Natural Balance Recall Expands to Canned Food and Treats
Itchmo has confirmed with Natural Balance that their recall has expanded and now covers the following items for all dates:
- Venison and Brown Rice Treats for Dogs (New today)
- Venison and Brown Rice Canned Formula for Dogs (New today)
- Venison and Brown Rice Dry Food for Dogs (Reported Sunday)
- Venison and Green Pea Dry Food for Cats (Reported Sunday)
The problem stems from melamine found in the rice protein concentrate (described by the company as rice gluten) used by Natural Balance. They confirmed that FDA testing has found melamine in the rice protein concentrate. The ingredient was produced by a US vendor, according to Natural Balance. Natural Balance recommends avoiding all rice protein in their products.
They have also confirmed that customers are reporting “a few cases” of kidney failures, which their original announcement described as “kidney problems”.
The items recalled are packaged (but not manufactured) by Diamond Pet Foods. The problem was discovered Friday and the FDA is testing all other ingredients and formulas. In the packaging process, the final food is run through Diamond Pet Foods machinery, but are overseen by Natural Balance quality assurance staff.
Natural Balance says it will reimburse the pet parents for medical expenses related to the melamine toxin.
NOTE: The recall expansion has not made it out to the mainstream media, but we expect it to do so shortly.
UPDATE: Natural Balance is not yet releasing the name of the US supplier. We’ll let you know as soon as we know.
UPDATE at 7:37pm Eastern: Natural Balance updates their site. Full release after the jump.
Natural Balance Pet Foods,® Inc. Issues A Voluntary Nationwide Recall on Specific Venison Dog & Cat Food Products
Contact:
Consumer Inquiries:
(800) 829-4493
Media Inquiries:
Daniel Bernstein
310-275-0777
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Pacoima, CA — April 17, 2007– Natural Balance, Pacoima, CA, is issuing a voluntary nationwide recall for all of its Venison dog products and the dry Venison cat food only, regardless of date codes. The recalled products include Venison and Brown Rice canned and bagged dog foods, Venison and Brown Rice dog treats, and Venison and Green Pea dry cat food. Recent laboratory results show that the products contain melamine. We believe the source of the melamine is a rice protein concentrate. Natural Balance has confirmed this morning that some production batches of these products may contain melamine.
The recall was prompted by consumer complaints received by Natural Balance involving a small number of cats and dogs that developed kidney failure after eating the affected product.
Dogs or cats who have consumed the suspect food and show signs of kidney failure (such as loss of appetite, lethargy and vomiting) should be seen by a veterinarian. We recommend our customers immediately stop feeding our recalled venison products regardless of date code and return unused product to their retailer for a full refund.
The products are packaged in bags, cans and zip lock treat bags and sold in pet specialty stores and PetCo nationally.
No other Natural Balance products are involved in this voluntary recall as none of our other formulas include the rice protein concentrate.
Although the problems seem to be focused on a particular production period of the venison products, over the last four days we have notified our distributors and retailers by phone and e-mail to immediately stop selling and return all recalled Venison dog foods and treats and the Venison dry cat food. Venison canned cat food is not involved.
The source of the melamine appears to be a rice protein concentrate, which was recently added to the dry venison formulas. Natural Balance does not use wheat gluten, which was associated with the previous melamine contamination.
None of Natural Balance’s other dry formulas, none of our other canned or roll products and none of our other treats are involved with this voluntary recall.
We continue to work closely with the FDA in their ongoing investigation.
Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-800-829-449 or email info@naturalblanceinc.com.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Jax,
Try Natura or Evy’s Kumpi. Those are the only ones I’d use at this time.
If you go with Natura, check the protein level. Their EVO is 50% protein which may be OK for a healthy cat, but make sure you don’t have subclinical kidney problems.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
unbelievable! Don’t trust Natural Balance, don’t trust any of them. If the label says anything about CORN Rice wheat or mentions any kind of gluten, don’t feed it to your pet. Natural Balance had me fooled (and I have spent HOURS researching) and I just switched to it. I guess you can’t trust just reading either since labels aren’t accurate and websites are changed as soon as a company thinks something is up.
Since we all know about Chemnutra, I doubt they are NBs supplier , it’s already out there ,why would NB be afraid to name them. All the B/S about Made in America (with the American flag on the product! ) except for the Venison that comes from Australia. Yes, ingreedients supplied by American companies who buy from China and other places with low quality standards.
What Im doing is feeding what I have (since I buy in bulk and everyone is fine, so far , on what we have here- 2 dogs, 2 cats Dogs on Bil Jac Senior , cats on Friskies wet and dry and Hills prescription k/d science diet - both wet and dry) Use what you have if everyone is fine because switching is not going to help, what you choose may be the next contaminated thing.
Cook for your dogs, Just throw in a crock pot (on high 5- 6 hours) some frozen green beans, carrots , rice (maybe substitue potatoes at this point , fresh ones from the produce section) and some chicken. I imagine this isn’t balanced but isn’t it safer then what is as of yet undiscovered to be out there? Cats will eat chicken and rice mix , too , I think green beans are ok for them, please research , I know cats are harder- and for cats with kidney problems already, I haven’t a clue or Id be cooking it up already. Had to stick with hills prescription k/d.(and Im more afraid of Hills then purina or Bil Jac)
Unbelievable, no one cares about our babies. We must stop supporting the pet food industry and thier related products, for example , if procter & gamble make things other than food (and we all know they do, look at the coupon insert monthly which features thier products) we cannot buy ANYTHING from them, that is the only thing that will stop this B/S - Haven’t all companies made it clear all they care about is the money? And write to them and tell them , you have lost our business due to putting YOUR GREED over the health of our pets
April 17th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Oh, boneless , skinless chicken in the above recipe, please do research because Im NOT an expert , if dogs get diarrhea, put some bananas in the mix next time you serve them, but again , please research what Im saying, it’s just a suggestion from someone who is as confused and upset as everyone else.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
I have a bag of the NB Venison and Green Pea from December and there is not (as everyone has mentioned) any mention of rice in their ingredient list. Yes, this was just added and they are sneaks. Yesterday, I spoke with the co-owner of Natural Balance (GREG) and he asked me when I purchased my bag of dry food. I said it was December and he said this bag was not implicated in the recall- he said it was just the recent bags. Now I understand why he could say that: Because at that time, the **&&%% rice wasn’t in their product. For shame on you, Natural Balance for adding cheap ingredients to your so called allergy products.
I was lied to by co-owner, Greg, at NB when he said they didn’t know what the problem- it could be rancid fat he said or a problem w/ the formula- making adding too much protein. Hey, Greg, yes, there’s a problem with your allergy formula and it’s called adding ingredients that are fillers and that save your company money. Look who gets to pay for your cost- saving tactics- our beloved pets with THEIR LIVES!!!
NB, for shame and you had the nerve to offer me coupons!!!
April 17th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Evy,
Yes, it does sound a bit looney!
I’m not suggesting a terrorist attact like 9/11, but rather self-inflicted terrorism. What ails the pet food manufacturing process also ails the human food manufacturing process.
I called two US food companies today - thought I was talking to a pet food company. They can’t reveal what tests they perform - proprietary, you know.
The ChemNutra wheat gluten was ordered as “food grade” and may have been supplied to US food manufacturers, same as US pet food companies.
We really don’t know where all of the wheat gluten went.
The Feds need to check it out. The FDA is in over it’s head.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
It could still be terrorism in that one of their tactics is to wear their enemy down.
Sue, I just wanted you to know that I agree with all your posts! I agree with the poster who said that the bags should have been labeled and with the poster who called NB sneaks; indeed.
I would really like to cook for my cats… any recipes? And how much Taurine do cats need added to their food? I just can’t take anymore recalls for my babies!
April 17th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
I would like recipes too!! and like to know how much taurine!!
April 17th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Bottom line, folks….. Please, please read this, think about this, and process this.
Fact 1:.pet food companies can and do change their formulations without notice. Just because Fuzzy has been happy and healthy on a particular brand for ten years does not mean the current bag or can is safe.
Fact2: pet food labels on bags, cans and websites are not necessarily accurateor trustworthy. Doing a “search” for gluten, wheat gluten, concentrated rice protein, corn gluten, rice flour, no added grains, etc.,etc. or whatever you are trying to avoid simply does not work anymore. See fact 1 above.
Fact 3: If your pet is leery about a new food it is at least possible they are being finnicky. If a pet is suddenly refusing or becoming sick from a brand and type of food they have eaten for months or years there is something wrong with the food. Do not let them eat it! See fact1.
Especially, in this current environment of uncertainty and daily recalls do not force your pet to eat something they do not want to eat.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Here is some new posted on another board.
juli28428 Says:
April 17th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
By Julie Schmit and Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
The industrial chemical melamine has been found in more pet food, and suspicion is falling on a second pet-food ingredient imported from China as the source of the contamination.
Natural Balance Pet Foods said Tuesday it found melamine in samples of some of its food, which led to a recall. The company suspects melamine was in a rice protein concentrate used as an ingredient, said President Joey Herrick in an interview.
Melamine is the chief suspect related to the Menu Foods recall, first announced four weeks ago for more than 60 million cans and pouches of wet dog and cat food. The melamine in Menu’s products was in wheat gluten imported from China and sold to Menu and several other pet-food makers, which also did recalls.
The rice protein concentrate was imported from China by San Francisco-based Wilbur-Ellis. Herrick says the concentrate, which is being tested, is suspected to have melamine, as it was the only new ingredient. Recalled Natural Balance products include Venison and Brown Rice canned and dry dog foods, dog treats and Venison and Green Pea dry cat food.
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. The other major customer, which Thacher would not name, tested the rice protein and found no melamine, Thacher says. Natural Balance’s rice protein concentrate is mixed with venison meal, Thacher says.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: China | Foods | Menu | Petcare | Menu Foods
Natural Balance has received about 10 reports of sick pets, mostly dogs, since Thursday, Herrick says. It started testing the foods Friday, when it also asked retailers to pull the products. As in the Menu recall, some of the pets developed kidney failure, Natural says.
Natural Balance was co-founded in 1989 by actor Dick Van Patten, according to the company’s website.
The Food and Drug Administration offered no comment Tuesday. It said Monday that Natural Balance had informed the agency of the issue. Thacher says it told the FDA on Sunday that it had detected melamine in some rice protein concentrate imported from China about a week ago. Wilbur-Ellis has ceased importing the ingredient from the Chinese firm, Binzhou Futian Biology Technology, Thacher says.
Along with Diamond, pet-food makers Nestlé Purina PetCare and Procter & Gamble said Tuesday that they don’t use rice protein concentrate in their foods.
No other Natural Balance products include the ingredient, the company says.
Melamine is not allowed in human or pet food. It is an industrial chemical used in plastics worldwide and also sometimes as a fertilizer in Asia, the FDA says.
While melamine is not highly toxic, the FDA is investigating whether it, or something related to it, is responsible for pet deaths in the Menu recall.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
I agree with you 5CatMom
April 17th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
Thank you Itchmo for your incredibly prompt coverage of this continuing nightmare. I thank you, and countless yorkie owners on my forum thank you too. I do not know what we would have done without your site!
I am totally home cooking now, my trust level in the food companies is gone. I am hoping they are getting all of their vitamins and minerals but at least I can feel certain I am not poisoning them.
April 18th, 2007 at 12:18 am
I’m still unclear as to whether rice flour (brown rice flour to be specific, which is included in the fish-flavor canned NB foods only) has any connection w/the rice protein in question, other than they’re all being of rice origin.
Since it’s been rumored that the melamine was in water used to extract the protein or gluten from the wheat (re: the Menu foods debacle), my assumption is that rice goes through similar processing to arrive at the “protein or concentrate” stage. So, where in all this processing system does the “rice flour” result? IOW, is it fair to assume that the rice flour is not affected as is the rice protein/concentrate because it is processed differently to reach that stage?
BTW, I think it’s being misconstrued that the melamine-tainted rice protein concentrate is in ALL NB foods. Someone mentioned concern about it being in the canned cat foods. None of the canned cat foods are listed in the recall. None of the labels on the NB canned cat foods I checked in my pantry have “rice protein” listed as an ingredient. Only the fish has “brown rice flour”. Hence my concern and question about that. Can anyone provide a dumbed-down explanation for me? I fully admit I’m chemisty-challenged. :)
April 18th, 2007 at 12:24 am
ELIZABETH- you you are so right on. Don’t believe packaging or websites. Remember the 6 month labeling changes allowances.
April 18th, 2007 at 12:25 am
EVY- are u at the fed x yet? hungry pets await in Omaha.
April 18th, 2007 at 12:44 am
The supplier/exported in China also sells pea protein powder in addition to rice protein concentrate.
April 18th, 2007 at 12:47 am
teric,
Thanks. I’m trying to get some folks in Washington to connect the dots. I don’t believe they even know what dots are!
I was making stew today and noticed that the beef broth contained wheat gluten. Didn’t use it. Stew was awful!
April 18th, 2007 at 2:40 am
OMG I am really angry regarding the NB food debacle. I very deliberately researched their food. Their website previously claimed that they manufactured all their food in one plant, and shipped it for packaging to another. They stated that all their food except the New Zealand lamb was grown or produced in the US. Now all that information is gone…….making me wonder if this is all a bad dream. This feels worse than menu foods, since I really expected ethical behavior from NB. Guess I’m a ninny.
Gotta go….timer went off for the dog food…you guessed it, I’m cooking for the dog again.
April 18th, 2007 at 2:41 am
[…] Itchmo reports that more Natural Balance foods have been pulled, due to melamine found in a rice […]
April 18th, 2007 at 2:45 am
Does anyone have the websites for making dog and cat food? I am at a loss as to what to feed the kitties.
April 18th, 2007 at 2:49 am
Maybe we should all send a link to the “Menu Foods Tragedy Memorial” to each of our senators. Warning! It’s sad and beautiful at the same time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrCvfj4g9MU
April 18th, 2007 at 3:10 am
The rice protein concentrate is definitely a cheap form of protein used to “boost” the protein in the ingredients (so that they can reduce the “real” meat ingredients). It’s a cost-cutting measure & it really bugs me that NB added this to their allergen food.
Now, what I find interesting is that both the wheat gluten (from Menu Foods recall) & the rice protein (from NB recall) came from China. It’s suspected the wheat gluten had melamine deliberately added into it to increase the protein % of the gluten. Is it possible the other Chinese factory did the same thing? Basically added melamine to deliberately increase the protein value of their concentrate? This seems like a cheap & easy way for the Chinese factories to raise the protein % and sell a higher-protein product to their non-suspecting US clients. Maybe they’re all doing this and it’s standard practice in China?
April 18th, 2007 at 5:27 am
I’ve been reading all the posts here since the initial recall, and first want to thank everyone for all the questions and answers, I’ve learned so much.
Luckily, so far, we’ve dodged 14 poison bullets (we have three small dogs and a cat, plus my small, private dog rescue presently houses two adult large dogs and eight puppies!) I can’t imagine any of my animal family ill and dying, let alone the horror when thinking of the rescue puppies, who I’ve delivered and been raising for adoption, (I broke the sacs and cut all their umbilical cords! Love love LOVE all these animals), being poisoned!
BUT: About a month before the Menu Foods recall, my husband brought home something for our 15 yr. old yorkie, who’s stiff in his leg joints — a package of Authority Brand Dog Treats Hip and Joint, a supplement with glucosamine and chondroitin. My old yorkie will eat anything, but interestingly enough, all the younger dogs, (not the puppies, wouldn’t feed it to them), especially the big rescue dogs, wouldn’t touch it. And the rescues, after a history of starvation, would eat any treat, too. I thought it was very, very odd. But just figured they didn’t like it. After about four days feeding my yorkie half a treat as instructed to feed daily, (by weight) he had diarrhea for the last two days of it, and was vomiting at night a yellow bile kind of fluid. A day after stopping the treat, and since, (and before it), he’s been fine.
I discontinued feeding it immediately, but only thinking, as it was pre-recall of any kind, that it just didn’t agree with him. For some strange reason, I kept the full package, which I am looking at right now — it contains rice flour — and, corn gluten meal and corn flour. Or, at least that’s what the label attests to. Because, who knows what else might be in it, off label and withheld from consumer knowledge.
Holding one heart-shaped treat up to the light, I see small, clear, flat somethings that reflect the light, like, well, *crystals*. So, when they say they found crystals of melamine in the tainted foods, if they meant it literally, then I’m wondering if that’s exactly what I’m seeing here twinkling at me from the dog treat!
That said, I wouldn’t be feeding your dog Authority Brand Hip and Joint Treats, either. I may be wrong, but better safe than sorry.
In the beginning, we had the rescue dogs on purina dog chow, and the puppies were weaned onto purina one puppy chow, and had no problems then or afterwards or since. The little dogs were on Science Diet adult kibbles and S.D. Senior. I lost a cat a year ago to CRF (chronic renal failure) and know what to look for. We had no problems on S.D., but, for us, if the company has ANY product recalled, we will no longer buy ANYTHING from that company. We’re tired of (and angry about) profits being more important than our pets.
So, with the initial recall, we’ve switched to Cannidae. All the animals. Only the cat won’t eat the felidae, and lost weight. He won’t eat homemade either, only the meat, which is much too much protein for a 16 yr old cat (could cause kidney issues at his age). He’ll only eat Science Diet Senior hairball control. Which worries me, because reluctantly, today, I had to put him back on it, for now, until I can find him something else. Our next try will be Kumpi.
In sum, if regulations allow ingredient changes not to be listed for six months on the pet food label, then we really can’t be sure what we’re feeding. If companies are saying they buy american ingredients, but leave out the fact that the american suppliers bought it overseas first, then we can’t be sure what we’re feeding. If a product declares itself grain free, but put in grain off list, then we can’t be sure what we’re feeding. We are being outright lied to, and have been all along. Call me naive, but it’s beyond shocking — it’s CRMINAL — and can’t be let to continue.
It’s a fact that if all my animals had gotten sick all at once from poisoned food, all I would’ve been able to afford to do, traumatically, is euthanize. All of them? What a horror. Actually, after reading the website Voice4Dogs, and what the chinese do to dogs and cats (the fur trade) it doesn’t surprise me at all that they’re involved in this fiasco.
With no trust *whatsover* in ANY company now, I wrote Cannidae, and got (as many others on the net have posted their own Cannidae replies) a form email reply. BUT — what if Cannidae is on the same course as Natural Balance? And, after taking a bit to reply to my original email, they’ve yet to answer my next two emails requesting more information and specifics. I’ll send this now, then post the email exchange in my next posting.
keeping all the animals and their humans in our prayers,
Em
April 18th, 2007 at 5:43 am
“support@canidae.com” wrote:
To reiterate, CANIDAE Pet Foods is in no way is affected by the current can re-call, and we aren’t, or have never been, produced at any of the recalled facilities. We do not produce Cuts and Gravy, Pouches, and none of our products contain wheat, or wheat gluten.
With the current cuts and gravy recall by a large co-packer, and all the misleading information, we thought we would help explain the production of canned foods. There are only a hand full of co-packers that are located in the US and they produce most canned foods. A few companies choose to have their cans made outside the US , and may or may not disclose that information to you. The pet food industry co-packers are no different from the human products we ourselves eat or drink on a daily basis. Each formula is different and unique to the specific pet food company in which the formulas are owned. Ingredients, quality grade of meats, grade of carbohydrates, vitamin and mineral formulations, to name a few, are all at the discretion of the pet food company in which the products are produced for, and are apparent by the governmental regulated labels. Our heartfelt concerns go out to all involved and or affected by the re-call.
All Canidae products are produced in the USA. We do not purchase ingredients from any suppliers outside of the US. All Canidae ingredients are grown &/or raised in the USA. In addition, we only purchase the absolute best USDA grade “A” hormone and antibiotic free meats. Our rice is also grade “A” Pesticide free. Our fish is FDA inspected and passed residual free of ethoxiquin.
Our cannery is a small facility located in IL. and able to produce the highest quality products. This small family operated facility only produces products that are of the highest quality human grade ingredients. Our formulations were created by an outside nutritionist that has been developing canned foods for over 35 years. You can feel assured by our quality and product performance that our cannery holds the highest standards in production, and is regulated by AAFCO by (NRC), USDA, FDA, IDA, EU Approved and is Organically Certified.
Our dry foods are produced in TX. Our plant has been involved in animal nutrition for over 75 years. The original pet food extrusion mill was built in 1978. CANIDAE’s involvement with the plant sparked the introduction of our own extruder in 1999. Our dry goods facility also regulated by AAFCO by (NRC), USDA, FDA, TDA and EU Approved. We are currently under production with a brand new plant at the same facility to keep up with the growth and demand of our product line.
In order to ensure the highest quality meat based biscuit ever created, we ventured into the biscuit production business in 2003. Our 100 foot oven runs our fresh biscuits daily in a building opposite our extrusion plant in TX. Our biscuit plant is also regulated by AAFCO by (NRC), USDA, FDA, TDA and EU Approved.
**********************************************
After the Congressional Hearing, we all know the AAFCO and other initialed so-called regulation groups are a joke. A false front.
I wrote back to Cannidae:
Thank you for your reply, but I still have some concerns:
First, is there a name for the person replying here to me? I would appreciate a name/real person that is identifiable.
Secondly, the pet food recall made it clear that in some instances, supposed “U.S.” suppliers of grain weren’t supplying U.S. grain but grain first obtained from overseas without making this known outright. So, by saying one thing and leaving out other information, consumers were led to believe one thing (U.S. origin) that was not true in actuality.
Is it possible to get the name of the suppliers you use, so I can see for myself and put my mind at ease? You wrote below:
>> All Canidae ingredients are grown &/or raised in the USA. In addition, we only purchase the absolute best USDA grade “A” hormone and antibiotic free meats. Our rice is also grade “A” Pesticide free. Our fish is FDA inspected and passed residual free of ethoxiquin. >>
I would like to research the above facts for myself.
>>This small family operated facility only produces products that are of the highest quality human grade ingredients. >>
May I know the name of this facility, again, to research it for myself?
>>Our dry foods are produced in TX. Our plant has been involved in animal nutrition for over 75 years. >>
Is the name of this plant Canidae? Is it owned by Canidae? If not, what is the name of the plant?
I appreciate your further reply and asistance,
Em
*****************************************
I also wrote them again:
Hello again,
I just sent an email reply off to you, but, would also like to know if Canidae outsources, and if so, to whom?
I am requesting real answers by a real person to my questions here and below. I am aware, as posted on the internet by many others who have emailed your company, that the response I received is not a personal response answering my questions but a form letter email. We are all getting the same exact form reply from your company, regardless of individual questions and concerns.
While I understand that you may be swamped with emails, the lives of my animals are paramount in this situation, along with my right and need as a consumer spending money on your products, to know what I am buying and feeding my dogs.
thank you very much,
Em
********************************************
I’ve yet to get a reply back at all to my follow-up emails. That in itself worries me.
take care all, sorry for such long posts,
Em
April 18th, 2007 at 5:56 am
My girls were eating this for a week!!!!!!!! Please keep them in your prayers. No signs at all but I also know having been through Kidney failure that blood test show nothing till the Kidney is 75% damaged!! I also have been in contact with NB at least 5 times now, and will be calling again today! I want the lot #, even though I know they are recalling it all for saftey sake. Or is it for their sake! God bless. Lord help us all!
April 18th, 2007 at 6:06 am
Also wanted to thank you, Itchmo. Knowledge is power, and I am thankful, and even calmed some, receiving your alerts. I tell everyone I meet and know about your site and about your email alerts designed to protect our furry family members.
rock on,
Em
April 18th, 2007 at 6:06 am
Itchmo moderators?
http://www.itchmo.com/read/nat.....mment-5627
I hate to play board nanny here but this is just wrong.
ITCHMO ADMIN: Sorry we missed it Traci. All references have been removed (including quoted responses) and the word has been flagged for future screening. Thanks for your help. Send a quick email to tips@itchmo.com if you find other racist comments.
April 18th, 2007 at 6:46 am
I’m with you SmileOnADog.
I think it’s criminal that pet companies can lie on their labels. I’ve been a HUGE Natural Balance fan for years and feel completely let down by all this. Some thoughts…
1. I’m shocked by the change in their Venison & Pea which is an ALLERGEN formula and has always been marketed as a single-source protein for that very reason. Now, we find they’ve changed the formula and added a 2nd protein to it. Terrible move for an allergen product where owners RELY on the ingredients list for their sensitive pets. I’m really appaled by this.
2. I’m worried about their Ultra formula. 2 weeks ago I bought my usual bag of NB Cat Ultra and noticed the ingredients list had CHANGED from the old bag. I took pictures of both bags and wrote to NB who gave me a canned response about improving their food. Now, there’s no rice protein in my list of ingredients, but who knows if this list is correct? What if there’s an off-list ingredient which isn’t shown? Strangely enough after 5 days of opening the “new” bag one of my little babies started peeing blood. We “think” it’s just a bad case of cystisis and not related to the food, but the timing is terrible & we’re so worried.
For everyone’s reference here are the 2 bag ingredients as I have them:
OLD BAG top ingredients: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Duck, Lamb Meal, Potatoes, Chicken Fat, Canola Oil, Oatmeal, Fish Meal
NEW BAG top ingredients: Chicken Meal, Chicken, Brown Rice, Duck Meal, Barley, Oatmeal, Chicken Fat, Potatoes, Carrots, Lamb Meal, Fish Meal, Canola Oil
April 18th, 2007 at 7:02 am
I just wrote this letter to Natural Balance. I will let you know what/if they respond:
After 5 days of feeding my cats the “new” bag of Natural Balance Ultra (with the recent ingredient change) one of my cats Has started to pee blood. We have taken her to the vet and are terribly Worried. On my side, I have immediately stopped feeding all Natural Balance to my animals.
*** Can you assure me there is NO rice protein concentrate in the
Ultra bags? Perhaps you have added it, but not listed it in
the ingredients?
I urge you to come forth about this ASAP. If there is any risk That pets can get sick from your product, you need to let them know immediately.
I pray and hope that my pet’s illness is not caused by your product.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:58 am
I feed our Weimaraner EVO RM with 1/3 can of Merrick wet food in his morning ration and several Brewers Yeast with Garlic Tablets. neither of these companies are involved in the recall. Check them out at
http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
Merrick has put out a bulletin
http://www.merrickpetcare.com/.....Notice.jpg
http://www.naturapet.com/
Also Naturapet has put out a bulletin
http://www.naturapet.com/about......asp?id=16
We had cats for many years and had one who was intolerant of a lot of wet foods (the other could not eat dry) so we made their food which consisted of olive oil, rice, scrambled eggs and chicken gizzards, both loved it and lived long lives.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:10 am
Re. Regulation - a veterinarian friend of mine recently told me that pet food manufacturers are only required to actually put into the food what they have listed on the label for three months out of the year–the rest of the time they can vary their ingredients (ie use cheaper ones) and not change the label to reflect that. I don’t know if this is true or not. It seems to me that this pet food fiasco is one (deadly) example of a much larger problem: American companies putting money above all else. Making as much money as possible even if it means deceiving the consumer and even if it results in loss of life - human or otherwise. So, we can all start cooking for our animals, but how do we know that the “organic” chicken, rice & veggies we’re buying & cooking isn’t contaminated with something? Color me paranoid! And color me fed up (pun intended).
April 18th, 2007 at 8:11 am
I just want to applaud everyone who has contributed good information to this. Your information and links to these articles have been very useful. There has been a lot of information that I wouldn’t have known without it and getting the news early has been wonderful. I have been very frustrated with the slow updates by the FDA, the media and the companies.
Itchmo, great job keeping us all informed as the news comes in. I am sure that you spend an awful lot of time keeping this site updated with all this news. This site has been a great source for this nightmare food recall.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:50 am
My dog was on Science Diet-reduced formula. Everyone told me that it was crap-mainly because it had corn and that the only reason the vets reccomend it is because they get some kind of kickback from the company–so I do my homework and switch to Natural Balance-Ultra Premium Reduced formula, although not on the re-call at this time, it makes you wonder. Many people are making home-made food for their pets, I just choose not to.
As strange as it sounds-I continue to believe in the Natural Balance. Since my dog has been on it-her coat is more beautiful and seems healthy. I can only pray that this whole matter is cleared up and those of us who use NB can breathe a sigh of relief….I just hope this doesnt give Dick Van Patton-another heart-attack–he risked everything putting his name on this food because of his love for animals and his faith in the product.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:56 am
Guys - I own a pet boutique and am co-host of the talk show “Doggy Talk” on WRDV-FM. Here’s a food that we feed our three cocker spaniels (we had been feeding Neuro and Nutro, but certainly not now!)
At our store we have just started selling Vet’s Choice, dry and canned.
It’s contents are: chicken, garlic, chicken broth - that’s it, and my three eat it up like it’s going out of style. I split one can between the three of them mixed with the dry food. We were so happy we can’t begin to tell you!
Also, we are getting in HOME MADE (we know the people and have been in their kitchen during health dept inspections) stews in glass jars that are as close to what you make (without the mess) as you can get PLUS have vitamin supplements.
If anybody is interested in knowing more, please feel free to email me at pupradio@comcast.net
These big companies are NEVER going to tell us the whole truth and the FDA has only inspected 30% of pet food processing plants in the US since 2004!! WHAT??? It’s time for us to stand up and boycott the big guys…
April 18th, 2007 at 9:23 am
hi nina,
i don’t think only the US residents are being affected.
This is worldwide. Where ever the food is being exported to, the pet owners in that country gets affected.
April 18th, 2007 at 9:51 am
The canning plant in Illinois that Canadae’s response email refers to (in the above post by SmileOnaDog ) is most likely Evanger’s. It is a small, respected family owned business not too far from my home. They can dog and cat food under their own brand as well, (it is expensive) but their web site says they do some private label. www.evangersdogfood.com
April 18th, 2007 at 9:52 am
June - you’re absolutely right! Actually I’m based in Asia, but there’s been very little coverage here on the recalls. Menu Foods made a very short statement to the local vets that the recall didn’t apply here. I don’t believe it for a minute. This is definitely a WW phenomenon.
April 18th, 2007 at 10:03 am
Thanks for the info Elizabeth.
April 18th, 2007 at 10:03 am
Has there been any mention of a lot number, etc. of the food that is affected? Or any info as to when NB added rice protein to these foods? Apparently this is a new ingredient in these foods (boy, I bet NB sure is sorry they made a change to their foods now). I have been feeding my 2 cats the venison and peas dry food for a while. Last bag I purchased was on 3/31/07 and I believe the expiration date was June 2008. I was about half way through that bag when the recall was issued. I stopped feeding them the food and my cats seem fine….but….I sure would like to know if the bag I have was affected.
April 18th, 2007 at 10:08 am
Em,
Thanks for the research re: Canidae. I also have emailed them asking the same questions. I have yet to hear back either. This worries me as well.
April 18th, 2007 at 10:18 am
For those of you wondering what to feed your pet….I’ve just looked at the naturapet.com web site. See the following:
How Natura Pet Products is Different
No pet food company in the world makes natural pet foods like Natura. We use only ingredients you’d eat yourself: quality meats, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and complete vitamin and mineral supplements. For us humans, a diet of natural, wholesome food is essential to living a long healthy life. We believe this fundamental principle is true for your pet, too.
All of our human grade dog and cat foods are carefully cooked and tested to ensure consistent nutrient quality and enjoyable texture and taste. All of the ingredients used in our pet foods are tested to make sure they are hormone, antibiotic and pesticide-free. And we never add artificial ingredients, chemical additives, by-products or fillers of any kind.
Someone mentioned in an earlier post that they had a funny smelling bag of Karma, but overall, site looked great. I will be trying some of their products. I have been using bil-jac frozen and supplementing with food straight from the human’s table for my dog.
I hope they are as committed to quality as their site states. I will try to call/email them to make sure grains are not from overseas.
April 18th, 2007 at 10:19 am
blkcatgal, Your comment is exactly what I have been thinking since the beginning of the whole recall fiasco. If we knew the production dates of the foods rather than the expiration dates we would have such a better idea if they were made before the tainted gluten and rice protein started arriving from China, or after it started arriving profusely November/December-ish (and therefore of greater likelihood it is in the foods). Of course it would be ideal if the manufacturers would tell us outright when they started meddling with the formulations by adding the tainted ingredients to the brands our pets liked and we trusted, but that is probably not gonna happen! Lawyers, you know.
April 18th, 2007 at 10:46 am
Thanks smileon for the info! I was giving my 1 yr old bichon Solid Gold and had just recently switch her to NB Premium because I found it was rated an A+. After all this, I don’t know WHAT to do! I don’t feel like giving $ to NB when they are not being totally honest with us! As a side note, she doesn’t seem to like it.
April 18th, 2007 at 10:53 am
By chance I went to the Natural Balance website yesterday. I visit it once in a while for assurance that they were not involved with the companies linked to the Menu Foods recall. I was shocked.
Luckily I was able to find this site to follow what is going on.
I live in Ottawa, Canada and I had an unopened package of dry Venison and Brown rice dog food. I phoned the pet food store and yes it had been recalled. If I had not found the recall on the internet I would not have phoned the store and I would have been feeding it to my dog today.
Even this morning there is no mention of the Natural Balance recall anywhere in the Canadian news: television, radio or newspapers.
Natural Balance sells their products in Canada but they do not seem to be sending their press release out the Canadian news services. It is their responsibility to make sure their Canadian customers are warned about their recall.
I have been cutting and pasting Natural Balance’s press release and sending it out myself to try and get news coverage so that other pet owners in Ottawa like me with this food in their cupboards do not use it.
April 18th, 2007 at 10:59 am
For all of those who have lost a pet during this tragedy, please consider going to your local shelters and adopting a needy pet! No, it can’t replace the pet you lost, but it can turn this tragedy into something positive. An over abundance of needy pets exist at all local shelters and this is just as tragic as the pet food recall is.
April 18th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Em/Smileonadog - I stopped using Royal Canin when the recall first started due to a similar (but even more closed) communication style to what you received from Canidae.
The most surprising experience i’ve had during this was asking a pet store owner if any of her customers had reported any issues with Cal Natural. Her response, “It’s not part of the Menu recall”. My response, “That’s NOT what I asked you”. She also accused me of trying to scam her out of free food when I requested a sample to try. Needless to say, I took my business elsewhere.
April 18th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Does anyone know where the following comment came from that I cited from above:
“Natural Balance says it will reimburse the pet parents for medical expenses related to the melamine toxin.”
I have not found this statement anywhere on NB’s website, the FDA, nor from any other newspaper article. Is there anyone that can substantiate this? I have emailed NB but am not holding my breath…
I would like to express my thanks to this website and the wonderful insight it has provided.
My 7 month old puppy had eaten ONE can of the Venison and Brown Rice within the last two weeks and has been vomiting for the past week…and I thought it was a new medication, she is getting bloodwork done are there any other tests anyone recommends for the vet to preform?
ITCHMO ADMIN: Tina, I will confirm that as well. When I spoke to the company, they said the same thing.
April 18th, 2007 at 11:59 am
Anyone who lives in Canada - please look into Orijin foods. I was at a conference and met the owner. It looks wonderful. Please let me know if anyone uses it or knows about it.
April 18th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Recently switched my cat to Orijen dry food and it’s outstanding! She hoovers it up. Best of all, to date I have absolute confidence in its quality. It’s made with 70% human grade meat plus 30% human grade fruits, vegetables and botanicals. Plus, it’s Canadian-made, which satisfies my nationalist leanings. Here’s a link to the site: http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/orijen/
April 18th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Great! They won’t release the name of the other companies that may have the rice protein concentrate in them. Guess what?!!!! Hills prescription diet h/d and k/d formulas for animals who already have compromised kidney’s have it in them! What are we to do????? SOMEBODY BETTER GET A HOLD ON THIS - the damn FDA doesn’t seem to be doing it!
April 18th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Tina, you are correct. It did say that on their original press release. Now it read with more dtail about what is wrong with the food and all you get now is that if you have one of the bad bags you should return it to the store for a full refund.
Looks like whoever needs it, is on their own with the vet bills. I’d advise calling them about that if it is necessary. Hope it isn’t.