Wal-Mart using 'old' packages (update)

Update 8-28:

Apparently, Menu Foods and Wal-Mart jointly decided to use old packaging in order to save money. So they just had new labels printed to put over the old UPC code and are stamping QA-OK on pouches made since the recall.

That might make some of you feel better, but not me. In my opinion it shows their continued lack of concern for pet owners, and their focus on costs to the exclusion of common sense.

These companies don’t even seem to be aware they need to regain consumer confidence!

If you buy anything and Wal-Mart or any pet food made by Menu Foods, it’s at your own risk.

And, um, by the way - if it’s just new labels and the food is good, why did 4 new cats get sick?

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From wsfa.com out of Montgomery, AL. Wal-Mart is still selling cat food recalled months ago. One story from today, one from yesterday. Emphasis mine.

More Pet Food on Recall List Found on Wal-Mart Shelves

We introduced you to Sheri McComber Wednesday. She says four of her cats got sick after eating Special Kitty brand cat food. She checked the labels on the food and found they were listed on the product recall. She said, "This was done on purpose."

We found dozens of the pouches just like the one's McComber had at the Clanton Wal-Mart. At first glance, the product code checks out as safe. If you peel it off, you'll find another product code. I compared those numbers to the ones on the recall list on the FDA'S Web site. Sure enough, it's on the list. With the stickers over the product code, the items went through. However, I left one on the stickers off. When the cashier scanned the label on the package, it said do not sell and she would not let me purchase it.

We put in several calls to Menu Foods and Wal-Mart pressing the issue: Why would they cover the old labels with new ones? Wal-Mart issued statement. It reads: "We have worked with our supplier to investigate the concerns raised by WSFA 12 News. Menu Foods, the manufacturer of Special Kitty products, assures us that the products currently available in Wal-Mart stores are, indeed, safe."

During our phone conversation, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart says the problem is with the packaging, not the prouduct. As to the problem with the packaging, Wal-Mart said we would have to ask Menu Foods about that. So far, we have been unable to get a comment from Menu Foods. The question still remains why would it cover the original labels. You can count on WSFA 12 News to continue to follow this story until we get answers.

Montgomery Woman Claims She Found Tainted Cat Food for Sale at Local Wal-Mart

Sheri McComber's cat Bubbles isn't his usual playful self. She says he's," weak and lethargic."

Three more of McCombers cats have the same symptoms. She says they got sick after eating Special Kitty cat food, one of the brands recalled.

"We have pulled the food," she said.

McComber bought the food, sold in pouches, at the Ann Street Wal-Mart. She says there was a warning sign when she purchased it. "One of the pouches would not scan. It said 'item not to be sold.' [The cashier] just picked up another one and scanned it twice," says McComber.

When her four cats became sick, she checked the labels on the food.

"I pulled back the sticker on the back and read the numbers. I checked the numbers with the recall list and it was the same," McComber said.

She hopes her story will keep other pets from getting sick and encourage owners to check their pet's food.

"I wonder if a lot of other people are taking their pets to the doctor because they don't know what's wrong with them either," said McComber

McComber's veterinarian has done blood work on the four cats. The results aren't back. So, they can't say for sure the food made the cats sick. We checked the Ann Street Wal-Mart to see if any of the tainted food was still on the shelves. It didn't have any Special Kitty pouches on the shelves.

Wal-Mart released a statement. It reads: "Pet food safety is a top priority at Wal-Mart, as we understand the important role that pets play in the lives of our customers. Since hearing from WSFA-TV , we began an investigation into the customer's concern."

FDA testing Dog Treats - More deaths - Other Retailers selling treats

It's not clear from the comment in red below (my emphasis) whether they mean that other retailers are selling the same brand, or are selling the same product under a different name.

From the NY Times...

U.S. Is Checking Dog Treats Wal-Mart Says Are Tainted

The Food and Drug Administration said yesterday that it was checking dog treats recently withdrawn from Wal-Mart’s shelves but had not yet detected any chemical or biological contamination in the Chinese-made products.

A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Stores, the world’s largest retailer, said it was aware of other companies’ selling the suspect products to pet owners.

And China, on the defensive over the safety of its products, lashed out at the United States yesterday by claiming that American soybean exports contained pesticides, poisonous weeds and dirt.

Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., said this week that it had stopped selling Chicken Jerky Strips from the Import-Pingyang Pet Product Company and Chicken Jerky from Shanghai Bestro Trading in July, after customers said the products sickened their pets.

Wal-Mart said 17 tests showed trace levels of melamine, the same pesticide byproduct that led to a widespread pet food recall in March after an unknown number of dogs and cats died.

An F.D.A. spokeswoman, Kimberly Rawlings, said yesterday the agency was actively investigating Wal-Mart’s products in light of the store’s removal of the items from its shelves.

She also said in an e-mail message to The Associated Press that the agency had reviewed Wal-Mart’s lab report that mentioned 20 parts per million of melamine. “This level of melamine would not be expected to result in any animal illness,” she said.

A Wal-Mart spokeswoman, Deisha Galberth, said that with such small amounts of melamine found, its laboratory recommended more testing.

Ms. Galberth said Wal-Mart was aware of other retailers that were selling the products, but she declined to identify hem.

More than 150 brands of pet food were recalled this year after American inspectors said wheat gluten from China that had been used to make the food was tainted with melamine. An unknown number of dogs and cats died.

Since then, other Chinese products, including tires, toothpaste, seafood, juice and toys decorated with lead paint have been recalled or come under scrutiny.

And an article from wxpi.com in Pittsburgh -Local Woman Says Wal-Mart Treats Killed Dog

PITTSBURGH -- A local woman said her dog died from eating tainted dog treats.On Wednesday, Wal-Mart announced two brands of dog treats sold at its stores contained the chemical melamine.Those products were pulled from store shelves in July, but have not been recalled.Jodi Zeremski said her Chihuahua, Taco, never had health problems until she bought chicken jerky dog treats from Wal-Mart in early July.Soon after eating the treats, Taco reportedly became ill and had to be put down.A veterinarian said he died of kidney failure."Those were the only treats we bought. That was the only other thing that dog ate,” Zeremski said.Gretchen Fieser, of the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, said, "Melamine typically causes kidney failure. Some of the signs of kidney failure are depression. They can become very lethargic, not having very much energy, lying around and vomiting."Wal-Mart has released a statement: "We will continue to work with the supplier to assure that the highest safety standards are met. Our thoughts are with anyone whose pet may have become ill."

And another one, from the record-bee.com -National Wal-Mart pet treat scare appears in Lake County (emphasis is mine)

LAKE COUNTY -- Vicki Stone of Cobb never knew that the dollars she hoped to save by purchasing her dog's favorite treat, Chicken Jerky Strips, at Wal-Mart in Clearlake could cost her favorite pet his life. "He's such a picky eater, but he loved the strips, he'd gulp them down," said Stone.

In July, Stone's husband saw a deal on chicken strips at Wal-Mart, so he picked up two packages. A week and a half later, their five-year old Shihtzu named Doc started having problems. They did everything possible, according to veterinarian Dr. Chris Holmes, but still the dog went into kidney failure and may not survive. If he does, his kidneys will only function at about 20 percent, and Doc will likely not live another two years.

The brand of food the Stone's fed Doc are one of two Chinese brands of dog treats sold at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the world's largest retailer, that the company claims they pulled off the shelves in July after customers said they made their dogs ill.

Tests on the products, Chicken Jerky Strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co. and from Shanghai Bestro Trading show traces of melamine, a chemical agent responsible for a previous massive pet food recall in March, a spokesperson told the AP Tuesday.

"We didn't know until today that Stone was feeding those treats, but when we did it immediately clicked," said Dr. Holmes on Wednesday from Wasson Memorial Veterinary Clinic in Lakeport.

"The dog is experiencing obvious kidney failure due to this melamine from the Bestro chicken strips, the same exact brand has been recalled before, and we have had problems with other animals being poisoned by melamine from a previous recall of pet food in March," said Dr. Holmes.

"Doc started having problems at the end of July, we did blood work which came back fine, and found mild elevations in the kidney parameters, then we sent him to an intro-medicine specialist who did an ultra-sound down in Rohnert Park," he said.

"We looked into all the causes of kidney failure and knew that it was some toxin other than anti-freeze, which is the most common. The dog got much worse so last week we put him on IV fluids for 48 hours and he's doing much better, but we don't know how long he has. We have to wait and see," said Dr. Holmes.

According to Dr. Holmes, three dogs under his care died from the recall in March. A biopsy of one of the dog's kidneys was conducted and it was confirmed the dog had died of melamine poisoning from the tainted dog food products.

"I know corporate Wal-Mart did a recall, and Vicki Stone said they pulled all the stuff off the shelves in Clearlake yesterday. We do have other animals that will be affected by this, but we haven't proven that it's melamine. That can only be proven in a biopsy of the kidney," said Dr. Holmes.

Stone said, "I'm very, very upset. They said they pulled the products off their shelves but I'm going to make a trip there to be sure. I have a burning desire to know why the public wasn't notified about this."

"If it had been baby food it would have been all over the papers and media. I think that if Wal-Mart knew about this, and they waited to pull it and inform people, how negligent is that? This whole thing is about lack of responsibility," she said.

"People's pets are getting killed by this product. It's not like this is some American brand that hasn't had problems, this brand has killed dogs before," said Stone, who plans to take the $6,000 vet bill to the store to demand reimbursement.

"I'm going to take this all the way because I think it's hurting people, especially in this area where people can't afford to shop in a fancy pet store," said Stone.

Dr. Holmes said, "We're going to be seeing lots of problems, this is here in Lake County. These are companies that have had problems in the past, and Wal-Mart is not doing the necessary testing. I would not buy any food product from them."

Clearlake Wal-Mart manager Will Bacon told the Record-Bee on Wednesday that he could make no comment. Phone calls placed to the corporate headquarters and regional spokespersons were not returned Wednesday.

Wal-Mart spokesperson Deisha Galberth told the AP on Tuesday that Wal-Mart stopped selling the products July 26. Galberth said customers should return the products to the store for a refund.

Dog Treats sold at Wal-Mart Contain Melamine

From CNN...

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) -- Tests of two Chinese brands of dog treats sold at Wal-Mart stores found traces of melamine, a chemical agent that led to another massive pet food recall in March, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. quietly stopped selling Chicken Jerky Strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co. and Chicken Jerky from Shanghai Bestro Trading in July, after customers said the products sickened their pets.

No recall was announced at that time, but Wal-Mart said in a statement Tuesday that customers who bought one of the products should return it to the nearest store for a refund.

Company spokeswoman Deisha Galberth said 17 sets of tests done on the products found melamine, a contaminant that's a byproduct of several pesticides.

"There were very small amounts of melamine found," Galberth told The Associated Press. "The amounts were so small the laboratory recommended more testing."

Galberth had said late Monday that Wal-Mart pulled the products off store shelves based on the customer feedback but wanted to complete the testing before announcing anything publicly.

More than 150 brands of pet food were recalled earlier this year after U.S. inspectors said wheat gluten from China that was used to make the food was tainted with melamine. An unknown number of dogs and cats died.

Since then, other Chinese products including tires, toothpaste, seafood, juice, and toys decorated with lead paint have been recalled or have come under scrutiny.

Galberth said she couldn't say if the amount of melamine found in its dog treats would be enough to sicken or kill a dog that ate the suspect products. The Delaware County (Pennsylvania) Daily Times reported last week that a woman claimed her 2-year-old Chihuahua died after eating some of the products. According to the report, an autopsy found the dog died of an infection caused by toxic bacteria.

Wal-Mart's statement Tuesday said customers should be especially wary of jerky from Shanghai Bestro Trading with the UPC number 0087784900006 and item number 839751.

The Food and Drug Administration did not list the two Wal-Mart products on its recall Web site Tuesday. As recently as 2005, the FDA blocked some pet treat imports from Pingyang Pet Product Co. because of contamination with salmonella.

Galberth said she was not aware of the FDA's previous concerns with Pingyang but said the company was working with the FDA and manufacturers. She said she did not immediately know where the Chinese companies were based.

Bentonville-based Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, pulled the products from shelves July 26 and placed a computerized block on all cash registers to prevent workers from selling the products. Galberth said she did not know how many stores sold the treats.

"Generally, we won't do a pull-and-hold unless most stores are impacted," she said. "There's a high likelihood many of our stores would have been impacted by this one."

I'm too pissed and too tired to say more than this is bullshit - how long have they known this and why are they just announcing it now? Dogs died needlessly! See my other posts about these deadly treats...

2 Brands of Mars Petcare Dry Dog Food Recalled - Krasdale Gravy and Red Flannel

Mars Petcare recalls two brands of dry dog food - Krasdale Gravy dry dog food and Red Flannel Large Greed Adult Formula dry dog food (thanks for the heads up Therese)

http://www.marspetcare.com/safety/index.html

Affected Products

Product: Krasdale Gravy dry dog food
Size: 5 pound bag
UPC Code: 7513062596
Best By Date: July 16 & 17, 2008
Best By Date Location: Back of bag
Affected Stores: Various stores located in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Product: Red Flannel Large Breed Adult Formula dry dog food
Size: 50 pound bag
UPC Code: 4286900062
Best By Date: July 12, 2008
Best By Date Location: Back of bag
Affected Stores: The stores are located in Reedsville, PA and Richlandtown, PA

Select Krasdale Gravy Dry Dog Food 5lb Bags
Voluntarily Recalled in Five States
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Mars Petcare US, Inc. today announces a voluntary recall of select five pound bags of Krasdale Gravy dry dog food sold in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The pet food is being recalled because it has 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.

Select Red Flannel Large Breed Adult Formula Dry Dog Food 50lb
Bags Voluntarily Recalled in Pennsylvania
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Mars Petcare US, Inc. today announces a voluntary recall of select 50 lb bags of Red Flannel Large Breed Adult Formula dry dog food sold in two stores in Pennsylvania.
Only three bags of product were actually sold, with only one bag still unaccounted for. The pet food is being recalled because it has 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.

Wal-Mart pulled 2nd Dog Treat 27 days ago - STILL no announcement

From the Washington Post, we find out that Wal-Mart quietly recalled two brands of dog treats, not just one as posted here last week. (Thanks Therese at petsitusa.com for the heads up)

LITTLE ROCK -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. quietly stopped selling two brands of dog treats in July, after customers voiced concerns that the Chinese products may have caused their pets to fall ill, but no recall has been announced, a company spokeswoman confirmed.

The world's largest retailer started pulling Chicken Jerky Strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co. and Chicken Jerky from Shanghai Bestro Trading on July 26, spokeswoman Deisha Galberth said late Monday.

Okay, let's count, shall we? 27 days since then that people who bought this product have continued to feed it to their dogs at home. How many sick dogs does that translate to? How many other dead dogs? WHY WHY WHY has this not been announced? 27 days! 27 days in which dogs could have gone to the vet, and received treatment if necessary. 27 days!

And even when the story broke last week, we only knew of the Shanghai Bestro brand, not the Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co brand. (Gee, wonder where these were made?)

Wal-Mart also placed a computerized block on all cash registers to prevent workers from selling the products, Galberth said.

Right, we saw how well this worked during the initial recall back in March, April, May, etc. (If you're new - it didn't work at all. And an FDA investigation into Wal-Mart found numerous stores still selling recalled products months after the recall began.)

"When we took it off shelves at the end of July, we pulled it based on the customer feedback so we could do testing prior to announcing anything publicly," Galberth said. "That's why did not make a public announcement _ it was still going through the testing process."

Unbelievable. And inexcusable. Listen up people - this shows - yet again - their lack of concern for you and your pets. What you do with your money is your concern, but I will never spend a penny in that store, ever.

Wal-Mart's action follows a massive pet food recall in March, when retailers began pulling products made in China that included the chemical melamine _ a contaminant that's a byproduct of several pesticides.

Galberth said she did not know what the specific customer complaints were about the dog treats, nor when the testing would be complete.

Uh huh. Wal-mart offers the woman whose dog died $2,000 for her loss, but yet claims not to know what the complaints were.

Galberth said she did not immediately know if the treats were sold at every Wal-Mart store.

"We are diligently testing this product," she said.

At which lab? How long does it take to get results? I doubt it takes 27 days.

Philadelphia television station WPVI reported last week that a woman claimed her 2-year-old Chihuahua died after eating Bestro Chicken Jerky Strips. The station reported that an autopsy found the dog died of an infection caused by toxic bacteria.

Yeah, I'm pissed. This just infuriates me. It's unbelievable, inexcusable, and it just boggles my mind. And of course it breaks my heart. And it keeps happening. Over and over these companies show their total lack of regard for us and for our pets. Over and over. Yet we still give them the benefit of the doubt. Why? It's time to take that away. Don't trust them. Don't believe them. Don't put your pet's lives in their hands. They don't deserve your trust. Not anymore.

To see the original post/story, click here

Added 4:31pm MT: I just read through some messages on the epinions.com message board. There are multiple reports of problems from 2006 through today.

And Pingyang had other dog treats refused by the FDA back in JUNE due to salmonella, see here .

And they also had numerous products refused in September 2006 due to Salmonella. See the FDA report here

USA Today is now working on this story, see HERE.