Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Nutra Nuggets Dry Dog Food (Not On Recall List)Test Positive For Melamine

Itchmo breaks it, PetSitUSA (owner of The Pet Food List) adds more information (see below).
[Um, what does the FDA do?]

More information about this from ConsumerAffairs.com (added 6pm)

Dog owners warned about potentially contaminated food
May 21, 2007 - Dog owners are being warned about a batch of possibly contaminated food, sold at a Visalia Costco around mid-April, after at least four dogs fell ill.

Two of the dogs who became sick, a nine-year-old chocolate lab named Bob and his 1 1/2-year-old adopted sister, Pearl, have been staying at the Lone Oak Pet Clinic in Visalia, since May 11, after they began throwing up.

"We took them in... and her kidney was 80 percent shutdown,” said owner Ken Womack.

The dogs are being fed through intravenous tubes and are regaining their strength, but their struggle doesn’t seem to be isolated.

Two other dogs apparently came in earlier with the same symptoms.

Veterinarian Dr. Matt Humason says “We began asking questions...we found the dogs all ate the same food from the same store at the same time... so we sent a sample to get it tested and it came back positive with melamine."

All four dogs ate Nutra Nuggets brand food.

A sample was sent to a lab at UC Davis and Womack's fears were confirmed. "All I'm trying to get people to do is notify the people and let them know we may have problem. Unfortunately I feel Costco has been very hesitant to do that."

That's because Womack and the owner of the other sick dogs threw out the bags once they took the pet food home.

They're working with the distributor to track down the specific batch number. A Costco representative tells KSEE 24 news once it's been tracked, they will immediately yank the product in question.

Until then, there are a lot of sleepless nights ahead for Womack,"I feel bad we fed them the food. They'd eat anything. In essence, it's our fault giving them the good, really it is. I feel responsible."

Dr. Humason offers some tips to keep your pet safe:

- watch the recall list
- monitor your animal
- If your pet is:
lethargic
vomiting
or has diarrhea, you are urged to call the vet immediately

From PetsitUSA

As seen in my last post, UC Davis has reported melamine in Nutra Nuggets. I’ve just spoken with Diamond Pet Food, the manufacturer, and have more info…

  • The product in question is Nutra Nuggets 40 lb. Lamb & Rice
  • Product code: NLR0404, with a best by Oct 9 & 10, 2008
  • The Nutra Nuggets product in question was sold at Costco in CA, WA, OR, AZ, NV.
  • It was not sold in Fred Meyer or Smart and Final

Diamond is still waiting on confirmation from the testing. I’ll update as soon as I have more info.


NOTE:
Have you sent pet food out for testing? Email me and let me know!

Do you suspect other pet food not on the recall list has made your pet sick? Email me and let me know.

I've heard from some of you - thanks! - and will get out an interim list as soon as I can, hopefully later today.

And, I **really** apologize for the delays - I've been dealing with some chronic pain issues made worse by too much computer time and so it's been slow going. More info on that and my history with 'but-the-FDA-said-this-medicine-was-safe' another time. (Just stopped taking Oxycontin and other RX pain meds a few weeks ago because of the side-effects, and I'm adjusting slowly. )

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html

I suggest everyone read this...pets are dying again and no one cares...

by the way I had my food tested...I would be happy to email you privately...lawsuit issues

Sandy

momof2cutekids@gmail.com
if anyone would like to talk about you petfood poisoning issues.

I lost my beloved Rusty and Shadow is doing okay after weeks in the hospital. I have over $20000 in vet bills in the last year from this mess and no one cares. THIS SUCKS.

Volunteers Needed! Get food off shelves...

howl911.com, itchmo.com, thepetfoodlist.com, petconnection.com, petfoodtracker.com and spockosbrain.com have joined together to ask for your help.
Update 6-10: Recalled food was purchased from a
California store on 5-29th – this stuff is still out there!
We need Volunteers to help get recalled food off store shelves. Read this post at Spocko’s Brain for instructions. Print a list (or two) on this site. Visit stores, then report safe stores here at Itchmo.com.

Printing Information:
1. Print the main FDA Pet Food Recall page http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html – this will be handy to show retailers who haven’t heard anything about the recall. (3 pages)

2. Print the list of 14 Major National Brands - it includes flavors and date information where applicable so you can tell if specific products for these brands have been recalled. The brands are: Alpo Prime Cuts, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul, Doctors Foster and Smith, Eukanuba, Gravy Train, Hill’s Science Diet, Iams, Jerky Treats, Lick Your Chops, Mighty Dog Pouches, Natural Balance, Nutro, Pounce, Royal Canin. (It’s 7 pages and includes FDA contact information.)

3. Print the List of All Brands – it will remind you what products have been recalled - but it does not give you date and flavor information, there is just too much to put in one document. (7 pages, but the 7th page is links to more detailed information so you don’t need to print it)

If you want, and are going to a store that you know has store brands that have been recalled (such as Walmart), go to that recall information at the links on the summary or at the FDA site and print it out. Some of the information is formatted in ways that make it difficult to read (one of the main reasons for this site), but it’s better than nothing.

Note: The FDA is the official source for all recall information and recalled products. This is an unofficial volunteer effort to help get the word out and get recalled foods off of shelves. We’re doing the best we can but can’t guarantee these lists are completely accurate. Again, here is the official recall site: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html