Reaching out with recall news: Fish food pulled
By Gina Spadafori
June 5, 2007
Just got off the phone with a representative of the Sergeant’s Pet Care Products, Inc., which is voluntarily recalling some of its Atlantis line of ornamental fish food (ornamental fish = petfish, not food fish) after the company’s testing revealed melamine. Affected is Atlantis food for goldfish and tropical fish. The levels are so low, said the company spokesperson, that if you dumped a whole container into the tank, the fish would be more affected by overeating rather than by melamine. (Which nobody knows if it is toxic to fish, anyway.)
The company’s Web site will have has details up shortly now:
Sergeant’s has advised all national and international distributors and retailers who currently carry Atlantis fish food products to remove the products. Sergeant’s is recommending consumers either discard the product or return it to their retailer for a credit.
The affected Atlantis fish food products are the following:
- 10006 Atlantis® Tropical Fish Flake Food, 0.88 oz.
- 10057 Atlantis® Tropical Fish Flake Food, 2.25 oz.
- 10154 Atlantis® Goldfish Flake Food, 0.75 oz.
- 10731 Atlantis® Goldfish Flake Food, 2.15 oz.
- 10847 Atlantis® Color Enhance Tropical Fish Flake Food, 0.88 oz.
- 10926 Atlantis® Betta Food, 1.2 oz.
- 88515 Atlantis Tropical Fish Flake Food, 0.42 oz.
- 88516 Atlantis Goldfish Flake Food, 0.42 oz.
Sergeant’s representatives are currently conducting an investigation of the manufacturing facility located in Taiwan to determine the source of contamination. Sergeant’s will resume shipping of Atlantis fish food products following the completion of a thorough investigation and documentation that product is contaminant-free.
Concerned consumers can contact Sergeant’s by phone at 866.740.4969 or via e-mail at atlantis info for more product information.
What’s really significant here — and let’s give them some credit — is that this isn’t a “dump-and-run” Friday night release. This is a company trying its best to let its customers know there’s a problem as soon as it knows — and then working to correct that problem.
Sergeant’s has company representatives in Taiwan, where the food is made. And the company rep said they will not resume production of the product until they’re certain they know what happened and know through testing that the product is clear of the contaminant.
In the meantime, it’s all coming off the shelves.
Lov the photo. I shopped for a fish tank this weekend - just looking stage - wonder if any fish have died over this - fish are a big investment, especially the rare ones.
Comment by Linda — June 5, 2007 @ 9:07 am
See now this scares me also. I not only have a cat, but a 55 gallon tank filled with fish. Not to mention that my son brought home a cray fish from school ( Science ) that eats……. cat food. Now I not only have to worry about my fur baby, but my fish also. When does this end?!?!?!?!?!?
Comment by Terri — June 5, 2007 @ 9:42 am
i think they’ve made the right decision here. it’s true that no one knows if it’s toxic to fish, but if an error is to be made, an error of caution is preferable to and error that results in the death of still more pets. good for Sergeant’s… the concerns of the pet people seem to be getting some consideration for once.
Comment by explodinghed — June 5, 2007 @ 9:45 am
Trudy said she’d lost a couple of fish. I wonder what she was feeding them…..
Comment by Robert — June 5, 2007 @ 10:09 am
This is one bullet I dodged, I had gotten a fish tank as a gift and did not set it up because I was too busy caring for my sick cats before they died, and then my dog was so ill before I put her down.
I gave it away last week because I cannot bring myself to do anything that might put a penny into the pockets of the pet industry that has betrayed so many for so long.
I really wanted a tank before all this but now…
I am glad I gave it away.
Comment by E. Hamilton — June 5, 2007 @ 10:40 am
Does anyone know of any recipes for homemade fish food?
Seriously!
Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — June 6, 2007 @ 6:55 am
This is an alleged statement, but we bought Tetra Fin Goldfish flakes from the pet food store to feed our otherwise healthy goldfish. They became sluggish and unresponsive. This change in behavior was very abrupt. Now all five of them are dead. We have had these fish for months in a mature tank. We think that (allegedly) they have been poisoned (allegedly) in the same way that the seargents product (allegedly) poisoned the other fish.
Add http://www.centinelafeed.com to this mess as a retail outlet that has sold this product:138743 23k26 (allegedly)
Comment by Mark Tillinghast — July 15, 2007 @ 9:40 am