Dog deaths not related to Purina Beneful.
? Letter From Purina
Purina Beneful Update In recent days, Purina learned about the unfortunate deaths of two dogs in the Huntsville, Texas, area. Concerns were raised about the possible link between consumption of Purina's Beneful dry dog food and the deaths of the two dogs. Purina takes these matters seriously, and initiated a thorough investigation. Purina's quality testing, including testing at independent laboratories, confirm the safety and efficacy of our products and confirm that the two dogs' unfortunate deaths were unrelated to our product. Importantly, one of the Huntsville, Texas, consumers also requested product testing through her veterinarian. The veterinarian submitted a sample of product to the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory for aflatoxin analysis. We received confirmation from the consumer's veterinarian late Monday, Feb. 5, that the results for aflatoxin were negative. Additionally, we have conducted physical inspections and analytical testing, all of which confirm that our Beneful dry dog food products are safe, and meet all quality assurance specifications. Purina initiated the testing, which was conducted by an independent third party analytical laboratory, as part of its investigation related to the two Huntsville consumer contacts. As soon as we could contact the consumers to verify product code and packaging information, we secured finished product from our factories with the same production run and date code as the products in question and submitted the samples for testing. We received test results for the samples late Monday, Feb. 5, and the results confirmed the safety and quality of the products made at our factories. More specifically, the samples showed no presence of aflatoxin. Because the quality and safety of our products and the trust of our consumers are top priorities, Purina took additional steps, including visiting the store in Huntsville, Texas, to confirm the quality of product at retail. We obtained additional samples for any available product matching date codes and production runs related to these consumer contacts. We then submitted samples of the product for analytical testing, which also showed no presence of aflatoxin. We at Purina are saddened to hear of the loss of these consumers' pets and appreciate the opportunity to investigate and demonstrate how seriously we take matters of this kind. We stand firmly behind the high quality of our products and reassure consumers that they can continue to feed Purina products with total confidence.
Purina Beneful Update In recent days, Purina learned about the unfortunate deaths of two dogs in the Huntsville, Texas, area. Concerns were raised about the possible link between consumption of Purina's Beneful dry dog food and the deaths of the two dogs. Purina takes these matters seriously, and initiated a thorough investigation. Purina's quality testing, including testing at independent laboratories, confirm the safety and efficacy of our products and confirm that the two dogs' unfortunate deaths were unrelated to our product. Importantly, one of the Huntsville, Texas, consumers also requested product testing through her veterinarian. The veterinarian submitted a sample of product to the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory for aflatoxin analysis. We received confirmation from the consumer's veterinarian late Monday, Feb. 5, that the results for aflatoxin were negative. Additionally, we have conducted physical inspections and analytical testing, all of which confirm that our Beneful dry dog food products are safe, and meet all quality assurance specifications. Purina initiated the testing, which was conducted by an independent third party analytical laboratory, as part of its investigation related to the two Huntsville consumer contacts. As soon as we could contact the consumers to verify product code and packaging information, we secured finished product from our factories with the same production run and date code as the products in question and submitted the samples for testing. We received test results for the samples late Monday, Feb. 5, and the results confirmed the safety and quality of the products made at our factories. More specifically, the samples showed no presence of aflatoxin. Because the quality and safety of our products and the trust of our consumers are top priorities, Purina took additional steps, including visiting the store in Huntsville, Texas, to confirm the quality of product at retail. We obtained additional samples for any available product matching date codes and production runs related to these consumer contacts. We then submitted samples of the product for analytical testing, which also showed no presence of aflatoxin. We at Purina are saddened to hear of the loss of these consumers' pets and appreciate the opportunity to investigate and demonstrate how seriously we take matters of this kind. We stand firmly behind the high quality of our products and reassure consumers that they can continue to feed Purina products with total confidence.
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Did you really expect to hear anything different from them? 0 -
I didn't, of course they will release a statment like that.
Fungus growing on the dog food alone tells me to stay away, it can't be good and shouldn't be there. Now they want to say that it's okay and normal for it to be there, I've never seen that before and won't accept that it's okay now to have mold growing on the food I feedd my dog.0 -
Aflatoxin is a fungus that goes on corn. It is worse in drought years. I forget if it is allowable at 4 ppm or 10ppm. I'll guess it is closer to 4ppm. In any case, the tests are not that accurate. In the past, you could take two sample from the same lot (truck) one sample would pass and the other would fail. If it failed, a farmer could go down the road to the next elevator and try their luck. Drying the corn does not kill the fungus. The heat actually promotes the growth.
I think in the last few years a new pregnacy test strip came out. These strips are pass or fail. They do not measure quantity. The size of sample can be varied and the number of test strips used can be varied, but here you are not truly measuring quantity, but only playing with probabilities. Rather than saying the sample is 10 ppm, the results are something like a 50% chance that the sample is greater than 10 ppm. 11 ppm? 30 ppm? 8 ppm? It's weird, lame, and again your playing with probabilities.
Droughts are often regional and the fungus can be more of a problem in the south. Hotter weather. Corn from Memphis high in aflatoxin can be blended with better corn from Illinois, Indiana, or Ohio at the gulf so that the net result is passable to the feds.
Vomitoxin is another possible fungus. It is found in wheat. Light test weight wheat with scab can carry this fungus. Supposedly, if it is feed to cattle, the animal will vomit, hence the name.0 -
Sounds like somebodys covering their a*ss. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by WinM70
I didn't, of course they will release a statment like that.
Fungus growing on the dog food alone tells me to stay away, it can't be good and shouldn't be there. Now they want to say that it's okay and normal for it to be there, I've never seen that before and won't accept that it's okay now to have mold growing on the food I feedd my dog.
The main questions I would ask is:
Where is the dog food plant?
Did that area have a drought last year?
Was there any aflitoxin in the corn in that area last year?
AND does Purina test the corn it buys for aflitoxin?
Yes, I believe it is possible not to show up in high levels in other bags from the same lot.0 -
It's all Bush's fault. 0 -
... Aflatoxin is not a fungus or mold, but rather a toxin produced by some molds, mostly Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. The presence of the fungi doesn't mean aflatoxin has been produced. These molds will glow like mad under a blacklight, but analysis is needed to check for the toxin.
... Of course you shouldn't feed moldy dogfood, but keep in mind that the spores are everywhere. Feeds (and human food) can and do grow fuzzy after leaving the factory with a clean bill of health. Length of storage and storage conditions have more to do with the problem than quality control at the plant. MHO0 -
My dogs eat Beneful every day. 0 -
Slaughterhouses have pits where hoppers dump animal byproducts into it. Bones, mineral oil from machinery, bits of metal, cow magnets, maggets, guts, dead animals that failed USDA inspection such as dying on arrival....are also put into the pit for Purina trucks to pick up.
Mad Cow kills dogs?? My guess anyways.0 -
My dog does not eat Beneful. It frankly doesn't matter if Beneful is causing these deaths or not.
And, just because Purina says it isn't so doesn't make it fact. That's a PR statement and nothing else.
I'd not feed my dog something like Beneful for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, there's the unnecessary additives. Beneful is very colorful. Why? Because it is supposed to convince you, the consumer, that the dog food is made from natural ingredients. Like green and orange veggies. But, most dog owners don't go a step beyond that.
If there were green and orange veggies in the food, the bits of dog food would not be green and orange. They'd still be beigeish-brown. So, they're adding unneccessary additives to make it colorful.
And, guess what? Your dog doesn't give a crap what color the food is. Why? Because he can't tell, he's color-blind. Your dog cares about its smell -- and if he's like mine, he doesn't care if it tastes good because he doesn't have time to taste the stuff. It could smell it just came out of your ass and the dog will gleefully eat it.
So, if you want to feed your dog crappy food, that's your business. But, you can buy a 50# bag of Come-N-Get-It or Dog Chow for less than you could a bag of Beneful, and at least the Dog Chow is healthier (and less expensive).
I'd prefer to feed my dog food made of natural ingredients. While he's not tasting it, it is better for him.0 -
Most of the major dog food companies use food not fit for consumption for humans to produce their dog food. The problem with most is that they denature the food (i.e. add chemicals, toxic poisons to make sure the companies dont use it for humans). Then your dogs get sick and you wonder why. I searched long and hard to find the best (not the cheapest) food available for my bird dog and ended up with Nutro brand dog foods. It costs a bit more but the dog loves it and he has been very healty. When we go on long trips and I feed my dogs in front of other dogs they always want the Nutro food and my hunting pals are always asking me what it is. Anyways, thats my 2c, hope it saves you some time and vet bills. I did feed him other foods when I was a new owner but some brands seemed to make him sick and I just started researching and this brand is working out great. 0 -
I happen to live near a town that has a large "dogfood plant." The signs on the trucks state "Your used cow dealer." We are in a large commercial cattle feeding area and these trucks daily pick up the dead animals from the feedlots and pastures throughout the area. The carcasses are taken to the plant, skinned, cut up and "rendered" (cooked) and made into dogfood. Their product is an expensive brand and sells very well. I have never heard of any dog becoming sick from eating it. However, I would not want to eat it myself, but I have fed it to my dogs. 0 -
beneful is not really that good of a dogfood to begin with. It's primary ingredient is corn, and dogs do not process corn. It's overpriced, but well marketed.
Ben0 -
Well all that being said, Just what is GOOD for a dog to eat ? 0 -
quote:Originally posted by williamprynn
Well all that being said, Just what is GOOD for a dog to eat ?
This is a very good site to compare different types of dog food. Although run by a dogfood manufacturer, it does a pretty fair job.
http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=tools-tab
I personally like Solid Gold Hundchen Flocken. I know a guy that owns a feed store, and it is the only brand he will feed his pets.
Ben0 -
Boy, am I glad dogs don't eat dead animals and garbage out in the wild![}:)][;)][:D]
I'm with williamprynn in wondering which brands available nationally are considered good. There are many regional brands, but many of the ones I've seen people refer to in past threads on this topic have been brands I have not seen in this area.
I don't recall seeing a single brand around here that did not have some level of corn in it as filler, but I'm not as worried about that as maybe I should be. I have had several dogs that went out into my fields and retrieved ears of corn, brought them back to the yard, and ate significant amounts of the kernels from the cob. This has happened quite frequently, with both field and sweet corn, soft and hard dried, so I guess mine at least don't object to corn. I have no idea how good or bad this may be for them, except when it has been fresh sprayed. I keep tham away for several weeks after that is done since I don't even want them walking through the sprayed stalks.
New information would be appreciated since I will likely be getting a new Golden soon. My current one is dying of cancer at age two and is going to have to be put down, probably next week.
Yes, I did ask the vet(s) if diet could be related in any way possible, and two different ones that I went to said no with his type of cancer (bone) at his age.0 -
quote:Originally posted by fishermanben
quote:Originally posted by williamprynn
Well all that being said, Just what is GOOD for a dog to eat ?
This is a very good site to compare different types of dog food. Although run by a dogfood manufacturer, it does a pretty fair job.
http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=tools-tab
I personally like Solid Gold Hundchen Flocken. I know a guy that owns a feed store, and it is the only brand he will feed his pets.
Ben
Interesting site Ben, and it has some good information - thanks for posting it.[:)]
Where do you buy your brand around here? I'll check the net, but I have never seen that brand in my part of Indiana, not that I've checked every store that exists.[:D]0 -
quote:Originally posted by nunn
My dogs eat Beneful every day.
Mine too,
I used to work for a company that built pet food companies. You should take a tour sometime. I promise you, that these people that way more precautions that than companies that handle human for.... Maybe that is why we have more poisoned people stories in the news than pooch stories...
You can eat off the floor in most of these places, they banned smoking (and eating) in their plants years before everyone else did.. and their testing labs and quality controll are awesome...
If something slipped though the crack it sure as h**** wasn't for lack of effort... I have been in too many of them....0 -
dlrjj: I have to buy mine at a feed store. They pretty much started ordering it for themselves, and for my family. It's becoming a good seller for them now though.
Ben0 -
Thanks Ben, I'll check at a couple of the grain mills around here and see what they can find out about it and its availability.[:)] 0
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