Blue Buffalo Recall: too rich in vitamin D...

Your friendly, neighborhood pet sitter here to inform you of the latest recall...

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Pet food recall: Blue Buffalo dog food
by THERESE on OCTOBER 8, 2010
in DOGS,PET FOOD RECALL

Blue Buffalo has been under scrutiny lately due to dogs becoming ill after eating some of their food. As a result, they are now recalling specific lots of their the following Blue Buffalo dog foods: Wilderness Chicken-Dog, Basics Salmon-Dog and Large Breed Adult Dog products. It’s been discovered to be due to an increased amount of Vitamin D in the food.
At Blue Buffalo, nothing is more important than the health and well being of our dogs and cats, so it’s consistent with this guiding principle that we are voluntarily recalling specific production runs of our Wilderness Chicken-Dog, Basics Salmon-Dog and Large Breed Adult Dog products, as we have reason to believe that the products from these runs may contain a higher level of Vitamin D than is called for in our product specifications.
We came to this conclusion after discovering that our ingredient supplier had made a scheduling error and produced a Vitamin D supplement immediately prior to preparing the ingredients for the BLUE products that are in question. We believe that some of the Vitamin D supplement may have been carried over into our products, resulting in more Vitamin D than is called for in our formulas.
While the potential of increased Vitamin D presents no serious health risk, and any negative reaction to these products has been confined to a very small segment of the canine population who appear to be sensitive to higher levels of Vitamin D, we have a zero tolerance for any product that does not meet our specifications. I think you’ll agree that our decision to withdraw these specific products is simply the right thing to do.
From a next steps standpoint, all products with the specific manufacturing dates in question will be removed from retailer’s shelves. If you have any products with the codes shown below you should stop feeding them immediately.You may call Blue Buffalo at
1-877-523-9114 to arrange for return of the product and reimbursement.
These are the ONLY code dates being recalled:
▪ BLUE Wilderness Chicken (Dog)
Bag sizes: 4.5 lb., 11 lb., 24lb. 
Best Used By Dates: JUL1211B, JUL1311B, JUL2611Z, JUL2711Z, JUL2811Z
▪ BLUE Basics Salmon (Dog)
Bag sizes: 11 lb., 24 lb.
Best Used By Dates: AUG2111B, AUG2211B
▪ BLUE Large Breed Adult Chicken
Bag size: 30 lb.
Best Used By Dates: SEP 22 11 P, SEP 23 11 P, OCT 26 11 P
This Vitamin D issue does not effect any other code dates of these products or any other Blue Buffalo dog or cat foods. In addition, new bags of Wilderness Chicken, Basics Salmon and Large Breed Adult Chicken will be available on the shelves so you can continue to feed BLUE with complete confidence.
If your dog has shown any adverse reaction to the recalled products, have him checked by your veterinarian. Typical symptoms might include excessive water intake and/or excessive urination, and in some cases vomiting. Blue Buffalo will reimburse any veterinary or testing expenses related to illness caused by these products.
Earlier today the Michigan State University website published this about the vitamin D problems in the
A team of researchers at Michigan State University has discovered a group of illnesses reported in dogs across the country is linked to a specific brand of dog food from the Blue Buffalo Co.
Veterinarians from across the country recently began sending samples from dogs with elevated levels of calcium in their blood to MSU’s Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health, director Carole Bolin said. The sick dogs had increased thirst and urination, and some of them also suffered weight loss, loss of appetite and signs of kidney damage.
Endocrinologists with the Diagnostic Center, a service unit of the College of Veterinary Medicine, soon noticed the pattern and found a common factor: All 16 dogs whose samples were tested had very high levels of vitamin D in their blood and were fed a diet of Blue Buffalo’s Wilderness Chicken Recipe.
[...]
It is routine for veterinarians across the country to contact the center for specialized testing to explore the causes of clinical conditions. In this specific case, all the dogs were found to have very high levels of vitamin D in their serum, a quite unusual finding. Endocrinologist Kent Refsal picked up on the pattern of cases and began to investigate.
The affected dogs ranged in age from 8 months to 8 years. There were three mixed-breed dogs and 13 purebred dogs. The samples originated from eight states: Michigan, Texas, Colorado, Wisconsin, California, Illinois, North Dakota and Utah. In addition to the testing, there was either a brief written history and/or communication with the referring veterinarian to discuss the possible sources of excess vitamin D.
Here’s the rest from MSU: MSU researchers link pet food, dog illnesses nationwide

Hartz Recall!!

Hartz Mountain Corp. recalls Naturals Real Beef Treats for dogs
Release Date: Tuesday, September 07, 2010 Hartz Mountain Corp.recalled its Naturals Real Beef Treats for dogs after a random sampling by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found Salmonella
contamination in at least one bag.

The recall affects nearly 75,000 packages of the company’s dog treats. The affected products were sold in 8-ounce bags, stamped with the lot code BZ0969101E. The company says it has not yet received any reports of illnesses associated with the recall, but consumers who purchased the product should throw it away and contact Hartz at +1.800.275.1414.

Charlotte Pet Sitting News ALERT -- IAMS RECALL!

Hello Fellow Pet Lovers,

Your friendly, neighborhood pet sitter has just received the following alert regarding an IAMS recall. Please follow this link:

http://www.iams.com/iams/en_US/data_root/html/recall_message.html

Sincerely,

Don I. Waldo

Leave your pets at HOME and your worries to US!!

Charlotte Pet Sitting: A Dog Walker's lament

Hello, Petlovers,
I just wanted to post something that I've been meaning to get the word out about for some time...

A while back I read a listing that graded some of the most common dog foods. I don't remember exactly what food got what grade, EXCEPT for Beneful: it received a 60 out of 100 score... Dead last. :( So, contrary to the ads and the bag adorned with pictures of healthy foods, I feel safe in saying that Beneful is not a quality dog food.

I bring this up because I've noticed that a great many of our clients, probably mislead by their ads, feed their pets Beneful. Unfortunately, it's sometimes difficult for me to bring up my feelings regarding Beneful for fear that I may offend. However, in this forum, I'm hoping I can inform without offense.

Just check out the ingredients:


Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, animal digest, salt, phosphoric acid, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, zinc sulfate, glyceryl monostearate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.
F-4090

In my opinion, carnivores don't need corn or corn gluten (too much Omega 6 or aflatoxin, both found in corn, are NOT beneficial); and even the whole wheat flour (which is probably fungal by the time it reaches the shelf) is put in there as a cheap filler -- as are rice and soy flour. Moreover, no one NEEDS sorbitol AND sugar; and worse yet -- Yellow 5, Red 40 and BLUE 2????


If you need more, here's a detailed breakdown of the ingredients:

Ground yellow corn- as a first ingredient this food is going to be a grain based food. It's the third common allergy in dogs. chicken by-product meal, AAFCO definition- Consists of the dry, ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines -- exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices. Basically it's the left overs of dog food. It may contain organs but chances are any type of good meat that can be used and sold for higher cost isn't included. corn gluten meal,the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm. Basically it's the left overs of the corn, it has no nutritional value. whole wheat flour, AAFCO-flour together with fine particles of wheat bran, wheat germ and the offal from the "tail of the mill". This product must be obtained in the usual process of commercial milling and must not contain more than 1.5 percent crude fiber. Depending on how much is used it may not be bad, but so many dogs develop allergies to it. I belive it's the number one allergy in dogs. beef tallowAAFCO: Fat with titer above 40 degrees Celsius, obtained from the tissue of cattle in the commercial process of rendering. Also called Beef Fat. Generally used for adding taste it is low in linoleic acid and there are much better quality ingredients like chicken fat that can be used. Beef tallow is a low quality ingredient. rice flour, is probably the same as soy flour. beef, while beef is good it's at the lower end of the list. soy flour, AAFCO: The finely powdered material resulting from the screened and graded product after removal of most of the oil from selected, sound, cleaned and dehulled soybeans by a mechanical or solvent extraction process. I believe it's the second most common allergy. sugar, dogs don't need it in daily feeding. It's just there to add taste and dogs can get addicted to sugar. animal digest, AAFCO: A material which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and undecomposed animal tissue. The animal tissues used shall be exclusive of hair, horns, teeth, hooves and feathers, except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice and shall be suitable for animal feed. If it bears a name descriptive of its kind or flavor(s), it must correspond thereto. You don't know what animal is used at all. It may include one of the 4D's (dead, diseased, dying, disabled). (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), These dyes have been tested a little bit and it is believe they may cause cancer, but the test results are unsure. menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity) This has been banned by the FDA for use on over the counter supplements. It's synthetic vitamin K and isn't natural. It's known to cause death in high doses, weaken the immune system and damage the liver. These findings were discovered in humans. No test on animals have been conducted.

Well, I hope this helps some of you when choosing a food for your dogs. Just remember: don't believe everything you see; make an informed choice for your pet.


All the best,


Don Waldo

PetSit USA News you can use...

https://www.petsitusa.com/news/2008/feb08p1.htm

Daddy's BIG helper...

Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to give a big THANKS to those owners who have entrusted their pets to my (our) care; in particular, I would like to personally thank the owners of Mr. "Fenway"; Miss "Loo-Li" and Lil' "Bailey" (you all know who you are) as my 2 yr. old, Ben, would not be garnering such valuable experience without the help of such wonderfully cooperative pups... Won't be long before he's taking over our entire pet sitting enterprise :)