[AnnArtisan]

This was posted on another forum - it seemed important enough to pass along....


"A friend bugged me until I sent samples of the dog foods I feed (Canidae &
California Natural) to be tested. The lab called with preliminary results
Friday and said not to feed either food until they ran separate tests on the CA
NAtural (lamb & rice puppy & adult) and Canidae (Original and Lamb/Rice).
They had mistakenly combined my two separate samples and run one test instead
of two. Got the final results yesterday--the Canidae is contaminated with
acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol. Acetaminophen is immediately
fatal in cats and if fed to dogs over a period of time will cause terminal liver
& kidney damage. I'm still in shock. If you know anyone who feeds Canidae,
have them look closely at the dates stamped on the bottom of the sack.
It's hard to find. Here's what's stamped on the sacks I had tested: Canidae
Original RM 7/7/07, use by 7/7/08; Canidae Lamb & Rice L&R RM 7/6/07, use by
7/6/08. Perhaps someone else will pay the big price ($250/test) to test the
original and lamb/rice separately to see if either or both are contaminated."

 

[Kate]

I feed Canidae All Life Stages, not the ones you listed above.  So what does this mean,  who's website did this come from, what lab tested it, who can be contacted to confirm these results.  I don't want to throw out good dog food from a post from an unknown source, but don't want to posion my dogs either.  Can you please provide more info on this matter.   There are alot of people that feed Canidae on this site and it would be helpful to have more details please. My bag says RM 07/12/07, EXP 07/12/08.  Canidae has a phone number on the bag as well and I'm going to call them, but I can't really say someone sent samples of your dog food, with another companies dog food to a lab that mixed the samples them reports that they are contaminated, what you gonna do about it.

 

[Lucylong]

I feed Canidae All Life Stages and have the same questions posed by Kate.  Was any other information contained in this post?  Was Canidae alerted?  What response if any?  The test results should be reported to Canidae and the FDA.  More details are needed.

 

[Kate]

ok, calming down a notch, I searched the internet for the site you mentioned and found it so everyone can read the entire thread.  

There is no real answer at this point, but I'm definitely looking to Merrick tomorrow for new dog food until I find out.  I do think it's a little early to panic as the California Natural reportedly tested positive for acetaminophen on a previous occasion.

Anyway, (still hyperventilating) read the entire thread and decided it's not worth the risk.  As I stated in another post, I was told, but have not done the actual research, that Canidae is in fact not produced in-house, but Merrick is produced in their own facilities.  That doesn't guaranty anything, but at least it would relieve the worry of cross-contaminated food.  This is very upsetting with an 8 week old puppy that has been on Canidae wet and dry for two weeks.  I'm sick about this.  


http://itchmoforums.com/pet-food-testin ... 79.15.html

 

[Lucylong]

Thanks for the link.  I'm sick about this too!  I just switched my two over to Canidae and they are doing really well on it or so I thought.

 

[Newcastle]

Interesting; the only lab as far as I can tell that has found acetaminophen in any pet food (since the pet food recalls began, anyway), as far as I can tell, is ExperTox in Texas.  No other labs, or the FDA, have been able to confirm the findings (in numerous brands).  This could mean the ExperTox's test are more sensitive for acetaminophen; it could mean that only a very few batches were affected; or it could mean, as some seem to think, that there is a conspiracy going on and only ExperTox is telling the truth.  (I'm a bit of a conspiracy theorist myself, especially when it comes to pet food manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies, but I've never had the same 'feeling' from Canidae....)

Since I don't feed kibble, this is kind of below my radar, but I will be keeping an ear out to hear if any other lab ever confirms the findings.

 

[Kate]

Thanks Jennifer, I think I have finally seen the light and would have to agree that it would appear that there is indeed a huge conspiracy and that ExperTox is telling the truth.  Just don't know who they are telling the truth about......don't know who manufactures Canidae and are they a target or culprit?

 

[boxerlove]

This isn't exactly the same thing but was just wondering if anyone else who uses Canidae (we don't) had trouble getting the cans of it.  I just noticed a sign at our pet store yesterday that said that they were out of the cans of Canidae until further notice, said something about them not being able to keep up with the demand and moving to a new facility.  I was just getting our regular dog food which is next to the Canidae brand and saw the sign.

 

[Kate]

I just bought a case of the canned food last Friday and it's still on the shelves.  

The report mentioned above has not been verified with a written lab report althought it has been requested by iitchmoforums since the allegation was made on 8/24/07.  I have been searching the net since I read this post yesterday for any other reports to substantiate this allegation and can find nothing.  There are conspiracy theories and there are just plain nut cases out there trying to stir up fear.  People are extremely nervous after the hundreds or thousands of pets harmed by the tainted foods in the March recall.  

Who knows who to believe.  There are major pet food companies out there losing mega bucks to small operations like Canidae because people have switched due to the big recall in March.  Anyone can sign up on a website and make any claim they want.  If this was infant forumla and babies were dying or being made deathly ill, something would be done about it on a federal level immediately.  But our pets...... we're left out in the cold, the FDA waiting days or weeks before reporting their findings.  All we can do is research and make the best decision we can.  It almost makes me laugh to remember that my first dog who lived to be 17 1/2 years old lived on Gaines Burgers and Milkbones her entire life.   Are pet food companies so evil that they would stoop to tainting competitors products and sending them in for testing --  I leave that answer up to you.

Sorry this sounds more like a rant - and I guess it is because I'm so confused what to do.  We all love our dogs or we wouldn't be here looking for the best thing for them.  What do we do??????????????????????? :aua:  

Dog Food Consumer Report:

Canidae (verified by company 3/28/07, updated 4/18/07)

Brands include Canidae and Felidae
No products made by Menu Foods
All ingredients are grown in the US and are also processed here.
No wheat gluten is used in their products.
All products are free of corn, wheat, soy and all grain fractions
Canidae does not use glutens in any form. (from website 4/18/07)
We do not import any ingredients from China or overseas. (from website 4/18/07)

 

[HannaBanana]

People can study anything thing they want, and about half the time they can find stuff and throw alert and scares over the internet.   Also many reports can name a brand esp if its popular to get consumers to not purchase that brand.

Some companies other than the kibble mentioned could be hiring compaies to do test and until something hits a national recal, I stick to it as here say.   It would be sad that a great food like Canidae would lose many customers to hearsay.    So if I were a Canidae user, I would contine use, until more of these "so-called" cases are uncovered and there is awareness that this IS an issue and the company recalls their food.

Just my thoughts on the issue.   If its not posted on the Canidae website, then I would keep on feeding it, or contact Canidae for a direct response to the ingredients for them to confirm or deny.   until they confirm, IMO I would still feed.

 

[Kate]

Hanna's right.   I'm sticking with Canidae until something other than a rumor is provided.  Enough time and aggrevation wasted on this subject.

 

[AnnArtisan]

ok, calming down a notch, I searched the internet for the site you mentioned and found it so everyone can read the entire thread.  

Thanks for doing the search, Kate!  I actually got the info from a different forum than you turned up and really didn't take any time to research it because a) we're switching to raw feeding so it doesn't concern me personally (but I still thought it worth passing on "just-in-case"); and b) we've been dealing with a major health crisis with Atticus over the past week and all of my spare time has been spent worrying over him, waiting by the phone for the vet's diagnosis , and researching ways to keep him comfortable and well-nourished in the meantime.  (Finally found out at the end of the day yesterday that he has a tick-borne disease called ehrlichia and another call from the vet this morning advised us he also has a bladder infection.  Poor baby is not feeling well at all. )

 

[Kate]

Awe poor baby, I'm sorry.  I hope Atticus feel better really soon.   Thanks for the heads up anyway.  I'm going to keep an eye out for more alerts from now on.

 

[Lucylong]

Appreciate the thoughts Hanna.  I plan on sticking with Canidae for now.  I have contacted Canidae asking for a response.  I'll let everyone know if I get one.

 

[Kate]

This is a new posting as of today on the Canidae website.  Thought those of us feeding Canidae would be interested.  I am assuming they have had numerous calls due to that post referenced above.  

Industry Recall Update for September 2, 2007

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All CANIDAE Pet Food products are safe and not part of the recall.
In light of the unfortunate pet food recall by other respectable pet food manufacturers, we want you, our valued customer, to feel secure with the continued use of our products. CANIDAE

 

[bubba]

Thanks for that update Kate. I am a Canidae user for the my babies. I love the food and i was going to keep feeding it to them until it was an actual recall and not just some rumor. I had just bought a bag and i seen this post and i was like, "Oh crap not another recall". But thanks again..