Natural Balance has issued a voluntary recall on all of its Venison dog products and the dry Venison cat food only, regardless of date codes. The recalled products include Venison and Brown Rice canned and bagged dog foods, Venison and Brown Rice dog treats, and Venison and Green Pea dry cat food. Recent laboratory results show that the products contain melamine, the same contaminant found in the Menu Foods recall. A rice protein concentrate appears to be the source of the melamine contamination in this recall whereas a wheat gluten is suspected as the source of contamination in the Menu Foods recall. Kelly’s Training Daycare and Boarding does offer Natural Balance dry dog food to boarding clients by request, but the product we offer, Natural Balance Ultra-Premium Dry Food Original Formula, is not part of this recall. As a precaution, we will be asking all of our boarders to provide their own food until the melamine contamination of dog food is resolved. Melamine contamination appears to be more wide spread than originally suspected. The Menu Foods wheat gluten is no longer an isolated instance. We will keep a close eye on this subject, and keep you informed as we learn more!

Additional manufacturers have voluntarily recalled additional pet food brands as a result of the finding of melamine contamination in the wheat gluten purchased from a Chinese company. Previously, the list was restricted to “cuts and gravy” style pet food in cans and pouches. Unfortunately, this list has grown to include more brands of wet food as well as jerky treats, beef sticks, biscuits and one dry food. To see the complete list and get the latest information pertaining to the recall status, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s website, http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html.
Pet food manufacturers, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, P&G Pet Care, Nestle Purina PetCare Company, Del Monte Pet Products, and Sunshine Mills, Inc. have joined Menu Foods, Inc. in the recall of pet food brands. This is one of the largest pet food recalls in history, according to the Pet Food Institute, a trade association representing pet food manufacturers. According to Stephen F. Sundlof, Director of the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, manufacturers have recalled more than 100 brands of dog and cat food across the nation. The FDA has received more than 12,000 reports during the past four weeks, which is more than twice the number of complaints that are typically received in a year. Since the current illnesses and deaths affecting our pets is still a mystery, FDA scientists, in conjunction with academia and industry, are reviewing blood and tissue samples of the affected animals to understand how wheat gluten contaminated with melamine contributed to the pets’ illnesses. Hopefully, they will have an answer soon!