RECALL: Blue Buffalo

[eileen]

http://www.aspca.org/pressroom/press.../100810-1.html

Press Release


ASPCA Alerts Consumers About Blue Buffalo Pet Food Recall


Advises Pet Owners to Discontinue Affected Product Use Immediately

October 8, 2010

ASPCA Media Contact

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) was notified today about a voluntary pet food recall issued by The Blue Buffalo Company. The affected products include Wilderness Chicken Dog food, Basics Salmon Dog food and Large Breed Adult Dog products. Recent reports have indicated that these recipes may contain higher levels of Vitamin D, which can cause hypercalcemia, a serious, if not fatal illness in dogs.

Blue Buffalo products are widely distributed at pet specialty stores as well as other retail and wholesale outlets. Additional information regarding the Blue Buffalo pet food recall can be found at http://bluebuffalo.com/news/vitamin-...y-recall.shtml.

“The ASPCA advises concerned pet owners who use Blue Buffalo products to contact the company with any questions related to their products and monitor their pets for signs of illness,” says Dr. Camille DeClementi, Veterinarian and Senior Toxicologist at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center. “Should pet owners notice symptoms such as increased thirst, urination, stomach upset or loss of appetite, they should consult their veterinarian or contact the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center for help.”

Hypercalcemia is a serious illness that affects the electrolytes in the body and can disrupt normal organ function. Serious cases can result in acute renal failure and cause damage to the heart or central nervous system. Coma and death have occurred in untreated cases.

“The ASPCA strongly advises pet owners to discuss any potential symptoms with their veterinarian and not to diagnose or treat their pet at home,” adds Dr. DeClementi.

Veterinary professionals can find additional information about hypercalcemia in dogs at http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-ca...rcalcemia.html or www.avma.org or call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435. A $65 consultation fee may apply.

[k9diabetes]

Re: RECALL: Blue Buffalo

Glad you posted this Eileen. I guess they have decided there is potentially a genuine issue with the food.

Natalie

[ozzi]

Re: RECALL: Blue Buffalo

Here is the email that I just received from PetSmart, with additional information detailing the products and dates of the recall:

October 8, 2010

Dear Valued PetSmart Customer,

Blue Buffalo has issued a voluntary recall on certain “Best If Used By” Date Codes of the formulas listed below. No other date codes or formulas are impacted. These products are being voluntarily recalled because they may contain Vitamin D at levels that exceed their formula specifications.

The limited number of reported reactions has been confined to a small segment of the canine population that may be sensitive to Vitamin D. While Blue Buffalo believes the risk is minimal, they have decided to withdraw these items as the products do not meet their specifications. If you have concerns about your pet’s health, please consult your veterinarian.


Description UPC # “Best If Used By” Date Code

Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken Formula Dog Food- 4.5 lb 859610002689 JUL2611 Z JUL2711 Z JUL2811 Z

Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken Formula Dog Food- 11 lb 859610002702 JUL1211 B

Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken Formula Dog Food- 24 lb 859610002719 JUL1211 B JUL1311B

Blue Buffalo Basics Salmon & Potato Recipe Dog Food- 11 lb 859610002863 AUG2111 B AUG2211 B

Blue Buffalo Basics Salmon & Potato Recipe Dog Food- 24 lb 859610002870 AUG2111 B

Blue Buffalo Life Protection Large Breed Chicken & Brown Rice Adult Dog Food- 30 lb 859610000388 SEP2211 P SEP2311 P OCT2611 P

Please stop using these products and bring any remaining Blue Buffalo food affected by this recall to your closest PetSmart store for a full refund. You can see Blue Buffalo’s press release here for additional information. If you have questions about this recall, please call Blue Buffalo’s Customer Service Team at 1-877-523-9114.

The release from BB can be found here:

http://bluebuffalo.com/news/vitamin-...y-recall.shtml

Kevin

[Tikobird]

Re: RECALL: Blue Buffalo

So much for BB - Dozer is on BB Weight Control but I'm not comfortable at this time leaving him on it.. anyone have any other suggestions?

[ozzi]

Re: RECALL: Blue Buffalo

Hi Lori,
That was my first reaction as well, as I have Kobi on Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula for Puppies. I talked to my vet and she pointed out that the recall is specific products and specific "use by" dates, and felt it wasn't necessary to change his food at this point. I felt reassured and decided that I would keep him on BB since I think it's a great food. If you're uncomfortable with it, you might look at Wellness, which is fairly similar in content with only minimal differences (at least the puppy formula).
Kevin

[Tikobird]

Re: RECALL: Blue Buffalo

Thanks Kevin - his numbers have been bonkers the past month - I was thinking it may be the food anyway and was going to switch anyway. Seems his numbers got weird when I switched from BB Chicken (ugh) to BB Weigh Control. I'll look into wellness - my black lab was on that for sever allergies quite awhile back so I am familiar with the food - Glad to hear Abby & Kobi are both doing well!

[jesse girl]

Re: RECALL: Blue Buffalo

Thanks Kevin - his numbers have been bonkers the past month - I was thinking it may be the food anyway and was going to switch anyway. Seems his numbers got weird when I switched from BB Chicken (ugh) to BB Weigh Control. I'll look into wellness - my black lab was on that for sever allergies quite awhile back so I am familiar with the food - Glad to hear Abby & Kobi are both doing well!

jesse has been on wheight control since early june lately she has had good numbers but would run low and cut dose alot then it would not be enough and raise up not sure if it is the food what kind of numbers are you getting?

[Tikobird]

Re: RECALL: Blue Buffalo

His numbers are all over the place - scary lows followed by mid to high 400's - have cut him back to 20 units 2x/day to try & get this ironed out but doesn't seem to be helping. We're just about done with the food - I'm going to change that up see if it helps level out. His numbers were good in July - high 200's to low 300's but consistent. August we had house guests almost the entire month (coming & going) and it was the end of August I switched his food. We've been back to normal routines since September and I just think he should be back to normal.

Never a dull moment

[jesse girl]

Re: RECALL: Blue Buffalo

His numbers are all over the place - scary lows followed by mid to high 400's - have cut him back to 20 units 2x/day to try & get this ironed out but doesn't seem to be helping. We're just about done with the food - I'm going to change that up see if it helps level out. His numbers were good in July - high 200's to low 300's but consistent. August we had house guests almost the entire month (coming & going) and it was the end of August I switched his food. We've been back to normal routines since September and I just think he should be back to normal.

Never a dull moment

I agree Ime trying her original perscription food tonight which i got from the vet after her pancreatitis but never liked how the ingrideants read so I really never fed her a full meal this has alot rice in it so we will see just curiouse

[Noodle]

Re: RECALL: Blue Buffalo

Here's a note to customers from the Blue Buffalo website that explains the exact situation they believe caused the problem in those specific batches:


Letter from Blue Buffalo website


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,



Noodle has done so well since switching to the Blue Buffalo dry Weight Management, with a little canned Wilderness added, that I've chosen to continue it. From the reports I've read online, it appears this has been limited to a very small number of animals who may have a predisposition to vitamin D sensitivity. It sounds like they have narrowed down and resolved the issue, so I hope this will be the end of it and that no more dog are effected. I would hate to have to go back down the path of finding another food that is such a perfect match for Noodle. His numbers are just amazing on BB and it alleviated the big drops he used to get in the late afternoon/early evening.

To those who have decided to switch, I wish you the best. I know it's not fun or easy to find the food that works well for your sugarbaby, meets their specific needs, and flattens their curve. Hang in there!

[k9diabetes]

Re: RECALL: Blue Buffalo

Here is the original post on the Blue Buffalor Wilderness food that was recalled.

Natalie