More pet food recalled: you can’t trust the ingredient lists!

(More foods have been recalled since I wrote this last night, so I’ve added them to the list)

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been blogging about the pet food recall, and telling people to be aware of what they’re feeding their pets by reading the labels and ingredient lists on the pet food.  Today it was shown that trying to be informed just isn’t enough, as more recalls were issued, and it was admitted that ingredient lists aren’t always complete and accurate.  Today’s recalls are tied to food produced by American Nutrition, who apparently liked to put rice protein concentrate in food they manufactured without informing the pet food company (or so the companies say).  These are big recalls, so pass the word along to everyone you know:

  • All canned dog and cat food has been recalled by Blue Buffalo, as well as “Blue Health Bar” treats.  The brands are “Blue"and “Spa Select”.  The company says none of the products have tested positive for melamine or any other contaminants, but they just found out that rice protein concentrate was put into the food by American Nutrition without Blue’s consent.  Until Blue Buffalo has done further testing, they’re unable to guarantee the safety of these products.
  • Natural Balance is recalling canned dog food (Chicken Formula, Lamb Formula, Beef Formula), as well as Ocean Fish Formula canned cat food (all sizes).  This recall was also caused by American Nutrition’s admission that they put rice protein concentrate into the products during manufacturing, without informing Natural Balance or listing the ingredient on the label.
  • Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul is recalling all canned puppy and kitten food (American Nutrition may have added rice protein concentrate)
  • Diamond brand is recalling Lamb & Rice Formula for dogs (American Nutrition may have added rice protein concentrate)
  • Costco is recalled Kirkland Signature Super Premium Chicken and Rice canned food for dogs, and Kirkland Signature Super Premium Lamb and Rice canned food for dogs.  The problematic ingredient here is “rice flour”, which is apparently secret code for rice protein concentrate.
  • Lick Your Chops (a brand I’m not familiar with) is recalling Lamb Meal, Rice & Egg cat food.
  • SmartPak is recalling LiveSmart Weight Management Chicken and Brown Rice dog food.
  • Harmony Farms canned dog foods
  • Harmony Farms canned cat foods
  • Harmony Farms Health Bar biscuits
  • Mulligan Stew Chicken 13.2oz
  • Mulligan Stew Turkey 13.2oz
  • Canine Caviar Gourmet Beaver 13.2oz
  • Canine Caviar Gourmet Turkey 13.2oz

Wow.  Just… wow.  And, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” I really don’t know what to advise or suggest anymore, because apparently the labels are there to just look pretty, not to actually tell you what might be in the product you’re buying.  It does seem that the recalled products are limited to certain manufacturers, so it’s probably wise to avoid foods manufactured by Menu Foods and American Nutrition.  If possible, look for foods from smaller companies with their own manufacturing plants, and off the top of my head, I’m suggesting Merrick and Evangers.  Canidae/Felidae are manufactured by a company which hasn’t been implicated in any of the recalls.  There are many others—check the Pet Food List for more information.  Breeder’s Choice has apparently been verified as okay, even though they’re made by American Nutrition.

At the FDA hearing today, it was revealed that Iams was the first company to step up and demand that Menu Foods issue a recall, so props to Iams for doing that, even if I still dislike them for other reasons.  And in this news story, China says they’ve banned melamine for use in food, which seems to prove that they deliberately put melamine in food previously, even though melamine is not a food item.  And in typical Chinese government fashion, they banned melamine in food at the same time they claimed that the melamine was harmless and not the cause of any pet deaths.  It’s kind of the, “I meant to do that/you’re not the boss of me” defense.

Frankly, I miss writing about stuff other than recalled pet food, but it’s so important to keep repeating it, over and over again, until everybody knows.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 04/26 at 11:15 PM

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  1. I e-mailed Canidae to ask them about the kibble I feed Salem, and they e-mailed back: “Unfortunately, we are being inundated by recall questions, and we may not be able to return all e-mails in a timely manner. To reiterate, CANIDAE in no way is affiliated, nor has any common characteristics with the current pet food re-call. We do not use soy, wheat gluten, rice gluten, rice protein concentrate or corn gluten in any fashion, and we are not produced in any of the recalled facilities. All ingredients are proudly raised and grown in the USA.”

    So, there you go, for what it’s worth.

    How are your baby kittens doing?

    Posted by Helena  on  04/27  at  05:11 AM

  2. Hi--I followed a link to your site from another dogblog.  Thanks for all the incredibly useful information. 

    Cheers,

    wally.

    Posted by wally  on  04/27  at  11:41 AM
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