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 s