MORE PET FOOD RECALLS: Natural Balance <-- Its not just Wheat Gluten anymore!

[Anakalia]

Well I'm relieved they finally let us know the 5 companies!  Still I'm worried about what other ingredients could be tainted with that melamine, and what long term effects this will have.

[shangrila]

With all these recalls, I think I might start making zoeys food myself 

[Anakalia]

OMG I knew Diamond was going to start recalling some foods, I just had a feeling!  I'm going to have to make a few phone calls to friends, thanks Jenn for posting that!

[FXgirl]

Natural Balance has also recalled some of their canned foods.

[Moni]

http://petfoodtracker.blogspot.com/

1. Blue Buffalo recalls all canned food and treats.

2. Natural Balance recalls more cans of canned Cat and Dog Foods

3. Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul recalls wet kitten and puppy food recalled

4.Diamond canned Dog food recalled (info in same post as Chicken Soup...)

5. Lick Your Chops DRY Cat Food recalled

6. Costco / Kirkland Signature Canned Food recalled

Entire list up to date as of 4/27 here in pdf format:
http://localhostr.com/files/9cb30c7c47892e4616b4.pdf

CRAZY!!!

[Care2Adopt]

*sigh*

My neighbor's two aussies were killed during all these recalls. Katie was 8 years old; a loving playful girl who was raised with their oldest son, Jason. True boy-and-his- faithful-dog relationship there. The other, a 14 wk old little boy was just brought home for their youngest son. Caleb has been begging his parents for a puppy for 4 years, but he had to wait until he was 10. They were on a waiting list for him for a year, finally brought Nemo home. Caleb carried him everywhere, brought him over to see me almost every day to show off his new baby. Katie died on a monday, Nemo on a wednesday. The poor kids are doing God-awful.

I hope everyone is taking these recalls very...very... . seriously...

[Anakalia]

*sigh*

My neighbor's two aussies were killed during all these recalls. Katie was 8 years old; a loving playful girl who was raised with their oldest son, Jason. True boy-and-his- faithful-dog relationship there. The other, a 14 wk old little boy was just brought home for their youngest son. Caleb has been begging his parents for a puppy for 4 years, but he had to wait until he was 10. They were on a waiting list for him for a year, finally brought Nemo home. Caleb carried him everywhere, brought him over to see me almost every day to show off his new baby. Katie died on a monday, Nemo on a wednesday. The poor kids are doing God-awful.

I hope everyone is taking these recalls very...very... . seriously...

OMG that is so sad!  Please send my condolences to your friends, I feel so bad for Caleb, how awful. 

[Nina]

Here is the info on the recalls for today.


BREAKING NEWS: Blue Buffalo Recalls All Canned Dog and Cat Food, As Well As Treats
Blue Buffalo just announced another expansion of the recall covering:

All Blue brand can dog foods
All Spa Select brand can cat foods
All Blue Health Bar treats.
The release indicates that rice protein was added without their knowledge to these products. Blue Buffalo attributes this to “tampering” by their contract manufacturer American Nutrition, who was connected to several other recalls on Thursday.

Full release after the jump:


Blue Buffalo Recalls Can and Biscuit Products

Due To Tampering By American Nutrition Inc.

Contact:

Consumer Inquiries:

1-800-919-2833

Media Inquiries:

David Petrie

1-203-762-9751

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—Wilton, Connecticut, April 26, 2007.

We at the Blue Buffalo Company have just learned that American Nutrition Inc. (ANI), the manufacturer of all our cans and biscuits, has been adding rice protein concentrate to our can formulas without our knowledge and without our approval. This is product tampering, and it apparently has been going on for some time. The can formulas that we developed, and trusted them to produce, never contained any rice protein concentrate. It appears that only an FDA investigation of ANI’s rice protein concentrate supplies forced them to reveal this product tampering to us.

While this activity by ANI is in itself unlawful, the situation is further clouded by the fact that ANI has been receiving rice protein concentrate from Wilber-Ellis, some of which the FDA has determined to be contaminated with melamine.

So while no BLUE or Spa Select canned product has tested positive for the presence of melamine, and there has been no reported illness due to any of our canned products, we simply cannot be sure of what ANI has been including in our formulas. For this reason, we have decided to remove all of our canned and biscuit products from retail distribution. While this may seem to many to be a major over-reaction, as other ANI customers will probably only recall the products that tested positive for melamine, we see this as a matter of integrity.

We founded Blue Buffalo on the principle of providing dogs and cats with the highest quality and most nutritious food, and we will not sell any product that doesn’t meet this standard. And under these circumstances, we cannot say that any products manufactured by ANI measure up.

The obvious question is “how could Blue Buffalo not know that ANI was putting rice protein concentrate into our canned food?” The answer is we trusted them. In business and in life, we all trust our partners to deal with us honestly. When we buy produce from our local grocery store, we are trusting growers, shippers and a series of handlers to have delivered a product that is safe and nutritious for our family. If any one of these parties betrays our trust, contaminated products can make their way to our dinner table.

And while we test for known toxins and contaminants, we don’t test for protein sources, like rice protein concentrate, especially when we did not formulate our products to contain them.

In the end, this all comes down to an issue of integrity, and ANI has not been honest with us and with the pet parents who buy our products. We will not put any product made by ANI on the shelf, and are temporarily withdrawing an important part of our business in order to be true to our pet parents.

We have already started the process of identifying a can and biscuit manufacturer with whom we can build a partnership based on trust. Once we have accomplished this, BLUE and Spa Select cans and BLUE Health Bars will be reintroduced with the high quality and superior nutrition that our brand stands for and that dogs and cats deserve.

We have informed our retail partners and the FDA about this action and will be cooperating with them to complete this recall quickly. The specific product involved includes all “BLUE” brand can dog foods, all “Spa Select” brand can cat foods and all “BLUE Health Bar” treats.

Consumers who have unused or partially used packages of any of these products should return them to their place of purchase for a complete refund.

All “BLUE” dry natural food for dogs and “Spa Select” dry natural foods for cats are not affected by this recall and are safe for consumption. Should consumers have a specific question, they can call the Company at 1-800-919-2833, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT, to receive more information.

 

[Nina]

Here's more


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.

Products recalled 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
Full release after the jump.

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.

[Nina]

And more 

BREAKING NEWS: Diamond Brand and Chicken Soup For the Pet Lover’s Soul Recalled
Due to American Nutrition’s recall, the following Diamond Pet Food can formulations are being recalled:

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Kitten Formula cans
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Puppy Formula cans
Diamond Lamb & Rice Formula cans
UPDATE: Currently, none of the ingredients for the above Diamond products list rice protein concentrate. Diamond’s homepage still claims “WHEAT GLUTEN OR RICE PROTEIN CONCENTRATE IS NOT USED in any of our dry, canned or treat products.”

Full Release and ingredients list after the jump.

(Thanks to many readers)
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.

Diamond Pet Foods has not received any indication of quality or safety issues, including pet illness, with the three withdrawn products. However, because American Nutrition informed the company that these three specific products may include rice protein concentrate, Diamond Pet Foods felt this action was necessary for the protection of its customers and their pets.

Customers with these products should stop feeding them immediately and return them to their retailer for a full refund.

INGREDIENTS AS OF 4/27 5:20pm Pacific

Diamond Lamb & Rice Formula cans:
Ingredients
Lamb, lamb broth, lamb liver, rice flour, dried egg product, fish meal, dried beet pulp, lamb meal, vitamins and minerals.
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Kitten Formula cans:

Ingredients
Chicken, salmon, chicken liver, turkey, duck, chicken broth, whole grain brown rice, white rice, oatmeal, potatoes, barley, egg product, guar gum, flaxseed meal, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, taurine, dried chicory root, carrageenan gum, vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, D-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin B12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite (source of vitamin K), copper sulfate, calcium iodate and sodium selenite.
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Puppy Formula cans:

Ingredients
Chicken, chicken liver, turkey, chicken broth, duck, salmon, whole grain brown rice, white rice, oatmeal, carrots, peas, potatoes, barley, egg product, guar gum, flaxseed meal, kelp, apples, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, dried chicory root, carrageenan gum, vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, ascorbic acid, niacin supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin B12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate and sodium selenite.

[Nina]

And more....


BREAKING NEWS: Costco Kirkland Brand and Lick Your Chops Recalls
Two recalls in one post:

American Nutrition is finally recalling their foods containing rice protein concentrate. The recall covers Costco’s Kirkland Signature Super Premium Canned Food, item # 38436, best buy dates of Aug. 21 08 to April 15 of 09.

UPDATE: The ingredient is listed as “rice flour”. Pet Connection has details on how Costco’s recall started.

Itchmo has learned that the recall covers two formulations sold in a single case:

Kirkland Signature Super Premium Chicken and Rice Canned food for Dogs
Kirkland Signature Super Premium Lamb and Rice Canned food for Dogs
American Nutrition says that their products were tested by them, FDA and state officials and melamine was found by one group.

Chenango Valley is adding one more product to the recall list in addition to SmartPak and Drs. Fosters & Smith products:

Lick Your Chops Lamb Meal, Rice & Egg Cat Food in packages with a net weight of 4 lbs. and a code date best used by April 29, 2008.

[Nina]

And here is the latest on the www.itchmo.com website...
(there are links in the story, go to the website to get full details.)

Yesterday, we saw several recalls that should have been announced more than a week ago. The FDA continued to be in the dark, and pets and people are left to fend for ourselves.

We write this update with a heavy heart. Itchmo suggested avoiding rice protein — what we didn’t know was that many ingredient lists were misleading. The ingredient labels did not list rice protein. In fact, ingredient lists can no longer be trusted — leaving the consumer with little chance at avoiding high-risk ingredients.

(NEW) ChemNutra says Menu Foods got wheat gluten from more than one source.

Also, FDA says tainted food may have been imported by Wilbur-Ellis as early as 2006. Is the FDA testing food from last year? How long has this really been going on? (Edited)

Recalls Within the Last 24 Hours:

Blue Buffalo recalls all canned dog and cat food, plus treats.
Natural Balance recalls more foods.
Chicken Soup For the Pet Lover’s Soul recalled.
Diamond pet food recalled. (See link above)
Costco’s Kirkland brand canned food recalled.
Lick Your Chops brand recalled. (See link above)

[Care2Adopt]

Holy shady buisness dealings batman.....!!!!

[ar101273]

There are several raw frozen food companies out there. I feed my dogs Raw Advantage  http://www.rawadvantagepetfood.com/. I am sure you can find someone to deliver it. I also feed Northwest Naturals http://www.nw-naturals.com/. It would be good to read about these diets. I have 3 dogs (all rescues with some kind of problem). They trhive on this diet and I have been doing it for 3 years without any problems and I think I have healthier dogs because of it. I used to make my own and if you don't know what you are doing, you can harm your dog. It take alot of time and reseach to know that you are giving your dog the proper ratios of calcium and phosperas, protein, vegetables and fat.

[Lyn]

And more. When is it going to end?

* Mulligan Stew Chicken 13.2oz
* Mulligan Stew Turkey 13.2oz
* Canine Caviar Gourmet Beaver 13.2oz
* Canine Caviar Gourmet Turkey 13.2oz
* All Harmony Farms canned dog foods
* All Harmony Farms canned cat foods
* All Harmony Farms Health Bar biscuits

Harmony Farms has this little piece on their website:
"We regret to inform you that Sierra Pet Products has announced a voluntary recall of its Harmony Farms canned foods and dog biscuits due to product tampering.

Sierra Pet Products was made aware of the product tampering when American Nutrition, Inc. (ANI), the manufacturer of all Harmony Farms cans and biscuits, informed the Company that they had been adding rice protein concentrate to Harmony Farms canned dog and cat foods without the Company’s approval.

It appears that ANI had been adding the unauthorized rice protein concentrate to Harmony Farms products for some time and only told the Company when the FDA was about to conclude that some of ANI’s rice protein concentrate (Supplied by Wilber-Ellis) was contaminated with Melamine."