Dry Dog Food (Nutra Nuggets) Not On Recall List Test Positive For Melamine
A central California vet is reporting that tests on a bag of Nutra Nuggets-brand dog food purchased from Costco tested positive for melamine. Nutra Nuggets is not on any current recall list. We are working on getting more specifics from the vet.
Nutra Nuggets is a brand of Premium Edge Pet Foods and is made by Diamond Pet Foods. A month ago, Diamond claimed that they did not use rice protein concentrate in their own foods. Dozens of brands have been recalled due to cross-contamination of pet food ingredients.
Veterinarian Dr. Matt Humason says “We began asking questions…we found the dogs all ate the same food from the same store at the same time… so we sent a sample to get it tested and it came back positive with melamine.”
All four dogs ate Nutra Nuggets brand food.
A sample was sent to a lab at UC Davis and [the pet owner’s] fears were confirmed. “All I’m trying to get people to do is notify the people and let them know we may have problem. Unfortunately I feel Costco has been very hesitant to do that.”
…
They’re working with the distributor to track down the specific batch number. A Costco representative tells KSEE 24 news once it’s been tracked, they will immediately yank the product in question.
(Thanks mikescats)
May 22nd, 2007 at 2:35 am
speechless….
just…
no words….
May 22nd, 2007 at 2:55 am
CostCo: You need a NUMBER in order to do the right thing?
Wow. New corporate low.
May 22nd, 2007 at 3:17 am
[…] Ben at itchmo.com, this report from KSEE 24 News in California’s Central Valley: Dog owners are being warned […]
May 22nd, 2007 at 3:22 am
Kellie- I think we have the words. It’s just, we all know someone is going to top this.
FDA press briefing today, right?
Good job Dr. Humason and UC Davis.
May 22nd, 2007 at 3:42 am
Why can’t they pull it first and ask questions later???? Corporate greedy slime pigs.
May 22nd, 2007 at 3:50 am
kellie and xyz
i’m wondering the exact same thing. scary as all hell that none of these companies seem to want to do the right thing!! what the heck is wrong with them?!!!
*silent scream*
May 22nd, 2007 at 3:51 am
sorry, that should have been kim. anger has a way of clouding my vision . . .
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:11 am
[…] News: California vet claims Nutra Nugget-brand food — made by Diamond Pet Foods — contains melamine. We’ll keep you posted […]
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:37 am
Why is any of the contaminated food still on the shelves? These companies have no shame and no heart to let our fur babies be harmed and harmed again because of their greediness. Well when no one at all is buying any of this franken food you will be out of business and we wont have to worry about one more lying company. You do not endear yourselves to us - no quite the opposite. Step out in the back with a few of us and we’ll tell you what’s really on our minds. PULL ALL THE FOOD OFF THE SHELVES AND PUT AN END TO THE POISONING OF OUR PETS.
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:00 am
Maybe the FDA should be making sure these company’s test for this poison in the pet foods, because there sure not going to do it on there own. I guess only if there caught.
Maybe they know once they hit the list there done.
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:38 am
time to jump on costco, folks. call them up and demand that they pull this food immediately, regardless of batch number. then call diamond and holler on them for awhile. let’s get off the charts on these people.
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:27 am
Two years ago I bought a bag of Costco’s Kirkland brand dry cat food, which is made by Diamond. Shortly after opening the bag the cats refused to eat it. I noticed that the food smelled odd, like sewage. I called the number on the bag which was to Diamond. They apologized and offered me a refund. A week later they called me and asked me to send a sample of the food because a few other customers made the same complaints about the same batch of food. I waited to see if they would recall the food and they never did. I thought that was weird because the food smelled like sewage, the cats wouldn’t eat it, and other people made the same complaint, it certainly indicated something was wrong with the food. Months later, they had a recall on several of their dry cat and dog foods due to aflatoxin. The batch I had a problem with was not listed.
I stopped buying anything made by Diamond Pet Foods. They obviously can’t be trusted and make garbage for food.
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:28 am
It’s too bad the FDA and PFI didn’t have the same “hysterical” concern (like all of us have been accused of) back in March—maybe this would have been eradicated back then—mandatory testing of all the foods now seems the only moral thing to do. Thanks for the peristence of the CA vet—wish he were closer!
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:41 am
I hope someone sends this info to Nutro—their website still says all dry food is safe! Wouldn’t you think they would post something about this breaking news?? But of course we know they’ll hem and haw and then after many more pets could be sickened, they’ll announce this as “breaking news”. Pardon me, I’m going to send them an email—-
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:48 am
And people wonder why I have drastically changed my pets and MY diet….
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:53 am
In my opinion Diamond foods have always been garbage.
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:57 am
“apologies” to Nutro–I realize it’s Premium Edge NutrA nuggets—but the end result will probably be the same (see my post above)
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:25 am
Well if it wasn’t rice protein, Diamond foods, then just exactly what ingredient was it that had the melamine in it? Or are you just adding it to the food without the filler part, ie RPC, freely?
Grrr. I lost my cat to this poisoned pet food. My dog will not be a victim. She eats only a raw meaty bone diet. Period. There will none of this not only inferior food but poisoned food in this house ever. I have quit supporting the people who kill pets with their food.
The news that they will not use Chinese suppliments or other food does not make me feel better either. They can still buy their rendered meats from companies in the US that use dead, diseased and euthanized pets! They can also substitute plant protein which is inferior to meat protein in their food and your pet will still not be as healthy as it should be. Dogs and cats need meat to be healthy. And lately that is the only way.
grrrrrrrr.
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:28 am
Nutro’s Dry Pet Food Products Are Safe
Nutro’s dry dog and cat food kibble not part of recent dry food recall
City of Industry, CA (May 15, 2007) — In light of recent announcements that other pet food companies have recalled some of their products, Nutro wishes to reassure its customers that Nutro’s dry dog and cat foods are safe to feed their pets and that:
None of Nutro’s dry pet foods are involved in the latest dry pet food recall announcements involving contaminated rice protein from China.
None of Nutro’s dry dog or cat foods have been involved in any of the melamine related recalls.
Nutro has never purchased rice protein from Cereal Byproducts, the supplier named in connection with the most recent recall.
An independent testing laboratory has tested the rice protein used in Nutro’s dry pet foods and no melamine was detected.
http://www.nutroproducts.com/mfrecall.shtml
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:29 am
Hate to say it, but this looks like cross-contamination at a Diamond plant.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/.....lled_N.htm
USA Today April 17, 2007
Natural Balance pet food recalled
“Wilbur-Ellis CEO John Thacher said his company sold the concentrate to five pet-food makers, but that most of it went to two firms. One of the primary companies was Diamond Pet Foods, which packs some of the Natural Balance product but doesn’t use the concentrate in any Diamond-made foods, says Diamond spokesman Jim Fallon. ”
http://www.ksee24.com/Story.as.....oryID=6812
KSEE-24 May 21, 2007
Dog owners warned about potentially contaminated food
“Dog owners are being warned about a batch of possibly contaminated food, sold at a Visalia Costco around mid-April, after at least four dogs fell ill.
“All four dogs ate Nutra Nuggets brand food.”
Nutra Nuggets are made by Diamond, just as NB dry was–NB recalled in April and from the timeframe in the KSEE story, it sure seems like the Nutra Nuggets were contaminated by the NB dry which was recalled then. If this is so, then there shouldprobably be more recalls from Diamond.
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:30 am
Does anyone know who makes NutrO? I still have 2; 25lbs bags of Nutro Max Dry food I refuse to feed my furbaby. When I heard in March there were problems I started homecooking and I’ve posted here recently that I have discovered that when I was feeding Nutro Dry that my baby was vomiting frequently and I thought it was due to long hair (he’s a Shih tzu). So now I have to ask, have their been any reports in regards to Nutro Dry that I missed? Is there any relation to the discovery today? I would so love to return these bags I have but I didn’t think there was any official word on the Nutro dry. All in All, I can’t believe what is happening here. We need to do something to stop this and it is apparent the FDA isn’t going to do anything to help!!!!! This is a disgrace to this nation and we’re going down fast.
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:33 am
Does anyone know when and what station that FDA press conference is going to be?
I think this might be a good time to email some reporters who frequent these press conferences this information and put the FDA on the hot seat. I hope someone asks them about this right after the FDA gets done telling us all is well. I enjoy seeing them stutter. :-)
Also we can’t forget to email this info to Sen. Durbin! http://durbin.senate.gov/
And sign up for COOL! (Country of Origin Labeling) www.foodandwaterwatch.org
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:40 am
The follwing is excepted from Fox News this morning. Is China out to get the world? Why would anyone continue to do business with them.
“Chen Yaozu, general manager of Danyang Chengshi Household Chemical Co., said Tuesday his firm had exported toothpaste to Panama containing diethylene glycol, a chemical blamed for the deaths of at least 51 people in the Central American country after it was mixed into cough syrup.
However, Chen said the chemical, a thickening agent often used as a low-cost substitute for glycerin, was permitted under Chinese rules and was safe in small amounts.
“I can say I am very confident about our product’s quality,” Chen said in a telephone interview from his company’s headquarters in the eastern province of Jiangsu. He said company managers were cooperating with investigators.
The safety of Chinese food and pharmaceutical exports has come into question in recent months amid allegations that tainted ingredients from local suppliers ended up in products blamed for the deaths in Panama and for killing pets in North America.”
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:48 am
Good luck getting anyone’s trust with this never ending nightmare. No words from any pet company can make this go away. As soon as I can research enough and know what I am doing, commercial dog food will be a thing of the past. I am working to get there with half kibble and half home cooked. I did have hopes though… I wish Natura would give more information as to where they get their ingredients from - in detail!
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:58 am
Carol Says:
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:41 am
I hope someone sends this info to Nutro—their website still says all dry food is safe!
NutrO and NutrA are Not the same!
Christine
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:06 am
Because Natura is one of the few companies to test ALL their products & will continue to test, they are really the only one I’m comfortable with right now. If you want my personal opinion (& I know many will agree with me), I believe there is still a lot of contaminated dry food on the shelves right now. Whether it’s cross contamination or the makers of the pet food sprinkling RPC like fairy dust on all the food, I still think there’s plenty out there & I believe these dirtbags know it. Scary part is that most of them probably don’t show any RPC on the label. Buyer beware.
I bought a premium dry food (not knowing it was made at Diamond) & started my dog on it. Every time I tried to add a little more, she either got the runs or threw it up. It took me a few days to catch on but it freaked me out. This brand has not been recalled in any way, shape or form so I’m not naming names……because my dog may just have been allergic to one of the ingredients, who knows. Then I found out it was made at Diamond & was thankful I pulled her off it. Buyer beware……Diamond, ANI or MF are on my fecal roster right now & probably forever.
Now a lot of food is being recalled for cross contamination……I personally think that means “we added RPC/wheat gluten even though the recipe doesn’t call for it & we did it when nobody was looking” At least that’s what I think.
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:18 am
That is it, I am getting Pro Pac Dry Food for my kitties
Also, either Pro Pac Senior or Canidae for my dogs
I have had it, I do add veggies and some cooked meat
Sandi,
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:20 am
I bought a new bag of NutrO lamb & rice formula for my dog last winter and she immediately vomited it up twice. I called Nutro and got NO response and I sent an e-mail and got NO response. I would not trust them. Obviously something was wrong with that bag of food. I’ve held onto it just in case. Unfortunately I don’t have the $200 to spare to have it sent to a lab for analysis. I’ve already lost my kitty to this nightmare and over $600 in vet bills racked up. (P.S. I know NutrA is completely different than NutrO but this is for the blogger who has 2 bags NutrO that she won’t use…)
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:21 am
heres what my dog ate this morning - raw ground rabbit (with bone) baked sweet potato and well cooked brown rice. My cat got Aunt Jeni frozen raw cat food. As for us, we are vegetarians and altho we hardly ever eat them we are steering clear of any veggie fake meats etc that are made with glutens.
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:22 am
Great…my dog died last week (from separation anxiety causing her to bite the cage before surgery and bloat, not the dog food), but I want to get a cat soon…I was hoping this would calm down by July, but maybe not. I did used to buy the food from Costco….I feel the dog food was good because Nikki was always healthy…but this doesn’t make me feel super good.
To pp who wanted to return food, PetSmart will return it if you bought it there, recall or not…I did that. I was feeding Nikki Kumpi in the end…have to get it out and donate it to a shelter. :(
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:29 am
I believe, If anyone buys foods from any company that deals with Menu Foods or has had a recall of any kind in the past is taking a BIG RISK. I fear that there are other brands out there that could of slipped by the recall. A batch of food that escaped the FDA’s inspection is not impossible.
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:39 am
I don’t even have a Costco in my state, but I emailed them anyway about their inaction! …Just adding support for those with animals that ate that food.
We all need to help one another with emailing and calling companies, whether we buy that particular company’s food or not! It takes only a couple of minutes to do so.
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:41 am
When is all this gonna stop!!! This has been going on since Jan. you’d think they’d found it been done with it and food could be safe for our dogs and cats now……
I think we need to pay our farmers to grow our grains and STOP buying from China they are’nt worried about the safety here and all this so someone could save a few bucks! THIS IS nuts!!!!!!
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:45 am
I went to Nutra Nuggets website and tried to contact them to complain about them waiting for a lot number, and it kept coming back as “fatal error.” Tried a second time — same result. Called the 800 number and got a message that none of their dry food is recalled and that nothing tested positive for melamine. I pressed “one” for the recall center and got disconnected. It was 9:20 eastern time, which would be 8:20 central time, so their office should be open. If it isn’t for whatever reason, I should have been able to leave a message. You know, I hate these guys who love their stockholders and dis us pet-owners.
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:52 am
I emailed Costco, went under “membership/warehouse” and clicked “other” from the drop-down subjects menu and wrote in caps to forward my message to corporate headquarters. No phone or email address is listed for corporate, only a snail mail address.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:00 am
purringfur,
Here is what I found…
Costco Wholesale is the largest wholesale club operator in the US (ahead of Wal-Mart’s SAM’S CLUB). The company operates nearly 490 membership warehouse stores serving more than 47 million cardholders in 37 US states and Puerto Rico, Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, and the UK, primarily under the Costco Wholesale name. Stores offer discount prices on, on average, 4,000 products (many in bulk packaging), ranging from alcoholic beverages and appliances to fresh food, pharmaceuticals, and tires. Certain club memberships also offer products and services such as car and home insurance, mortgage and real estate services, and travel packages.
Contact Information
Address: 999 Lake Dr.
Issaquah, WA 98027
Phone:425-313-8100
Fax: 425-313-8103
Key People
•Chairman: Jeffrey H. (Jeff) Brotman
•President, CEO, and Director: James D. (Jim) Sinegal
•SEVP, COO, Global Operations, Distribution and Construction,: Richard D. DiCerchio
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:02 am
This vet is wonderful. I keep saying the good vets (most of them) don’t have to worry about any new laws. My brother went to a vet 2 weeks ago and his vet told him the food scare is all overblown only 16 died. He told him to use sciance diet or pro 1, it is American made. He has had no sick dogs or cats. He told him not to home cook. I tried to get him to buy Kumpi but he said he believed his vet and the people on the net ( which he doesn’t use) is over reacting. My brother is a hero from Nam, watched is buddies die. Loves Anerica loves his dog. He had a dog save his life in Nam and then could’t even bring it home.
How many babies are sick or have died eating safe food because people didn’t have the money for a vet? What about our children and old people? I don’t believe our food is safe like the UGLY FDA is saving. Thanks to our debt China owns us our gov. and our babies. The watchdogs have been telling the gov. for a long time and all the gov takes care of is money and big company’s. I bet the stock market goes up again and PFI &FDA will say our food is safe. America will wake up but I don’t know when. I’m sorry but I am just so Pissed off.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:03 am
OOPS, “Anonymous” was me.
I hope the phone numbers help.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:12 am
Well, this is a precedent. If these companies KNOW they are going to be BUSTED BY VETS, maybe they WILL start testing ALL of their rotten food. I know I would NEVER buy anything made by a company who produced poison food they did not find and announce themselves!!!!!!! You stupid companies. That goes double for all of you who haven’t bothered to FIND all of your poison food yet. None of my money for you.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:13 am
Linda, if you want to go to www.pet-grub.com you can read on line ,for free, a book on how to home feed. It’s long but it’s excellent. The vet promotes raw food, but you can use the same principles in preparring cooked food. The big issue she stresses is the calcium-phosphrus balance. That is one teaspoon of powdered egg shells to one pound of meat. She even tells you how to make powdered egg shells and food sources of taurine. This on-line book is a must read for everyone. It’s long—just go to the bottom of each page and click continue. Some parts are dry reading , but keep going it is worth your while IMHO.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:20 am
What is the top secret 5th toxin the FDA identified by is refusing to reveal to save lives????
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:20 am
DebG: Don’t feed the Nutro. My cat got sick from this and when I complained they denied it was their dry food. They said their dry food was not on the recall list. They never responded to my second complaint, saying they need to TEST their food, but they DID send me a coupon for a free bag. I’m sure you can imagine what I did with the coupon. It has not been recalled. My cat did in fact recover eventually after the Nutro Max dry was removed. She had turned into a barfy old lady in a very short time, and now she thinks she is a kitten (she is nine). I am quite positive it was the Nutro Max (yes, my opinion, and I am not the only one who thinks so)
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:21 am
anneh…I dont eat meat either and have been staying away from fakey meat products too. I emailed Boca and asked them about their burgers and if they got any ingredients from china. They said no matter where there food comes from it is safe,,, I emailed them back and said a yes or no answer would of been nice. So take it for what it is. So I called garden burger and they said all their ingredients are from the u.s. and sometimes they get their wheat gluten from Canada.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:22 am
Nothing is safe until ALL the identified toxins are revealed. FDA release the identified 5th toxin to the public now.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:22 am
It’s so hard to understand how/why a country such as the United States would allow this travesty towards animals to advance to the state that it has, to an irreversible state. Someone once said “All that breathes is precious. Who is to say that the suffering of an animal is less worthy of solace than the pain of man? The spark of life is no dimmer simply because it is encased in fur or leather. All deserve to be treated with kindness and respect.” Apparently, no one with their hands in their money pockets are listening!
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:24 am
Helen said: I am quite positive it was the Nutro Max (yes, my opinion, and I am not the only one who thinks so)
No , Helen you certainly are not.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:24 am
Nutro will not recall, but their dry food has made some pets sick–recent batches after earlier ones were okay.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:26 am
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6678973.stm The head of the Chinese delegation… has warned the US against taking protectionist measures that she said would be irresponsible.
Um, well, please stick it.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:30 am
We’re all playing roulette until the FDA stops protecting big money interests and releases the identified 5th toxin to the public.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:32 am
I FOUND IT!
TRY THIS
Nutro Products, Inc. (same as Nutro Pet Products)
445 Wilson Way
City of Industry, CA 91744
Customer Service & Product Information: 800.833.5330
Jerry Sicherman
CEO
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:38 am
Just a thought.. Boca Food Company is a subsidiary of Kraft Foods………..I was going to buy some nuts this weekend…from china, than I was going to buy some canned mushrooms from china. After checking out ingredients for half an hr I said to the lady next to me. Iam going home and make potato soup. She jokely said…Make sure you dont use any of those potatoes from China. I agree with Steve….We should stop trade with China of food items !!!! Does anyone think out there that we are ever going to find out what the ‘other’ toxic ingredients are in our pet foods? I for one dont think we will. We would still be feeding our pets tainted food if some of them hadnt died. Oh, I forgot…we still are.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:42 am
I have a abig problem with all of this pet food on the market. They recall only certain numbers and dates and then leave the rest of their product on the shelf. This product is not tested and we all know they do not test every single product. I went to this pet store the other day and was looking at their pro plan dog food and noticed that it had a feb. 2008 date. well this is pretty old stuff and I know that it was not tested. I am sure there are a lot of products dry and fresh on the shelves that have not been tested. I think we best look at the dates. Only trouble is what date is best! We could get a cross contamination bag if it is knew and if it is old then we could get tainted food. I really would not be surprised if all of it was tainted in some way, especially since this could have been going on for years and our pets have finally ended up ill over it all. These companies are not testing all of the food. There is no way they could. They only take a batch here and there and test it. If you are feeding your dog or cat manufactured food then you very well may still be feeding them tainted food.
My dog ate tainted Alpo and I took him to the vet. He checked out okay but he would not eat. He was eating fine before this. I tried home made and some that was not on recall list and he still would not eat. I took him back to the vet and they said he was still all clear. They gave him a shot to boost his eating. It really did not help at all. I had to beg him each day and hand feed him home made and then he only ate a little bit. I took him back to the vet. They did an x ray and told me that his lungs were full of water and that he could have cancer. I find this strange that he was eating fine and never had a problem till this recall. My baby only has a little time left now and I blame it all on Commercial pet food. Heaven knows what he has ate in his life time that could have caused this. I have had pets all my life and never had any trouble with them till we started dealing with China.
they will still get their stuff in to this country. If the FDA is at on port then they will just go to another one and still smuggle it in without being tested. I heard they have been smuggling in chickens for sometime now. The FDA will never be able to check everything that comes into the country. Even for our food and we probably have been eating some really bad stuff for sometime. I am so very upset.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:02 am
Nikandboots
Deb G
Helen
Can I have permission to include your comments about Nutro in a list I’m putting together about “Suspected” Foods? I’ve found tons of comments here and on other blogs and forums about Nutro dry foods, but need permission to include them.
I’ll include links to the comments here, but my fear is that if i don’t include the entire comment people will just gloss over it and not give credence to it. You know, just like so many of our friends and family are doing when we tell them about this crisis.
(Everyone - feel free to email me about any other pet foods you suspect harmed your pet - at pft@playingbig.com)
And I’ll be posting the request for permission on Itchmo’s two main posts about other dry foods, and in the forum, as soon as I have a chance. I have a lot of the comments in a spreadsheet already, so if you email me with permission just give me the name you posted under and I can match it up. THANKS.
Kim - Pet Food Tracker
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:06 am
P.S. You can just post ‘you have my permission to reprint my comments’ or something to that effect here, I’ll come back and check this thread.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:08 am
This is so frustrating! If you are still buying your food at a grocery store or big box, DON’T! The staff is not knowledable, nor do they care about the well-being of our pets. JanC mentioned Natura, they do a great job. I’ve been feeding FirstMate (www.firstmate.com) and I know they haven’t had any problems. I know this, because my independant pet store owner told me personally that she was visited by a FirstMate Rep. Not only do they make their own food, like Natura, in their own manufacturing facility, but they have on-site testing procedures. Find out who is making the food your dog eats! That will help you make a more informed decision.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:13 am
Kim: Yes you have permission to cross-post my comments about Nutro. My cat DID know there was something wrong with it. She had eaten it all her life and suddenly didn’t like it anymore. She ate very little of it, but got sick anyway: vomiting, which she had never done much before, lethargy, drinking extra water, extra urination, suddenly looking like “an old lady cat”, difficulty jumping. She continued to have good appetite for the other foods she was eating. I had attributed the above symptoms to her age (until the recalls started), but she is fine now. She is completely herself again. I feel like it is just dumb luck I still have her with me, and if you want to use my comments to help inform other people who are trying to keep their pets safe, please go ahead. As far as I know I am the only “Helen” posting here, and I have made several past comments about this, which you are free to copy.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:16 am
High Note
I feel so sorry for you, YOU WILL BE IN MY PRAYERS. I lost 2 girls and it takes so much time. I blame Eukanuba for adding so much of chromium tripicolinate and by-products. God only knows what else was in the food. The UGLY FDA didn’t recall that food either. I also agree no imports from China or any county that you cannot even drink their water or has given us bad food on a regular basis. Why is our gov. doing this to us. We die for this county and the FDA and our gov. gives us bad food and says it’s safe all for money. Got to go have an appointment. Bless you.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:18 am
Really hate to bring this up, it’s off topic, but I do know first hand that most of the potatoes we buy are GMO. Red McClures, Purple Peruvian, and Yellow Finn are the only real ones I know of.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:26 am
Sorry I goofed on contact info. Instead of Nutra, I did Nutro.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:35 am
3FURS, Thanks for the website, I’ll check it out.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:35 am
Kim:http://hubpages.com/hub/PET_FOOD_RECALL_NUTRO_DRY_DOG_FOOD
Many many comments here about nutro dog foods. Also, you definitely have my permission to use any and all comments I have made anywhere, including those about Nutro dog foods. I have posted under Kathy, Kathy Thompson, and I think bearsfostermum.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:52 am
And kthompson
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:05 pm
I am really hesitant to call our various corporations “greedy, slime pigs” as per another earlier entry. But, if the description fits, then business/corporation should so be known. How profitable can it be to kill our pets with contaminated food? Boycott the businesses who don’t act responsibly!
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:18 pm
menusux
Hi, I am trying to find out why I cannot access the MSNBC pet boards since yesterday. Have they taken down the boards about the pet food recalls?
I remember your name from that board so that is why I am addressing you…don’t know who else to contact….thank you, Gail
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:30 pm
4lgdfriend,
I’ve read several posts, including yours, about the mysterious 5th ingredient. I’m no expert here, but you may be referring to benzoquanamine which the testing procedure says is to be used as an internal standard (but, according to the procedure, is still undergoing evaluation).
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:44 pm
I have given up on manufactured dog foods. I switched my dogs to raw 3 weeks ago and I’ll never switch back. For those of you who think it is too expensive, it’ll cost you about the same if not a little less than the premium commercials. Find a meat or chicken processing plant and you can buy bulk. Add some raw veggies, yogurt oatmeal and eggs on occasion. It doesn’t take more time either. Handing your dog 2 chicken legs or wings is faster than measuring kibble. I have seen an amazing change in my dogs. The chubby ones have slimmed down and my slim ones have built muscle and become chisled, and they can’t wait for their meals
May 22nd, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Kim
Your email link on itchmo’s site does not work.
I wanted to say that my dog Shadow only ate Pedigree and Milk Bone brand dog bones and got very sick and they have not been on recall yet. He was throwing up blood, and urinated blood for a week. My vet said it was a kidney infection probably…I dont believe her. I have not feed him any dog food since. I have saved the dog food and bones. Where can I get this dog food tested…do you or anyone in the blog know which UCDavis I can take it to.
May 22nd, 2007 at 1:18 pm
scooterkid Says:
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:18 pm
menusux
Hi, I am trying to find out why I cannot access the MSNBC pet boards since yesterday. Have they taken down the boards about the pet food recalls?
I remember your name from that board so that is why I am addressing you…don’t know who else to contact….thank you, Gail
Wish I knew, but I’ve never posted at MSNBC. Here’s what I got that worked:
http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboa.....oardID=775
http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboa.....did=232979
Share your concerns, views about the pet-food scare–the title of the thread above’s link. Someone’s posted there today, so I would believe whatever was wrong is working right now.
May 22nd, 2007 at 1:42 pm
[…] to KSEE24.com for this story and Itchmo for picking it up. Dog owners warned about potentially contaminated […]
May 22nd, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Unbelievable!
So to sum all this up…..
Unless we are rich, and can afford our own testing for these 5 contaminates, or we depend on the good detective work of Veterinarians like Dr. Matt Humason, we CAN NOT depend on the FDA , or pet food companies to inform us.
*Extreme censorship!
The acronym for the FDA I’m thinking of at this point in time, can not be repeated on this forum…
May 22nd, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Has anyone had experience with California Natural? I heard that it was excellent and the dogs love it, but they have had very very loose stools with it (and seem to be drinking more water - but it is getting warm). Should I be worried? I am switching to Canidae now but with the cross-contamination issue with foods not on the recall list I am very worried. Thanks for any input.
May 22nd, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Flamin,
No need to post it. We all know what FDA stands for.
May 22nd, 2007 at 2:43 pm
I wonder what’s in the human food?
May 22nd, 2007 at 2:49 pm
I am making my own food now and my dogs never looked better. Here’s a great group if you’re interested in checking out home cooking. They’ve been very helpful to me.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/g.....e_Cooking/
May 22nd, 2007 at 3:11 pm
It’s not just Costco that sells this brand! Our local Health Food market does. I have sent them a link to all of this and I hope it’s not the one batch they have.
A word to vacationers
We have tourist season in full swing here with RVs arriving every day with people and animals. I would so hate to think that a tragedy of bad food could harm an animal while traveling, and having to go to a vet when one may not be available. So, a warning for you traveling dogs, and cats, pre- cook up their food and bag in freezer bags and put in your cooler. Yes, we know they want the stakes you are cooking, but it is better for them.
I had a bad feeling that this would be next, I have been studying the pages on the manufacturers and it just keeps spidering out, touching so much. I think the best suggestion is if you see the brand, make management aware.
I think that it’s time for a letter writing campaign to Michael More, “please make a documentary out of this one”. I will continue to cook for our critters, have been for two years. I use California Natural kibbles to supplement. They are one company that has been very good about testing their products.
May 22nd, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Janet - you haven’t had any problem with loose stools with the California Natural?
May 22nd, 2007 at 3:41 pm
Marcia,
I have had my dogs on canidae forever–but am concerned, so I feed half canidae and the other half home cooked. I DO NOT TRUST ANY company now. I am worried.
May 22nd, 2007 at 3:43 pm
My GSD friend/breeder feeds her GSD’s Kirkland brand dry. I told her I was worried for her now….geez..this is really tooo close for comfort. the affected Cosco’s hit home as well…Arizona. Where we live!!!!!!!!!!!!! yikes.
May 22nd, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Aurora–was she a german shepherd? Sorry to hear about your dog.
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Barb - thanks. I am trying to cook for them too as much as I can. I worry that they aren’t getting the right nutrients though and I don’t always have ingredients on hand to cook for them. When the recall first started I got some samples packets from my local “home owned” pet food store. I liked the Canidae but they seemed to prefer the California Natural so after the first big bag of Canidae was gone I got some Calif Natural - but the had loose stools from the beginning. I asked about this and was told it might just be the change in food so I started mixing it with home cooked. Still pretty loose. Then I tried just a bowl of dry food to see how it went and it was not good. Bath time today! So I went back to Canidae and we’ll see how that goes, but I am so worried since now it looks like there is so much cross-contamination or who knows what else going on.
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Something is not jelling, yes, contamination, but, there has to be more, I think Diamond added the gluten to the foods. They are looking for a scape goat.
Think about it, how much can be lef t on machines ??
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Do not blame yourself about your dog’s cancer.
I know many a young dog that has succumbed to the disease. Their moms and sires were raised on raw for a few generations.
In many cases it is genetic.
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:16 pm
This post is for Kim: Kim you totally have my permission to use my post on this tread with reference to Nutro Max Dry which sickened my Shih Tzu several months ago. Still have those (2) 25lbs bags I will never use. I thank you for gathering this info and doing something about it. Please keep us posted and let us know if we can do anything to help.
Deb G.
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:20 pm
Thanks to all that responded and confirmed my doubts and concerns about Nutro Max Dry, and as always, thank you Itchmo for a place to come where we can share, learn, and express our concerns.
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:01 pm
I’m not sure who asked for a company who tested pet foods. This one was on an Itchmo forum: http://www.accutracetesting.com/poison_testing.php
Accutrace
#1-800-224-9551.
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:16 pm
You’re welcome Marcia–good luck with Canidae. I’m not changing anything right now until this mess clears up…who knows when!
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:57 pm
My dog had bloody stools and ibs from the Costco Chicken & Rice Dry and the Costco Lamb & Rice. If Nutra-nuggets was recalled please be careful with the Kirkland Dry product.
I immediately put her on Kumpi and all of her problems disappeared! (Knock on wood!!!)
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Chee-tah dog,
Oh boy–I forwarded your message to my GSD pal. She has 20 German babies who are eating Kirkland Dry food. So far, so good.
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:51 pm
I don’t have dogs, but I’m still terrified of these pet food recalls. I can’t afford (time-wise) to prepare fresh chicken and rabbit for the ferrets every day. However, I can try to choose good foods for them. I am so very glad I stopped feeding Chicken Soup (made by Diamond) and switched my boys over to all grain free food.
Its not perfect, but I’m trying to stick with smaller chains that market quality over quantity.
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Kim.
I have posted here about Brewski’s decline in health this past winter. Seemed to age very rapidly and expeienced an acute illness on March 6th after eating from a new bag of Nutro Natural Choice Dry Senior the night before.. He experienced symptoms smiliar to Helen’s cat. If you do not have my post. I can give you more details. Brew has made a remarkable recovery. I am feeding him Canidae and adding chicken and ground beef on occasion.
Our vet couldn’t believe the change in his health status on a recheck visit,
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:49 pm
We REALLY all need to write this vet…Dr. Matt Humason, and thank him for caring enough to go above and beyond to test a dog food that made 4 pets at his clinic ill.
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:55 pm
Sue - I so agree. What a wonderful vet he is to be sure! He needs to know how much we ALL appreciate what he has done. If only there were more like him.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:17 pm
I read in the Fort Worth Star Telegram newspaper dated May 22,2007 in the business section “C” page 2 under “What you need to know”
“Chinese authorities investigating two firms that may have exported tooth paste tainted with diethylene glycol an ingredient in some anti-freeze to Latin America,none has surfaced in the US” Wonder when the US food producers will catch on that using China for food or food additives are playing “Russian Roulette”I think everyone involved in the poisoning of our fur kids should be in jail! (really I can think of a bit more severe punishment –like the “rack”)
Judy Boone
Fort Worth
Texas
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:07 pm
it’s just so hard to avoid chinese foods and additives when even organic producers will not reveal the country of origin of their products. We tout ourselves as living in a democracy, but we are lacking a lot of basic rights these days. The FDA won’t tell us what our food is contaminated with or what exactly they are doing to investigate the extent of that contamination. When asked if something as basic as milk and eggs have been sampled and cleared, they give the non-answer, “there is no indication that they are contaminated” Does that mean they haven’t checked or that they have and all is well. Or nothing at all. Smoke-screen. And the reporters rarely follow up with a more specific question. They actually thank them for nothing. Something is really wrong. I agree with those who suspect the problem is more serious and prevalent than they want us to know with proof. All this talk of independent testing may have them worried, unless they have gagged the labs.
I am literally fed up!!!
May 23rd, 2007 at 1:55 am
I agree with the above post. Nutra Nuggets (this was the same time as the Natural Balance), contains Wheat Flour. The Contaminated RPC was actually Wheat Flour. Me thinks they got a bad batch the same way the NB got the Rice Protein Concentrate (which is why the hold of all grain products from China).
Since, at the time - they didn’t know about Wheat Flour, they wouldn’t know to test for Melamine (they have since updated and are now testing all batches - but I’m getting skeptical here.)
As was said before, how much can possibly be left on the machine? Not enough (and they do have cleaning procedures). I think it was the Wheat Flour - and that is why noone is stepping up to the plate.
Imagine the reaction - another contaminated grain to send the public running (I have no pet foods with my special grain list since this started).
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:33 pm
I agree taht vet is wonderful totally different than my vet who does v=not want any part of sending my poison food to be tested. She said since both of my cats had no permanent damage she really doesn’t see it necessary to send it off. UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If they only need PEPCID sometimes that is fine for the rest of there life, basically she is saying no harm no foul.
IMO I think she is scared PURINA would ruin her practice.
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:49 pm
here is what is coming next if the government starts importing chickens from China, open this link and push play to see timeline:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12375868
May 23rd, 2007 at 7:14 pm
To Karen V: What is on your special grain ingredient list and where do you get decent untainted dog food? I’ve been feeding my dogs the Nutra Nuggets stuff…it looked like premium food that supported joints (a good thing for growing boxers and older dogs with hip problems). But my older dog (17yr old mix) I just put down Sat. with symptoms that could’ve been kidney failure. (I found vomit in the yard later) Ultimately he had signs of a stroke. Without an autopsy, now I have doubts. He was very old so I thought nothing of it at the time. But I’ve got a small terrier who’s throwing up and a boxer who seemed to be drinking a lot of water a few weeks ago. He seems fine now and we’re having the terrier checked. They’ve all been eating this same batch of food. So how am I to feel confident in dog food these days? Got any suggestions?
May 24th, 2007 at 12:31 am
Helen, Kathy, Deb G, Barbara - Thanks for your posts! I’ve got your information and am working to get it all consolidated now. It takes forever.
Sharon & Shadow - See the accutrace information someone posted above for testing information. Which Pedigree food was it? You can post here, or email me at pft@playingbig.com
Thanks!
May 24th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
My beloved cat because of this dog food, he loved dog food we thought we were safe because it was not on the recall…… we could not save him it was too late. its been 12 weeks but the pain is still very much in my heart.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
www.nutranuggets.com
they say that imem code starting with 741 are safe, but what about my last bag that i no longer have it went to the landfill.
May 24th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
I’m now re-posting comments (when given permission of course) about Iams Dry and Nutro Dry foods on my blog. I’ll continue to add them so that as many people as possible hear about how your pets suffered, so it wasn’t completely in vain. And so they understand that this isn’t just off-the-charts bloggers making noise about nothing.
(I’ve also got many more comments in list form, but haven’t figured out the legalities of publishing it yet.)
May 24th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
(May 23, 2007) – Diamond Pet Foods announced that it has recalled a limited quantity of Nutra Nuggets Lamb Meal and Rice Formula dry dog food in 40 lb. bags because of melamine cross contamination. To date, no animal deaths have been reported.
This action is limited to Nutra Nuggets Lamb Meal and Rice Formula dry dog food in 40 lb. bags with production codes of NLR0404A2SL or NLR0404B2SL, “Best Before†Oct. 9, 2008. The recalled product was manufactured at the company’s Lathrop, Calif. facility and sold through retailers in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, Canada. No other Nutra Nuggets products are affected.
May 27th, 2007 at 11:06 am
So now someone will take it and feed it to the hogs, chickens or fish, right?
alan
July 9th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
I am a show breeder miniatuare bull terriers and siberian huskies: Hey everyone looking for a good dog food that is tested and then again. I highly recommend Eagle Pack. Never been a part of a recall and they are major certified and tested owned plant~ Check them out at eaglepack.com