Pet food recall: Costco speaks
By Christie Keith
April 26, 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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A reader of this blog told us yesterday that her local Costco was pulling pet food off its shelves, and an employee said it was because the food was “bad.” None of the Costco Kirkland brand foods had been recalled at that time.
I contacted Costco but received a “no comment” response, along with a statement that someone else could contact me who could answer my questions.
Today at around 4 PM Pacific Time, I heard from Craig Wilson, Vice President, Food Safety and Quality Assurance for Costco.
He said Costco was informed last Friday at around 4 PM by American Nutrition, which manufactures their canned dog food (they do not make a canned cat food), that some of the Wilbur-Ellis melamine-contaminated rice protein powder had been used to manufacture some foods in Costco’s Kirkland Signatures pet food line. He said Costco did not suspect their foods might have a problem prior to this because they were unaware that any ingredients in their food came from China, or that there was rice protein powder in any of their foods. Rice protein powder is not listed on the label; the label ingredient in question is “rice flour.”
After hearing from American Nutrition, he immediately ordered all suspect foods removed from the shelves in all Costco stores nationwide. “Even with no test results yet from American Nutrition, I pulled it nationwide,” he said.
During this afternoon’s FDA press conference, CBS News’ Debbye Turner, a veterinarian, asked the FDA’s David Elder if there were any more recalls planned or pending. Elder answered no, he wasn’t aware of any further pet food recalls that were planned at this time. He stressed the investigation was still open, and that they’d keep following the trail.
While Costco did not officially notify the FDA it was recalling the food until around 3 PM Pacific Time today, well after the press conference had ended, according to Wilson the FDA had already tested Kirkland pet foods, not subject at this time to any recalls whatsoever, and discovered one of them contained melamine.
Wilson stressed that Costco acted with caution to prevent harm to any pets who might eat the food. They believed their food was safe, and American Nutrition’s own tests did not detect melamine in the food. It was FDA testing that detected the contamination. Wilson said that American Nutrition is working with the FDA, and that “many” other brands are involved, “not just Costco.”
“The affected dates are from August ‘06-April ‘07,” he said. “I’m sending a letter out to each and every person who purchased the dog food during the recall period and to make sure they get a full refund. There have been no out of the ordinary reports of illnesses on any of our Kirkland dogs.”
Costco, he said, is not relying on outside testing to assure the safety of their pet foods. “We are testing everything, absolutely everything, internally. Pet food’s under tremendous scrutiny right now.” He said this includes their dry pet foods as well as canned, although they do not contain rice flour.
The recalled food is Kirkland Signature Super Premium Canned Food, item # 38436, best buy dates of Aug. 21 08 to April 15 of 09.
I wrote the FDA immediately after the press conference asking about the statement Capt. Elder made about there being no planned further recalls, and pointing out the Costco recall that had been announced that day. In an email at 2:34 pm PT this afternoon, the FDA’s Michael Herndon said, “As Captain Elder said on the call we are not aware of any other recalls at this time.”
I wrote back asking for clarification, and at 3:03 pm PT, received another email, stating, “We have not received any information from Costco regarding a recall so far today.” He did not respond to further emails.
The question of how the FDA could state that they were not aware of any pending recalls in their afternoon press conference when they had already detected melamine in un-recalled foods - and as Wilson said, apparently not just in the Costco foods - remains an open one.
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Natural balance canned recalled. On their web site now:
Breaking Recall News: Thursday, April 26th, 2007
Our canned manufacturer, American Nutrition, from Ogden Utah just informed us that they are recalling all canned products made in their plant that contain rice protein concentrate. American Nutrition continued by telling us that they added this ingredient to four of our canned products without informing us. The four products involved are:
Chicken Formula Canned Dog Food 13 oz
Lamb Formula Canned Dog Food 13 oz
Beef Formula Canned Dog Food 13 oz
Ocean Fish Formula Canned Cat Food 3 oz & 6 oz
To make sure that this does not happen in the future, we are demanding from each of our co-packers daily production record of all of our formulas before they are shipped to us. We have reviewed all of our other products and determined that they are free of rice protein concentrate and that all of our other product labels are accurate.
There have been no illnesses reported related to feeding these formulas, however, to comply with the American Nutrition recall of the four products, we will pull all dates and batches of these four formulas. We also ask that our customers return unused product for a full credit to their store.
Comment by CatLady — April 26, 2007 @ 5:32 pm
There is a serious ethical question which doesn’t seem to be raised by mainstream media. How is it that these unscrupulous pet food companies were allowed to sell tainted product to hog farmers for human consumption? I’m not questioning the pet food industry, we all know there isn’t a shred of dignity there, but why did the FDA allow this crud to be sold as hog feed?
Comment by Frank — April 26, 2007 @ 5:34 pm
I have not yet seen anything substantiating that the hog farmers were sold recalled pet food. I have seen articles that said that hog farmers are sold “sweepings”, which seemed to imply that they were sold pet food that was waste from the manufacturing process. I suspect that the hog farmers victims in this, too.
The difference is that someone is paying the hog farmers for the loss of their livestock. Grieving pet parents aren’t necessarily getting any compensation.
Comment by CatLady — April 26, 2007 @ 5:40 pm
The Royal Canin Calorie Control Canned for Felines lists rice flour as an ingredient. According to their website, this is a different ingredient from RPC. I sure hope that remains the case as I’ve been feeding it to my cats (without incident) for over a month. SIGH! This recall seems like it will never, ever end.
Comment by Courtney — April 26, 2007 @ 5:40 pm
So the FDA baldfaced LIED, color me shocked.
Paging Senator Durbin.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 26, 2007 @ 5:40 pm
Frank, I get the impression there is some kind of behind the scenes maneuvering. By it being sold as stock feed, more of the government agencies & media hopped up and started working, FSIS even!
I had written them (FERP, FSIS.usda) and suggested that now would be an excellent time to see if their theories worked in a real exercise of the programs-surely they didn’t want to look like FEMA or the FDA! Doubt my comments did any good, but it should work better with more enforcement power and abiity to back some of the PFI into a corner with them all involved.
Or, I could just be trying to make myself feel better about the whole situation by thinking that :)
Ann
Comment by Ann — April 26, 2007 @ 5:45 pm
and yet the American Nutrition website http://www.anibrands.com/index.html still says “AMERICAN NUTRITION AND ITS PRODUCTS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECENT NATIONWIDE
PET FOOD RECALL!”
UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!! I said in frustration the other day that I was ready to just start throwing mice in the blender for my cats, today I would, but now I’d be afraid of what the mice have been fed…..
Will this ever end?
Comment by michelle — April 26, 2007 @ 5:45 pm
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul IS recalled - although they don’t even list it as an ingredient, it’s rice protein that is tainted? What the Heck?
Go to ITCHMO.com
Comment by shelly — April 26, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
Diamond is Recalling their own food now, too-
Diamond Lamb & Rice Formula cans
Same place- ITCHMO.com
Comment by shelly — April 26, 2007 @ 5:51 pm
Lawsuit City
http://news.justia.com/cases/menu-foods/
Comment by Steve — April 26, 2007 @ 5:52 pm
Courtney - is that the same as the vet diet? I don’t see it listed?
ROYAL CANIN Veterinary Diet™ feline CALORIE CONTROL CC™ HIGH PROTEIN IN GEL Can
Water, meat by-products, chicken by-products, minerals [calcium carbonate, sodium tripolyphosphate, calcium sulfate, potassium chloride, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate], carrageenan, guar gum, carob gum, vegetable oil, natural flavors, taurine, DL-methionine, vitamins [choline chloride, DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), biotin, D-calcium pantothenate, niacin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid].
Comment by Jenny — April 26, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
Diamond Pet Foods has announced it is withdrawing a limited number of canned products manufactured by American Nutrition. This action is limited to three specific canned products: Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Kitten Formula 5.5 oz. cans, and Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Puppy Formula 13 oz. cans, and Diamond Lamb & Rice Formula for Dogs 13 oz. cans.
Comment by Boopadaboo — April 26, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
Can someone help please?
Someone, somewhere posted a list of suspect ingredients including wheat gluten, corn gluten and rice protein concentrate. There are others and I just can’t remember what they were.
I’m trying to pass this information on to another board that I post on and I want to make sure I’m not forgetting an ingredient.
Thanks in advance.
Comment by Sharon — April 26, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
Comment by shelly — April 26, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul IS recalled
So can someone explain to me what the difference is between just “withdrawing” a product, as it says on the Chicken Soup website http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/, versus a “voluntary recall”???
No wonder I feel like a lost and confused mushroom.
Comment by michelle — April 26, 2007 @ 5:54 pm
OK - see it now on the high fiber one.
Comment by Jenny — April 26, 2007 @ 5:54 pm
So - is there anyone else American Nutrition manufactures for?
Comment by Jenny — April 26, 2007 @ 5:59 pm
Ok, I’m trying to think of positives…
The packers/manufacturers are making the Brands look really, really bad.
That is really, really good for pet owners because the Brands look like turkeys in the rain. (you know, they look up and they drown in the rain)
These “surprises” about rice protein being in their product and their “surprise” at ingredients sourcing from China appears to be making the “Brand” end of the business feel one hefty awareness of their lack of monitoring their products.
They aren’t in control of their Brand - this whole mess has pointed that out to many of them and they are surely aware their target market thinks less highly of them.
(Or, that’s what they’d like us to think, that the Brands are victims of the packer/manufacturer).
How can a Brand pound their chest after all the “our food is completely safe”, “our food is NOT part of the recall”, “you can recommend our food to others as being safe”.. duh.. that PR is bludgeoned to death thru all this.
The “Brands” look as impotent as the FDA.
Right now, IAMS actually gave them all pointers on how to address this at the beginning instead of the last to know and now you look like an Igit.
Now they HAVE to work at their product quality and how they clean this mess off their labels & reputations.
That’s positive, right?
Ann
Comment by Ann — April 26, 2007 @ 6:02 pm
Michelle-(aka Confused Mushroom :) )
I actually looked it up just now- the difference between a recall and withdrawal. A withdrawal is a Category 1 Recall. Ha. Learned somethin’.
Here’s my source: (How do I make this shorter?)
I googled “difference between recall and withdrawal” to get to it.
That’s one heck of a link.
Comment by shelly — April 26, 2007 @ 6:07 pm
Comment by Sharon — April 26, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
ANY plant protein would be suspicious. Soy, pea, etc.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 26, 2007 @ 6:10 pm
Comment by shelly — April 26, 2007 @ 6:07 pm
Shelly, in future, use Tiny URL to shorten the link so it doesn’t put the blog out of whack.
Here: http://tinyurl.com/create.php?url=
Comment by Nadine Long — April 26, 2007 @ 6:12 pm
sharon - this might be what you are looking for:
The South Africa report brings to three the number of Chinese products with melamine contamination — wheat gluten, rice protein concentrate and corn gluten.
Veterinarians and nutritionists said that other potential targets for tampering could include whey protein isolate, soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, soy grits and soy lecithin.All are pet food ingredients valued for the protein punch that they pack.
Comment by Boopadaboo — April 26, 2007 @ 6:12 pm
thanks nadine :)
Comment by Sharon — April 26, 2007 @ 6:12 pm
Sharon -
Wheat gluten, corn gluten, corn meal, soy protein, rice bran, and rice protein concentrate. From the FDA website transcripts of April 24 news conference, page 3 http://tinyurl.com/yokqt8.
Comment by michelle — April 26, 2007 @ 6:13 pm
The world will wake up when Pizza is recalled.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 26, 2007 @ 6:13 pm
Comment by Nadine Long — April 26, 2007 @ 6:13 pm
And Beer
Comment by Steve — April 26, 2007 @ 6:15 pm
OK, now let’s all say it together and this time WITH FEELING:
All the pet foods currently on the shelves are perfectly safe…
Comment by slt — April 26, 2007 @ 6:16 pm
Did anyone notice another shoe dropped and we went backward on recall manufacturing dates???
I just reread Gina’s above blog and clipped this quote by the Costco representative, Greg Wilson.“The affected dates are from August ‘06-April ‘07,”
AUGUST 06
We have gone well past the November 06 mark of the Menu wheat gluten recalls here. Wilber-Ellis mentioned July 06 but this is the first that I remember seeing of a pet food company going back this far…
Comment by Gracie — April 26, 2007 @ 6:17 pm
Yeah Gracie - I noticed that too!
Comment by Jenny — April 26, 2007 @ 6:18 pm
Ichmo has an interesting new piece about the second supplier
Comment by Bonni — April 26, 2007 @ 6:18 pm
thanks michelle :)
Comment by Sharon — April 26, 2007 @ 6:20 pm
I’m now keep wondering if tainted food may have killed my 16 year old kitty. . . it was months before the recall but he was healthy and fine at his vet checkup. Then he just had convulsions and died. I fed him mostly dry but also various brands of wet and don’t even remember what brands as I just added them a few days a weeks as ‘treat’ :-(
Comment by Bonni — April 26, 2007 @ 6:21 pm
Shelly -
Thanks for the look up. The link isn’t showing, think I have a glitch, it was working a minute ago. I’ll google your search and get it that way.
Should have invested in Kleenex, I’d be rich by now for crying and allergies, gotta love Spring and cats. NOT Menu foods or the Chinese, though.
:-) The Mushroom
Comment by michelle — April 26, 2007 @ 6:22 pm
BREAKING NEWS: Natural Balance Expands Recall to Canned Foods
Natural Balance recalls more products — this time canned. Same ingredient (rice protein concentrate) different manufacturer (American Nutrition). However “rice protein”, or any variation there of, is not listed in the ingredients for any of these recalled products.
http://www.itchmo.com
Comment by Steve — April 26, 2007 @ 6:25 pm
Okay, I want to know about the possible potential targets for tampering…I read the previous post. How about corn grits (Eukanuba dry)? I had never heard of corn grits in pet food.
Comment by Valerie — April 26, 2007 @ 6:27 pm
Sharon -
Try this to get to the FDA transcript - I couldn’t get the other one to work.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2g5gqb
Comment by michelle — April 26, 2007 @ 6:30 pm
Rice protein isn’t listed as an ingredient because it is allergentically neutral and if people saw it they would think, oh no my pets allergic to rice and not buy the product (that’s my guess) that and pet companies are pulling a fast one, maybe both.
Comment by Issy — April 26, 2007 @ 6:37 pm
The FDA, aren’t they the folks that are still saying that officially only 16 pets have died?
I guess my beautiful, loving, dead best friend doesn’t count, and the same holds for hundreds or thousands of other victims. Have they NO SHAME?
Comment by MFEMFEM — April 26, 2007 @ 6:38 pm
Lortscher Agri Service, Inc. Got ahold of some tainted protein concentrate. Besides selling it to Lasi dog food,
http://tinyurl.com/ywe6g7
They also supply:
http://www.lasibern.com/
Comment by shelly — April 26, 2007 @ 6:47 pm
This is nuts.
When this first started with Menu Foods I was tellng my friends to try something like Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance or Wellness. Everyone of these companies have had at least one product recalled.
Ok - how about Innova - well MF makes some of their wet - how can we know something ‘extra’ wasn’t added to that?
Merrick - on this site or Itchmo I read that they are basically food renderers. Chicken Soup fts has product recalled.
25 years ago, when I was a poverty striken student - I fed my cats Meow Mix (hey I was eating generic Mac & Cheese at 6 boxes/$1). We were all perfectly healthy.
Comment by Andrea 2CatMom — April 26, 2007 @ 6:48 pm
MFEMFEM,
Your loving friend counts and myself and many on this board will never support any company involved in this mess/cover-up again. So far I have been lucky, but only lucky, it easily could have been my best friends. I am so sorry for your loss. We all counted on the food to be safe, that our government was a safety net. All wrong but not our or your fault.
Comment by Robin — April 26, 2007 @ 6:53 pm
MFEMFEM: Join the My Pet Counts! Post Card Blitz this saturday. The death of your best friend *does* count. Let the world know.
Comment by Marilyn — April 26, 2007 @ 6:56 pm
I am disgusted. My cat, after the recalls, ate New Balance containing rice flour. Not recalled but a statement given says used without knowledge the rice protein for the rice flour in the prouducts recalled.
How would one know if not labeled and used anyway that it was not in another as well?!
Checked another brand given after the recall and Potato Protein is used - is this another form of Protein concentrate? Seems like it is and should be tested- Pet Promise
Used Organix canned (menu foods)turkey with RPC and Soybean meal, extruded soy seeds.They are currently testing again if not complete their dry and wet. Haven’t others tested and not shown when FDA has?
Other importer? other brands (5 more)? foods Prion tested? RPC in other brands? All of new balance as not listed and flour is on label? Potato protein?
I do not believe there are not many more and that the ones not tested are ok if use concentrate powder,potato/any source protein. Any brand by any of the mfg. with a suspect source needs testing-and FDA testing as well.
I think my cat is lucky to be here right now - or as I have said, simply “graced” as surely am I today.
How do we know that the rest of the foods from CJ foods, Diamond and the companies involved do not include more companies from these mfgs.?
Comment by maddy — April 26, 2007 @ 6:58 pm
Andrea 2CatMom - regarding “Merrick - on this site or Itchmo I read that they are basically food renderers.” alot of people post rumors and hearsay and such, so I don’t necessarily believe everything I see on the internet. You need to do research. Merrick may be one of the few pet food companies left that is safe, for the time being anyway. They make all of their own food. They answer my emails. And they have many varieties of Merrick 5 Star canned food for dogs & cats - so you don’t have to feed them the same flavors every day. I am going to post 2 emails I received from them. I encourage you to call or email them directly if you have any questions, this is the best way to gauge the type of company you are dealing with. Hope this helps! I know how difficult it is to find food to feed our pets these days.
Comment by catlover — April 26, 2007 @ 7:04 pm
1st email from Merrick:
Thank you for your email and sorry for the delay, we have been extremely busy due to the recent recalls.
We do not use any Wheat Gluten or rice protein concentrate in any of our foods. Our ingredients are from a USDA sourced facility. We do buy or Venison and Lamb from New Zealand and Australia; nothing from China.
We do update our website so you can watch for any updates concerning the recalls.
Thank you,
Toni
Merrick Pet Care
Comment by catlover — April 26, 2007 @ 7:04 pm
Catpeople: is it time to consider these alternatives?
http://www.themousefactory.com/
http://www.frozendirect.com/shop/home.php
(warning - this site has photos of teeny tiny frozen mice)
Don’t think you need the blender - I think you just thaw ‘em and toss ‘em to the cat.
If I didn’t have to watch the cats play with them before they ate them, or have to clean up the bits and pieces left behind, I might consider this.
Heck, I might consider it anyway, especially if we have another recall marathon like we did over the past few hours.
Comment by cerridwen — April 26, 2007 @ 7:04 pm
2nd email from Merrick:
Hello,
I apologize for the delayed response, as you can imagine, due to the recent Pet Food recalls, we have been inundated with e-mails, phone calls and voice messages. By the way, none of our products are affected by these recalls.
I can assure you that we only use Human grade ingredients in our Merrick 5 Star products (and always have) and we 100% do not use any rendered meats or by-products in any pet food products that we manufacture. Merrick offers the largest line of natural holistic dog cans in the industry (18 canned varieties).
Merrick Pet Care does not own a rendering facility. There is a Merrick family member who is an investor in an outside rendering facility; however, the facility is not located in the same city as our manufacturing facilities. It is totally illegal for any dog food company to use rendered materials in their products. The main purpose of the rendering facility is to remove the hides from the cows and then sell them to leather manufacturing companies.
Merrick Pet Care is the only award winner that has won three consecutive years in a row Best Pet Foods of The Year from the Glycemic Research Institute. These diets are made to help diabetic, older and overweight dogs.
We absolutely 100% strictly adhere to our corporate philosophy as stated above and no rendered parts are used in our premium products. Please keep in mind that our line consists of various protein sources other than beef such as chicken, turkey, duck, quail, lamb, trout, venison and buffalo.
If I can be of further assistance let me know.
Sincerely,
Toni
Merrick Pet Care
Comment by catlover — April 26, 2007 @ 7:05 pm
To CatLady,
Your question about contaminated pet food going to hog farms —
the information was part of an article I saw on MSNBC.com. It stated “Salvaged pet food from companies known or suspected of using a tainted ingredient was shipped to hog farms in seven states for use as feed.” It did not specify a source.
Comment by Donna — April 26, 2007 @ 7:08 pm
The bottom line (and that is all that matters to these gollums) is that there is NO PENALTY other than “market forces” to punish producers that fail to recall poisoned pet food. That simple fact explains why there are so many holdouts. And there are no penalties for retailers who fail to pull recalled food.
What is wrong with this picture?
Comment by David — April 26, 2007 @ 7:10 pm
A week ago I, too, called Costco, as I had heard that a friend buys their dog food. I was told all their food was perfectly fine. I asked, “How do you know?” Of course I was treated like an alien from Mars.
Please listen up everyone: Forget about recall dates and stamped dates or codes on packaging. If A FOOD IS NOT ON THE RECALL LIST but you’re in doubt that a food is safe DON’T BUY IT. Think about it. Is it worth the gamble?
Comment by Lynn — April 26, 2007 @ 7:13 pm
I took some of the NB fish canned cat food over to a friend - as a favor. I just called her. She hadn’t used it yet thank goodness.
Comment by Issy — April 26, 2007 @ 7:16 pm
so Costco found out on Friday, pulled the food but nobody knew until today? so if someone bought the food Friday before 4PM they have been feeding it for a week now. . . .
do i have this right?!
Comment by straybaby — April 26, 2007 @ 7:17 pm
Just too d***ned easy for these companies to recall ALL foods. They have to nickel & dime us to death.
Comment by VJ — April 26, 2007 @ 7:17 pm
MFEMFEM: Join the My Pet Counts! Post Card Blitz this saturday. Here at http://www.scoringpets.com were going to send post cards Too!
Comment by William Kanitz — April 26, 2007 @ 7:28 pm
CatLover - thanks for the info on Merrick. The biggest problem is my cats won’t eat it. Ditto for most cans of Wellness. Maybe my cats crave that ‘great melamine taste.’
I’m going to keep rotating my dry and wet foods daily so they never get a lot of one brand or flavor in a short time. I’ve always done this, and I think its what saved them from the toxic Nutro pouches and oh-so safe cans (until they weren’t). I bought 30 cans and pouches over a 3 month period - but they were interspersed with several other brands’ cans and two different dry foods. If nothing else - I don’t have a problem if I have to drop a food (or two, or three or whatever).
Comment by Andrea 2CatMom — April 26, 2007 @ 7:31 pm
As far as I know this evening, Wellness has NOT had any products recalled.
Comment by Shawn — April 26, 2007 @ 7:31 pm
FURTHER TO THE POSTCARD BLITZ:
From the Howl911 site:
Note from Howl 911: If you do not have a digital photo of your pet to print onto a card or supply to a print shop, you can use clear packing tape to afix your pet’s photo to the front of the postcard.
Also, Howl 911 has created customizable M.S. Word postcard templates, front and back, for you to use. This template can either be used with Avery postcards # 3263 or printed on any 8 1/2” x 11” cardstock paper which can be cut into fourths after printing the templates onto the front and back sides of the paper.
http://howl911.com/petfoodreca....._blitz.htm
They will also make and mail the postcards for you for a small fee.
After the FDA’s comment that the number of dead or sick pets is not an important issue and may never be determined, it seems that this postcard blitz may be the only way to get some public attention as to the actual numbers of affected pets.
Comment by mal — April 26, 2007 @ 7:33 pm
Andrea, I have always rotated my cat foods too, it may be what saved mine from Nutro hell too. But there’s not too many brands left to rotate now …. sorry kitties! At least mine are eating the Merrick, especially the New England Boil. They don’t like the hypoglycemic varieties too much though. I can’t get them to eat Felidae either, and that seems like a food food, but they have boycotted it.
Comment by catlover — April 26, 2007 @ 7:36 pm
Check out this advertisement for “Protein Powder” by XuZhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. Ltd (the Chinese company that provided the contaminated rice gluten to ChemNutra)
“Contain 160% protein, 70% water-soluble and 8% moisture. Contain 300% protein, 80% water-soluble and 8% moisture.”
So, which is it? 160% protein or 300% protein? And how can you possible get more that 100% protein? Oh right, silly me, its simply a matter of adding melamine ….
http://www.alibaba.com/manufac.....owder.html
Comment by Ingo — April 26, 2007 @ 7:37 pm
oops - meant “good” food.
Comment by catlover — April 26, 2007 @ 7:37 pm
I also tried raw, and they have boycotted that as well (with an attitude, I must say!). I’m going to try cooking the raw for them this weekend, we’ll see what happens.
Comment by catlover — April 26, 2007 @ 7:38 pm
Pet Foods
The FDA regulates that can of cat food, bag of dog food, or box of dog treats or snacks in your pantry. The FDA’s regulation of pet food is similar to that for other animal feeds. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) requires that pet foods, like human foods, be pure and wholesome, safe to eat, produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances, and be truthfully labeled. In addition, canned pet foods must be processed in conformance with the low acid canned food regulations to ensure the pet food is free of viable microorganisms (see Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 113).
How to Report a Pet Food Complaint
To report complaints about pet food (and other animal feed), please contact your state FDA’s Consumer Complaint Coordinator(s). Contact information can be found at the list of FDA’s Consumer Complaint Coordinators . When reporting, please include as much information as possible, including the specific product name, lot numbers, veterinarian’s report and diagnosis, etc.
FDA Regulation of Pet Food
There is no requirement that pet food products have premarket approval by the FDA. However, FDA ensures that the ingredients used in pet food are safe and have an appropriate function in the pet food. Many ingredients such as meat, poultry, grains, and their byproducts are considered safe “foods” and do not require premarket approval. Other substances such as mineral and vitamin sources, colorings, flavorings, and preservatives may be generally recognized as safe (GRAS) or must have approval as food additives. (See Title 21 CFR, Parts 73, 74, 81, 573 and 582). For more information about pet foods and marketing a pet food, see FDA’s Regulation of Pet Food and Information on Marketing A Pet Food Product.
Pet food labeling is regulated at two levels. The FDA regulations require proper identification of the product, net quantity statement, name and place of business of the manufacturer or distributor, and a proper listing of all the ingredients in order from most to least, based on weight. Some states also enforce their own labeling regulations. Many of these regulations are based on a model provided by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). For more information about AAFCO, please visit its website. There are two informational documents on CVM’s web site that provide more details about labeling requirements: Interpreting Pet Food Labels and Interpreting Pet Food Labels — Special Use Foods.
FDA also has put into place policies for making health claims on pet food, such as “maintains health of urinary tract,” “low magnesium,” “reduces plaque and tartar,” and “reduces hairballs in cats.” Guidance for collecting data to make a urinary tract health claim is available in Guideline 55 on the CVM internet site.
BSE and the safety of pets
With the exception of cats, no pets (companion animals) are known to be susceptible to the infectious agent that causes BSE in cattle. No evidence of BSE has ever been found in dogs, horses, birds, or reptiles.
However, cats are susceptible. Approximately 90 cats in the UK and several cats in other European countries have been diagnosed with the feline version of BSE, or FSE. Before it was recognized that they were susceptible to the BSE agent, cats were exposed to the infectious agent through commercial cat food or through meat scraps provided by butchers. The number of reported cases of FSE in the UK and Europe has been declining annually since 1994 after implementation of feed bans in those countries.
Currently in the U.S. , animal products that are prohibited from cattle feed are acceptable for use in pet food. Such products include meat and bone meal, for example. However, FDA believes that the safeguards it has put into place (i.e. ruminant feed rule) to prevent BSE in the U.S. have also protected cats. To date, no case of FSE has been found in the U.S. FDA continues to review these safeguards to be sure they are adequate, especially in light of the BSE case found in Washington State in December, 2003.
Comment by shelly — April 26, 2007 @ 7:44 pm
You know, a lot of people posting here seem to have cats who don’t like Felidae dry. I have one who guzzles it, one that nibbles and one who really won’t consider it. I have come to the conclusion that it may actually be the sort of sharp pointy shape that they don’t like the feel of in their mouths as opposed to the taste per se. The one who nibbles always leaves small pieces of it in the bowl like she has bit off the parts that hurt her mouth while chewing. I sure wish Felidae could have nice round, flat kibble like so many of the other brands that we no longer use. ( Hint hint Felidae, if you ever read this site.)
Comment by elizabeth R. — April 26, 2007 @ 7:49 pm
Shawn - right you are on Wellness (I’m doing a lot of apologizing tonight). I stopped trying to get my cats to eat these when I found out that some of their cans are made by Menu Foods. And as we’ve seen - the manufacturers don’t always adhere to the individuals companies ingredient lists.
Comment by Andrea 2CatMom — April 26, 2007 @ 7:51 pm
I haven’t tried the Felidae dry, I did try the canned which they don’t like. I tried the Innova EVO dry which is grain free, and my cats LOVE it.
Comment by catlover — April 26, 2007 @ 7:56 pm
Forgot to mention, the EVO is round & flat so your cats might like it. They eat less of it too, it must be very filling. My cats really like it.
Comment by catlover — April 26, 2007 @ 7:58 pm
This is scary. I’ve been feeding my little old dog the Costco food for a few months. She seems ok. I haven’t gotten any letter from Costco!
Comment by Elaine — April 26, 2007 @ 8:01 pm
Comment by Bonni — April 26, 2007 @ 6:21 pm
Bonni: There are reports of pets getting sick starting back in Nov, is the earliest I’ve seen. ChemNutra started buying wheat gluten from China since July 2006 (I believe).
Comment by Kat — April 26, 2007 @ 8:01 pm
Alabama has banned catfish from China:
http://www.freerepublic.com/fo.....4118/posts
Agriculture Commissioner bans Chinese catfish in Alabama
4/25/2007, 5:34 p.m. CDT
By KATE BRUMBACK
The Associated Press
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks announced a ban on the sale of catfish from China on Wednesday after antibiotics prohibited in the United States were found in Chinese catfish.
Sparks said 20 samples of catfish from China were collected for testing by the department of agriculture over the last few weeks. Of those samples, 14 tested positive for the antibiotic fluoroquinolones, which the Food and Drug Administration banned from use in food-producing animals in 1997.
“We are sending notice today that we are not going to continue to sit by and let these foreign countries produce their food at a different standard than we ask our farmers to produce by and then send those products in here at a cheaper price,” Sparks said.
Agriculture department chemists also tested 13 samples of basa fish from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, with five of the samples testing positive for antibiotics. Sparks said additional testing is required before a decision is made to ban basa fish.
The samples that tested positive represent about 214,260 pounds of fish that will not be sold. About 300,000 pounds of fish also have been suspended pending further analysis.
Lance Hester, the state’s food safety director, said the exposure of fish to the banned antibiotics is not accidental. He said the antibiotics are used to kill bacteria in the water.
Sparks said he will not lift the ban on Chinese catfish until he is convinced the problem is solved — until there is no evidence the forbidden antibiotics are used.
“It’s pretty obvious they haven’t heard my message from Alabama,” he said. “But some way or other we’re going to get this message from Alabama to those foreign countries that if you continue to use chemicals that have been banned by the FDA, when we find it, we’re going to stop it. It’s that simple.”
Sparks said he has already been in touch with people in the fish industry in the state who have purchased contaminated fish. He said the department of agriculture will continue to help them test fish.
“We applaud Ron Sparks for taking this step — and it’s not an easy step — to protect the health and welfare of the state and the citizens of Alabama,” said Butch Wilson, chairman of the Alabama Catfish Producers.
Sparks said he also communicates regularly with agricultural commissioners in other southern states, such as Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia, which produce catfish, and he expects they “will be reacting and responding accordingly to their state and their state laws.”
The extensive testing is expensive, but Joe Basile, a chemist at the department of agriculture’s lab in Montgomery, said the FDA has been involved and is bearing much of the cost.
Comment by Kat — April 26, 2007 @ 8:03 pm
So the FDA baldfaced LIED, color me shocked.
Paging Senator Durbin.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 26, 2007 @ 5:40
pm
Yah, if I were FDA head honcho, I would be a little worried about my salary at budget time. If Rep Delauro hears about this, she will be livid!
Comment by Sandi K — April 26, 2007 @ 8:07 pm
I just received an email from Purina here is part:
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.
Comment by BW — April 26, 2007 @ 8:10 pm
This makes me want to puke!
http://www.charlotte.com/127/story/97981.html
Eat at your own risk — U.S. safety rules weak
Unregulated imported food ingredients pose threat to humans, pets
PETER KOVACS WASHINGTON POST
Lost amid the anxiety surrounding the tainted U.S. pet food supply is this sobering reality: It’s not just pet owners who should be worried. The uncontrolled distribution of low-quality imported food ingredients, mainly from China, poses a grave threat to public health worldwide.
Essential ingredients, such as vitamins used in many packaged foods, arrive at U.S. ports from China and, as recent news reports have underscored, are shipped without inspection to food and beverage distributors and manufacturers. Although they are used in relatively small quantities, these ingredients carry enormous risks for American consumers. One pound of tainted wheat gluten could, if undetected, contaminate as much as a thousand pounds of food.
Hygiene, labor challenges
Unlike imported beef, which is inspected at the point of processing by the U.S. Agriculture Department, few practical safeguards have been established to ensure the quality of food ingredients from China.Often, U.S. officials don’t know where or how such ingredients were produced. We know, however, that alarms have been raised about hygiene and labor standards at many Chinese manufacturing facilities. In China, municipal water used in the manufacturing process is often contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides and other chemicals. Food ingredient production is particularly susceptible to environmental contamination.
Equally worrisome, U.S. officials often lack the capability to trace foreign-produced food ingredients to their source of manufacture. In theory, the Bioterrorism Prevention Act of 2001 provides some measure of traceability. In practice, the act is ineffective and was not designed for this challenge. Its enforcement is also shrouded in secrecy by the Department of Homeland Security.
Even if Food and Drug Administration regulators wanted to crack down on products emanating from the riskiest foreign facilities, they couldn’t, because they have no way of knowing which ingredients come from which plant. This is why officials have spent weeks searching for the original Chinese source of the contaminated wheat gluten that triggered the pet food crisis.
That it was pet food that got tainted — and that relatively few pets were harmed — is pure happenstance. This spring, Europe narrowly averted disaster when a batch of vitamin A from China was found to be contaminated with Enterobacter sakazakii, which has been proved to cause infant deaths. Thankfully none went into infant formula.
China and vitamin C
Most of the world’s vitamins are now made in China. The last U.S. plant making vitamin C closed a year ago. Given China’s cheap labor, artificially low prices and the unfair competitive climate it has foisted on the industry, few Western producers of food ingredients can survive much longer.
Western companies have had to invest heavily in Chinese facilities. These Western-owned plants follow strict standards and are generally better managed than their locally owned counterparts. Nevertheless, 80 percent of the world’s vitamin C is now manufactured in China — much of it unregulated and some of it of questionable quality.
Europe is ahead of the United States in seeking greater accountability and traceability in food safety and importation. But even the European Union’s “rapid alert system” is imperfect. More action is required to avoid catastrophes.
Improve traceability
To protect consumers here, we must revise our regulatory approaches. The first option is to institute regulations, based on the European model, to ensure that all food ingredients are thoroughly traceable. We should impose strict liability on manufacturers that fail to enforce traceability standards.
A draconian alternative is to mount a program modeled on USDA beef inspection for all food ingredients coming into the country. This regimen would require a significant commitment of resources and intensive training for hundreds of inspectors.
Food safety is a bipartisan issue: Congress and the administration must work together and move aggressively to devise stricter standards.
The United States is sitting on a powder keg with uncontrolled importing and the distribution of low-quality food ingredients. Before it explodes — putting more animals and people at risk — corrective steps must be taken.
————————————————-
Peter Kovacs was president of NutraSweet Kelco Co. from 1994 to 1997. He is a management consultant to large food ingredient companies.
Comment by Kat — April 26, 2007 @ 8:16 pm
“It is totally illegal for any dog food company to use rendered materials in their products.”(Toni of Merrick Pet Care…see catlover 7:05p.m.)
Is this TRUE??
I don’t understand. It’s common practice, isn’t it?
Lorna
Comment by Lorna — April 26, 2007 @ 8:22 pm
All I know is the corruption, fraud, and malfeasance in this fiasco is unbelievable.
Comment by Steve — April 26, 2007 @ 8:28 pm
Lorna, I don’t know, but it SHOULD be illegal!
All I do know is that if by-products are used, it is supposed to be listed as such on the can. I also heard to stay away from anything that lists “meat meal”, where it is non-specific (as opposed to chicken meal, beef meal, etc.).
Comment by catlover — April 26, 2007 @ 8:29 pm
Cerridwen - Frozen mice! It’s like a Burger King for cats! Let’s see, can we have one Fuzzy, one Hopper, and let’s supersize the last meal - one Jumbo to go.
Now I know I’ve been reading this stuff too many nights in a row…
If it weren’t for that “fed our specially formulated diet of nutritionally balanced mouse or rat chow” (wonder what that contains), I might just order a few.
Comment by michelle — April 26, 2007 @ 8:37 pm
I feel like I dodged a bullet. Last week I bought a can of the recalled Natural Balance Oceanfish but never fed it to my cats. They had been eating various NB canned flavors, which I’m no longer going to feed them. The only canned food I give them now is Wellness but I’m starting to get scared about that too. I no longer trust or believe anything these pet food companies are telling us. Is Natural Balance REALLY surprised that rice protein concentrate is in so many of their foods, esp. considering that the dry foods are made by one mfr. (Diamond) and the canned foods by another one (American Nutrition)?
I just started feeding my cats a raw diet using the Feline Instincts supplement and they’ve been eating it. From now on, home made is all they’re getting. I make the food in a big batch and freeze it in meal size portions, which I then defrost in the fridge the day before I want to feed it. If you’re trying to feed a new raw or a homecooked diet, you can add or sprinkle a “bribe” food on it, such as dried bonito or tuna flakes, powdered liver, tuna juice, etc. I’ve been mixing in some pumpkin and sprinkling Halo’s freeze dried chicken liv-a-littles on the food and it’s been working very well. Usually you have to introduce any new food to a cat slowly by adding a little bit of the new food and slowly decreasing the old food, but in this crisis you may not have that option.
It took me a month to do it, but I weaned my cats off of dry food last June after I had really looked into pet food ingredients and how pet foods are made, and learned how bad all of the grains are, esp. in dry foods. Then I thought I was doing a really good thing by feeding only ultra premium, grain-free canned foods like Wellness, Natural Balance, Merrick & Nature’s Variety. One of my cats was a chronic vomiter and the change to grain-free canned food helped her and stopped her vomiting. But I now feel as if these companies have lied to me and feel as if I’ve been cheated. I no longer believe these foods are better or have superior ingredients to any of the others. They’re all garbage.
Comment by Teresa — April 26, 2007 @ 8:45 pm
I saw a blip (There is never more than a blip) of news late tonight (it’s never on primetime it seems) re: the recall and China. It showed China and it was sososos disgusting. An importer was interviewed. (Not a china person, it was a US Importer) and she said how careful their company is about their imports, because they would be held liable should something be wrong with the product. So, I’m thinking whoever buys from the importer in this situation would sue the appropriate importer. Manufacturers that have now been found to have added ingredients that weren’t approved in the first place, and were not even on the label (and by law have to be) will surely have the very snot sued out of them. The right people are going to lose a lot of $$$ regardless of whether us a pet owners are able to sue. There’s a thought. Financial impact seems to speak volumes.
I myself will be going to GREAT lengths to not buy a single product made by China in any way-shape-or form. Other countries have banned major import items from China that the US hasn’t. If we as consumers refuse to buy the items, I assure you it will no longer be brought in. However, it will take more than just little ole’ me to pull that one off. But, one person at a time, we can do that.
Another thought. (It’s almost 12:00am here, I do a lot of thinking in the middle of the night :) ) Remember the politicians that are taking the stand on this issue. We need to ensure they remain in office.
Comment by shelly — April 26, 2007 @ 8:55 pm
I thought you all would be interested in the e-mail conversation I had with Abbott/Ross Laboratories concerning their source of soy protein in Similac Isomil Baby Formula.
My E-Mail To Them:
Hello, I have been closely following recent events in the media
regarding imported contaminated grain-based food product which may have
found its way into our nation’s food supply through importation from
China. According to the FDA, one of the suspected contaminated
ingredients at this time is Soy Protein. I have a personal concern that
I would like to address with your company strictly as a precautionary
measure. We use, and have been using your product, Similac Isomil Soy
Formula with Iron, which (in the powdered form) contains 14.6% Soy
Protein. I would like to know if your company, (or any of your
subsidiaries or suppliers involved in the manufacturing of Similac
Isomil Soy Formula with Iron) uses China or any country other than the
United States as a source of origin for any ingredients which go into
the making of this nutritional product. This question would also apply
to the time period that this product would be currently considered fresh
for use and non-expired. I am requesting this information so that I can
make an educated choice to either continue or discontinue using this
product until the FDA releases its findings on any suspected imported or
domestic contaminated ingredients. Any information you can give me
regarding these questions and concerns would be greatly appreciated
since this is of utmost importance to my family and myself. Thank you.
—————
The Response:
Dear Starr,
Thank you for contacting Abbott’s Ross Products Division.
The safety of our products and the ingredients used to make them are the
top priority of Abbott Nutrition. We work continuously to ensure that
our products are of the highest quality.
We work closely with our suppliers to ensure the quality and safety of
our ingredients. Once the ingredients are received, they are inspected
and extensively tested. We do not source any protein ingredients in any
of our infant formula or ready-to-drink products from China. In
addition, ChemNutra is not a supplier for any of the products that we
manufacture in our own production facilities.
Ensuring product quality, safety and integrity is the top priority of
our company and our employees.
Should you have any additional questions or concerns please feel free to
contact our Consumer Relations Department at 1-800-227-5767 (Monday
through Friday 8:30 AM - 5 PM, Eastern time.
Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Consumer Relations
Abbott’s Ross Products Division
——————————
~starr
Comment by starrvox — April 26, 2007 @ 9:00 pm
I went to the grocery store today. I’ve always been a label watcher, mostly watching sugar, sodium & fat + ingredients. I have decided at the top of my list now is COUNTRY OF ORIGIN. Every single can/bag/carton/box I picked I looked to see where it was FROM — not where distributed or manufactured. Hardly anything I picked up said “Product of the USA”.
So, I did what I’ve done numerous times in the hardware stores if I had a question about a product — I CALLED THE MANUFACTURER.
Many were already closed, but a few were open. This is what I found out:
1) Post/Kraft says that unless it is marked a product of another country, then it is from the US. I asked even the folic acid? He hesitated & said yes, but not all that convincing.
2) Barelli - was closed buy had a voice mail. I told them that I was calling to find out what the country of origin was on each ingredient & that since they weren’t open to ask I was not going to buy their product.
3) DiGiorno - has wheat gluten
4) Sanderson Chicken - is from the SE US
5) Paul Newman - says on the jar A Product of the USA
6) Q & Q Vermicelli - Made in Ft. Worth, TX with products in the region.
Anyway, I actually talked to about 5 manufacturers & told them that there was a —>”movement”
Comment by Kat — April 26, 2007 @ 9:01 pm
Kat - #2 is hilarious. I would love to see the expression on the faces of the people that get that message tomorrow AM.
~starr
Comment by starrvox — April 26, 2007 @ 9:08 pm
Kat -
You ROCK! I actually clapped my hands and scared the crap out of my dog when I read your post. Excellent info. We should come up with a new site and post this same data.
We don’t buy China anymore.
!
Comment by shelly — April 26, 2007 @ 9:08 pm
OTHER BRANDS FROM AMERICAN NUTRITION
Searching through thepetfoodlist.com, these companies are listed as having at least some of their product made at American Nutrition. Note that this is not necessarily inclusive!
Breeder’s Choice:
Brands include Active Care, Advanced Pet Diets Select Choice, AvoDerm Select Cuts, Health Food for Dogs, Pinnacle
Diamond Pet Foods
Brands include Diamond, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul, Nutra Nuggets, Premium Edge, Professional Pet Food
DIAMOND AND SALVAGE FOOD
According to Dieamond and to a couple of recent articles, they sold the salvage food that ended up in hog farms before the rice protein concentrate recall, before they knew it was contaminated. They say that when they first start running the line, the first batch of food always has a very high moisture content and is not usuable. They sell this as hog feed, since it is perfectly good food (as long as it isn’t contaminated).
From what I have read, no companies are selling recalled food this way.
Wonder if Menu Foods did this, too?
Ham sandwich, anyone?
Comment by Paul — April 26, 2007 @ 9:09 pm
First Chair…
In music class, band, etc. the top person usually gets what is known as first chair. Well, Paul Henderson, I believe you and Mr. ChemNutra and Mark Wien and that Wilbur Ellis dude can all move one chair to your right.
First chair now belongs to the half-wit that thought nothing of using rice protein concentrate in lieu of whole rice. Not only did they not have the authority to do this, they also lacked the intelligence to make such a call. What responsible adult can’t differentiate between rice powder and whole grain rice? Perhaps they need pictures next to each ingredient.
This is beyond my comprehension and the responsible person at American Nutrition should be out of a job effective immediately, and be denied any golden severance package that most execs walk away with.
Comment by Carole — April 26, 2007 @ 9:12 pm
Paul - American Nutrition also makes Blue Buffalo Wet Food
~starr
Comment by starrvox — April 26, 2007 @ 9:14 pm
Shelly, I’m with you, considering how much we rely on goods from china it is going to be hard to boycott completely, the pet food industry is billions of dollars and if just 20 percent of us boycott manufactured pet food alone (make our own food) that would be a very strong message to many corporations, i am sure.I am in the process of transitioning over to eating only whole foods, and foods that I know where they came from and how they were grown, or raised and fed. Probably buy a beef or pig this summer at our local fair from a 4Her.
Comment by lori anderson — April 26, 2007 @ 9:15 pm
my husband innocently asked if I wanted go go to the “Chinese Buffet” place tonite for dinner.
~EEECH, no thanks.
Comment by starrvox — April 26, 2007 @ 9:17 pm
Sorry, but no one will ever be able to boycott all products made in China.
If you have a Dell computer, part of it is from China, part of it is from Malaysia, etc. Call their customer service number and their overflow goes to India. Worst customer service I have ever seen.
Little tiny parts and pieces integral to everyday things come from China. It’s everywhere!
Comment by Carole — April 26, 2007 @ 9:19 pm
Petition to Require Pet Food Companies to be Held Accountable for Damages
It’s over at ITCHMO.com
http://www.itchmo.com/petfoodpetition/
Comment by shelly — April 26, 2007 @ 9:28 pm
http://www.charlotte.com/217/story/99586.html
PETER PAN RECALL
Roaches, rat in Ga. peanut butter facility
ConAgra plant linked to salmonella lawsuits
TOYA GRAHAM
(Rock Hill) Herald
A Rock Hill attorney found a dead rat, rat traps and roaches when he inspected a peanut butter manufacturing plant linked to salmonella lawsuits, according to court documents.
Attorney Randall Hood of Rock Hill and 15 other attorneys were inspecting a ConAgra Foods plant in Sylvester, Ga., in April when they found the dead rat, bird feathers inside the plant, roaches on raw peanuts and other things “consistent with salmonella contamination,” according to a court document.
Hood represents a Rock Hill woman, Annie Blackwell, who claims in a lawsuit that she got salmonella from contaminated ConAgra peanut butter.
Hood’s document was filed Tuesday in response to a request by ConAgra, the maker of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter recalled in February. ConAgra is asking that all lawsuits to be put on hold until a judicial panel decides if one judge will oversee all the cases or if separate judges will rule on individual cases.
Company officials closed the plant Feb. 14, said company spokeswoman Stephanie Chiles.
As of March 7, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had identified 425 salmonella cases in 44 states, according to the agency’s Web site. The Web site said the cases had been linked by the Food and Drug Administration to Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter.
Comment by Kat — April 26, 2007 @ 9:31 pm
Recall leads pet food maker to sue ingredient supplier
The Associated Press
TOPEKA | A pet food manufacturer that recalled 60 million cans of its products last month has sued another company, alleging that an ingredient the second firm supplied was contaminated.
Menu Foods Midwest Corp., based in Emporia, is seeking damages “substantially in excess of $75,000” and wants to force ChemNutra Inc., of Las Vegas, to pay costs associated with the recall of dog and cat food.
Wheat gluten sold to Menu Foods by ChemNutra contained melamine, a chemical found in plastics and pesticides and not approved for use in pet food in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration, according to the lawsuit.
Menu Foods filed its lawsuit Monday in Lyon County District Court, based in Emporia, about 50 miles south of Topeka.
“ChemNutra represented itself to Menu Foods and the North American food market as a business that imports high-quality nutritional and pharmaceutical ingredients from China to the United States,” the lawsuit said.
Menu Foods recalled its products after 16 pets, mostly cats, died from eating contaminated food. Other manufacturers also recalled animal food; Menu Foods said it now faces more than 50 lawsuits.
But ChemNutra said a Chinese supplier is responsible for its shipments of contaminated wheat gluten. In a statement posted on the company’s Web site, chief executive officer Steve Miller said a Chinese company was recommended to ChemNutra by a “reliable source” and provided apparent proof that its wheat gluten was safe.
“We are concerned that we may have been the victim of deliberate and mercenary contamination,” Miller said in the statement.
Comment by Carole — April 26, 2007 @ 9:33 pm
To lighten things up abit, check out this “Nora” cat. http://www.ravenswingstudio.com/docs/cats.html
Comment by lori anderson — April 26, 2007 @ 9:36 pm
The litigation that will result from this whole mess will be unprecedented. There are complainants at every level…consumers, suppliers, pet food companies, manufacturers.
I see a ‘chicken or the egg’ scenario on the horizon…
Comment by Carole — April 26, 2007 @ 9:37 pm
Kat - #2 is hilarious. I would love to see the expression on the faces of the people that get that message tomorrow AM.
~starr
it prob won’t be what you might expect, they will hear it , laugh, and erase it without a second thought.
Comment by mark — April 26, 2007 @ 9:39 pm
Wish I was a Lawyer
Comment by shelly — April 26, 2007 @ 9:39 pm
Menu Foods(MEW-UN) profits were way down last summer. Then in the fall, profits starting rising a LOT. The only ways to make that happen is to either sell a lot more product, or lower your costs. I think they looked for a “deal” on cheaper ingredients without looking too hard at where they came from.
So they basically got what they paid for. And hopefully the civil case jury will see it the same way.
Comment by carly — April 26, 2007 @ 9:56 pm
Someone above wrote: “my husband innocently asked if I wanted go go to the “Chinese Buffet” place tonite for dinner.~EEECH, no thanks.”
I would have to say that is unfortunate, though I can understand how someone would feel that way.
It is unfortunate because Chinese restaurants are often owned and operated by first- or second-generation Asian immigrants who LEFT their countries of origin presumably for a better life in the U.S. The family who runs your neighborhood Chinese restaurant are not the same people currently in China doctoring raw ingredients to make a bigger buck off of U.S. importers.
Sorry to be so off-topic, but other than perhaps their ethnicity, the people trying to make a living running Chinese restaurants in the U.S. really are not to blame for our import contamination problems, and are just as likely as you and I to be a “victim” of this mess. Other (non-Chinese) restaurants are just as likely to import fresh and frozen goods from foreign countries which is to say that at MOST restaurants, no matter their “theme,” probably some of their ingredients are U.S.-grown and some are imported. I mean, your local Applebee’s could well be using the same supplier for, say, carrots as does your local Chinese restaurant.
Again, sorry to be so off-topic, but as someone with a Malaysian Chinese last name, that comment bugged me since I know several hard-working Asian Americans in the U.S. restaurant industry.
Comment by JM Leong — April 26, 2007 @ 10:09 pm
kat-
4) Sanderson Chicken - is from the SE US
did you ask what they fed their chickens? ;)
Comment by straybaby — April 26, 2007 @ 10:11 pm
I had chinese food for dinner, and then wondered out loud where they got all the ingredients. I wonder where soy sauce is made? I can’t decide if it’s better to take the chance on the dry Natural Balance that my cats have been eating that hasn’t been recalled (yet) or malnutrition from eating plain tuna fish.
Does anyone know of any good pet vitamins that don’t have wheat, rice, corn, or are made by a companyu that does business with Menu?
Comment by joyce — April 26, 2007 @ 11:07 pm
Have to say I’ve passed up pork three times in three days now. I don’t think it would kill me, but I just can’t bring myself to go there..
Comment by elizabeth R. — April 26, 2007 @ 7:49 pm (re kibble shape)
That’s a really interesting idea. The healthy stuff my guys won’t touch is also star-shaped, as opposed to the rounded stuff they’re used to. Could it really be that simple?
Comment by Laura — April 26, 2007 @ 11:47 pm
Comment by JM Leong — April 26, 2007 @ 10:09 pm
JM, I think you’re right. I have many Chinese friends who absolutely adore their pets. And deciding all of China is bad because of Xuzhou Anying’s practices is as bankrupt as hating all Americans because of Bush or Clinton or Exxon. (and some do, I know.) Why is it that when someone LIKE us is bad, they’re just bad, but when it’s another group, then they’re just “typical”? I don’t know.
But I do think there’s a real problem in how the Chinese government regards pets. (Although, frankly, ours isn’t doing much better lately.) The clubbing of dogs, for example - that’s an image many of us can’t get out of our heads, no matter what else we see. ANd then there’s the matter of the Chinese gov’t NOT letting in FDA inspectors. Also not good press.
I hope we can all get through this the right way - not by reverting to stereotypes, but by singling out and focsing on the real problem in the chain.
Comment by Laura — April 26, 2007 @ 11:56 pm
The Number 4000 is published as deaths. Not on an FDA site, but it’s in black and white this morning.
http://tinyurl.com/32h6lr
Blue Buffalo recalled more products this Friday morning as well, it’s on ITCHMO.com
Comment by shelly — April 27, 2007 @ 12:17 am
Is there someway to let the PFI and FDA know that we are not buying their BS and refuse to EVER buy their crappy pet food and treats again. I want the FDA to know that we DO NOT believe them, that we are onto them….they’re not fooling anyone. AND…..I want the whole PFI to know how many people they have lost as customers FOREVER. I want them to feel the pain in their pocket books.
Comment by Tammy — April 27, 2007 @ 7:19 am
Thank you Kat for sharing the information about the Peter Pan recall. I NEVER believed their ‘leaky ceiling’ excuse. I told my husband that was BS, it was something else and they ain’t sayin’.
Now we know!
Comment by Tammy — April 27, 2007 @ 7:28 am
Thank you Kat for sharing the information about the Peter Pan recall. I NEVER believed their ‘leaky ceiling’ excuse. I told my husband that was BS, it was something else and they ain’t sayin’.
Now we know!
Comment by Tammy — April 27, 2007 @ 7:28 am
“And deciding all of China is bad because of Xuzhou Anying’s practices is as bankrupt as hating all Americans because of Bush or Clinton or Exxon.”
~Laura
JM Leong and Laura,
no, no - my post about not wanting to eat at the Chinese Buffet had nothing at all to do with suggesting that I am boycotting people simply for being Chinese.
Nowhere in my post did I state anything close to suggestion that Chinese people are “bad” (as Laura put it.)
We have 2 Asian- American friends who both own thriving Chinese restaurants, I am sure they are as appalled and concerned as we are about this whole thing.
My comment referred to the practice of Chinese restaurants importating food products (as I have seen during deliveries at the buffet - a lot of the boxes have Chinese writing and are stamped “Imported Product of China)
I live in Philadelphia which has one of the biggest Asian populations in our country.
If you walk through our Chinatown restaurant area, you can see tons of these imported food product boxes all over the streets.
This pet food tragedy has opened our eyes to the dangers of this food importation practice.
Reports such as this have come to our attention:
APRIL 26, 2007
AP
More than 50 children were poisoned by a kindergarten breakfast in central China, state media said today, in the latest case highlighting problems in the country’s food supply chain.
Mass poisonings are common in China, which has been struggling to improve a dismal food safety record.
***Manufacturers often mislabel food products or add illegal substances to them.***
Google “food poisoning china”, you will see what I mean.
We didn’t even realize the scope of it ourselves until my husband suggested we go to our “regular” haunt (the buffet) for dinner last night.
The thought was suddenly un-appetizing and
not because of the fact that the restaurant was owned and operated by “bad” Asian-Americans.
That is ridiculous.
Imported food additives are my concern here.
I certainly did not mean to offend anyone or hint at a boycott of hard working Asian-American people with Asian heritages. If they are caught in this then indeed, they too are victims.
I just don’t wish to walk any further into the fire than I and my pup and 2 kitties already have.
Comment by starrvox — April 27, 2007 @ 9:59 am
shelly - THANKS for that link!
Ariana Eunjung Cha from The Washington Post
thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
Comment by starrvox — April 27, 2007 @ 10:01 am
Is American Nutrion Inc that made the recalled pet foods the same as the one that makes a lot of human supplements?
Comment by betty — April 27, 2007 @ 12:06 pm
Comment by starrvox — April 27, 2007 @ 9:59 am
Sorry, didn’t mean to single you out - I was replying more to JM Leong’s comments about how he felt about your comment.
You’re right to be worried. I’m finding it an unpleasant experience just to walk into the grocery store these days, because I’m no longer blissfully ignorant about what might be IN what I’m buying for my two and four-legged family.
But Leong had a good point: [quote]
“Other (non-Chinese) restaurants are just as likely to import fresh and frozen goods from foreign countries which is to say that at MOST restaurants, no matter their “theme,” probably some of their ingredients are U.S.-grown and some are imported. I mean, your local Applebee’s could well be using the same supplier for, say, carrots as does your local Chinese restaurant.”
And as I said in response, there is clearly a problem with China’s government - its regulation of food, its treatment of pets, AND its (lack of) cooperation with this case. But those aren’t things the average Chinese citizen gets much say in.
But more than a few folks here have said some pretty negative, occasionally inflammatory things about the “Chinese.” I just don’t think that’s fair, and I’m glad Leong spoke up.
Comment by Laura — April 27, 2007 @ 12:12 pm
JM Leong here! Don’t know if anyone will see my reply now that this is on the second page … .
Thank you Laura for quoting the paragraph of my original post that really does cut to the heart of the matter, and thank you starrvox for clarifying your comment.
What we’ve learned through this tragedy, among other things, is that things are not often as they appear. All of those premium-brand foods that were recalled, for example, which were supposed to be “better” for your pets and made from the “best” ingredients, and the items that were recalled even though the suspect ingredients IN THE FORMULAS weren’t on their labels — we’ve realized that we cannot accurately judge anything because we simply do not have the information we should have. (Thanks, manufacturers! Thanks, FDA!)
My only point in posting is that, similarly, what is behind the scenes at, say, a Chinese restaurant is unknown. And the reputation of their suppliers is unknown. And honestly, if you think about it, when we choose to dine out, it’s the same story no matter what restaurant we choose. So to say one would avoid Chinese restaurants seemed like a not-entirely well-thought-out comment. (I appreciate the clarification about the box labels, though.)
I don’t think it’s wrong or necessarily racist to be wary of food products that come from China right now, given their more relaxed food production standards and, now, proof by way of this pet food tragedy and the stories we’ve seen about food import inspections.
I just objected to the idea of some sort of boycott of Chinese restaurants because it would be the owners and employees of those restaurants who would unjustly feel the economic impact; and these folks are in many if not most cases, naturalized American citizens or at least legal residents working very hard, night and day in fact, to make a living in the country they or their parents chose to make home. The restaurant business is not a hugely profitable one, especially if you’re running an independent mom-and-pop sort of joint, which is what most Chinese restaurants are.
So, it alarmed me to see the sort of comment that made it seem as if just because a restaurant is Chinese-themed it is automatically declared unsafe, especially when, as Laura illustrated by quoting that paragraph about Applebee’s (which is just a totally random example! nothing against Applebee’s! I have no info about Applebee’s but thought their name would be recognizable to most people), pretty much ANY restaurant you go to is just as likely to be serving dishes made from imported foods.
Comment by JM Leong — April 28, 2007 @ 6:24 pm
I agree JM Leong;
besides the fact that ‘Chinese food’ in the US is actually an American creation. What we are learning is that ALL food is suspect because it appears we get nearly everything from China. There is no reasonable way to boycott all products from China, because almost everything we consume whether food or other products, comes from China or other countries. This countries demand for cheap products has doomed us all.
Comment by BW — April 28, 2007 @ 6:39 pm