FDA Blocks Nutro Pet Food Shipment from Entering U.S. (China!)

Consumeraffairs.com ^ | Wednesday August 29, 2007 | Milwaukee_Guy

[Milwaukee_Guy]

FDA Blocks Nutro Pet Food Shipment from Entering U.S. Products

"appeared to contain poisonous substances and unsafe additives"

By Lisa Wade McCormick ConsumerAffairs.Com

August 28, 2007

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July blocked more than 100 Nutro Products -- various styles and flavors of its dog and cat food -- from entering the United States.

ConsumerAffairs.com learned the FDA took that action at the Port of Los Angeles -- and listed Nutro’s pet food on its Import Refusal Report -- because the products appeared to contain poisonous substances and unsafe additives.

The FDA has authority to block and detain any regulated products from entering the United States if they “appear to be out of compliance with The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.”

Some of Nutro’s pet food on the Import Refusal List include its Adult Turkey with Chicken Liver, Choice Adult Cat w Turkey & Duck, Choice Complete Care Kitten Rich in Chicken with Liver, and Adult Large Breed Chicken & Rice.

News of the FDA’s action alarmed Mike G. of Florida. He owns multiple cats and feeds them Nutro products.

“What isn’t clear is which ‘additive’ it is that is ‘unsafe,’ and which ‘substance’ it is that is poisonous,” he told us. “The three Nutro canned cat products I have in front of me all state ‘Made in USA.’ But they don't say which state or which US territory.”

He added: “I don’t so much care where (the products came from). It’s the 'which' (unsafe additives and substances) that concerns me.”

Mike contacted Nutro about his concerns, but says the company ignored his inquires.

He wasn’t surprised.

“From previous experience, most responses from Nutro have been non-responsive,” he said.

Mike shared with us the message he sent to Nutro, which echoes concerns we’ve heard from other pet owners:

“I want to know, specifically, before I feed any of these foods I have in the house to my cats, exactly where Nutro cat foods are made, exactly where those foods on the FDA Import Refusal Reports were made, and specifically which ‘additive’ it is which is ‘unsafe,’ and which ‘substance’ it is which is deemed ‘poisonous’ or 'deleterious.’ ” “If I do not receive a satisfactory response I will be taking these cans back to where they were purchased, and will never again be purchasing other Nutro products.

“In the aftermath of several thousand pet deaths,” he added, “Nutro and other companies need to demonstrate their commitment to pet safety by answering pet owners' questions satisfactorily.”

Non-responsive ConsumerAffairs.com also contacted Nutro about the FDA’s action. It took the company more than a week to respond to our repeated calls.

Nutro, however, didn’t answer our specific questions.

The company’s Consumer Services Manager, Tamara Cerven, instead e-mailed us Nutro’s official, canned response.

“It has been brought to our attention that confusion has been caused by the Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) Import Refusal Report,” the company’s statement said. “We wish to assure our customers that this report is in no way a cause for concern about the quality and safety of Nutro pet foods currently on store shelves.”

Nutro said the products listed the FDA’s Import Refusal Report are ones affected by Menu Food’s massive recall in March of melamine-tainted dog and cat food.

“This report lists recalled product(s) that have been returned to Nutro from overseas,” according to the company’s statement. “This product is not intended for sale.”

Nutro said it immediately discontinued all sales of its melamine-tainted products and removed them from retail stores, warehouses, and distribution centers after Menu recalled 60 million containers of contaminated pet food.

“Nutro also ordered recalled product to be shipped back to the U.S. from overseas for proper handling,” the company said in its written statement. “Some of this product is the subject of the FDA report.”

Nutro said customers with questions about the FDA’s action can call its customer service line at 1-800-833-5330 or visit its Web site at www.nutroproducts.com.

Mike doubts pet owners will get any answers, though.

“They failed to respond to my mail, responding only to you,” he told us today.

“My confidence was rattled with both Nutro and Iams in March when I learned that they both used Menu Foods. I'm one who drove further to the ‘pet-superstores’ to purchase what I had believed to have been better, safer' foods . . . only to learn they were made by the same company using some of the same unsafe contaminated ingredients which they also put into the ‘cheaper,’ ‘less-quality’/ ‘less-safe’ foods in the supermarkets.

“So their failure to respond to me now, personally, is the last straw for me. If and when products begin to flow from their own plant and I get a thorough read-through of the label, I might then reconsider purchasing their product. But not before.”

[Milwaukee_Guy]

This bears repeating,

“What isn’t clear is which ‘additive’ it is that is ‘unsafe,’ and which ‘substance’ it is that is poisonous,” he told us. “The three Nutro canned cat products I have in front of me all state ‘Made in USA.’ But they don't say which state or which US territory.” --- Refusal Actions by FDA as Recorded in OASIS http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/7/ora_oasis_i_72.html

[Milwaukee_Guy]

Pet Food Recall Ping!

[Milwaukee_Guy]

[PennsylvaniaMom]

Try finding any product for your pet that is made in the US. Our beloved 13 1/2 year old dog had to be put down in June from renal failure (she had dental issues and we only fed her canned). Our kind vet said she saw such a 'spike' at that time...anecdotally she too believed it was tainted food (though our dog's brand was never on any of the lists).

We were heartbroken (and we still have young children who have never not had a dog) so we got a new, moose, er puppy, from a shelter. He is chewing like crazy...so after reading lables, reading online, I purchased a Nylabone for him last night (and now I am nervous...again). We have avoided raw hides like the plaque as we found that some are soaked in formyldehide (one from China!!!).

As scary as this is for pet lovers, it begs the question with so much of our human food coming from outside the US...when will something like this happen to our food supply? That is what is trully frightening.

[kinoxi]

‘Made in USA.’ But they don't say which state or which US territory.

Are they printing 'Made in USA.' on the labels from China now?

[CodeToad]

The yuppie pet shops sell this stuff as “organic” and “natural”. I always thought it was nothing but hype. Obviously, it is.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

From my reading it appears that you can have all kinds of imported ingredients included in a product but still print “Made In USA” if some kind of value has been added here.

The current regulations do -not- require the listing of foreign sources of components.

Pretty slick, eh?

[wildehunt]

From their faq
Does your company make all of your products here in America?
All Merrick products are made in the United States of America.

http://www.merrickpetcare.com/about_us/

[freekitty]

I believe it’s hype and I can’t understand why this continues to happen.

[Neoliberalnot]

The problem is that the product ingredients are sourced from China and incorporating them into a final product manufactured in the U.S. allows the manufacturer to put the made in U.S. label on the package. China has a very low level of concern for the pet population.

[Leisler]

30,000 Chinese coal miners are killed every year. You think they give a fig about some round eyes pets?

[Milwaukee_Guy]

Check out how many “premium” and “organic” brands are on the latest recall list. Over the last few months we learned it was being made on the same production lines as the bargain brands and it used tainted and substandard ingredients from China.

I can’t believe these companies would risk permanent damage to their brands.

But they did!

---

Dry Cat Food

Blue Buffalo Spa Select Kitten
Drs. Fosters and Smith
Evolve Kitten Food
Health Diet
Hills Prescription Diet m/d
Kasco
Lick Your Chops
Natural Balance - Venison
Royal Canin Veterinary Diet
Cat Treats
Pounce Meaty Morsels

Wet Cat Food

Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
Authority (PetSmart brand)
Best Choice
Blue Buffalo
Cat’s Choice
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul
Companion (Stop & Shop, Giant Food Stores)
Compliments
Co-Op Gold
Demoulas Market Basket
Despar
Eukanuba
Fame
Feline Classic
Feline Cuisine
Fine Feline Cat
Food Lion
Foodtown
Giant Companion
Giant Eagle
Hannaford
Harmony Farms
Hill Country Fare
Hy-Vee
Iams
J.E. Mondou
La Griffe
Laura Lynn
Li’l Red
Loving Meals
Masters Choice
Max Cat
Medi-Cal
Meijer’s Main Choice
Natural Balance
Natural Ultramix (Castor and Pollux)
Nutriplan
Nutro Max Gourmet Classics
Nutro Natural Choice
Paws
Pet Pride (Kroger brand)
Performatrin Ultra
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority US (Safeway brand)
Publix
Roche Brothers
Roundy’s
Royal Canin Medi-Cal Feline Dissolution Formula
Save-A-Lot Special Blend
Schnucks
Science Diet Feline Savory Cuts Cans
Sophistacat (PetSmart brand)
Special Kitty Canada
Special Kitty US (Wal-Mart brand)
Springfield Prize
Sprout
Stop & Shop Companion
Stuzzy Gold
Tops Companion
Triumph
Wegmans
Weis Total Pet
Western Family Canada
Western Family US
White Rose
Winn Dixie
Your Pet
Fish Food & Other Pet Food
8 in 1 Ferret Ultra-Blend
Atlantis Fish Flake Food

Dry Dog Food

Drs. Fosters and Smith
Kasco
Natural Balance - Venison
Nutra Nuggets - Lamb and Rice
Royal Canin Sensible Choice
Royal Canin Veterinary Diet
Shep
Shop Rite Redi-Mixt
SmartPak
Dog Treats
Beef Sticks
Blue Buffalo
Champion Breed
Companion’s Best
Dollar General
Gravy Train
Happy Tails
Harmony Farms Health Bar
Jerky Treats
Lassie Lamb
Natural Balance - Venison
Nurture
Ol’Roy
Perfect Pals
Pet Life
Stater Brothers

Wet Dog Food

ALPO Prime Cuts in Gravy
Americas Choice, Preferred Pet
Authority (PetSmart brand)
Award (PetSmart brand)
Best Choice
Big Bet
Big Red
Bloom
Blue Buffalo
Wegmans Bruiser (Wegmans brand)
Cadillac
Canine Caviar Gourmet Beaver
Canine Caviar Gourmet Turkey
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul
Companion (Stop & Shop, Giant Food Stores)
Compliments
Co-Op Gold
Demoulas Market Basket
Diamond Lamb and Rice
Eukanuba
Food Lion
Giant Companion (Giant Food stores)
Great Choice
Hannaford
Harmony Farms
Health Diet Gourmet Cusine
Hill Country Fare
Hy-Vee
Iams
Kirkland
La Griffe
Laura Lynn
Loving Meals
Masters Choice
Meijers Main Choice
Mighty Dog Pouch (Nestle Purina)
Mixables
Mulligan Stew Chicken
Mulligan Stew Turkey
Natural Balance
Natural Life
Nu Pet
Nutriplan
Nutro Max
Nutro Natural Choice
Nutro Ultra
Nutro
Ol’Roy Canada
Ol’Roy US
Paws
Performatrin Ultra
Pet Essentials (Target brand)
Pet Pride - Good n Meaty (Kroger brand)
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority Canada
Priority US (Safeway brand)
Publix
Roche Brothers
Save-A-Lot Choice Morsels
Schnucks
Shep Dog
Springsfield Prize
Sprout
Stater Brothers
Stop & Shop Companion
Tops Companion
Triumph
Truly
Weis Total Pet
Western Family Canada
Western Family US
White Rose
Winn Dixie
Your Pet

[kinoxi]

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July blocked more than 100 Nutro Products -- various styles and flavors of its dog and cat food -- from entering the United States.

I initially thought that, but it seems the finished product was prevented from entering according to the article.

[mewzilla]

I’m glad they did it, but what does “blocked and detained” mean? That the Feds actually confiscated the shipment, or was the shipper free to try to do some port shopping with it?

[mewzilla]

Blocked from entering at that particular port. We need to know what happened to the shipment after that.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

Nutro has not explained why finished product is being brought in from China when many of their products are labeled “Made in USA”.

[Aggie Mama]

http://www.texasfarm.com/

They are located in Nacogdoches, TX.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

INTRODUCTION TO FDA’S IMPORT REFUSAL REPORT (IRR)

This report replaces the FDA import Detention Report(IDR).

The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act) authorizes FDA to detain a regulated product
that appears to be out of compliance with the Act. The FDA district office will then issue
a “Notice of FDA Action” specifying the nature of the violation to the owner or consignee.
The owner or consignee is entitled to an informal hearing in order to provide testimony
regarding the admissibility of the product. If the owner fails to submit evidence that
the product is in compliance or fails to submit a plan to bring the product into compliance,
FDA will issue another “Notice of FDA Action” Refusing admission to the product. The
product then has to be exported or destroyed within 90 days.

http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/ora_oasis_ref_intro.html

[Salamander]

http://www.tribtown.com/news/dog_3641___article.html/bone_milk.html

Staple found in Milk-Bone.

[mewzilla]

Thanks! That sounds like refusal of entry, though, not confiscation, which means a shipper might be free to try his hand at some port shopping...