Pet Food Recall: Royal Canin United States recall - also, hog farm quarantined
By Christie Keith
April 19, 2007
- If you have a sick pet or a question on your pet’s health, call your veterinarian.
- If you want your say on food-safety reform, Sen. Durbin’s office wants to hear from you.
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- If you want to report a sick or deceased pet, click here.
This just released by Royal Canin US:
It is with sincere regret that I inform you of a new and unfortunate development with some of our pet food products.
Although we have no confirmed cases of illness in pets, we have decided to voluntarily remove the following dry pet food products that contain rice protein concentrate due to the presence of a melamine derivative.
ROYAL CANIN SENSIBLE CHOICE® (available in pet specialty stores nationwide)
Dry Dog Food
- Chicken Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Puppy
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Adult
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Rice & Catfish Meal Formula AdultROYAL CANIN VETERINARY DIET™ (available only in veterinary clinics)
Dry Dog Food
- Canine Early Cardiac EC 22™
- Canine Skin Support SS21™Dry Cat Food
- Feline Hypoallergenic HP23™We are taking this proactive stance to voluntarily recall these products to avoid any confusion for our customers about which Royal Canin USA products are safe and which products may be affected.
Pet owners should immediately stop feeding their pets the Royal Canin USA dry pet food products listed above. Pet owners should consult with a veterinarian if they are concerned about the health of their pet. No other Royal Canin diets are affected by this recall and CONTINUE TO BE safe for pets to eat.
In addition, Royal Canin USA will no longer use any Chinese suppliers for any of our vegetable proteins.
Full release here. Presumably this is one more of the companies the FDA was refusing to name at Thursday’s press conference. That makes three that have recalled due to rice protein concentrate contamination: Natural Balance, Blue Buffalo, Royal Canin. We still don’t know who the other two companies were who received the contaminated rice protein powder - and the FDA knows and won’t say.
Royal Canin also recalled, earlier this week, some products manufactured and sold in South Africa due to melamine contamination in corn gluten.
Update: From the comments (thanks, Kathi!), reported by KTXL in Sacramento, CA:
A Stanislaus County (CA) hog farm was placed under quarantine after an industrial chemical that’s tainted more than 100 brands of dog and cat food was found in pig urine there, state agriculture officials said late Thursday.
Additional testing was under way to determine if the chemical, melamine, was present in the meat produced by American Hog Farm in Ceres since April 3, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
“Although all animals appear healthy, we are taking this action out of an abundance of caution,” State Veterinarian Dr. Richard Breitmeyer said in a statement. “It is unknown if the chemical will be detected in meat.”
State officials believe the melamine came from rice protein concentrate imported from China by Diamond Pet Food’s Lathrop facility, which produces products under the Natural Balance brand and sold salvage pet food to the farm for pig feed.
[...]
Dr. Mark Horton, the state public health officer, said so far “evidence suggests a minimal health risk to persons who may have consumed pork” from the farm.
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think maybe we could get RC to test for corn gluten contamination here if they use it? maybe they are ready to start the pro-active attitude?
Comment by straybaby — April 19, 2007 @ 11:01 pm
three down, two to go. Tomorrow IS friday. At least RC did it tonight, instead of waiting for the weekend.
So when does the corn gluten testing start? Paging Iams and Hills…
Comment by Laura — April 19, 2007 @ 11:10 pm
from the RC release (online):
“In addition, Royal Canin USA will no longer use any Chinese suppliers for any of our vegetable proteins.”
Okay, great. So what about the REST of your proteins? Chicken, lamb, fish. Where are they from?
Comment by Laura — April 19, 2007 @ 11:19 pm
I know that the pet food companies need to quit using any ingredient from China.
You know that the pet food companies need to quit using any ingredient from China.
If Darwin was right, in about a million years , the pet food companies will know that they need to quit using any ingredient from China.
How sweet, the little muddle headed fools still don’t get how many eyes are on them and are just waiting to pounce on any mistake. Gonna be an expensive education for them.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 19, 2007 @ 11:28 pm
This is like the bad dream that never ends.
The most important thing in cases like this is to get the information out as soon as humanly possible.
I cannot believe they’re intentionally withholding information that could potentially be saving animals’ lives — this is unconscionable.
I’m sick of the CYA mentality. These companies need to start looking after their customers instead of worrying about themselves.
Does anybody know about Royal Canin products in Europe? I’ve heard of the problems in South Africa, but nothing in Europe and nothing where I live, in the Netherlands. I don’t read or speak Dutch so it’s difficult for me to get information here.
Any information would be much appreciated. One of our cats passed away 3 weeks ago and the only thing she had that our other cat didn’t was Pounce Tuna Flavoured treats from Canada. They’re not on the list, but I’m very suspicious. We feed Royal Canin to our remaining cat and just purchased a bag a month ago which I’m afraid to open.
I’m still heartbroken over the loss of my poor Zoe and it would kill me to lose our other girl.
My heart goes out to all the grieving petparents and those trying to take care of their sick animals.
Comment by Jude — April 19, 2007 @ 11:28 pm
I’m so afraid each night to come here and read who’s recalled. I wrote to Purina One today after being unable to get them on a phone and asked IF any of their corn gluten was from China and if it has been tested. Still no reply.
Comment by Maureen (Lilly and Lucy's mom) — April 19, 2007 @ 11:32 pm
Here’s their recall for Canada:
April 10, 2007
ROYAL CANIN CANADA PROACTIVELY RECALLS FELINE DISSOLUTION FORMULA (canned)
Guelph, Ontario — As a result of new information received from Menu Foods late yesterday, Royal Canin Canada is recalling Medi-Cal Feline Dissolution Formula canned diet because one production lot (January 08 2009) contains contaminated wheat gluten. This product is produced for Royal Canin Canada by the Menu Foods Ontario plant. Medi-Cal Feline Dissolution Formula canned diet is Royal Canin’s only wheat gluten-containing canned product. This is the only Royal Canin or Medi-Cal product being recalled.
Royal Canin Canada has informed all Canadian veterinary clinics that Medi-Cal Feline Dissolution Formula canned diet, prescribed exclusively through veterinary clinics, should not be fed to cats. Although only one production lot was affected, to eliminate any risks to cats, Royal Canin Canada is proactively advising veterinary clinics to remove all of the Feline Dissolution Formula canned date codes.
This product is not available through retail outlets.
Comment by Kat — April 19, 2007 @ 11:45 pm
Nothing posted for Australia. They are in numerous countries.
Comment by Kat — April 19, 2007 @ 11:47 pm
Check out the subsidiaries & importers:
http://www.royalcanin.ca/worldwide/index_en.php
Comment by Kat — April 19, 2007 @ 11:48 pm
Comment by Kat — April 19, 2007 @ 11:48 pm
These are the same cities/countries as printed on my Hill’s bags. Iams has far many more.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 19, 2007 @ 11:54 pm
Anybody hear about the hog farm with possible melamine? If it hasn’t been posted yet, I’ll put it up.
Comment by Kathi — April 20, 2007 @ 12:05 am
I’m not sure that Royal Canin purchased directly from Wilbur-Ellis. In South Africa, they’ve stated they purchased from China.
http://www.mg.co.za/
http://tinyurl.com/2fj5nc
As reported on Thurs:
“The contaminated corn gluten was delivered to Royal Canin by a South African third-party supplier and appears to have originated from China,” the Royal Canin statement said.”…
…”All other Vets Choice and Royal Canin products (including products made in South Africa before March 8 2007 and products made outside South Africa) are not affected and can be safely fed to the pets,” the company said.”
__________________
What they ALL should be saying is “TODAY we believe our products to be safe; TOMORROW is a whole other story…stay tuned!”
Comment by Kat — April 20, 2007 @ 12:09 am
Kathi - I posted on another page here. Also, about the hog farm quarantine.
Comment by Kat — April 20, 2007 @ 12:10 am
Hog Farm in Stanislaus County, CA possibly tainted with melamine:
http://tinyurl.com/37mcbl
If this was already posted, my apologies.
Comment by Kathi — April 20, 2007 @ 12:14 am
Jude,
So sorry about Zoe. I lost a barely one year old cat recently, too, due to this scandal of poisoned foods. This is growing rapidly into a worldwide scandal, not only the North American pets are at risk. And I fear that it will soon be a general food scandal and not only a pet food scandal.
I would *not* buy European Royal Canin. Their company has used poisoned Chinese glutens at their manufacturing plants on two continents now and at this point I would assume the European plants use the same, until proven otherwise. Royal Canin has now shown very serious disregard for the quality of ingredients in its food.
There is also an issue of cross-contamination of products in facilities of *any* of the companies that have issued recalls. As consumers, we need to consider the strong possibility of cross-contamination occurring within any facility that processed contaminated ingredients. (As may have happened with the Pounce treats if they came from the American processing facility.) At the very least, buy no product that was manufactured at a facility where known contamination existed.
Comment by Laurie — April 20, 2007 @ 12:16 am
Kat, you must have answered while I was typing, sorry.
Well, that’s just great news now isn’t it. I wonder how they’ll try to squeak out of this one?
Comment by Kathi — April 20, 2007 @ 12:17 am
Right now I don’t know if I’m awake or asleep. Did I hear someone mention about corn gluten, too. Or was that just a potential possibility? I’m not fully awake yet.
Comment by Kathi — April 20, 2007 @ 12:23 am
Comment by Kathi
Corn gluten w/melanine is what prompted the South American Royal Canin recalls. Corn, wheat and rice glutens are all on record as culprits in recalled foods.
Comment by Laurie — April 20, 2007 @ 12:28 am
That’s ok, Kathi! Better to have something important like that article posted in a couple of areas… esp. with as many strings as this site has. :)
Comment by Kat — April 20, 2007 @ 12:31 am
i thought royal canin and blue buffalo were the safest i could buy. i am really worried now about feeding this food. i have become a label reader but guess we cant trust that anymore either.
Comment by shirley letizia — April 20, 2007 @ 12:32 am
Melamine in corn gluten was found in Royal Canin, South Africa:
“Results of the tests have confirmed that Vets Choice and Royal Canin dog and cat dry pet food products contained corn gluten contaminated with melamine,” a company statement on Thursday said.
Article: http://tinyurl.com/2fj5nc
Comment by Kat — April 20, 2007 @ 12:34 am
Whoops, Royal Canin corn gluten w/melamine is in South Africa.
Thanks Kathi for link on the article. Hadn’t seen it yet…
Comment by Laurie — April 20, 2007 @ 12:35 am
Laurie
Thanks. I’m so tired I couldn’t recall if I had actually read about it or not. But now that you confirmed it, I remember that I was going to respond to someone who had asked if South Africa grew their own corn or not.
And the answer to that question is yes, but I didn’t see anything that indicated they trade on the market. They also grow wheat, sugar beets, some fruits and veggies, but don’t seem to export those items.
I think they just trade for things like oil, coal, minerals, etc.
Comment by Kathi — April 20, 2007 @ 12:36 am
Kat, Lauri
Did you see the post I had on the Miller’s?
Comment by Kathi — April 20, 2007 @ 12:40 am
Laurie — thanks for your concern, I’m so very sorry to hear about your cat. My thoughts are with you and everyone who is going through this frustrating, awful situation.
And thanks for your advice. I was pretty much thinking the same thing, not to continue with Royal Canin. I will be talking to my vet and asking for recommendations.
I am also going to look into perhaps making food at home for my remaining cat, but it’s difficult because she has a pre-existing kidney condition (unrelated to this whole debacle) and has to be on a special diet.
Thanks again for responding and thank you to petconnection.com for keeping us up-to-date and caring for our pets. If it wasn’t for your web site (and Itchmo and howl911) I wouldn’t know half the stuff I know now.
((hugs))
Comment by Jude — April 20, 2007 @ 12:43 am
Just a little reminder (as my hero El Gato Negro taught me). Help your bloggers:
I know many of you have had to spend more money on food and vet bills as of late, but the folks who are trying to help you get through this all have donation buttons on their pages.
They aren’t doing this for the money, but I know that they wouldn’t turn down a contribution to help them keep on this issue.
These folks have been doing the work of the media and the government while trying to save lives. And they are doing it in the face of a multi-billion dollar industry that doesn’t want things to change. When you see some groups that are supposed to be looking out for your pets being slow to act you ask why.
Was it because the industry funds them? Or was it because they had bad information from people who are paid to put the best light on things?
I don’t know their motivations or what is in their hearts, I can only see their actions.
If you appreciate the work the bloggers are doing, sending them a contribution is one way to show your gratitude. When I was battling Disney/ABC/KSFO lots of people sent me contributions. It meant the world to me.
These are the heroes of this story, working hard to keep your pets safe and keeping you informed. Let ‘em know you noticed. Send ‘em some dough. (sans foreign gluten!)
Howl911 link.
Itchmo link.
Petfoodtracker link.
petsitusa link.
Comment by spocko — April 20, 2007 @ 12:44 am
I’m just going to post it again. It’s a rather interesting read.
http://tinyurl.com/375ad6
Talks a little about the “pizza box scandal” and Miller’s connection to E.F. Hutton.
Comment by Kathi — April 20, 2007 @ 12:46 am
RE: buy no product that was manufactured at a facility where known contamination existed.
Comment by Laurie — April 20, 2007 @ 12:16 am
———
The BIG problem is the packages/cans/labeling do not state who/where the manufacturing is preformed, nor does it state country of origin. A huge portion of labels just say a weasly statement: Distributed by: blah, blah, blah.
Comment by Kat — April 20, 2007 @ 12:48 am
Here is the University of Tennessee’s Skin Vet Homemade Pet Food Recipes. This lists numerous diets for various ailments & healthy animals too.
http://www.utskinvet.org/hando....._diets.pdf
Comment by Kat — April 20, 2007 @ 12:56 am
Comment by Kat
It is ridiculous that we have had to spend so much time sleuthing what pet foods were made where, isn’t it? And the fact that many of the companies have been sooo secretive where some of the foods are made is deceptive. The labeling issues are huge.
Comment by Laurie — April 20, 2007 @ 1:08 am
Here’s a link I just found about what pets need for food:
http://www.worldwise.com/petfood.html
Comment by Kat — April 20, 2007 @ 1:19 am
Jude
Good wishes across the miles to you and your furbaby. Its sure been tough to try to navigate thru the recalls and the information around them just to try to keep our babies safe and healthy. Would sure be nice to trust that the remaining foods on the shelves were safe, but I don’t think that is wise yet.
After checking with your vet, if you google Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins, you will find some excellent information on feeding your kitty home prepared food. She is an expert in pet nutrition and just testified at a recent Senate subcommittee hearing here in the US. I am just about to the point of home preparing food for my gang of dogs and cats myself, at least until this whole scandal resolves.
And let us know the news from the European front on the pet food issues. Its good to get a global perspective…
((hugs back))
Comment by Laurie — April 20, 2007 @ 1:25 am
Ditto, Laurie! I am fed up with “proprietary”.
I was at HEB (grocery store in South Texas) Thurs evening & refused to buy some frozen chicken because it was date coded — not a readable date on the package. I even went to three employees, including the Asst. Mgr. None could tell me the expiration date. I would not buy it. It was their store brand & they don’t put the date on it — pathetic!
Comment by Kat — April 20, 2007 @ 1:27 am
Comment by Kathi
Read the post about the Millers I think last night. Really good article with some connections that hadn’t been mentioned before, that I heard.
Comment by Laurie — April 20, 2007 @ 1:30 am
It is pretty bad when we can’t get a clear answer for basic things. How the heck can they sell meat, frozen or fresh without a readable expiration date? Grrr… like back to the pet food labeling that doesn’t even say where it is manufactured.
Comment by Laurie — April 20, 2007 @ 1:33 am
Jude,
I’m in the same boat you are (in the Netherlands and not speaking dutch). I don’t knwow about royal canin here. We were doing to get it for this little hellion that’s on my lap but I was just too scared. We got Bento Kronen instead because it’s made in belgium and not available in the us. It will depend on where you live if you can find it though. Ours is an outrageously hyper lab pup, but they do have cat food as well.
Paige
Comment by Paige — April 20, 2007 @ 1:35 am
Howl911 link.
Itchmo link.
Petfoodtracker link.
petsitusa link.
Amen, Spocko, we need to donate to keep these sites afloat! At this point they are saving many furbabies and have worked hard doing it. Spocko is deserving, too.
Comment by Laurie — April 20, 2007 @ 1:40 am
Here’s the link to Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins:
http://www.catchatradio.com/vet.htm
Interesting. She has other sites that have diabetic diets (and reasons why cats develop diabetes). Links are on catchat.
Comment by Kat — April 20, 2007 @ 1:43 am
nite all!
Comment by Kat — April 20, 2007 @ 1:44 am
Nite, Kat. We need our rest… tomorrow’s a Friday and more recalls await (unfortunately!)
Comment by Laurie — April 20, 2007 @ 1:48 am
That is very sad, but true, Laurie…
Comment by Kat — April 20, 2007 @ 1:49 am
Laurie: Thanks for the tip re Dr. Hodgkins, and Kat - thank you for the web site.
I will continue to monitor the news around Europe and if I find anything of use I will post it. Unfortunately, there’s very little info available her at the moment, but I’ll keep on top of it.
I did write an email to Royal Canin Netherlands at the end of March and received a reply 3 days later. At that point they assured me that their food was safe.
I wrote another email this morning, attaching links to articles you’ve provided here, and asked them specifically where they purchase their wheat gluten and where their cat food is made. I will let you know their response.
Paige: Thanks for the tip re Bento Kronen, I’ll check it out with my vet. Best luck to you and your pup.
Laurie and Kat, please do get some rest.
Take care all!
Comment by Jude — April 20, 2007 @ 2:19 am
Royal Canin in Europe is made in France.
Comment by Stefania — April 20, 2007 @ 3:49 am
What a thing to wake up too - but based on itchmo’s data not at all surprising. We are just finishing up an old bag of Royal Canin Calorie Control for our three cats - and have a new bag ready to go. It has corn gluten. Sounds like I’ll be speeding up the transition to different foods - just waiting for corn gluten to be next. Can’t talk to the vet about good options they have - as it is just Eukenuba, Science Diet, and Royal Canin. Luckily they are about 50 % canned now.
Comment by Jenny — April 20, 2007 @ 4:27 am
Regarding the hog farm thing…. Is there a legal definition of “salvage” pet food? For instance, is “salvage” the stuff that falls on the floor during a production run? Or is it the stuff that gets returned in a recall? I’m curious about how that works.
Comment by CatLady — April 20, 2007 @ 9:46 am
For Jude,
The restrictions on food stuff imported to EU member states is much tougher than here in the USA especially if country of origin is China. They are especially picky if GM(genetically modified) products. The EU Food Commisson claims to be the safest in the world.
Pet products made in an EU member state should be relatively safe. American brands made there have to adhere to the same import restrictions.
As to the Netherlands connection of Chinese imports. That stuff came probably into the Port of Rotterdam as a transit shipment(very common for Rotterdam) loaded on another vessel, destination USA and never entered in the EU food chain. Rotterdam is the largest harbor in Europe and functions frequently as a stopover for many shipments from Asia.
My brother works for the EU commission for many years,headquartered is Bruxelles.
Serijna
.
Comment by Serijna — April 20, 2007 @ 10:17 am
Well, so much for the safety of “buying small, buying local.” So for anyone who thought they were safe in opting out of the bigger food systems with all its unknowns and risks, this hog farm thing isn’t good.
Imagine buying your custom hog, and feeling reassured that it is “local.” That you “know” your food source. And the small guys were happy feeding discounted contaminated recalled pet food to these pigs going to market, most likely to people who thought they were doing the best buying this way.
NOTE TO SELF: Know your producers. Know their ethics? Big or small is irrelevant - businesses that are able to live with themselves and what they do is all that matters. Boy, finding ethical food suppliers feels like finding a needle in a haystack right now.
Comment by TC — April 20, 2007 @ 11:52 am
Well I’m back from the pet food store with a headache. I settled on some Bil Jac cat food. I’m not thrilled it has corn in it or that it has by products in it but I’m hoping its at least safe from the recalled or soon to be recalled ingredients.
The good thing is the cats love it!
Comment by Maureen (Lilly and Lucy's mom) — April 20, 2007 @ 12:34 pm
Serijna’s note to self is right on. If you can’t visit the factory and meet the people then something is up. It doesn’t mean you have to visit but if they won’t let you then buyer beware. I’ve taken Canidae off my approved list for that reason.
Comment by Dave — April 20, 2007 @ 12:42 pm
I know it may sound like a strange question, but is the CatSip cat milk ok to give cats still? I would like to give my cats extra fluid…wanted to know if anyone knew if it was ok to give this still?
Comment by Bonnie — April 20, 2007 @ 12:47 pm
I think unless I get some more info, I will have to do as Dave has done and take Felidae (Canidae) off my list.
I still can find no reason for their reluctance to just say where they process the food I buy from them.
Comment by TC — April 20, 2007 @ 1:13 pm
So reading here, I sense a concern with Canidae? I just switched from Natural Balance. I felt since they used domestic ingredients it would be safer. Am I wrong?
Comment by Sandra — April 20, 2007 @ 1:25 pm
I read on CNN that China insists it has not shipped rice protein or wheat gluten to the U.S. Who is lying?
Comment by Sandra — April 20, 2007 @ 1:27 pm
It is ridiculous to say people should not feed their dogs home cooked diets! I fed my dogs home cooked foods for years, using Dr. Pitcairn’s recipes in his book. I also have consulted a holistic canine nutritionist. Many of my dog show friends also cook for their dogs. It is very easy to make your dog’s food. Fresh and frozen for later consumption. I treated a sick dog for months with special homecooked food until he recovered. Plus there are small comapnies that make fresh food and will deliver it, using fresh, human grade ingredients. Of course, they may not be safe either. I am just out of town a lot and it is hard to do that when travelling. But I may start again. I am totally frustrated.
Comment by Sandra — April 20, 2007 @ 1:34 pm
Why are these four other companies stalling, in identifying themselves? Let’s see… Dumping stock, deleting incriminating e-mails, shredding documents, talking to attorneys, running last minute sales during the weekend…
I bought bone meal. I need to find out where that was made. The above comments mention that South Africa also grows sugar beets. I bought brewer’s yeast (grows on sugar beets). I worried about the duck gizzards that I fed last night. Not a real smart choice, considering that poisons concentrate in the organs. Even homemade has its own list of perils.
Every one of the five commercial foods that I’ve fed my baby during the past year has either the rice protein, the wheat gluten, or the corn gluten. I’ve sick, angry, and out of my mind over this.
He’s not eating them now, but, what do I do when the foods are recalled - rush him to the vet?
BLESSED BE.
WOLFIN )O(
Comment by WOLFIN — April 20, 2007 @ 2:04 pm
Take him to the vet and have blood work just to make sure your pet is okay.
Save all old food. Don’t reuse it. Store it separately.
Best of luck,
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 20, 2007 @ 2:07 pm
Sandra - can only speak for myself.
I just switched a cat to Felidae a few weeks ago, and from everything I researched, there is absolutely nothing obviously wrong with the product. My cat isn’t thrilled about the food yet. She eats it, but slowly. On the very good news front, she has stopped throwing up and some ear allergies appear to be resolving. So that is a huge step ahead of what was happening with her previous food. And I would like to continue using this food; however, my new policy of complete disclosure pet food companies may prevent me from doing so. I am done with squirrelly behavior.
My concern is Canidae/Felidae’s refusal to disclose where their product is made, beyond saying “in West Texas” and the implication of “don’t worry, all is well, our product is safe, you don’t need any information beyond that.” I am beyond being placated by such nonsense, and wish only to deal with companies who address my concerns like I am an adult.
There is nothing proprietary about where a manfacturer makes its food. Their very refusal to disclose what should be a mundane fact causes me great concern. I want to be fully informed. The company appears not to wish to have fully informed consumers. So there you go.
Comment by TC — April 20, 2007 @ 2:17 pm
I had forgotten too about how the show dog world somehow manages to do this complex mysterious “home feeding” for their valuable animals on a regular basis.
True too the comments that even with home cooking, there are no longer any absolute guarantees of quality. Probably never were, and we are just waking up to that. All dh and I say is that if the dogs get sickened over this, we will be sickened too, so being extremely careful for both them and us is the best we can do. We all feel bad for the cat, who is still relying on someone else’s product, and those people won’t even tell me who they hired to make it for them.
Comment by TC — April 20, 2007 @ 2:25 pm
One of my puppy buyers just called to tell me her 12 year old terrier has renal failure. She’s been feeding Sensible Choice and never associated the food with the illness. But this is very young for this breed to have kidneys fail and no known cause.
Comment by Sandra — April 20, 2007 @ 5:15 pm
Here’s a scary thought and I apologize if I sound paranoid. But this is an ideal “dry run” to test how safe our food distribution system is. How hard is it to introduce a toxin in the food chain in the U.S.? After all it took three weeks or longer for Menu Foods and the FDA to investigate or issue any alarms…if this were human and a serious toxin think of the fatalities. Looks like a serious vulnerability for Home Land Security to check out…or not. I can’t believe there isn’t better overview of our food imports!
Comment by Sandra — April 20, 2007 @ 5:18 pm
The government is just going to do what it has always done, maybe something good will come out of these hearings. I hope for the best.
But I do believe that we as citizens need to be proactive, care for the elderly, help where we can, and educate ourselves to take care of our pets and family.
The rest of it is beyond our control.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 20, 2007 @ 5:21 pm
Not paranoid at all Sandra, the terrorists are very intelligent and cunning, in fact, one step ahead of the U.S. We are like before 911 again, every gov agency staring into space or inspecting 90 year old ladies purses. I believe the possiblity is very good, we will see horrific things in the near future.
Comment by Gary — April 20, 2007 @ 5:24 pm
I don;t trust any of the dog food so I cook rice and put chicken threw it and my yorkies love it and my Vet says its good for them also. A little time comsuming but much safer!!
Comment by LoisL — April 20, 2007 @ 10:08 pm
I’ve been home cooking for my dog, but he still gets Milk Bone treats and some dry Purina Dog Chow on the side. I’ve been to both these web sites, and both insist that the products I’m still using are safe. Should I believe them, or try making my own treats? This Don’t tell the public where the “bad stuff” went is CRIMINAL!
Comment by Falcon — April 21, 2007 @ 12:49 pm
I think maybe the “bad stuff” to the hogs and possibly other human consumption food. Spinach, lettuce, peanut butter, apple sauce to name a few human recalls. And our pets—— my cat is in kindy failure and I am desperatly looking for homemade receipes. I am beside myself with my beloved cat and now worried of what are we humans supposed to eat??????? Don’t even ask me what I think of our government and their guidelines !!!!!
Comment by Gloria Bowser — April 23, 2007 @ 8:55 pm