The Employees of Nestlé Purina PetCare Company said:

“Purina has been using wheat gluten in its products for nearly twenty years without incident. In fact, the same quality wheat gluten that is used in pet food products is also used in human foods.”

Oh, thank you. Now I feel a lot better.

Sincerely,

The Employees of Nestlé Purina PetCare Company

Comment by ashlee — April 26, 2007 @ 12:44 pm

The pet foods were sold to customers in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, who further sold the products to their customers through catalog mail-orders or retail outlets.

Only the following dry pet foods are involved in the recall:

DOCTORS FOSTER & SMITH CHICKEN & BROWN RICE FORMULA ADULT LITE DOG FOOD, NET WT. 5 LBS., 12.5 LBS, and 25 LBS; Code dates: Best Used By Jan 24, 09; Best Used By Feb 8, 09; Best Used By Feb 26, 09; Best Used By April 10, 09; Best Used By April 17, 09;

DOCTORS FOSTER & SMITH CHICKEN & BROWN RICE FORMULA ADULT LITE CAT FOOD, NET WT. 3 LBS. and 7 LBS.; Code date: Best Used By March 13, 09;

LICK YOUR CHOPS LAMB MEAL, RICE & EGG CAT FOOD, 4 LBS. packages,
Code date: Best Used By April 29, 08;

Bulk CHICKEN & BROWN RICE FORMULA ADULT LITE DOG FOOD sold to one consignee (SmartPak) in a 2000 lbs. tote, Ship date: Feb 9, 2007.

No illnesses or injuries have been reported to date.

Pet owners who purchased the pet foods should immediately discontinue using the products and return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Pet owners should consult with a veterinarian if they have any health concerns with their pet. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-610-821-0608.

I have totally lost all faith in food. My friend “treated” her guide dog with a few pieces of Sensible Choice after eading the ingredients and finding no rice protein in it-a few days later it was pulled and her dog is very ill. He has melamine chrystals in his bladder -kidneys and stones. she has an infectionin her artificial knew-a tear in her other knee -and her husband is in Iraq-He is a golden and had at the most 100 bits of kibble when she saw the recall and looked again at th ingrediants-funny it now had rice gluten-
We all need to raise this issue with our congress men or this willhappen again.
Carol

Dear Kerry:

I apologize for the confusion. We do have some temporary customer service
representatives who are helping us answer questions about the recall, we
will make sure that they get the correct information about corn gluten meal.

The corn gluten meal that is used in all of our brands is grown, processed,
and purchased solely within the United States. It is not imported by Diamond
Pet Foods or by our suppliers.

Please be reassured that the Diamond and Nutra Nuggets products are ok to
feed.

Sincerely,

—
Melissa Brookshire, DVM
Director of Veterinary Services
Diamond Pet Foods
573-229-4203 (office)

So I guess I can now open those bags that I have been holding on to. :)

I have been feeding my cats castor and pollux for three months and somehow had got the impression they were this little organic company in oregon making their own food. LOL(bitterly)

Anyway you can go to castorpollux.com and read the statements concerning the recall. It seems like all their food is safe.

Interestingly they started their business after creating a “multi-million dollar business distributing Iams in China.” Check out “their story” tab.

Also, read the questions and answers. Who made their food——MENU!

Im still using it until I can figure out something better.

Thanks everyone, chrystine

End Quote ———————————-

It will be only ‘business as usual’ if *we* allow it.

Dear Iams: you used my hands to poison my cats. I don’t think I’ll use your product ever again.

Dear other Pet Food ‘Manufacturers’: if you are somehow, anyhow connected to menu food INCOME fund, forget it. My memory is good, and I have all the two reasons with blue eyes and dark faces in the world to remember how you abused my trust. And I will remember this scandal to the stoneages and back, trust me.

Pet food Manufacturers not -yet- involved in this scandal: Does the word ‘probation’ mean anything to you?

The time when I believed you, and thought you would be better equipped to make the food for my cats is *so* over, you have no idea .

For the rest of my natural life, I will be weary, cautious and willing to believe the worst in a heart beat when it comes to pet food.

I accept this education, and it will help me make another big step towards mental independence and ‘unruliness’.

April 25, 2007

Dear Valued Purina Consumer:

Nothing is more important to Nestlé Purina PetCare Company than the health and well-being of the pets whose nutrition has been entrusted to Purina products by their owners. The loss of a pet or a pet’s illness due to pet food contamination is unacceptable to us, and a tragedy for those involved.

We want to take this opportunity to provide you with some valuable information about the recent limited recall of two Purina products - ALPO® brand Prime Cuts wet dog food and Mighty Dog® brand pouch-packaged dog food - and the possible confusion surrounding wheat gluten as a safe and good ingredient used in pet foods.

Nestlé Purina associates, most of whom are pet owners, feed Purina products. All of us are working diligently and with a total commitment to address and resolve this situation; to respond to concerns of consumers, customers and veterinarians; and to take the necessary actions to protect the health and well-being of the millions of dogs and cats who eat Purina foods.

We want you to know that wheat gluten, in and of itself, is not the reason for the recent recall of ALPO Prime Cuts canned and Mighty Dog pouch products. According to the FDA, the recall was due to a contaminant, subsequently identified as melamine, which was found in specific lots of wheat gluten.

Wheat gluten is a rich natural protein extracted from wheat or wheat flour. Purina has been using wheat gluten in its products for nearly twenty years without incident. In fact, the same quality wheat gluten that is used in pet food products is also used in human foods. Because we believe you might be concerned or get asked about the role of this ingredient as a result of the recall, please click here for a summary of the current facts surrounding this issue.

On April 16, the FDA announced that a quantity of rice protein concentrate also was subject to melamine contamination. Purina does not use rice protein concentrate in any of its U.S. or Canadian products. We do know it as a commonly used pet food ingredient and normally another good source of protein when not inappropriately manipulated through contamination.

We also want you to know that our already rigorous evaluation and food safety program for our raw materials has been reviewed and enhanced to now detect melamine. Despite the fact that melamine is a completely foreign substance to food and should not be found in wheat gluten, we are now testing every lot of wheat gluten received for the presence of this contaminant. Further, we are implementing additional technology to further screen our pet food ingredients.

We encourage you to review “The Facts about Contamination and the Pet Food Recall,” and share it with those you feel may be interested in the information, in order to provide clearer information surrounding the recall, wheat gluten and its important role in the production of our pet foods.

We pledge that Purina is doing everything possible to continue ensuring each ingredient that goes into our products is safe for pets. Please know that nothing is more important to us than protecting the health and wellbeing of the millions of dogs and cats who eat Purina pet foods. We continue to cooperate fully with the FDA during its ongoing investigation and rest assured, we will continue to take the appropriate actions necessary. This is a responsibility all Purina associates take very seriously.

We are confident that consumers can continue to place their trust in Purina products.

For more information and answers to Frequently Asked Questions, please click here.

Sincerely,

The Employees of Nestlé Purina PetCare Company

Something I had been thinking on, and Kathi you stated it clearly,
A man was walking on a beach one day when he saw a child picking up starfish that washed ashore the night before. ( I imagined them to look as many as the stars in the sky on the clearest night).
He watched as the child threw a starfish back into the water. The child then continued down the beach with the intense sun on his back, picking up another starfish and tossing it in the water, and then another, and another laughing in delight. The man followed and soon caught up with the child and told him, “The beach is covered with starfish, you cannot possibly hope to save them all. What you are doing does not matter at all” The child looked up at the man, sun shinning in his eyes, almost blinding him. Smiling, with another starfish in hand said, “but I saved this one.” The child then turned, sun intensely heating the back, all the while feeling the cool breeze reinvigorating the face, and so the child went on to the next starfish to assist him to his place. Waiting, to be returned to the ocean of life, it’s rightful place.

Something I read long ago, and ran across, not so long ago, and thought on through this deal, and I think it is fitting. Don’t remember the exact words or who wrote it,
mary