Pet-Food Recall: Timing and Triggers (Iams Blew the Whistle!)

Pet Connection Blog ^ | Thursday April 26, 2007 | Milwaukee_Guy

[Milwaukee_Guy]

In Tuesday’s four-hour session of live-blogging the food-safety hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives – work from which her wrists have yet to recover – Christie found herself typing something we at the PetConnection first heard weeks ago, but couldn’t get confirmation on until it came up in the hearing:

Without Iams, there might not have been a recall at all.

In sworn testimony, Menu Foods CEO Paul Henderson admitted that his company called the recall because Iams told them they’d had enough, that their own quality internal systems had revealed a problem, and that they were pulling their own products even if Menu wouldn’t pull them all.

It was that stand that triggered everything that has followed since. Menu launched the massive and unprecedented recall before Iams could, but only because Iams was ready to do it on their own. Here’s the transcript:

[Silly]

Thanks for the tip — I just ordered my free coupon for cat food. And Iams just earned a customer.

[bcsco]

...and more corn -- this time gluten meal -- where did that gluten come from?

Please see my post #55. You'll see that the corn gluten does not come from China. It comes from a US supplier.

[Shadowstrike]

I almost bought IAMS dry dog food for my babies the other day, after knowing this I just might give them a try.

I commend them for at least ‘doing something’, for recognizing that something was wrong.

[007girl]

Our dog of 14 years had terrible allergies, food and flea. We lived in Atlanta the last 6 years of her life and the vet suggested Flint River dog food. I also gave her baby carrot sticks instead of the treats that used red coloring. She was never allergy free, but those items helped her a lot.

www.flintriver.com

[sweetiepiezer]

We know a boy whose family dog had puppies that all died in February.
_____________________________________________________

That is the question......
What did they know and when did they know it?

[abigailsmybaby]

I have fed them Flint River before but the mail order thing got to be a problem so I had to switch to something I could by at the pet store.

I switched them to completely grain free food last week. Am hoping to see some improvement in a couple of weeks. She had about 3 good days and I was so happy, but yesterday she started scratching again.

[Muzzle_em]

If you have the time to do it, research recipes for homemade dog food. There are so many things you can cook (or feed raw) to your dogs.
I’ve been supplementing my dog’s meals with chicken, brown rice, sweet potatoes, raw carrots. She’s a GR and will eat ANYTHING.

[Muzzle_em]

painfully cute!

[007girl]

hehehe, thanks!

[007girl]

Mail order would be a pain. There was a shop in Atlanta that sold it, so we didn’t have to order by mail. I hope they get some relief soon! (*_*)

[PissAndVinegar]

yea - worry about corn, rice and wheat from China, it’s killing our pets (and possibly us at this point)

Worry about the jewelry and kids toys from China, it’s poisoning them (lead in jewelry, contaminants in toys)

Worry about the shoddy products that break under normal use, causing numerous injuries (cheap clips, cheap chicom tools, cheap furnature, etc.

But we keep buying it...

And when the Chery Automobiles hit our streets, more will die from their crap and their lack of safty concerns / quality control.

But we’ll keep buying it...

[Arizona Carolyn]

I know we are really pressing you here.. but a year ago Diamond Foods had to recall all their food East of the Rockies because their corn gluten was contaminated with mold and the mold caused kidney failure in a lot of dogs. Cornell finally isolated the cause and all the foods Diamond manufactured (they are another Menu Food-like Manufacturer) had to be recalled... they claimed that was American Corn gluten....

Hopefully this explains why we are skeptical.

[Arizona Carolyn]

Iams is still grain-based. It would be much healthier for your pet to get Raw Instinct or Nature’s Logic or Evo.

[Arizona Carolyn]

My dogs LOVE raw carrot sticks!

[Arizona Carolyn]

I expect to hear a lot more stories like that as well as deformaties.

[Arizona Carolyn]

I replied in depth.

[mom4kittys]

Isn’t it sad?

[bcsco]

Hopefully this explains why we are skeptical.

There's nothing wrong with skepticism. But take it up with the company; not a guy working 8 hours a week doing store demonstrations.

I stand by what I've posted, and I stand by Science Diet. If I didn't believe they have a fine product I wouldn't be doing the work. I also use, and will continue to use the product. That's how strongly I feel they are one of the finest pet food providers in America. You may disagree, but that is your choice.

[Arizona Carolyn]

touche’..

[pbmaltzman]

Also, thehonestkitchen.com. Their foods are dehydrated raw and have to mixed with water before feeding. And since they are raw, you have to handle them accordingly. They do have a grain free formula tho. My girls are doing very well on it, but I also keep the Innova too.

I just looked at their lists of ingredients for their cat food and one of their dog foods. The stuff contains honey, for gawd's sake. And here I thought that dogs and (especially) cats were carnivores and shouldn't be fed an excess of carbohydrates. I wouldn't buy the stuff for my cats even if I could afford it.

As a diabetic, I can't really eat most honey anymore because it's not good for blood sugar control. From what I've read, I believe that the same is true for dogs and (especially) cats.