Nature ' s Variety: They ' re calling it a ' product withdrawal '

I went into San Francisco's Pet Food Express today, as always on the lookout for treats that Kyrie can and will eat. (Don't tell me to cook, dudes; I'm already making their food, I just want to buy some freaking cookies!)



And there was a big sign on the door when I walked in, announcing that a number of Nature's Variety foods had been removed from the shelves (I've added a couple of paragraph breaks to improve readability):

Nature’s Variety has withdrawn one lot of their freeze-dried beef and one lot of their freeze-dried chicken products due to a discrepancy between their specifications and those of the products as produced.



As of today, we still have no word as to what the specific problem is or how it could affect pets, only the manufacturer’s assurance that it does not pose a hazard. We are concerned, ho waver, that because Nature's Variety coats all of their kibbled products with a “bio-coating,” which includes freeze-dried chicken and beef, that whatever problem may exist in the withdrawn products could also affect their Prairie and Instinct dry food lines. Therefore, we have elected to remove all of the Nature's Variety dry foods from our shelves until we can be confident that they are safe.



Additionally, the Nature’s Variety Raw Chicken and Beef diets are identical in composition to the freeze dried diets except that the moisture has not been removed. Therefore, we are also placing a hold on their sale until the situation is clear. Their canned products are not affected.

The specific products being withdrawn by Nature's Variety are Nature’s Variety Freeze Dried Raw Beef Formula, 12 oz., UPC 769949602514, and Nature’s Variety Freeze Dried Raw Chicken Formula, 12 oz., UPC 769949601517, with a “Best if used by” date of 05/25/10.



Now, kudos to Pet Food Express for stripping all products they thought could be affected off their shelves. That's a prudent course of action, and they did a good job getting the word out; the warnings are all over the store and on their website as well.



And, I guess, half a kudo to Nature's Variety for not using the "voluntary recall" spin that all the other pet food companies do, as if there was any other kind (FDA has no recall authority over any foods but infant formula). However, given that they apparently asked Pet Food Express not to call this a "recall," and PFE complied, I'm thinking it's more because they didn't want anyone like, oh, me, to go on the Interwebz and say, "Nature's Variety foods recalled."



More information on the recall product withdrawal is here.



***



More pet-food news: Yesterday, the FDA suspended Illinois' Evanger's Pet Foods from being able to ship their products across state lines, due to several months of concerns that its processing procedures were not sufficient to prevent the growth of botulism in their foods:

In April 2008, Evanger’s was issued an “Order of Need for Emergency Permit” after the agency determined that the company had failed to meet the regulatory requirements to process a product that does not present a health risk.   In June, 2008, FDA issued Evanger’s a temporary Emergency Permit.  During inspections conducted between March 2009 and April 2009, FDA determined Evanger’s was not operating in compliance with the mandatory requirements and conditions of the Temporary Emergency Permit.



“The FDA is stopping Evanger's ability to ship pet food in interstate commerce,” said Dr. Bernadette Dunham. “Today’s enforcement action sends a strong message to manufacturers of pet food that we will take whatever action necessary to keep unsafe products from reaching consumers.”



In order for Evanger's to resume shipping in interstate commerce, the company must document that corrective actions and processing procedures have been implemented to ensure that the finished product will not present a health hazard.

Note that FDA didn't make them recall the foods -- which they have no authority to do -- nor even stop them from making the foods. They're just stopping them from shipping the foods across state lines. More info here.

Comments

[Dorene]

Oh, for heaven's sake, this will never end! Here in PA, I went to Pet Supply Plus on Friday and there wasn't a word about all this. Nature's Variety was on sale and it's a brand that Pepper likes, so I thought about buying some, but she has a full canister at home, so I figured I'd wait. Now, I'm feeling I just dodged a bullet.



Regardless, I spent about 45 minutes reading labels on chews to find out what they were, where they were made and where the ingredients were from. We're going to spend a long weekend with my relatives who all have cats -- if Pepper has her own chew, she won't bother the cats she only sees a once or twice a year.



At home, she gets raw bones, but my relatives are a bit more picky about their rugs, plus bones are a lot more difficult to pack and transport than chews (although the male relatives do freak out if they know she's chomping on a pizzle and my mother-in-law freaked at the whole cow hoof at Christmas and made me take it into the kitchen because she couldn't stand watching Pepper chew on it at her feet in the living room).



So, if I have 2 chews/day when we're visiting the relatives, there is peace (mostly). But at this point, I'm not giving her just any chew and even though it looked like there was plenty of choice, once I read the labels, Merrick's was the only ones I felt I could put in my shopping cart and even then, for some reason, Pet Supply Plus has drastically reduced their selection of Merrick's (down even further since my mother-in-law is not keen on either the cow hoof or the puffed pig snout).



IT SHOULD NOT BE THIS HARD TO FEED MY DOG!!!!

[Susan Fox]

In other news, there's this about Evanger's on the Consumer Affairs site-

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/06/fda_evangers.html

[Christie Keith]

I updated with the FDA's Evanger's recall notice... Gina just caught it and forwarded it to me! Thanks to you both!

[Carol V]

http://indyscorner.blogspot.com/ I guess this Evangers blogger did not do her/his homework..

[EmilyS]

oh no: not "recalled". Just "withdrawn".



oy.

[Gina Spadafori]

At least they didn't send "ambassadors" to BS the folks on Twitter. Maybe they realized that didn't work quite so well for Nutro, since everyone figured it out in like, oh, an hour.

[3FabulousFelines]

Thanks for posting the bit about Evanger's. Yesterday, I found a couple stray cans of Evanger's cat food hiding in a cupboard and planned on giving the boys some tonight.



Looks like I'll be rethinking that! (I think I'd initially stashed the food away after some questionable reports about their company last year... but had totally forgotten that there was a reason why I hadn't used it.)

[3FabulousFelines]

Dorene...



Many years ago, I worked in a pet shop that used to keep boxes of Bully Sticks at the registers. You wouldn't believe how often men would put those things in their mouths (or pantomime doing so) in an attempt to be funny.



The following exchange invariably ensued:



ME: "Um... I don't think you want to do that."



CUSTOMER: "Why not? I mean, it's just meat, right? What's in it?"



ME: *points at single ingredient printed on the box*



CUSTOMER: "Steer pizzle? What the heck's a steer pizz... OH DEAR GOD!!" *chucks Bully Stick back in box while gagging and frantically wiping hands on pants*



The looks on their faces when it finally clicked? Priceless! Bwahahaa.

[Marcy]

Is this Evangers thing still going on???



I remember that when it first surfaced months ago, I had found a few cans in my pet store that were "puffed." I took them to the store clerk, and was thanked for finding them.



I have not bought another can of the stuff since.

[Pai]

And the FDA just got the right to regulate the Tobacco Industry... because they're doing such a bang-up job as it is! =P

[5CatMom]

Last time I checked, a private equity firm, Berwind, owned Nature's Variety and Wellness.



Private equity firms and pet food companies are a bad combination, IMO. Product quality becomes secondary to the profit motive.



We dropped both Nature's Variety and Wellness from the food rotation. Just a matter of time until quality problems occur, IMO.

[5CatMom]

Article re: equity firms and pet food companies.



http://bryanjaf.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/pet-industry-market-trends-spring-2009-update/

[Carol V]

So what I can not understand is.. they can still manufacture the food during this time when they can not ship across state lines..so what or who is preventing them from stockpiling and selling the food when they get the "ok" to ship...Isn't this suspension of their permit because there is a significant risk to pets eating the food? and if not then why can't they ship it...either it is possibly contaminated or it's safe.. I know the FDA can not tell them to stop manufacturing the food (I think) and force a recall (that I know)...but what good is it to stop the food from crossing state lines if at a later date it can?? What am I missing here??

[Carol V]

my comment (13) is regarding Evangers..not Natures Variety ...

[Carol V]

And now my thoughts on Natures Variety which I use the kibble for my goldens...TELL US WHAT INGREDIENT IS AFFECTED...

[5CatMom]

Correction:



Catterton owns Nature's Variety.



Berwind's Wellpet LLC owns Wellness, Old Mother Hubbard, Holistic Select, Eagle Pack.



http://www.cpequity.com/rep-investments.asp?i=NaturesVariety

http://www.wellpet.com/

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/



Very confusing, IMO.

[The OTHER Pat]

Comment by Pai — June 14, 2009 @ 12:43 am



And the FDA just got the right to regulate the Tobacco Industry… because they’re doing such a bang-up job as it is! =P



But they've already got experience regulating poison after 2007! They're PERFECT for the job! Perfect, I tell you!



(That's my story and I'm sticking to it . . . . . . . . . . . )

[harry gries]

Regarding comment #13, see the following http://tinyurl.com/kmztur.



In The Constitution, there are certain rights assigned to the federal gov't and every thing else is assigned to the states. One of the federal rights is to govern interstate commerce, which is why you see the restriction pertain only to shipping across state lines. Generally, neither the FDA nor the federal gov't have any power whatsoever pertaining to products produced in one state and sold in the same state. You may think this is wrong and needs to be changed, but it's the law, like it or not.



A good example of this is the national speed limit. In fact there is no national speed limit because the federal gov't cannot mandate this. The one exception is for "interstate" highways upon which interstate commerce is transacted, therefore they have jurisdiction.

(There was a so called national speed limit for some time, but it was not the law. The fed gov't just withheld highway funds to states that did not have a speed limit, so they got their way).



The one exception to this rule is if the regulation serves an "abiding national security interest". Infant formula qualifies for some reason, since it is strictly regulated by the FDA. I guess pet food (and human food) does not.

[Carol V]

for anyone interested..Mr Joel Sher just posted at itchmoforums (and changed the name of the thread from Another Problem with Evangers to FDA Scare)

http://itchmoforums.com/your-problems-with-pet-food/another-problem-with-evangers-t8264.0.html;msg126131#msg126131

good post following by menusux too...

[Original Lori]

Whoa, no wonder you're having trouble. :O( I'll keep my eyes open. Is gluten bad too?

[Christie Keith]

Thanks, Lori! No poultry... she's even allergic to DUCK, which she'd never had before. :(

[5CatMom]

Harry, good explanation. But even some baby formula has been found to contain melamine.



http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/us/26formula.html



IMO, the FDA spends too much energy creating "allowable levels", and too little energy preventing contaminants from entering the food supply for pets and humans.



The following from FDA excludes infant formula, but limits melamine (and related compounds) to "below 2.5 ppm" in other food:



http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2008/ucm116960.htm



Reference:

South Korea find melamine in Mar's products, Snickers, Kit-Kat

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSL42706220081004



http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/08/briefing/2008-4386b3.pdf

[Original Lori]

Fingers-crossed for Candidae. Kasey actually likes it.



Christie--I know you didn't ask for treat suggestions, but I've had multiple dog success with dehydrated turkey dogs. (We have an organic turkey farm nearby.) They get all deliciously chewy and jerky-like--and they're not bad to snack on for us humans either. I could be forgetting one of Kyrie's restrictions, though.

[Kim Thornton]

Sigh. I was just going out tomorrow to buy more NV. Guess I'll be doing some cooking tomorrow night.

[Amy]

They didn't answer my "do you source any ingredients from China, including vitamin premixes" question, so I've never carried them.



And, a couple months after my inquiry, one of my clients and friends had to make a switch because her dog was throwing up post-meal every time. After being on his food for 3 years. But she wasn't going to trust it anymore.



It's food! It shouldn't be this difficult! Why do we do this over and over. With the people stuff too. It's common sense.

[JC Novak]

I stopped using instinct after a Product withdrawal last march. Was forcing new puppy to eat the duck and learned later it was bad. Poor cat food was rancid. anyway, home cooked...for year. Just received coupons from NV for free bags of dog food dry instinct: duck, rabbit or chicken or Cat instinct rabbit.



says pass it on. you seem to be ablet to print as many as you like. 4.4 lb bags.



I got a bag of the rabbit for my dog...like it, the first two nights. third night, he did run about 2 hours later and the next morning he woke me up sick, vomiting and diahrea...



if it wasn't from the running it was from the food. What is the deal here? Last year the problem wasn't deadly just caused vomiting and diahrea. great I have 6 bags of the stuff.



guess it has to go. also pc pantry in boulder said NV sold to new owner and she stopped carrying it first of this year. not a good sign. what do I do with these bags of dog and cat. trash I guess.

[healthy hound]

this whole recall is ridiculous - Salmonella??? So what -- anyone that knows anything about dogs knows that dogs intestinal tracts are designed to handle salmonella and they shed the salmonella cells in thier stools. Sounds like a competitor sabotage to me.



You run just as big of a risk of handling chicken in your kitchen. As always with handling raw meat -- use safe handling measures -- wash your hand, etc.



I hope people are as concerned about what they put in thier own mouths as they are about what holding company owns who.



Ridiculous.