MORE PET FOOD RECALLS: Natural Balance <-- Its not just Wheat Gluten anymore!

[Nina]

I knew this was coming.... 

BREAKING NEWS: Royal Canin Recalls Several Dry Foods
Royal Canin is recalling several formulations due to contaminated rice protein concentrate. No illnesses are confirmed in relation to these items. Royal Canin also recently recalled pet food in South Africa due to melamine found in corn gluten.

Recalled items:

ROYAL CANIN SENSIBLE CHOICE (available in pet specialty stores nationwide)

Dry Dog Food
- Chicken Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Puppy
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Adult
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Rice & Catfish Meal Formula Adult

ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY DIET (available only in veterinary clinics)

Dry Dog Food
- Canine Early Cardiac EC 22™
- Canine Skin Support SS21™

Dry Cat Food
- Feline Hypoallergenic HP23™

Full release after the jump.

(Thanks PetSitUSA!)


April 19, 2007

Dear Royal Canin USA Customer,

It is with sincere regret that I inform you of a new and unfortunate development with some of our pet food products.

Although we have no confirmed cases of illness in pets, we have decided to voluntarily remove the following dry pet food products that contain rice protein concentrate due to the presence of a melamine derivative.

ROYAL CANIN SENSIBLE CHOICE® (available in pet specialty stores nationwide)

Dry Dog Food
- Chicken Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Puppy
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Adult
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Rice & Catfish Meal Formula Adult

ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY DIET™ (available only in veterinary clinics)

Dry Dog Food
- Canine Early Cardiac EC 22™
- Canine Skin Support SS21™

Dry Cat Food
- Feline Hypoallergenic HP23™

We are taking this proactive stance to voluntarily recall these products to avoid any confusion for our customers about which Royal Canin USA products are safe and which products may be affected.

Pet owners should immediately stop feeding their pets the Royal Canin USA dry pet food products listed above. Pet owners should consult with a veterinarian if they are concerned about the health of their pet. No other Royal Canin diets are affected by this recall and CONTINUE TO BE safe for pets to eat.

In addition, Royal Canin USA will no longer use any Chinese suppliers for any of our vegetable proteins.

This decision to recall some of our dry pet food products is driven by our philosophy that the “Pet Comes First”. The safety and nutritional quality of our pet food is Royal Canin USA’s top priority. Pet owners who have questions about this recall and other Royal Canin USA products should call 1-800-592-6687.

On behalf of the entire Royal Canin family, our hearts go out to the pet owners and everyone in the pet community who have been affected by all of the recent recalls. We are as passionate about the health and happiness of our customers’ pets as we are of our own, so we are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure this never happens again.

Sincerely,

Olivier Amice
President and CEO
Royal Canin USA

[mama23+pyrs2]

Good freakin lord, this list is never ending. Funny Purina has stayed off the lists, and here these higher end foods are all getting pulled.

[mama23+pyrs2]

Good freakin lord, this list is never ending. Funny Purina has stayed off the lists, and here these higher end foods are all getting pulled.

I was thinking about that this morning.  I think it is because Purina and a lot of the grocery store brands use corn as their grain in dry foods, rather than rice.  Since the U.S. produces SO much corn, the corn gluten is probably local, and therefor not affected by the melamine contamination.

 

Oh yeah, that makes sense.

[Anakalia]

I was also reading yesterday that Purina has also recalled Alpo dog foods.  I wonder what the next brand recall will be? 

[Lyn]

Well they said there were 5 companies that purchased the contaminated rice protein concentrate. We now know of 3.. Natural Balance, Blue Buffalo and Royal Canin have all come forward with voluntary recalls. The Wilbur-Ellis company KNOWS who the last 2 companies are, but refuses to release their names. That realllly ticks me off. 

[Mojo1269]

This is a ridiculouse situation.  I checked my manufactures web sight (Nutrisource)and fortunantly they do not use either wheat or rice gluten in their products. 

[MagicM3]

The situtation becomes more and more confusing everyday.
Is there pet food that is home grown in this country.

Why is all this stuff coming out of China,and if pet food products are coming from china how much are human products coming from the same place.

It is getting to the point that my husband says if it continues we will start feeding our fur kids whatever we eat,and if we all die then at least we will all be together.

Tricia and the fur kids

[ptkennel]

I'd like to thank all the people who keep posting theses new recalls. It seems like the main stream media is letting some of this go because there are so many recalls now and it doesn't grab the headlines like it use to.

Not sure if the wife posted on here.....we changed Joy ( the Newfie) to Origen...70% meat, 30% Fruit, Veggies and Botanicals, and best 0% grain. Amy (the Wolfhound) will be getting changed over too.

Keep up the great posts! thanks

Brad

[Nina]

I am getting so paranoid. I went to give Harley a treat yesterday and(Wellness, they are NOT part of the recall and they have a statement on their website stating where they get their grain ect) but how are we suppose to trust this? Brown rice is in the treat, I thought it was grain free when I bought it, my fault I should have read the ingrediants better. Anyway I just don't want to risk it so I won't be using them. It is just so scary now!


Nina

[Anakalia]

I'm doing the same thing Nina!  I keep wondering, what ingredient is going to be tainted next?  Like I said, I'm probably totally over reacting but I just don't want to take any chances with Koby's health. 

And I also wanted to thank everybody for posting articles here, yesterday Tony was trying to google pet food recall and I said "Just go to BPO they have all the info there!"

[Lyn]

I chucked all the sample packs of Natural Balance I had. I was using them as treats.

We have switched onto Orijen also. I was so wary of the high protein foods but Orijen has a large breed puppy and regular puppy formula, all high protein. So I'm assuming they are formulated differently than EVO. Since the Natura rep told me not to feed it to large/giant breeds under the age of 2. In anycase I'm less nervous feeding grain free now with the recalls.

Back on topic.. So far still no idea who those last 2 companies are. Maybe the recall started before they used what they purchased?

[mama23+pyrs2]

Are you guys in the US that are using Orijen? Wondering how the price compares to other high end foods. There is a feed store near me that apparently carries it.

[Nina]

Now it has been recalled in Canada!!

Royal Canin Canada Recalls Additional Cat and Dog Food
April 22nd, 2007

Due to contaminated rice protein concentrate, Royal Canin has recalled
the following cat and dog products from Canada on Friday:

    * Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Canine EARLY CARDIAC
    * Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Canine SENSITIVITY RC (Rice and
Catfish)
    * Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Canine SKIN SUPPORT
    * Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Feline HYPOALLERGENIC HP
    * Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Feline SENSITIVITY RD (Rice and Duck)

These differ from the products pulled from the US. Two products, Feline
Sensitivity RD and Canine Sensitivity RC are not currently recalled in
the US.

[Nicole]

UGH! This just suxes.

[Anakalia]

This is REALLY starting to tick me off!    We have a right to know who's buying this malamine infested product!  That's gotta be illegal.  I'm hoping after all this mess there will be stricter laws on what goes into pet foods.



Is "stricter" even a word? Hmm whatever! hahahaha