Dog Food Industry News Headlines

The Scoop on Dog Food Recalls and
Other Breaking Dog Food News

Visit here regularly as we keep you abreast of the latest breaking dog food industry news.

Photo by David Locke

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Dog Food Industry News - 2011

May 5th 2011
Evanger's Dog & Cat Food Company Receives Yet Another Warning Letter from the FDA.

An inspection at the Evanger's Dog Food Company plant results in the FDA officially accusing Evanger’s of selling "misbranded" pet food. The FDA claims test samples of Evanger's Grain-Free Duck Pet Food contained no duck, and their Rice and Lamb Dog Food contained "bovine material" instead of lamb.

Evanger's conducts their own independent tests and disputes the FDA's claims.

Read here for details of this story and other news on Evanger's vs. the FDA

Dog Food Industry News - 2009 / 2010

August 9, 2010
Canadian Based Pet Food Manufacturer, Menu Foods Income Fund, to be Acquired by Simmons Pet Food of Arkansas, USA, for $239 million

"TORONTO, ONTARIO, Aug 09, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Menu Foods Income Fund (the "Fund") and Simmons Pet Food, Inc. ("Simmons Pet Food"), an affiliate of Simmons Foods, Inc., announced today that the Fund has entered into a definitive agreement with Simmons Pet Food providing for the acquisition by Simmons Pet Food of Menu Foods Limited, the Fund's operating subsidiary. Under the agreement, Simmons Pet Food will acquire Menu Foods Limited for approximately $239 million, including assumption of existing debt. Immediately after the disposition of the Fund's assets, the units of the Fund will be redeemed for $4.80 per unit in cash. That value represents a 65.5% premium to the March 15, 2010 closing price of $2.90, the last trading day prior to the Fund's announcement that it would undertake a strategic review process, and a 46.8% premium to the closing price of $3.27 on August 6, 2010."

Menu Foods was involved in the massive pet food recall of 2007. They recalled over 60 million cans and pouches of cat and dog food after it was discovered that some products imported from China contained melamine, a deadly chemical, that got into its supply chain and caused many animal deaths.

The company survived but the recall cost it tens of millions of dollars, produced big losses, led to canceled contracts and battered its stock price.

Full press release.

July 2, 2010
FDA Issues "Warning Letter" to Merrick Pet Food Company (Tejas Industries Inc.)

In January, 2010, Merrick voluntarily recalled the dog treats, Merrick Beef Filet Squares, after the FDA found salmonella contamination during random sample testing.

Now, it appears there's a lot more to this story, and the FDA has just sent a warning letter to Garth Merrick. It's certainly not looking good for this family owned, premium dog food company!

Did Merrick Dog Food deliberately choose not to give us the whole story on the Beef Filet Squares dog food recall(s)?

Excerpts from the FDA's warning letter ...

"Our inspections revealed that the manufacturing processes used by your firm to manufacture pet treats are not controlled and that contamination of these products may occur through inadequate treatment or through recontamination of the treated products due to improper storage or handling after processing.

Specifically, your firm could not provide evidence that your manufacturing processes eliminate pathogens such as Salmonella during processing because your firm does not consistently monitor critical factors in the process such as time and temperature; nor could you provide evidence demonstrating that recontamination was not likely to occur post-processing. Further, your firm could not provide evidence supporting the adequacy of your in-house sampling and testing program, for example, explaining the location and number of samples collected for each lot of finished product.

We recognize that your firm initiated a voluntary recall of Merrick Beef Filet Squares by letter to your customers dated January 11, 2010. The recall was initiated following FDA sampling and your firm’s internal sampling, both of which revealed the presence of Salmonella. However, your recall strategy may be determined to be ineffective to the consumer level for the following reasons:

• Your firm delayed your public communication to alert consumers who may have the recalled product in their possession until after FDA issued an FDA Health Alert on January 14, 2010.

• Your recall communications to distributors, retailers, and consumers only included case lot coding 9323, which was different from the lot coding on some of the individual bags. Due to a labeling error, some of the affected bags were coded with the lot code 9333.

• Your recall letter did not identify the hazard involved. Your letter to wholesale and retail consignees indicated the product was recalled because it “may not have been processed properly.” Recalls can be less effective if the recall communication does not concisely explain the reason for recall and the hazard involved."

The FDA has given Merrick 15 days to respond.

May 5, 2010
Procter and Gamble to Acquire Natura Pet Products

Indeed, this is very sad and unwelcome news!

Procter & Gamble (P&G), the manufacturer of Iams and Eukanuba dog and cat food, has signed a deal to purchase the privately held company, Natura Pet Products.

Natura's holistic dog food brands include Innova, Evo, Healthwise, California Naturals, Mother Nature and Karma, and are sold only in pet specialty stores and veterinary clinics, mainly in the US and Canada. We included three Natura dog food brands on our List of 10 Best Dog Foods.

P&G says the move allows it to "expand into the attractive holistic and naturals segment of the pet food category", complementing the company's current pet food brands and helping advance an overall growth strategy of "reaching more consumers in more parts of the world more completely."

Procter and Gamble says it plans to close the acquisition of Natura in a month or so. Natura has about 140 employees, located mainly at its production sites in Fremont and San Leandro, Calif. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Natura was founded in 1989 by John and Ann Rademakers (now in their 70's), and Peter Atkins.

John Rademakers says, "Its time for the right company to take our brands to the next level of growth. P&G is that company. We know that P&G will honor our history as they capitalize on their strengths to build these brands."

Press Release: P&G Acquires Natura Pet Products.

December 8, 2009
FDA Releases Pet Health and Safety Widget

Get the latest information on dog food recalls and other pet health and safety information, directly from the Center for Veterinary Medicine.

We are very pleased to be able to provide our visitors with the new Pet Health and Safety Widget.

It also outlines how to file a report should your dog become sick from a dog food, or if you have any other pet food issues or complaints.

By providing websites and blogs with this widget, the FDA's goal is to help reach and share information with more pet owners, and to more effectively spread the word on latest dog food recalls and other pet food industry news.

Note, this widget is automatically updated on our site.

November 5, 2009
Pet Carousel Pig Ears and Beef Hooves - Salmonella Alert!

During September 2009, an FDA inspection of Pet Carousels manufacturing facilities found Salmonella present in beef hooves, pig ears and in the manufacturing environment.

The FDA has issued a health alert warning consumers not to use pig ears and beef hooves pet treats manufactured by Pet Carousel, based in Sanger, Calif. These products have been distributed nationwide in both bulk and retail packaging for sale in pet food and retail chain stores.

Although no illnesses have been reported, the FDA is advising consumers to not handle or feed them to their pets.

• The pig ears were packaged under the brand names Doggie Delight and Pet Carousel.
• The beef hooves were packaged under the brand names Choo Hooves, Dentley’s, Doggie Delight, and Pet Carousel.

November 02, 2009
Wysong Dog Food Recalls

Wysong has detected mold in batches of its extruded dog foods manufactured in June, July and August of 2009. Read the full Wysong Dog Food Recall story here.

Nutro Pet Food Saga

September 30, 2009
Not Nutro Again?!  Voluntary Withdrawal of Select Puppy Foods

Read here for the latest news on the Nutro dog food recalls.

June 19, 2009 - Nutro Responds to Assertions of Dangerous Zinc Levels

Los Angeles Times - The assertion that Nutro had received no complaints "outraged pet owners nationwide, who have told ConsumerAffairs.com for the past two years that their dogs and cats experienced diarrhea and vomiting after eating Nutro food.

May 21, 2009 - Nutro Recall

Nutro Products announces voluntary recall of range of dry cat food products. Two mineral premixes were affected, due to excessive levels of zinc and under-supplemented potassium. Read the FDA's Press Release here.

We encourage our readers to take caution if feeding your dogs Nutro dog food. Who knows what direction this story will take next?

April, 2009 - Is Nutro Dog Food Under Investigation?

Well, is it a Yes or a No? ... Is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigating the pet food maker, Nutro Products Inc, or not?

The FDA and Nutro say No, but dog owners whose dogs have either died or become very ill, while eating Nutro dog food, say Yes. Read the details here.

September 9, 2009 – New Government Consumer Website to Provide Pet Food Recall Information.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has launched a Food Safety Consumer Website which will include updated dog food recalls and other pet health information.

February 2010 Update - Evangers Risk of Botulism or Much Ado About Nothing?

June 12, 2009 - Evangers Dog Food - FDA Suspends Permit

Wow! This information has been kept under wraps for a while!!!

According to the FDA: "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."

Evangers Dog and Cat Food Company is not permitted to ship their product interstate, until they provide documentation that corrective actions and processing procedures have been implemented to ensure their products do not present a health hazard. Read the FDA release here, and read Evangers response here.

Dog Food Scoop has dropped Evangers dog food from our list of Top 10 Best Dog Food Brands. We have also adjusted our dog food rating to reflect zero scoops. We will do another full dog food review of Evangers Dog Food once new information comes to light.

June 3, 2009 - ChemNutra Inc. to Plead Guilty

Husband and wife team, and co-owners of Las Vegas based, ChemNutra Inc. to plead guilty. Read all the despicable details on the dog food recall of 2007 here.

May 16, 2009 - The Thirteenth Global "Boycott Procter & Gamble Day" - Why?

Procter and Gamble, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, is the manufacturer of Iams and Eukanuba dog food. They are the world's largest consumer products company, manufacturing an array of products, from hair care and cosmetics, to snack food, to laundry care products.

Read what animal rights activists have to say, and why the need for a thirteenth global boycott aimed at exposing the corporation's "callous animal testing practices". Click here.