Another Blue Buffalo dog food recall
October 25, 2010
Blue Buffalo Company, Ltd. Recalls Limited Production Code Dates of Dry Dog Food Because of Possible Excess Vitamin D
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 8, 2010 – Blue Buffalo Company, Ltd., recalls certain dry dog food because of possible excess Vitamin D that can affect the health of some dogs. The Blue Buffalo Company, Ltd., is recalling certain packages of its Wilderness Chicken, Basics Salmon and Large Breed Adult Chicken dry dog foods sold under thc “BLUE” brand which have the potential to contain excessive levels of Vitamin D.
While Vitamin D is a beneficial component of these foods, the Company believes that these products may have levels of Vitamin D that are beyond the formula specifications, and has therefore chosen to withdraw them.
Dogs reacting to the higher levels of Vitamin D may show signs of lethargy or exhibit unusually frequent water consumption and urination. If your pet has consumed the recalled products and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.
The affected productions of Blue Wilderness Chicken, Basics Salmon and Large Breed Adult Chicken dry dog foods were distributed nationwide through pet specialty stores.
Only these production runs of the products are involved in this recall:
Blue Wilderness Chicken Flavor dry dog food
4.5 1b
“Best If Used By JUL2611Z”
“Best If Used By JUL2711Z” &
“Best If Used By JUL2811Z”
Blue Wilderness Chicken Flavor dry dog food
11 lb
“Best If Used By JUL1211B”
Blue Wilderness Chicken Flavor dry dog food
24 1b
“Best If Used By JUL1211B” &
“Best If Used By JUL1311B”
Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Formula Salmon and Potato Recipe dry dog food
11 lb
“Best If Used By AUG2111B” &
“Best If Used By AUG2211B”
Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Formula Salmon and Potato Recipe dry dog food
24 lb
“Best If Used By AUG2111B”
“Best If Used By SEP2311P” &
“Best If Used By OCT2611P”
Blue Life Protection Formula Natural Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Large Breed Adult dog food
30 lb
“Best If Used By SEP2211P”
“Best If Used By SEP2311P” &
“Best If Used By OCT2611P”
No other BLUE dry or can pet foods are involved in this recall, and only the specific code dates of these products are involved.
To date there have been 36 cases nationwide of dogs reported with symptoms consistent with elevated Vitamin D in their systems while feeding on these specific productions of the products. In all cases the symptoms have subsided upon discontinuing feeding these products, with no apparent long term health consequences.
Blue Buffalo learned of this potential eondition in its products when it received reports of dogs diagnosed with high Vitamin D levels while feeding on the products from these specifie production runs. On further investigation it was learned that a sequencing error had occurred at the supplier of the dry ingredients for these products. Immediately before producing the ingredients for these specific production runs, the supplier had run a product for another customer that contained a more potent form of Vitamin D used in chicken feeds. It is now believed that there was some level of carry over of this Vitamin D product into the ingredients for the specific manufacturing runs of the BLUE products, thereby increasing the Vitamin D activity to unacceptable levels in the Blue ingredients.
Consumers who have purchased any of the products being recalled are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-877-523-9114 from 8 AM to 8 PM Eastern Time or visit the Company web site at www.bluebuffalo.com/news9 for more information.
source: FDA
Dog event in Phoenix
October 23, 2010
Your Scottsdale, Arcadia and Biltmore area pet sitter presents a fun event for you and your pooch! Come out and meet other dog owners for this fun event
Ricos Backyard
Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Village
7677 n.16th st,phx 85022
11/14/10
4-8p.m
Blue Buffalo recall brought toyou by your scottsdale pet sitter
October 8, 2010
I am glad this recall isn’t for salmonella but its still a recall. Blue Buffalo is a great food and a reputable company. They have issued a dog food recall for a vitamin d level that may be different then whats on their label. So just to be safe they are pulling products. I am not even sure if a dogs body would react to raised vitamin d levels since its just a vitamin, but I think its great that BB is being extra cautious.
http://bluebuffalo.com/news/vitamin-d-voluntary-recall.shtml
October 8, 2010
Dear Fellow Pet Parent,
At Blue Buffalo, nothing is more important than the health and well being of our dogs and cats, so it’s consistent with this guiding principle that we are voluntarily recalling specific production runs of our Wilderness Chicken-Dog, Basics Salmon-Dog and Large Breed Adult Dog products, as we have reason to believe that the products from these runs may contain a higher level of Vitamin D than is called for in our product specifications.
We came to this conclusion after discovering that our ingredient supplier had made a scheduling error and produced a Vitamin D supplement immediately prior to preparing the ingredients for the BLUE products that are in question. We believe that some of the Vitamin D supplement may have been carried over into our products, resulting in more Vitamin D than is called for in our formulas.
While the potential of increased Vitamin D presents no serious health risk, and any negative reaction to these products has been confined to a very small segment of the canine population who appear to be sensitive to higher levels of Vitamin D, we have a zero tolerance for any product that does not meet our specifications. I think you’ll agree that our decision to withdraw these specific products is simply the right thing to do.
From a next steps standpoint, all products with the specific manufacturing dates in question will be removed from retailer’s shelves. If you have any products with the codes shown below you should stop feeding them immediately.You may call Blue Buffalo at
1-877-523-9114 to arrange for return of the product and reimbursement.
These are the ONLY code dates being recalled:
Product Bag Size Best Used By Dates
BLUE Wilderness Chicken (Dog) 4.5 lb., 11 lb., 24lb. JUL1211B, JUL1311B, JUL2611Z, JUL2711Z, JUL2811Z
BLUE Basics Salmon (Dog) 11 lb., 24 lb. AUG2111B, AUG2211B
BLUE Large Breed Adult Chicken 30 lb. SEP 22 11 P, SEP 23 11 P, OCT 26 11 P
This Vitamin D issue does not effect any other code dates of these products or any other Blue Buffalo dog or cat foods. In addition, new bags of Wilderness Chicken, Basics Salmon and Large Breed Adult Chicken will be available on the shelves so you can continue to feed BLUE with complete confidence.
If your dog has shown any adverse reaction to the recalled products, have him checked by your veterinarian. Typical symptoms might include excessive water intake and/or excessive urination, and in some cases vomiting. Blue Buffalo will reimburse any veterinary or testing expenses related to illness caused by these products.
As Blue Buffalo is a family founded and run company, I am personally very upset about this and apologize for any discomfort or inconvenience that this situation has caused you or your pet family members. Product quality and safety have been, and always will be our top priority, and we’ve taken some serious corrective action to insure that this type of human error will never happen again.
Sincerely,
Bill Bishop
This Scottsdale pet sitter says NO Greenies!
October 7, 2010
I wanted to get something to freshen my dogs breath. So I decided that even though I am an all natural type of pet owner, I was going to buy Buddy Greenies. Bad choice. They made himsick. He threw up for days and had bloody poop.
Apparently Greenies can hurt the dogs tummy and scrape against it breaking veins and causing blood in the stool.
So after a vet visit and medicine, he is back to normal.
I asked my great clients for advice and I received deer antlers as a great dental chew.
I bought them for Buddy and they are great! And they are all natural and have viatamins and nutrients in them. They have a marrow middle so the dogs really enjoy them. They break down and dogs digest them.
I also like raw soup /marrow bones. They are along the same lines as they have marrow in them. But they dont break down so they are not digested unless you buy the knucklebones.
Good old fashion teeth brushing is just going to have to keep his breath fresh because those bones aren’t going to do it. Clean his teeth,yes. Fresh breath, no.
As a Scottsdale pet sitter I want to be able to share my experiences with you so as pet owners you can gather information about products out there.
