Comments on: What’s up with Nutro pet foods?

By: Smudge and Jessica

Smudge and Jessica — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:31:54 +0000

click on test results for amount of Zinc and other “nutrients” on recalled cat food sent in by a petowner for testing..
http://www.pfpsa.org/news.html

By: Twitted by kittymadgrrrr

Twitted by kittymadgrrrr — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 08:47:59 +0000

[...] This post was Twitted by kittymadgrrrr – Real-url.org [...]

By: Offy

Offy — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:38:17 +0000

Nutro/Mars/Effem does know the “range of levels of zinc” in the foods.

They don’t know the “exact” levels of zinc in the foods.

They need to tell the vets the range.

No vet needs to call Nutro, get put on hold, listen to pr babble.

They need info to treat the animals at their fingertips the minute they know they’re treating an animal that ate Nutro products.

So, if you ask how much, they’ll tell you they don’t know the “exact” amount.

Ask them the range!

By: Rocky

Rocky — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 08:47:24 +0000

Marion,

Tks. LOL, sure hope you’re right. Yes, I’ll be sure and give an update.

By: Sophie

Sophie — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 04:36:23 +0000

Marion, have you seen the new info out about the Nutro recalled food from Consumer Affairs? Its very said, reports of sick and deceased kitties. Thank you for caring. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/06/nutro_foia07.html

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:57:16 +0000

Oops. That’s “Amy” above. Don’t want to hide behind anonymous posts…

By: Ama

Ama — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:55:13 +0000

I would consider another category: Pet Product Retailers: STOP carrying garbage and research your entire inventory (or, preferably, research BEFORE you carry).

As a small retailer, I know that we can be the middleman in a really great way. If my standards are high and I explain why that is and back it up with research, I become an easy way for people to get information on what and why they would buy specific things.

Personally, I’d love to home feed, but I’m struggling for time right now. I feed only products made here that do NOT source ingredients from elsewhere. Preferably a lot of whole foods, organic vegetables and fruits, etc. I cannot tell you how many companies I’ve contacted that sent me very fishy responses about their ingredient sources. I just don’t trust it right now, so it’s time to be selective.

I loved your book. THANK YOU for all you do. I’ve also followed your articles in pet magazines.

What is really troublesome to me at this point is that people do not know about this latest recall. I hear this daily since it happened. Also, many of the people who come to me do so after there is already a problem. When will nutrition be discussed at the vet’s office? Not just the holistic vet, but all? I imagine it may be around the same time it’s discussed at the people Dr’s office and after the pharmaceutical companies stop buying them out.

Sigh. It’s so hard to not feel overwhelmed by all of this. Thank you for continuing to fight for our pets!

By: Marion

Marion — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:57:13 +0000

@Rocky–I’ve not been invited to speak at a pet food conference but would welcome an invitation. I’m sorry you didn’t have a good experience with Natural Balance. This is a good company (see my discussion of it in Pet Food Politics) . It was sandbagged during the melamine scandal. The company immediately insisted that its suppliers provide testing data to demonstrate that the ingredients were melamine-free. They got caught with melamine because it never entered their minds that their supplier would give them phony test results, but that’s what happened. The company was not going to let something like that happen again so they built their own labs and now do their own testing. It’s possible that they’ve hired a nutritionist to do customer service. If so, that’s another good sign. I’d cut this company some slack. But do keep me posted.

By: Rocky

Rocky — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:24:24 +0000

Will be happy to support any PFC doing the RIGHT thing.

Just called Natural Balance, and got transferred to voice mailbox person.

The voice mailbox person identified itself as a NUTRITIONIST/CUSTOMER SERVICE person.

Now, that’s a mighty strange combination. Is that someone with technical information, or someone with PR bull s___?

Will let you know when (if) voice mailbox person returns my call.

Always a good idea to call the PFC before using their food. Then you can assess the goodness of the food.

We recall that Natural Balance had melamine “issues” in 2007. The NUTRITIONIST told me that they tested the food.

They didn’t. Few days later the food was recalled.

A pet food company will need to EARN my loyalty as it’s not something I confer without proper due diligence.

By: Rocky

Rocky — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:21:02 +0000

Marion, thanks so much for the work you do.

Your books and site are sources of excellent information.

Just wondering, but have you ever been guest speaker at any of the large international pet food industry conventions.

Petfood Forum Asia is scheduled for March 2010.

Do you plan to attend?