June 12, 2009

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today it was suspending the temporary Emergency Permit issued to Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food Co., Inc.

Evanger’s, operating in Wheeling, Illinois, deviated from the prescribed process, equipment, product shipment, and recordkeeping requirements in the production of the company’s thermally processed low acid canned food (LACF) products.  The deviations in their processes and documentation could result in under-processed pet foods, which can allow the survival and growth of Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum), a bacterium that causes botulism in some animals as well as in humans.

In April 2008, Evanger’s was issued an “Order of Need for Emergency Permit” after the agency determined that the company had failed to meet the regulatory requirements to process a product that does not present a health risk.   In June, 2008, FDA issued Evanger’s a temporary Emergency Permit.  During inspections conducted between March 2009 and April 2009, FDA determined Evanger’s was not operating in compliance with the mandatory requirements and conditions of the Temporary Emergency Permit.

“The FDA is stopping Evanger’s ability to ship pet food in interstate commerce,” said Dr. Bernadette Dunham. “Today’s enforcement action sends a strong message to manufacturers of pet food that we will take whatever action necessary to keep unsafe products from reaching consumers.”

In order for Evanger’s to resume shipping in interstate commerce, the company must document that corrective actions and processing procedures have been implemented to ensure that the finished product will not present a health hazard.

Botulism is a powerful toxin that affects the nervous system and can be fatal. The disease has been documented in dogs and cats. Signs of botulism in animals are progressive muscle paralysis, disturbed vision, difficulty in chewing and swallowing, and progressive weakness to the body. Death is usually due to paralysis of the heart or the muscles used in breathing.

While FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition is responsible for regulating all human and animal LACF processing, FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine has authority over animal feed and foods.  The two centers are collaborating on this enforcement action.

SOURCE: http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm166265.htm

Nutro Products Announces Voluntary Recall of Limited Range of Dry Cat Food Products Franklin, Tennessee (May 21, 2009) — Today

Nutro Products announced a voluntary recall of select varieties of NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Dry Cat Foods and NUTRO® MAX® Cat Dry Foods with “Best If Used By Dates” between May 12, 2010 and August 22, 2010.

The cat food is being voluntarily recalled in the United States and ten additional countries.

This recall is due to incorrect levels of zinc and potassium in our finished product resulting from a production error by a US-based premix supplier. Two mineral premixes were affected. One premix contained excessive levels of zinc and under-supplemented potassium. The second premix under-supplemented potassium. Both zinc and potassium are essential nutrients for cats and are added as nutritional supplements to NUTRO® dry cat food. This issue was identified during an audit of our documentation from the supplier. An extensive review confirmed that only these two premixes were affected.

This recall does not affect any NUTRO® dog food products, wet dog or cat food, or dog and cat treats.

Affected product was distributed to retail customers in all 50 states, as well as to customers in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Israel. We are working with all of our distributors and retail customers, in both the US and internationally, to ensure that the recalled products are not on store shelves. These products should not be sold or distributed further.

Consumers who have purchased affected product should immediately discontinue feeding the product to their cats, and switch to another product with a balanced nutritional profile.

While we have received no consumer complaints related to this issue, cat owners should monitor their cat for symptoms, including a reduction in appetite or refusal of food, weight loss, vomiting or diarrhea.

If your cat is experiencing health issues or is pregnant, please contact your veterinarian.

Consumers who have purchased product affected by this voluntary recall should return it to their retailer for a full refund or exchange for another NUTRO® dry cat food product.

Cat owners who have more questions about the recall should call 1-800-833-5330 between the hours 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM CST http://www.nutroproducts.com/

FDA Statement on Nutro Products, Inc.
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/CVM_Updates/NutroProducts.htm

April 28, 2009 FDA is clarifying that Nutro Products, Inc. is not currently under investigation. FDA does not typically confirm or deny the existence of an FDA investigation. It has recently come to our attention, however, that a media report incorrectly concluded and reported that Nutro Products, Inc. was the subject of an investigation.

Issued by:
FDA, Center for Veterinary Medicine,
Communications Staff, HFV-12
7519 Standish Place, Rockville, MD 20855
Telephone: (240) 276-9300 FAX: (240) 276-9115
Internet Web Site: http://www.fda.gov/cvm

FDA Confirms Probe of NUTRO Pet Food Deaths, Illnesses

By Lisa Wade McCormick ConsumerAffairs.com Copyright 2009 © All Rights Reserved

April 20, 2009

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed that the agency is investigating NUTRO pet food, following a series of unexplained illnesses and deaths. Consumers have been complaining for more than two years that their pets have become ill after eating NUTRO products; many have recovered when they were switched to other foods. The company has steadfastly denied that its food is to blame. Until now, the FDA has been mum about whether it was actively investigating the company. Today, the FDA’s Division of Freedom of Information confirmed the agency has an ongoing investigation into NUTRO — and said that investigation could be criminal or civil in nature. The office did not elaborate on the nature or focus of that investigation. <SNIP>

Read Entire article here

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/04/nutro_foia.html

Written By:  Pamela Stoker Brander Myers

April 10th, 2009

Hello Everyone,

Having a difficult time trying to decide what foods to feed your fur babies and how to go about picking one?? Perhaps this will help point you in the right direction.

When it comes to a decision about which food to pick to feed our fur babies, I always recommend that each person reads the ingredients of any foods which are being considered.

Then, I suggest that one asks the company where these ingredients (including meats) are obtained from.

I strongly encourage that one do research and read all about the company and their their practices, such as, who manufactures their foods and where they are manufactured, what other *involvements* the company may have, which may help in determining the *mind set* of a company, in general.

Examine the FDA list of recalls http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/petfoodrecall/ and see if the companies who make the foods you are considering feeding, were involved in any recalls.  If they were, find out why their products were recalled.

Especially look to see if they were involved in the 2007 recalls ! If they were involved in the 2007 recalls, examine how they performed during that time.  Did they respond appropriately to consumers and their needs at that time?

When you ask certain questions of a Pet Food manufacturer,  such as, who manufactures your wet and dry foods, and/or where do your ingredients come from,  or where do you obtain your meats from, do they play the proprietary card?  If they do, I would have to ask myself, “What are they hiding and why” ?

Regardless of how far you choose to take your research,  the bottom line is,  always examine the ingredients for the really bad things that may be in the foods and choose a food that has none of those.

You can do individual research on various ingredients, and/or you can go to my forum, to the Evaluating Pet Foods and Ingredients area, and find a long list of ingredients, both good and bad, along with their definitions and explanations of why they are being put in the pet foods. http://www.letstalkpetfoods.org/evaluating-pet-food-and-ingredients-f20.html You will also see two boards with lists of many, many Food Brands, and Pet Food Manufactures,  some of which I have done extensive research on and others I am still working on, but still have much info on.

You can also find a lot of other great info here on my forums main link,    http://www.letstalkpetfoods.org/

Scroll down to where it says Pet Foods-Manufacturing and Evaluating. There are 4 boards there that have to do with Pet Foods.

Feel free to email me anytime and if you have any questions or suggestions

Pamela Myers

www.LetsTalkPetFoods.org

www.AnimalsSpeak.org

Quote from various consumers! “I called the Pet Food Company and they said their foods are 100% safe”

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