Another Pet Food Recall.....AGAIN???
By pyewacket
@pyewacket (43903)
United States
September 13, 2008 2:12am CST
Just heard this on the news that there is another major recall of pet foods. This involves the Everson, Pa. plant of the Mars Company, the same company, that is Mars, that was involved with the major pet food recall of last year and involves pet food that was manufactured between Feb. 18 and July 29...which means of course the pet food is on the shelves. The food involved includes Country Acres, Retriever, Doggy Bag, Members Mark, Natural, Ol' Roy, Special Kitty, Paws & Claws, Pedigree, Wegman's, Pet Pride, PMI Nutrition and Red Flannel.
The pet food in question is contaminated with salmonella and the recall involves 31 states, though the exact states weren't listed.
To quote one article
(QUOTE)
[i]Mars said salmonella can cause serious infections in dogs and cats and, if there is cross contamination caused by handling of the pet food, in humans also.
The company said consumers should look for "17" as the first two digits of the second line on the UPC for products affected. For Pedigree products, they should look for "PAE" on the bottom line. They can also call 1-877-568-4463 or consult http://www.petcare.mars.com.
[/i]
The link for this article is here
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jpUUps5pPCZaG4qaHExtyOKkr1SQD935H3H02
From another article I quote:
(QUOTE)
[i][b]Mars Pet Food recall from Pedigree is a Class I recall, which means that this is the most serious. Eating the food may cause health problems or even death.
[/b]
Here is the letter from Debra Crew (Pedigree US General Manager) about the dog food recall.
Today, we're announcing a voluntary recall of selected bags of PEDIGREE Small Crunchy Bites Complete Nutrition and PEDIGREE Large Breed Food For Dogs, both of which are made in our Everson, PA facility. Thankfully, there haven't been any reports of pets being affected by our food in this recall; however, we feel we must take this action as a precautionary measure after we were alerted of a possible link between dry dog pet food produced at the Everson plant and two isolated cases of people infected by Salmonella Schwarzengrund.
While none of the pet foods found in the homes were determined to contain Salmonella, the strain of Salmonella Schwarzengrund involved in the illnesses was detected in the Everson plant where some PEDIGREE products are produced.
[/i]
What I'd like to know...this Salmonella contamination of pet foods is indicated to have begun as early as February 18th of this year....AND WE'RE ONLY NOW BEING TOLD THIS????? Excuse me...but does anyone seem this as a bit odd? Why does it take so long for recalls to be issued anyway?
I hope none of my fellow MyLotter friends who have pets have been affected, especially those who might feed their pets (dogs) Pedigree....which I THOUGHT was a top notch pet food company
What the frick is going on with all these recalls? What the hell is wrong with our food supplies? Not only for humans but for pets too?
6 people like this
19 responses
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
13 Sep 08
I *think* the reason recalls take so long, is that the problem is report and then has to be confirmed through testing to find out where the problem is. The USDA seems to drag their feet with the testing part.
I sort of feel bad for the USDA people. They are super understaffed to do the job that they need to do. The problem doesn't start with them, it starts with the amount of funding they get to do the job to keep the country safe.
This is exactly why we switched our cats to an organic brand of cat food though. No more major brand labels for us!
1 person likes this
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
13 Sep 08
You are right. All plants should be tested, but they aren't tested every day. From what I understand from working with USDA folks, they do random inspections, just like is done on our food.
As far as reporting, well they were pretty quick to move on this one. Remember the recalled meat that went through the school system, that "problem" was almost a year old before they started recalling meat. That is food our kids were eating!
Seems to me, most recalls take about 6 months to actually get to the consumer. They find the problem, report it, someone investigates it, then they test and retest and if the problem is found - and probably if someone or thing has been sick - then the item is recalled.
1 person likes this
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
15 Sep 08
Don't you think it is strange that almost all the food that is being recalled this time is a grocery store brand or a cheaper brand food?
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Sep 08
They really should do testings of foods as they are manufactured though before it leaves the plant, and of course in the case of pet foods, pets can't tell their owners that they are sick from the food they are eating...it still seems though that the USDA and FDA dragged their feet about this...it still shouldn't have taken that long to think about a recall...
@jeweledbluerose (3061)
• United States
13 Sep 08
I use to feed my cats Special Kitty brand cat food and my dog Ol' Roy, but after the first large recall of pet foods, I stopped feeding them already prepared foods, and started making my pet's food with recipes that I found from this site: http://www.cooksrecipes.com/category/pet-recipes.html (not a referral link) and just fortify it with cat and dog vitamins I get from the veterinarian.
It's a bit more costly to feed my pets this way, but at least I have some control over what they are ingesting and know that all the proper precautions were taken in preparing their food correctly.
The last pet food recall really scared me, and it was just something I did not want to go through again. My pets lives mean too much to me, so it was a risk I did not want to put them through. Thank goodness I listened to myself and put forth the extra effort for them.
I only hope that those who were feeding their pets this go around of recalled foods, that their pets are ok and will not suffer. My prayers are with them.
1 person likes this
@jeweledbluerose (3061)
• United States
14 Sep 08
Unfortunately just because they are a top selling brand or well known brand, doesn't always mean they have the consumers best interest in mind. Money seems to be the loudest talker in this day and age, and it's a shame that their isn't more being done to protect those that will be or are ingesting the foods these companies produce. It's getting to the point where I don't trust much that can be purchased in grocery stores.
I've noticed since preparing my pet's food they are much more energetic and not vomiting up their food. God that was a messy deal in itself, no matter what brand of pet food I fed them at least once a day one or another of my cats would be throwing it back up. It's been nice not having to have my carpets cleaned every other weekend. Might be a little extra work, but in the long run it has saved me so much other work as well.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Sep 08
Thanks ever for that link....I've bookmarked it and might print up the recipes there. For the most part so far I've been giving my kitties Purina type foods...but might gradually wean them off that and go with cooking up stuff myself...What is surprising is that how top brand and expensive foods are always among the recalled food....last time it was Iams..this time Pedigree among others...As I mentioned elsewhere, our furbabies can't tell us if they are sick because of food we're giving them and we might not notice anything until it's too late.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
15 Sep 08
Can't help wonder then, if your kitties were always or at least frequently throwing up the food that there must have been something wrong with it??. This doesn't happen often, but sometimes when I give them their favorite Fancy Feast they just plain won't eat it....and one of my friends commented about her cats refusing to eat it as well..I remember years and years ago, I once bought some cans of Whiskas...I opened up one can of it up and crap...it didn't "look" right to me or smell right to me...so threw it out...
@coffeeshot (3783)
• Australia
14 Sep 08
I suppose that there is a general negligence when it comes to hygiene in pet food processing. Of course they would have strict rules in place to avoid contamination but I guess when it comes to hygiene, the workers are less likely to be as thorough than at a human food processing plant. This is bad becasue it can be spread to humans. I certainly hope too many animals haven't been affected by the food they have already eaten. What makes me angry is that it would be a WAY bigger deal if it was human food. This just can not happen, simple as that. It can't happen again.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
15 Sep 08
siennaoconner.....while salmonella may or may not affect animals, it can affect humans...there was an earlier recall of pet dry food due to salmonella contamination and it was feared people and especially children could be affected by it....Also, if there was no real concern for salmonella contamination and how it MIGHT affect pets..then why the recall?
@siennaoconnor (3)
• United States
14 Sep 08
RE; MARS Warning in regards to dogs & cats ............. HOGWASH!!!
[quote]Mars said salmonella can cause serious infections in dogs and cats[/quote]
Dogs and cats and other carnivores are not affected by salmonella, eColi, etc.
If this were true they would never have survived for millions of years .Duhhhh
http://rawfeddogs.net/Links
http://rawfed.com/myths/bacteria.html
HTH,
Shirley & the Kitchen Wolves
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Sep 08
I should have added that another company under the "Mars" label is Whiskas cat foods....nope it's not under the recalled pet foods, but since it's under the Mars processing company, who knows?
Meant to add the other link of the article I quoted..
http://www.emaxhealth.com/1/117/24691.html
Also meant to add my little warning of....
{Warning the links I provide are NOT referral links but links to the articles I'm quoting from}
Yes so far I've been feeding my babies Fancy Feast...but can't help getting paranoid
@scarlet_woman (23465)
• United States
15 Sep 08
jeez..no more special kitty for my kids-thank gods i switched it.
they like it for some reason,though i'll be damned if i know why.
just like that smelly figaro tuna.
@scarlet_woman (23465)
• United States
27 Sep 08
it's similar to meow mix..my cats seem to be "junk food" eaters even though i've tried to get them to eat better.they HATE iams for some reason.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
15 Sep 08
I'm glad I've never seen the special kitty brand...my two babies would probably turn their noses up at it...just like the figaro...LOL
1 person likes this
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
14 Sep 08
I have friends who lost 5 or 6 cats due to bad food. It took forever to trace it to the food, but when they quit feeding the food the cats stopped getting sick.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
15 Sep 08
Was it the recalled pet food of earlier this year?? Think it was around March that the other pet food recall occurred
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
15 Sep 08
No it wasn't, but we buy food in 40 pound sacks. The same food comes with several labels, so it's a bit harder to know. The deaths are being investigated by government officials that deal with these things. I suspect some @hole tampered with it either on the boat over or at the port.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Sep 08
Yes we can never know for sure what ingredients are in the pet foods or where they are from ...or human foods as well--wheat gluten is often in our foods as well
@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
15 Sep 08
I guess I'm lucky that I have to give my dog a raw diet. So far, her food hasn't had any recalls on it.
I always thought Pedigree was good too, but it gives my dog the runs.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
16 Sep 08
I always thought Pedigree was a good brand too.
1 person likes this
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
13 Sep 08
Thank you for this advisory. Since the last recall I have never bought any pet food made in China now this latest involves pet food made in the USA. I would have thought by now any manufacturer of food, pet and human, would have extra precautionary measures in place!
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Sep 08
Thing is, that last big major pet food recall was also a plant of Menu Foods made in Canada and it was the wheat gluten from China that was contaminated....so how do we know what ingredients are in pet foods that are also from China even though made in the USA?
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
13 Sep 08
This really gets me mad. As usual though big business is in it for the big money. I have purchased Pedigree for both my cats and my dog in the last 6 months. Thankfully they've had no problems but you can be sure I wouldn't have paid the high price for this if I'd known there was a possible problem.
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
13 Sep 08
Well, you may not believe this because on the surface I am such and kind hearted and gentle person but tee me off and the Irish really comes out. If Pedigree would have come out with this news right up front I would have stuck with them but not now - I will never buy that brand again. We have Purina now I think - I didn't buy it, just feed the animals :) My cat Indy is used to the cheapest stuff I can find so is getting spoiled with this expensive stuff - surprisingly though she has lost weight. She used to be so fat she could barely walk but then since we've been living in the country I let her outside and she loves that and is getting lots of excersise. Where we lived before was right on main street in a small town but busy road so couldn't let her out.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Sep 08
That's the real frustrating part....just because a pet food is one of the more expensive ones doesn't guarantee that it's not contaminated....in the last major recall one of the brands affected was Iams....and that's very expensive too. Glad to hear your babies weren't affected.....what are you going to feed them now though?
@tamarafireheart (15384)
•
13 Sep 08
Hi pye,
I just don't know what is going on with the pets foods these days and I think its disgusting they didn't le pet owners know about the contamination earlier, it could have harm some pets, who knows. At the moment nothing like that with the cat food I buy has happened, at the moment I feed my cats Whiskas meat and Whiskas biscuts.
Bright Blessings
Tamara
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Sep 08
My kitties usually only eat Purina type foods, both canned and dry...mmmmm...did you know though that Whiskas is made by the Mars company....the same one as the food that is being recalled now.
@tamarafireheart (15384)
•
14 Sep 08
Hi pye,
No I didn't know and no one has said anything about it here and it is still being sold, I have to get them something else tomorrow, in the mean time I just give some fish and chicken. Thanks pye for letting me know.
Bright Blessings
Tamara
1 person likes this
@MOMMASAM (1004)
• United States
15 Sep 08
this makes my blood boil !
everson, pa is right down the road from me.
why are these recalls happening?
is it basic sanitation which isn't enforced?
contaminated food?
contaminated water?
i don't eat from a salad bar any more.
i don't ask for lemon slices in my water any more.
i think we all believed the lady with the "found" finger
because we all feel it wouldn't surprise us if it were true.
do we need stricter standards?
do we need to stop importing food?
how long has it been since we had a baby food recall?
how do they do it?
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
16 Sep 08
I have no idea what the deal is, all I know years and years ago we never had so many recalls. As far as human food..I'm dying to get tomatoes now that the ban of the recall has been lifted but still squeamish..same with lettuce, spinach...I think we really do need to stop importing foods and just get things that are in season and grown in this country
@thinksf (152)
• United States
15 Sep 08
This is terrible news. I agree- if the problem first appeared in FEBRUARY, why are they just telling us about it seven months down the road? I feed my kittens Special Kitty cat food, and I will have to throw it away now.
Thanks for the heads up!
1 person likes this
@Riptide (2758)
• United States
13 Sep 08
This is really scary and I for one am tired of how leniant they seem to be with petfood.
I have recently started to buy my catfood at a small local petfood store. The owner really loves animals and has the best interest of pets and their owners in mind. He also sells alot of organic petfoods and organic flea and tick treatments.
After all that craziness with the petfood, I feel safer buying my catfood there. And my cat loves the new food I got him. It's called premium edge and he seems to be doing really well on it.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
14 Sep 08
I think a lot of people might wind up getting the more expensive organic pet foods...either that or make one's own pet food...awww..love that avatar..
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
13 Sep 08
We got one guy doing Iams and the other on a prescription food ($60 a bag-ouch) so we are not affected but thanks for the heads up on this. It is always worth keeping an eye on it.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Sep 08
I think a lot of people are just fed up with all this recall crap and might turn to the more expensive organic pet foods..
@blackbriar (9076)
• United States
1 Oct 08
I had no clue of this recall, Pye. Thank the Lord above I've never fed Mars pet food to my babies. Purina O.N.E. or something equvilant but never Mars foods.
@tyc415 (5706)
• United States
13 Sep 08
I also thought Pedigree was a top name in pet food. I do not use any of those listed for my dog or cat but I will pass this on to my family and friends who have pets also. Thank you for letting those of us know who otherwise would have no idea.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Sep 08
Yes Pedigree is a top known brand and very expensive. I use mainly Purina foods for my babies...hope they keep safe!
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
13 Sep 08
On no pye! Not again! I only buy my kittys Friskies canned
and dry cat food. I have been sticking with that brand since
they were babies. I'm terrified to even think about trying
anything else. I just don't understand how this keeps
happening. Pet food, people food! We have to be afraid to
eat anything now. It's really terrible how that is these
days. It's strange because I saw that Paws & Claws brand
today at the grocery store where I shop right next to the
Friskies. I don't remember seeing except the last few times
I went shopping. I wish there was a way that we could be
more sure of what we eat and what we feed our poor little
defenseless pets. It's really getting to be scary to feel
safe buying anything anymore without having to think twice
about it.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Sep 08
The really horrible thing is that pets can't tell us if they're getting sick from the food we're giving them...not until it becomes obvious and we notice signs of them getting sick. I feed my babies Fancy Feast, and most Purina dry foods....Ever since the tomato recall I'm still hesitant about getting them...every week it seems we hear of one recall of some kind of food or another.
