Del Monte adds to recall and pulls more dates

Yup, end of day on a Friday, there's another press release announcing more dates.

No new products affected, just more dates of the products they recalled last Saturday at 7:15pm. Not that I'm keeping track or anything.

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070406005188&newsLang=en

As a precautionary measure and in continued cooperation with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Del Monte Pet Products modified its voluntary recall list today to include additional select code dates in the U.S. market only. No new brands are included in this update.

The following product codes and dates are in addition to the codes and dates previously identified in the Del Monte Pet Products voluntary recall:

Jerky Treats Beef Flavor TP7B16 Aug 16 08		Dollar General Beef Flavored Jerky Strips TP7C05 TP7C07 TP7C08 Sep 02 08 Sep 04 08 Sep 05 08
Ol’ Roy Beef Flavor Jerky Strips TP7B08 Aug 08 08		Dollar General Beef Flavored Beef Sticks TP7C08 TP7C09 TP7C10 Sep 05 08 Sep 06 08 Sep 07 08
Ol’ Roy Beef Flavor Snack Sticks TP7C10 Sep 07 08		Happy Tails Beef Flavor Beef Sticks TP7C08 TP7C09 Sep 05 08 Sep 06 08

The complete updated chart of voluntarily recalled product codes is below. Del Monte is confident that all contaminated product sourced with ingredients from the specific plant in China has been identified and is being removed from store shelves. In addition, since the beginning of the recall in mid-March, Del Monte has discontinued sourcing product from this plant.

Um. Anyone else notice it doesn't just say Wheat Gluten, but says "ingredients"? Plural!

See the above link for the rest of the release, which includes a list with all the dates, even the new ones. I'll give them credit for taking the time to include both sets of info, it's helpful. And will make it easier to update the Pet Food Tracker, which I will, soon.

Menu Foods recall affects Europe

Okay, maybe it's just me, but I missed this until now. In the following press release (not posted on the Menu Foods website by the way) it says "a further seven varieties for Europe have been added to the recall list."

EUROPE? Since when is there a recall list for Europe?! Um. Since March 22nd. Didn't hear about it? Neither had we. Found it over at http://www.felinecrf.org/food_recall.htm#europe (thanks!)

On Saturday, 24 March 2007, I was alerted by a Dutch friend to a press release from a Belgian goverment agency, the FAVV (Federal Food Standards Agency) which reports on the import of affected Nutro products into Europe. Translated from Dutch, the relevant part of the press release reads:

"Belgium has imported 40 boxes each containing 24 items. The Food Agency is trying to find out where these products have been sold but has not received any information from the USA supplier as yet. It is also possible that there is more than this amount on the Belgian market, possibly through import from other EU countries. Europe has imported a total of 3440 boxes".

In a later press release dated 27 March, FAVV stated that it had been told by the European Union that Belgium did not need to be concerned because only 160 boxes in total have been imported into Europe, and none of these have been distributed apart from a few to southern Italy. Be that as it may, I have heard of one person buying affected food in Holland and two buying affected foods in Germany. Based on the limited information available to date, I advise people in Europe to follow the suggestions on this page, because there is no absolute guarantee that affected foods are not in Europe.

A friend called Nutro in the UK on Monday 26 March, and was told that Nutro UK did not believe any affected foods were in the UK. My contact has informed DEFRA, who were going to inform the British Food Standards Agency.

Here's the Dutch link:
http://www.favv-afsca.fgov.be/home/press/doc07/2007-03-22_Menu_foods_nl.pdf

So, what are the 7 new 'varieties' sold in Europe? Since I haven't seen the original list I couldn't even being to guess. If I can find it I'll do a Pet Food Tracker Europe edition.

**Added Monday: Pulling this out of the comments - thanks Paige!** Anyone else have more information?

I don't know if you found this beforere, but there are 7 varieties of Choice Complete Care cat and kitten food that have been recalled in Europe. The lab breeder in Belgium and dalmation breeder in Holland have not heard of any dog food being recalled, just the cat foods. Hope this helps

Another recall today: Puppy and Dog Chews with Salmonella

You numb yet? I am. Guess the FDA (and everyone else) is trying to get all the bad news released before the 3-day holiday weekend. Yup - that's right. A press release today on the Thursday before a holiday is the same as doing a Friday press release. Boy they're good. (but we're better.)
**Update Sat 4/7 10:30pm mst** If you're here because you saw a new press release that they're now recalling all their products, that's from 2005, not today. (Yeah, begs a question about 'you had the same problem 2 years ago?!', but we're too tired for that tonight.)

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01600.html

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today warned consumers not to use American Bullie A.B. Bull Pizzle Puppy Chews and Dog Chews manufactured and distributed by T.W. Enterprises, Ferndale, WA, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, which can cause serious infections in dogs and cats, and, if there is cross contamination, in people, especially children, the aged, and people with compromised immune systems.

Consumers who have the pet treats manufactured or distributed by T.W. Enterprises listed below should not feed them to their pets, but instead dispose of them in a safe manner (e.g., in a securely covered trash receptacle).

Salmonella can potentially be transferred to people handling these pet treats, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products. Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Well animals can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

The products covered by this alert include all sizes and lots of:

American Bullie A.B. Bull Pizzle Puppy Chew and Dog Chew (made from all American beef pizzle)

Following is a list of the affected products:

• A.B. Small Chew, small, 3-4 inch
• A.B. Puppy Chew, 4-6 inch
• A.B. Dog Chew Medium, 6 inch
• A.B. Dog Chew Large, 10 inch
• A.B. Dog Chew XL, 13 inch
• A.B. Dog Chew Mega, 16 inch
• A.B. Dog Chew Jumbo, 26 inch

BREAKING - Menu Foods Expands Dates of Products Recalled

There are NO new brands added to the Menu Foods recall. Menu Foods in this release says "20 varieties have been added". This is misleading in more ways than one. (what a shock) And AGAIN with the 'Not for release over US newswire services'. What is WRONG with them?

http://www.menufoods.com/recall/PRESS%20RELEASE%2004052007%20CAN.htm

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - April 5, 2007) - Menu Foods Income Fund (TSX:MEW.UN) - NOT FOR RELEASE OVER US NEWSWIRE SERVICES
Attention Business/Financial Editors

In response to a news release - issued by ChemNutra Inc. during the evening of April 3, 2007 - Menu Foods today voluntarily expanded its pet food recall for selected "cuts and gravy" pet food products, manufactured back to November 8, 2006.

ChemNutra Inc., a former supplier of wheat gluten to Menu Foods, announced a recall of all wheat gluten it imported from Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. in Wangdien, China. As a result, Menu Foods today announced an expansion of its recall to include all products manufactured with wheat gluten purchased from ChemNutra Inc. which Menu Foods' records show was first used on November 8, 2006 and last used on March 6, 2007.

As a result of actions previously taken by Menu Foods, the vast majority of the products affected by this expansion are already off retailers' shelves. No new brands have been added. A total of 20 varieties in the United States and Canada have been added to the recall list and the additional varieties are listed below. A further seven varieties for Europe have been added to the recall list. All Menu Foods products not made with the recalled wheat gluten are safe to consume.

There are additional dates added, and there *might* be a new flavor added on 3 of the brands. See below in purple for those details.

Most of these are for Kroger and PetSmart brands, and both those companies have already pulled all dates! (Hats off to them)

BUT, this list does not include every brand that is marked as updated on April 5th on the Menu Foods website.

So, what does this 'expanded recall' mean for you? Well - unless there really are 3 new flavors added to the lists and you've been feeding your pet one of those flavors - it won't mean much. The foods to be pulled off the shelves should have already been pulled off the shelves. Doesn't mean they have been, but they should have been.

Of course, these additional dates mean everything if you have a pet that became sick or died between November and February and ate any of the foods on the recall list, you now know why, and have a better chance of your pet 'counting'.

My personal opinion based on hours (weeks) of frustration: The information provided by Menu Foods is so difficult to interpret (and at risk of errors) , in my there's only one realistic response. Don't feed your pets ANY 'cuts and gravy' food on the list, whether the flavor or size or date is listed or not. DON'T RISK IT. (PetSmart, Kroger and regional retailer Pet Food Express pulled all flavors regardless of the date early on, some of those products and/or dates are now on the recall list.)

Updated List - results of my checking (based on the 20 'new varieties' from the above link)
CAT Food (15 changes):
NO New Flavors/UPC, just expanded dates (14)
2 Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics
4 Pet Pride (Kroger) Note: Kroger had already pulled ALL dates.
4 Sophisticat (PetSmart) Note: PetSmart had already pulled ALL dates.
4 Science Diet Feline Savory Cuts Cans

Possible new Flavor/UPC
1 Authority (PetSmart) - The flavor listed is not on the PetSmart summary, though my guess is it was accidentally left off the original PetSmart report, and that they already pulled it. It's Adult Sliced Chicken/Sauce Formula 3 oz UPC 37257-37359. (UPCs ending 358 and 360 are on the original list)


DOG FOOD (5 changes):
NO New Flavors/UPC, just expanded dates (3)
2 Pet Pride (Kroger) - Note: Kroger had already pulled all dates
1 Great Choice (PetSmart) Note: This UPC is on the original PetSmart list as Award brand.

Possible new Flavor/UPC (2)
1 Springfield Prize Chicken Cuts/Gravy 13.20z UPC 41380-13901 *looks* new, but I don't have their original list. There is only 1 other item recalled for them, it's Beef Cuts/Gravy and has later dates than the Chicken.

1 - Stater Bros Chicken Cuts/Gravy 13.20z UPC 74175-12240 *looks* new, but I don't have their original list. There is only 1 other item recalled for them, it's Beef Cuts/Gravy and has later dates than the Chicken.

Brands listed as updated 4/5/07 on the Menu Foods website but that aren't included on the above press release. I don't have many of the original lists, so in most cases I couldn't tell whether or not there was an addition other than additional dates. This is UNACCEPTABLE!

I called Menu Foods and they can't tell me if additional flavors were added or not, and referred me to fda.gov. Um, yeah, thanks. The FDA links go right back to Menu Foods! Come on Menu Foods - how hard would it have been to put an asterisk next to what you updated??! I've spent hours on this, and done the best I can. If any of you printed out original lists and can tell if a new flavor/product was added, please email me.

CATS
Best Choice (looks like just dates added)
Companion (looks like just dates added)
Compliments (can't tell, looks like just dates added)
Eukanuba (nothing new)
Giant Companion (can't tell, looks like just dates added)
Hill Country Fare (can't tell, might be a flavor or two added. Lots of Variety Pack info)
Iams (nothing new)
Nutro Natural Choice (no new flavors, lots of Variety Pack info added)
Presidents Choice (can't tell, looks like just new dates and Variety Pack info added)
Special Kitty Canada (can't tell)
Special Kitty US (can't tell, lots of Variety Pack info there)
Stop & Shop Companion (can't tell)
Tops Companion (can't tell)
Wegmans (can't tell)

DOGS
Companion (can't tell, looks like just dates added)
Eukanuba (nothing other than dates added)
Giant Companion (can't tell, looks like just dates added)
Hill Country Fare (can't tell, looks like just dates added)
Iams (nothing added)
Mixables (can't tell)
Nutro Natural Choice (nothing other than dates added)
Nutro Ultra (nothing other than dates added)
Ol' Roy Canada (can't tell, looks like dates and some variety pack info added)
Ol' Roy US (can't tell, looks like just dates added)
Presidents Choice (can't tell, looks like just dates added)
Stop & Shop Companion (can't tell, looks like just dates added)
Tops Companion (can't tell)

More Dog Treats being recalled - Walmart, Stater Bros, Lassie, Nurture, Pet Life

The recall included some of the products made for sale under five private labels, including Ol'Roy biscuits, sold by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and Stater Bros. large biscuits, sold by Stater Bros. Markets. It also covered a portion of Sunshine's own Nurture, Lassie and Pet Life dog biscuit brands.

Based on the FDA notice below, Sunshine has 6 private label clients. Here's the full list, details can be found on the FDA link at the bottom, or at the Sunshine Mills press release here: http://www.sunshinemills.com/press_release.html

A big thank you to Sunshine Mills for putting together the information in a way that is easily readable and usable!!

Walmart:
Ol’Roy Peanut Butter Biscuit
Ol’Roy 4 Flavor Large Biscuit
Ol’Roy Puppy Biscuit

Stater Bros:
Stater Brothers Large Biscuit

Others:
Champion Breed Peanut Butter Biscuit
Champion Breed Large Biscuit
Companion’s Best Multi Flavor Biscuit
Perfect Pals Large Biscuit

Sunshine Brands
Nurture Chicken & Rice
Nurture Lamb & Rice
Pet Life Large
Pet Life Extra Large
Pet Life Large Variety
Pet Life Large Peanut Butter
Lassie Lamb and Rice
Pet Life People Pleasers Dog Treats

FDA Recall Announcement here http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/sunshinemills04_07.html

As a precautionary measure, Sunshine Mills, Inc. ("Sunshine"), a branded and private-label pet food manufacturer based in Red Bay, Alabama, is voluntarily recalling a portion of its branded dog biscuits made at its Red Bay, Alabama biscuit plant during part of March 2007.

These brands include... (see above)

Private label biscuits for six of Sunshine's customers were also affected. A complete list of affected biscuit brands, sizes, and codes is available below or at our website, www.sunshinemills.com. Sunshine's other biscuit brands and products that include small and medium sized biscuits were not affected. It is also important to note that dry dog and cat food and soft and chewy treats for dogs or cats manufactured by Sunshine are not affected and not included in this recall.

The company is taking this voluntary action of recalling the dog biscuits listed below after learning from the FDA that wheat gluten supplied to Sunshine from a specific manufacturing facility in China contained melamine. Melamine is a substance not approved for use in food. The FDA made this finding as part of its ongoing investigation into the recent pet food recall.

The recalled dog biscuits are marketed nationwide by many pet food retailers including the mass channel, traditional grocery, and pet specialty stores. No dog illnesses or deaths have been reported to date in connection with these dog biscuits. The recalled dog biscuits contain one percent or less by weight of wheat gluten.

Consumers should immediately stop feeding their dog the dog biscuits with the specified date codes and consult with a veterinarian if they have any health concerns with their dog.

This info has been added to the Pet Food Tracker, which will be posted here as soon as I add the rest of the new recalls. (sometime Friday morning...)

NEW: Pet Food Tracker of all Brands Recalled

This is a “Master List” Summary (PDF file) of all the Pet Food Brands that have had at least one food recalled. This includes store brands!

It also shows whether the food is:

• Dog food and/or Cat food
• National Brand or Store Brand (and what store it’s sold at, though a few are missing)
• Cans or Pouches or Dry Food or Snacks & Treats

Individual foods/flavors are not included, some are already listed on the original Recalled PFT National Brands (identified by an *), the rest you can access via the links included.

This includes recalls by:

• Menu Foods (3-16)
• Alpo Prime Cuts (3-30)
  
• Hill’s Prescription Dry Food (3-30)
• Del Monte (3-31)
• 8 in 1 Pet Products (3-31)

Accessing the File:

http://localhostr.com/files/178b417f2cd832301d32.pdf

Clicking on the link will open the file for easy printing, right click on the link to open it in a new window. Click here to download Adobe Reader . If you have a MAC, you can use the default PDF viewer (Preview)

If you cannot view the above file, go to http://www.menufoods.com/recall/ for the same information - in the original format as provided by Menu Foods. And to the FDA site here http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html

*Added Wed night: I know I'm behind on responding to emails and comments - putting this together took longer than expected, and was more depressing than expected too. I intended to also provide links to each store's website with their information about the recall, and was stunned to find some of them don't even mention it on their site. Inexcusable.

On the other end of the scale - hats off to PetSmart. They're the only retailer to provide a separate and usable list of recalled foods that they sold. I've used their link on this instead of the ones by Menu Foods for that reason - it's USABLE. Should I find myself needing to buy something at a pet 'superstore' - it will be PetSmart.

Recalled Pet Food Tracker - National Brands Updated 4-2

This is a summary (PDF file) of the pet foods recalled by 10 of the most commonly found National Brands ONLY (Alpo, Eukanuba, Gravy Train, Hills Prescription, Iams, Jerky Treats, Mighty Dog, Nutro, Pounce and Science Diet)

Other brands will be added soon... in the meantime make sure to check http://www.menufoods.com/recall/ for brands not yet listed here. There are almost 100 brands that have some food recalled, including store brands for Walmart and other national retail chains.

http://localhostr.com/files/5c012994271005b03de3.pdf

Clicking on the link will open the file for easy printing, right click on the link to open in a new window. Click here to download the Adobe Reader . If you have a MAC, you can use the default PDF viewer (Preview)

This list is for quick-reference only – it is NOT a complete list of all recalled products!

To see ALL products recalled, go to http://www.menufoods.com/recall/

If you cannot view the above file, go to the following links for the same information that is in the above file - just in the original format as provided by the various companies.

Hill’s Science Diet Canned and Hill’s Prescription Diet m/d Dry Cat Food both here:
http://www.hillspet.com/menu_foods/Menu_Foods_en_US.htm

Pounce Cat treats, Gravy Train Dog Snacks and Jerky Treats Dog Snacks all here: http://www.delmonte.com/petfoodrecall.html

Alpo Prime Cuts Canned Dog Food
http://www.purina.com/

Mighty Dog Pouches
http://www.mightydog.com/voluntarypouchwithdrawal.aspx

Iams and Eukanuba Canned Cat and Dog Food all here:
http://us.iams.com/iams/en_US/data_root/html/product_article/ProductRecallList.htm

Nutro Canned and Pouch Dog and Cat Food
http://www.nutroproducts.com/mfproductlist.asp

April 2, 2007 Changes

Foods Added

• Gravy Train (3-31)
• Jerky Treats (3-31)
• Pounce cat treats (3-31)

Information Added/Changed:

• Parent Company information has been added in each section, along with all brands owned by that company (not all brands listed have had food recalled)
• Four of the brands (Alpo, Gravy Train, Jerky Treats, Pounce) have recalled certain dates only, I have listed each date/code affected.
  

This summary is 7 pages, and includes FDA contact information for each state on the last page.

Take this into stores to make sure products are not still on the shelves. If they are, call the FDA (phone numbers included). Then contact your local media. Let's get this stuff off the shelves.

**ADDED 4/3 9:06amMT: If the pdf file is garbled, previous posters have reported that downloading the new Adobe Version fixes the problem. (I'm typing this in Excel, then saving it as a pdf file, so it's a bit of trial and error right now.)

Recalled Pet Food Tracker - National Brands Updated 3-31

Updated version coming soon! (evening of 4/2/07)

The Recalled Pet Food Tracker for National Brands (Alpo, Eukanuba, Hills Prescription, Iams, Mighty Dog, Nutro and Science Diet ONLY) has been updated:

http://localhostr.com/files/4de1dee70dc78a2630e9.pdf

***Updated March 31, 2007***

Foods Added:

• Alpo cans (3-30)
• Hills Prescription m/d DRY Cat Food (3-30)

Information Added/Changed:

• Parent Company information has been added next to each brand
• Brands are listed by order of Parent Company, so are in a different order
• Page numbers

This is a summary (PDF file) of the pet foods recalled by 5 of the most commonly found National Brands (Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Nutro, Mighty Dog) . (Other brands will be added soon... in the meantime make sure to check http://www.menufoods.com/recall/ for brands not yet listed here.) The summary is 5 pages, and includes FDA contact information for every state.

Take this into stores to make sure products are not still on the shelves. If they are, call the FDA (phone numbers included). Then contact your local media.

Clicking on the link will open the file for easy printing, right click on the link to open in a new window.

Comments copied over from playingbig.blogspot.com

Is there a non-PDF version? It comes up garbles on my Mac.

Thanks!

March 31, 2007 5:37 PM

Anonymous said...

Download the newest Adobe Reader. I Was having that problem.

March 31, 2007 11:29 PM

Anonymous said...

i get a 404 not found error for the pdf

April 1, 2007 3:44 PM

shawn said...

Kim-I am concerned that some people will not understand what National Brands means and will think they are home free if their for instance Special Kitty is not on the list. (Special Kitty to some is a National Brand because it is sold at Walmart). Could you add a warning that close to 100 other brands of cat and dog food products are included on the original recall list and should be checked even if the pets food is not on Pet Food Tracker?

April 2, 2007 12:15 PM

Anonymous said...

Opens fine with my Mac, using default PDF viewer (Preview). I avoid Adobe junk...

April 2, 2007 12:17 PM

Kim said...

Excellent point Shawn, I'll do that right away. Thanks for the feedback!

Anyone still having a problem with the pdf? I'll add a link to download Adobe later today.

And I'll also use an additional pdf creator to see if that fixes the 'garbled' problem without having to download the newest Adobe Reader, because I know that can be a pin.

On the 404 error - I got lots of those yesterday on all different sites, but no problems yet today. So let me know if that happens again.

For right now this is a low budget effort so I'm using free pdf creators and free hosting, so please bear with me while I work out the kinks...

Kim =^..^=

April 2, 2007 12:22 PM

Kim said...

Thanks for the Mac Preview info, you posted while I was typing my last comment!

April 2, 2007 12:25 PM

Anonymous said...

Hi Kim,

Thanks so much for compiling this easily readable list -- taking it along to a store is a terrific idea. I looked on several sites of the pet food companies and some did not have a way to easily print or view their lists. I suggest anyone with an older relative or neighbor with a pet please print an extra copy in large print for them. I shudder to think of how many elderly people with pets are not getting this information delivered to them should they not have internet access. The TV coverage on this is woefully lacking in my opinion.

Thanks again for this service you are providing. It is really invaluable.

Patricia M.
Kenner, LA

April 2, 2007 1:22 PM