couldn’t possibly know what the heck was being used as fertilizer, insect control, etc.
I went to do a little checking on the company that made the VITAMINS that were recommended to be added to home-made food for the nutrition missing in home meals. My heart SANK - when I saw all the recalls on various medical items. Geezaloo! On top of going nuts over foods, now I have to worry about track records on Pet vitamin makers!!! To be honest, I don’t do as much work checking on medicines we humans use! All I know is that we have a Lynx and a Bobcat that wander in and out of our property near the barn, and they look pretty darned healthy to us! And I’m sure all they are eating are what comes “natural” and not any commercial foods! Makes a person wonder, you know??
Eileen
April 23rd, 2007 at 10:16 am
Eileen,
Kevin’s response to me when we were discussing the unauthorized outsourcing was that Blue Buff would rather have empty shelves, than ill pets. Again, I was impressed with the care in which they put into keeping their products healthy.
I follow DR Roger Clemmons’ program for keeping dogs healthy. I add human vitamins, supplements and herbs to my dogs food, in addition to fresh veggies and meat, fish or chicken.
Marjorie
April 23rd, 2007 at 2:25 pm
No wonder people can’t get through to BB about this. Between the Associated Press retraction that must be generating 100 extra phone calls a day and then some bad and worse info on the Internet they must be pretty busy. That’s the problem with the Internet. There is more infomation available to a person than ever before BUT like that old game “telephone”, you get enough he said-she said in there and you’ve completely lost any hope for accurate info. Okay, I was thinking about this and I want to put something out there. Why would any company risk killing their consumers? I like what I read about that guy at BB saying he would rather have empty shelves than ill pets. I’ll stick with Blue and Spa Select.
April 24th, 2007 at 4:01 am
Marjorie, Toni Kaye and all others,
Thank you all for your postings. Folks, I know this is a long post. I just thought you’d like to hear it from us direct. We have been bombarded by phone calls and e-mail and are working as quickly as we can to answer each of the personally.
All products have been tested for melamine and No other Spa Select cat food or dog food, canned or dry, is included in this recall.
We do understand your concern. The foods we use are human grade. The lamb that we use is Free-Range Lamb from New Zealand. We use this product because it is the highest quality lamb available. But please rest assured that the rest of our products are from here in the U.S.A. Our supplier ran out of the rice protein we use and took it upon them selves to substitute it with another (Rice protein is used in many human baked goods).
BLUE BUFFALO QUALITY ASSURANCE
We have tested all our products for melamine only the one batch of kitten food tested positive. Here is more information as to how and why this happened. Product quality is our #1 priority. We have strict controls in place to make sure that our ingredients meet the highest quality standards. These controls include the following:
Certificate of origin for all ingredients
COA’s (certificates of analysis) on all of our ingredients prior to accepting
Testing of each ingredient for known toxins prior to accepting
Product quality is the top priority for every member of the Blue Buffalo team. Our goal is to have the highest quality pet food and treats in the business. Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of the dogs and cats that rely on BLUE and Spa Select for their nutrition and protection needs. Pet parent’s place a lot of trusts in our brands, so we always go the extra mile to make sure that every bag, can, box or pouch we sell is the best it can be.
We Only Manufacture in AIB Approved Facilities
The AIB (American Institute of Baking), which is widely recognized as the best and most highly respected safety and sanitation inspection firm in the human food business, conducts inspections of our manufacturing facilities annually. Their criteria are stringent, and they conduct unannounced inspections to ensure that high standards are being adhered to at all times. Our manufacturing facilities consistently receive “superior†and “excellent†ratings. In addition, our dry manufacturing facility is one of the few certified organic pet food plants in the US.
We have started testing for melamine in present and past productions of our foods.
Quality Control is a Continuous Process
Each and every ingredient that is delivered to our manufacturing facilities is inspected and evaluated against our strict nutritional, quality and safety standards before it is accepted. This includes screening for various toxins, including the aflatoxin that has been in the news recently. Testing is conducted by trained personnel, utilizing the most up to date equipment and procedures. If any sample doesn’t meet our standards, the entire shipment is rejected. After all the ingredients have been certified for safety, nutritional content and overall quality, the manufacturing process is started. Samples of each production run are collected at various stages and evaluated to ensure that the required nutritional profiles for each formula are being met. Each sample is time dated s o any deviation from standard can be traced back to a specific batch, and disposed of prior to packaging. In addition, there are metal detectors placed in strategic locations throughout all production lines to prevent any foreign objects from getting into our products.
The Testing Never Stops
While you might think that testing would stop when product has been packaged, the truth is that it starts again. We do freshness and stability testing to insure that our “best used by†dating is correct and utilize independent services to confirm the palatability of our products. In addition, state regulatory agencies test our products to make sure that all our label guarantees are met.
The Blue Buffalo Company has undertaken a voluntary recall of one production run of our Spa Select Kitten dry food. Over 90% of this food never left our warehouse. The production code on the recalled product is:
“BEST IF USED BY MAR 07 08 Bâ€
All products have been tested for melamine and No other Spa Select cat food or dog food, canned or dry, is included in this recall.
We use only domestic (US) suppliers. We are not disclosing their names at this time as they are not set up to receive customer calls. But we will once they are ready to handle the calls.
We have only 2 ingredients that have been out-sourced; one intentionally and the other without our knowledge. The lamb that we use is Free-Range Lamb from New Zealand. We use this product because it is the highest quality lamb available. The rice protein concentrate that we use in some of our formulas is not normally an out-sourced ingredient and will not be an out-sourced ingredient in the future. This is the first and only time our manufacturing partner sourced rice protein from Wilbur-Ellis, and we had no knowledge that they had imported that ingredient from China.
As a family owned company whose reason for being is to provide cats and dogs with the highest quality natural foods, we are extremely upset by this recall and can’t begin to apologize enough to our customers. From our perspective, it is unacceptable to produce even one bag of food with the potential to cause a pet to become ill, and we will further tighten our ingredient sourcing and quality assurance procedures as a result of this incident.
And yes we would rather see empty shelves than to see one family pet get sick from any of our foods. We at Blue Buffalo are all devoted pet parents.
On a personal note: I have 2 dogs (9 yr old Mikie and the baby 11 months Eli) and a 17 yr old cat named Biff. They all eat Blue Buffalo foods and if I felt there was any problem with the food. I would not be working for Blue Buffalo.
Sincerely,
Kevin Wells
The Blue Buffalo Company
April 24th, 2007 at 4:12 am
Sorry for any grammatical errors as it is 4:00 AM and I’m still working to answer your e-mails.
Again, thank you all for your support!
Kevin Wells
April 24th, 2007 at 10:23 am
Mr. Wells, speaking for myself only, I really appreciate all that you explained above. I confess to taking better care of our “family” of pets than I do myself, and my husband and daughter and son feel the same way. Because my daughter lost her cat to IAMS, confirmed kidney failure, it also was very “personal” and not just a media story to us, just as this is the case for so many others who have suffered a loss of a beloved pet here on this site and many others the country over.
I just want to be as sure as I can that the cats and dogs are not being hurt by anything I feed them - and so have to “trust” the word of those in the pet food “business”. With all that’s happened, coupled with a lof of distrust and hedging on the part of both the FDA and some manufacturer’s/distributors, “trust” is a difficult commodity to come by. We made the big switch to Blue Buffalo - to try to get the best we could for our pets. While I am still very frightened by all of this, and still spend a lot of time praying that our pets will be alright, I do feel better after having read your post. So - I suppose you could say that I will “trust” you….and take your word on Blue Buffalo. I’m putting our pets, especially my own two cats who I spend 24 hours day with and love dearly, in your company’s hands. In the end, in life and all of it’s situations, there does often come a time that one has to trust in others and their good word. It’s not easy to do, given all that’s happened - but having some faith in others is really the only way to live life without assuming everyone is “out to get you”.
Thank you for all of your information….I personally very much appreciate it. - Eileen V.
April 25th, 2007 at 9:48 am
I have been contracted to remove recalled pet food and have been doing so for the past 4 weeks. I DO NOT work for the manufacturers. I own my own small business, and as this is so important to me, I have basically left my business in the hands of my secretary so I can help get this poison off the shelves. From chain stores, to pet stores, to cow stores to convenient stores, not one time do I enter a store that people either want to talk to me or yell at me. I feel I am trying to do a service to protect our babies both canine and feline, but my nerves are getting a bit freyed. I have 5 adult cats who run my house and me. My “children” will only eat Fancy Feast grilled canned and One Salmon Flavor dry. When recall began, I researched , and found Blue Buffalo. They love the Spa Select Adult, now I dont trust that. Sorry Mr. Wells, how else are we to feel? Who can interpret the ingrediants - just because it does not have a grain, half of the other crap listed is mystery product. Also tired Natural Balance - Dick Van Patten must be having a fit as it is now effected. I personally want to feed effected product to the CEO of Menu, Purina, Diamond, P and G, Colgate Palmolive and those yet to be announced (yes, there are MANY more to come). Anyone with “picky” cats who MAY have suggestions as to what they feel is safe, OR have a receipe that my guys might eat please advise. One of my five “newphews” died 2 weeks ago from this
nightmare. My in-laws are still in mourning. Now melamine is in hog urine. Dont know when it will end, but I will keep removing cans and bags and hope it helps a bit. Thank you for listening and any cat food advice you can share is greatly appreciated.
April 25th, 2007 at 11:36 am
To everyone that is calling Blue Buffalo “money grubbing” and “irresponsible”, I recommend you actually read their press release. They did their testing immediately as soon as they found out about the contaminated ingredients from Wilbur-Ellis. While it is unfortunate that some of their ingredients were contaminated, they did not wait at all to test all their batches once they found out that there was a possibility of a problem. They made their announcement immediately, and prevented the majority of the product from reaching any shelves. Their recall was voluntary and immediate, and because of their quick and responsible reaction, they should be commended.
April 25th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
I’m so relieved I found a food I feel no worry about.
I spent the first month of this recall buried in web pages sorting out tons of information with my head spinning, stressed out, watching my animals’ every twitch and breath.
It’s been a little over a month that my dogs have been on no-grain Canidae, and the dogs are happy and healthy, thank God. I’m actually impressed with this product; they’re doing better on Canidae than they ever had on Science Diet or Purina. Canidae’s customer service person was horrible, but the food is pretty good. The dogs look amazing and appear extra-alive.
As for the companies affected by the recall, it wouldn’t be surprising if, because of the tainted ingredients found in some of their products, those companies’ foods were actually safer than others in the future. The companies willing to step up to the plate may actually have more testing done than the average company that was unaffected exactly because they were hit with the tainted ingredients.
I do believe that some of these companies are authentically saddened and even horrified, and do care about our pets, being pet owners themselves. Not everyone in the world is out to deceive us and rob us of our money for crap products.
But the hard part now for those companies is that pet owners who love their animals won’t take life and death chances. No brand loyalty is worth it. Until the situation is sorted out and changes made, some pet food companies, unfortunately, are in the wrong place at the wrong time historically. While I do feel very badly for them, I’d feel worse with dead dogs.
Em
April 26th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Some companies claim that their foods contain US and Canadian ingredients; not China’s. Isn’t Menu Foods a Canadian company? D’oh!
April 26th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Okay, I’m really, REALLY starting to panic now…before the first recall reports came out, we were feeding our cat Nutro wet food and Wellness dry. We took her to the vet for tests at the end of March, and were told that she’s in perfect health (thank god). We’ve stuck with the Wellness…not sure if we’ve made the right choice…she’s on the last few servings of her bag, and we’ve now bought CORE by Wellness, which is at least grain free. For wet food, we’re feeding her Blue Buffalo…now that I hear that companies are recalling wet food that doesn’t even list the contaminated ingredients, I just don’t know what to do!!! All the top natural foods all seem to somehow be linked to menu foods somehow or have been recalled…I’M GOING CRAZY!!! Anyway, just had to vent…and wanted to know: is anyone still feeding Blue Buffalo wet food??? I just don’t know who to trust…
April 26th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
I have still been feeding Blue Buffalo wet and dry, but after reading about the newest round of recalls tonight, am afraid to feed my cats ANYTHING. I spoke to someone at Blue Buffalo last Friday (after their recall) and she assured me the rest of their food was safe. I guess I will be doing more research tomorrow, although I hate to change again because they are doing so well. I started them on Blue Buffalo several months ago, but still fed Nutro and Iams pouches once in a while. Needless to say, I’m going crazy too!
April 26th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
A bit relieved to hear that I’m not the only one in the Buffalo Blue situation Karen (and some of the rest of you)…I’m starting to think that Evangers could be a good option…seems like that the only brand from the natural pet food store that hasn’t been linked to the recall in any way…I’ll be continuing my research tomorrow…but in the meantime, I’m stuck feeding Vixen Buffalo Blue…dammit
April 26th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
Please check out a web site called www.healthypet.net. They carry Life’s abundance dry cat food, and Instinctive Choice wet food. They also carry Dog food as well. This company holds itself to such strict standards that it’s manufacturing plant can be switched over to produce human grade food at any given time. I feel totally confident that I will never find this food on the recall list. I was turned to this by my Ragdoll breeder Penny Pomplin owner of Purfect Purrs Cattery in Ripon, WI. She uses this high quality line for her whole cattery and extends the health guarentee of her cats another 2 years if you continue to feed them this food. I have used it for almost a year now and all 3 of mine are in great health. Bless all our 4 legged friends!!
I hope this comes to an end soon.
April 27th, 2007 at 12:00 am
I have been losing sleep over this and am trying to pull information together from many sources. Last month, I read a blog that stated Blue Buffalo’s canned food was manufactured by American Nutrition in Utah. Today American Nutrition recalled canned Natural Balance products because they added rice protein concentrate to the food without telling Natural Balance. Natural Balance did not have the ingredient listed, because they did not know it was in the product. If Blue Buffalo’s canned food is also made by American Nutrition, I wouldn’t be surprised to wake up to another recall tomorrow. I will be calling Blue Buffalo again tomorrow, and also looking into Evangers and Felidae (Canidae for dogs)–they both seem safe so far. I really don’t know what to do anymore.
April 27th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
April 26, 2007
Dear Pet Parents,
Due to a product-tampering incident, I regret to inform you that we are recalling all BLUE dog can products, Spa Select cat can products and BLUE Health Bars effective immediately. It is extremely difficult for us to make this announcement as we spoke with many of you last week, before this tampering incident was known, and assured you that only one production run of Spa Select kitten dry food was unfit for consumption.
The product tampering came to our attention when American Nutrition, Inc. (ANI), the manufacturer of our canned dog and cat foods and biscuits, informed us that they had been adding rice protein concentrate to our canned formulas without our knowledge or approval. Apparently this has been going on for some time, and ANI only chose to inform us when the FDA began an investigation of their rice protein concentrate supplies.
While this activity by ANI is in itself unlawful, the situation is further complicated by the fact that ANI has been receiving rice protein concentrate contaminated with melamine from Wilbur-Ellis.
So while no BLUE or Spa Select canned product has tested positive for the presence of the melamine, and there have been no reported illnesses from our canned foods, we have lost all confidence in the honesty and integrity of ANI, and the products that they manufacture.
For this reason, we have decided to remove all of our canned foods and biscuits from the retail market. While this may seem to some as a major over-reaction, the Blue Buffalo Company was founded on the principle of providing the highest quality and most nutritious pet foods available to our pet parents. Anything less is not acceptable.
The obvious question is how could Blue Buffalo not know that ANI was altering the formulas by putting in an ingredient such as rice protein concentrate. The simple answer is we trusted ANI as a partner. They deliberately deceived us and betrayed our trust.
In the end, it all comes down to integrity. ANI has not been honest with us or with pet parents who trust BLUE, so we are going to temporarily stop the production and sale of all cans and biscuits until we can provide you with products that are exactly what we say they are.
We have already taken steps to identify a new manufacturer-a company with integrity that will meet the standards of excellence that our brand is known for and that pet parents have come to expect from BLUE.
We want to thank our loyal pet parents who have stood by us during these extraordinary times, and we pledge to you that we will continue to do the right thing for our beloved cats and dogs.
Sincerely,
The Bishop and The Blue Buffalo Company Family
April 27th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Update:
BB still doesn’t have any reports of their canned products testing positive for any contaminated. They were told the biscuits never had the rice protein added, and they will NOT do business with ANI any longer due to the fraud. That is why they pulled the biscuits.
April 27th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
canidae and felidae dry dog and cat food is made, and distributed by a company in hamlin, texas, as well as thier snap biscuits.
however, the canned products that canidae markets are made by a company in illionios.
canidae has NO ownership in pied piper pet & wildlife. pied piper makes other well known brands that are competition to canidae. canidae is owned by two brothers that live in california.
canidae is a very good choice for anyones pet….neither canidae OR pied piper has any affiliation with the recall of pet food. there is nothing to worry about if you are thinking of switching to canidae. i feed it to my dog and would recomend it to anyone.
April 27th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
The FDA do not order any recall of Blue Buffalo canned foods or treats. So that tells me the FDA deems them safe. It was a choice made by Blue Buffalo to pull them off the shelves due to tampering done by ANI. Which makes me ask how many other canned foods for other companies are out there that ANI tampered with? And why aren’t they being as honest as Blue Buffalo? Another reason I will stay with Blue Buffalo for my pets. Honesty is the only thing we have to base our choices on in this whole mess. I personally would rather stay with an honest company than with one that hides the facts. Because in this world we have to learn to trust or to live in fear, which to me is not worth living. But trust does nave to be earned and I feel Blue has done that, at least for me.
ITCHMO ADMIN: Kevin Wells a.k.a. Mikie, next time, please identify yourself as a Blue Buffalo employee if you are posting to defend your company’s actions — as you did before. This makes your company look dishonest.
FYI. Legally, FDA cannot order pet food recalls. All pet food recalls are classified as “voluntary”.
April 28th, 2007 at 5:01 am
no comments
April 28th, 2007 at 11:16 am
I had both my dogs tested for kidney function and they also both had CBCs. They have been eating canned Blue Buff and the Blue Buff treats, along with their dry food. The results came in this morning-Their kidney function is perfect and their CBCs came back perfectly normal. Hope this will put some minds at ease.
Marjorie
April 30th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Is there any HONEST manufacturers of pet food out there? I’ve been feeding Blue Buffalo Spa Select and Natural Balance to my cat. Now Natural Balance Ocean Fish Formula canned food has been recalled. And Blue Buffalo is recalling all of theirs voluntarily. I have about 24 cans of Blue Buffalo Spa Select and about 10 Natural Balance that I need to take back now for refund.
These companies need to start producing their own food, and make it RIGHT HERE in USA from DOMESTIC food sources. None of this importing.
If any ingredient was imported to make the pet food, the pet food should be labeled with the country of origin. It should not say Made In USA at all on it.
Now I read that Mikie above is from Blue Buffalo and is claiming they are sorry for the recall. How do we know Mikie is from Blue Buffalo in first place? I don’t know who to believe any more about this whole recall situation.
May 1st, 2007 at 3:04 pm
I am upset about this recall, but I respect the companies that recalled their food before it was even tested and didn’t waste any time! I feed Nutro dry dog food and it is made in Lebanon TN, and in California. There is corn gluten in some of their dry food, but not all of the brands. They manufacture their own dry foods, but not any of their wet. I am glad that they recalled their food asap! I can’t believe BB waited so long. They were taking advantage of all of the scared pet owners and didn’t even think about their food being contaminated. How dare they say they do not know what goes into their food? If they are not checking it then they shouldn’t be selling it!
May 1st, 2007 at 3:08 pm
AAFCO should be doing something about this! They have the power to regulate. The FDA may not be able to, but that is the reason AAFCO is in place. They need to be regulating what and where it comes from. I now have heard our pork may be contaminated because farmers were feeding some of the recalled dog food to them.
May 3rd, 2007 at 8:35 am
I had two cats, my “kids” rather… switched to Blue Buffalo because of recall. Within 3 days of feeding this food, after emergency care; huge vet bills, and many tears - we lost one, and our 8 month old sphynx kitten made it through. It’s been a tough ride for our family, and a tougher ride for our kitten, who will now live a life that entails care for that of a kidney failure patient. This could have been prevented. –
May 3rd, 2007 at 3:17 pm
BB does not use rice protien!! It was allegedly used without their permission. Don’t get me all worked up…. I feed their product to my cat.
May 3rd, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Ok, I just backed up and read Kevin Wells mini book and ah….WHAT… didnt Blue Buffalo claim in their own press release that they dont use rice protien concentrate in their products and that the ANI added it without concent??
May 4th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
i just want to say just feed dry foods not wet. pedigree has not had no can food recalled. their dry food does have corn gluiten in it but it has not been recalled. i have 3 boxers 2 shizys.the last 2 days i have cooked for them untill i can figure something out to feed them.today i got bb adult holistic fish and potatoes.dry food of course. i went with this becouse every ingrediant sounds natural no crap or glutin corn or anything like that.petsmart said that would be the best way to go. but nobody nos.i seen people buying iams can and pedigree.i would not buy no can.we did feed purina one dry but i stoped after the recall becouse it has a gluiten.but today it was the goodlife or blue buffalo.and i made my choice becouse goodlife has no recalls but a gluiten and im not takeing no chance with that word.or go to petsmart.com only,and buy by nature all organic dog food 30 bucks for a 16lb. bag but probualy worth it.i wish myself and everyone else the best of luck.
May 4th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
every company thats pulled stuff should check all dry and can and make sure its safe.not wait untill another pet dies and another heart breaks.
May 6th, 2007 at 9:05 am
i want to add my male boxer was throwing for the last couple weeks his purina one.thats what we always feed are dogs. then the recall came it was not on the list but we went and got them nutro ultra adult holistic. he threw it up and my shizy threw it up. we have had the blue buffalo fish and potatos holistic for 2 days so far so good. read the ingrdiants no crap in it. not even soy. no gluiten or anything.i recomend it to everyone.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:31 am
BLUE BUFFALO DOES NOT USE RICE PROTEIN. ANI ADDED RICE PROTEING TO BLUE BUFFALO’S FOOD WITHOUT THEIR KNOWLEDGE. IF IT WASN’T FOR THE FDA STORMING THE BUILDING AND CONFISCATING THEIR RECORDS, THE INFORMATION WOULD NEVER HAVE COME FORTH. THEREFORE BLUE BUFFALO DECIDED TO VOLUNTARILY PULL ALL FOOD THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN COMPRIMISED SIMPLY FOR THE FACT THAT THEY COULDN’T TRUST ANI.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:54 am
[…] signs of kidney failure. Eventually they learned that Sushi’s new owner was feeding Sushi Spa Select kitten dry food which was recalled on April 19th. Lab results confirmed that there was melamine in Sushi’s […]
December 22nd, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Hi. my cat was less than 3 years old.
after 2 days of eating Blue Wilderness diet.
he choked and died.
woke up this morning to see him laying there in his basket dead.
DONT BUY THIS FOOD FOR YOUR CAT!
they can choke..
now i dont even know what to feed my pets..
i tried feeding them what i thought was “natural” and turns up i feed them something that killed one of our 4 pets.
2 dogs 2 cats.
please do a little more reaserch
March 4th, 2008 at 4:10 am
FYI, Nutro recently got bought out by the mars candy company, their formulas are changing.
BB is a great food, and I really think you need to think about what you write before you post it.
If you think yous animal died from BB you need to examine what CAUSED the death. Blaming BB is very nebulous, it doesn’t pinpoint an ingredient, or rule out that your animal may have ingested something else, or had an allergy that you were not aware of.
Allergys are very common in animals these days, because we have been poorly informed and feeding them things that deteriorate their digestive and immune systems, and so the kittens and puppies they have are not as resilient as they should be.
Pinpoint a source, like “the corn in (insert pet food) caused my dog pancreatitis.”
Read the ingredients, there isn’t anything that would cause death (excluding that your animal may have an allergy).
You ought to do a little more research as to what REALLY caused your animal to die.
August 16th, 2009 at 9:06 am
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