I was once a retailer of moderate to high-end pet foods. I sold many fine brands including Nutro Natural, Iams, Eukanuba and Hills Science diet. If you were looking for a bit better nutrition than the average grocery store brands for your dog or cat, I was the guy in Price County who had the goods.
So you can just imagine the level of interest I now have in the far reaching pet food recall announcements which have surfaced in the news. I quickly decided that I needed to do some intensive research in an attempt to get the best information I could. Here's how I searched and what I found.
My first stop is always at The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. This site revealed nothing about pet food recalls but you may appreciate the link anyway.
My second stop was at the ASPCA website . That's where I hit pay-dirt. It has specific section dedicated to the current pet food recall. At this time it indicates that the specific brands affected are: Menu Foods (list attached), Del Monte Pet Products (list attached), Purina (Alpo Primecuts in Gravy only) and Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. Prescription Diet m/d Feline Dry Food Only. Please do not accept this as a complete list. These are only the names provided on the ASPCA website. Consumers are warned to be wary of any pet foods containing wheat gluten.
Reuters news service reported that the FDA has issued orders to halt all imports of wheat gluten originating from Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Company Ltd. Apparently it has been determined that the food contaminants could be traced back to that company. I was unfortunately unable to confirm that information at the FDA website.
I also found a wealth of information, links, comments and suggestions at the Pet Connection Blog. They are a very active group of animal fanciers who are closely following this situation.
Please Note:
It is upsetting to any pet's digestion to quickly change its diet. If you are required to immediately discontinue feeding your pet the product(s) it is used to, please contact your veterinarian for some simple things you can do to ease the upset to your animal. As always, your regular pet care professional should be immediately consulted regarding any noticeable changes in your pet's health or eating habits.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-07-2007 @ 12:59AM
Sally said...
i am so worried that my cats might have eaten the food. i would say my 2 best friends would be my cats.
4-07-2007 @ 1:00AM
Oregonian said...
You didn't find the recall on the CPSC web site because pet food is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The "orders to halt all imports of wheat gluten" are on FDA's web site at http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia9926.html
4-07-2007 @ 1:05AM
Wanda Griffith said...
I found wheat gluten listed on the small and some large boxes of Friskies variety can food. They were in the shelf of Albertson Grocery Store in Salt Lake City. I informed the manager that they should be removed. I am returning a box of Friskies can food to WalMart today because it also lists wheat gluten. Hooray for the Democratic Congress many years ago which passed a law to list ingredients of human and pet canned foods!
4-08-2007 @ 2:34PM
mdregnier@comcast.net said...
I am scared for my 3 cats---I feed all 3 dry and wet food. What do you buy? They have been Science Diet dry (vet recommended) and are in excellent health. They are Friskies cats. Is it safe?? You tell me....
4-08-2007 @ 2:35PM
mdregnier@comcast.net said...
I am also scared for my 3 cats. They eat Science Diet dry & Friskies wet daily. I WANT them safe...and healthy. I AM scared for them...what IS safe?? What will be safe tomorros...the list keeps growning.
4-08-2007 @ 4:00PM
mdregnier@comcast.net said...
I, too, am scared for my 3 cats. They eat Science Diet dry and Friskies wet. The list is growing daily on recalled food---what IS safe?? What will be safe tomorrow. My cats are helathy and vet checked regularly...but anything can happen.....
4-08-2007 @ 2:48PM
Gary E. Sattler said...
My recommendationa right this moment are:
1.)Discontinue feeding any pet food that has wheat gluten as an ingredient until it is declared to be safe again.
2.) Contact your veterinarian for up to date information and to discuss any potential symptoms you notice in your pet.
3.)Go directly to the websites of the manufactures of the products you feed your pets and document what information they provide to you.
4.) Buy the freshest pet foods that you can.
4-16-2007 @ 5:38PM
Addison said...
Friskies, Purina cat food was shown on the Lou Dobbs television show today as one of the tainted cat foods in his report about poison wheat gluten from China. If this is true Friskies cat food must be recalled and
pet owners must stop feeding Friskies to their pets. Is this irresponsible reporting or is it a warning to consumers??? Please, advise!
4-15-2007 @ 11:46AM
Nisha said...
My cat eats Friskies wet cat food also. I looked on their website and they said their catfoods weren't affected by the recall... now someone said Lou Dobbs tv is saying something else.... Which one is correct. My cat is refusing to eat dry cat food. Gave him a shrimp and he wouldn't eat it. I'm going to buy him tuna if the thing about Friskies is true (Info from Lou Dobbs)
4-16-2007 @ 6:58PM
Diane said...
I haven't seen any Friskies cat food on the list, either wet or dry and they still had it at the grocery store. Now I'm really getting confused. I think its made by Purina and all their stuff was okay except for a dog food and some treats, unless I'm wrong.
4-17-2007 @ 11:19PM
Nisha said...
I'm confused I looked on the lou dobbs website and it doesn't mention Friskies or Purina Wet cat food as being recalled or tainted...but it doesn't have it on the safe list either. Do you think Purina would lie at the risk of losing customers? I hope not....
4-22-2007 @ 10:35PM
Monica said...
On March 5th, I found my 1 1/2 yo old in/outdoor cat dead. Despite an autopsy the Vet could not determine the cause of death, he was healthy. Six day later, the news broke about the contaminated food. He ate Science Diet dry and Friskies wet food. I have a 4 year old cat that never ate wet food and she is healthy. Friskies continues to deny that their food was contaminated but I am certain that their canned food killed my cat. Did anyone have the same experience?
5-06-2007 @ 11:13AM
Karl said...
Monica – about 2 ½ months ago, my 11 year old cat, who never once had any medical issues requiring treatment by our veterinarian, and to whom I fed Friskies wet, began routinely vomiting. About 2 months ago she was vomiting every day. One month ago, she was vomiting mostly bile. In that 2 ½ months, she lost half her body wait, began to shed her think coat, and became lethargic. She died yesterday of end-stage liver and kidney failure. So like you, I want answers. I’m still in mourning now, but I feel anger starting to well up inside me.
7-05-2007 @ 2:04PM
todd said...
i recently moved from the country to the city and in the last few weeks i started buying different kinds of foods for my picky cats. one in particular that they enjoyed was Friskies Shredded Chicken & Salmon in Gravy. well soon after they started eating that they both got sick, symptoms were a lot of vomiting up bile and being lethargic. i took them to the vet and one was treated and got better, the other is now dead of acute kidney failure. i would guess they ate the food on and off for about 2 - 3 weeks. one thing that bothers me is that when i checked the cans the best before date and lot # matches the info on the recalled alpo. I called Purina and was told that this coincidence doesn't mean anything. i think they're lying and i want to know if they are responsible for the loss of my best buddy. i was able to find that same info on the same food in 3 different stores over the weekend. i loved that cat and i am totally devastated by this. he was a very active and healthy 6 year old named Simon. i am extremely upset and i just spent the last week unable to eat or sleep, i missed time at work and i think i called and yelled at almost everybody in the pet industry and nobody wants to talk about it. what are they hiding? i read about a name change and cover-up to avoid lawsuits and it's confusing but i will not ever let this go. RIP Simon i miss you monkey :(