Solid Gold has informed us of a mold issue with Tiny Tots with a best Buy date of April 2009 Batch number 035812
MOLDY Tiny Tots- We have received several calls from distributors/customers who have found mold in a hand full of Tiny Tot bags. As a matter of precaution Solid Gold is taking them back. Check on the bottom or back of the bag with a best buy date of April 2009 (batch 035812). All other treats are okay.

We have NOT sold or received any of this batch in Sirius Cooks store, but please check your products (and your friends Tiny Tots). The store of purchase will take them back.

Mars Petcare US Issues Voluntary Recall of Everson, PA Plant Dry Pet Food Product due to Potential Salmonella Contamination

Mars Petcare US Announces Nationwide Voluntary Recall

Franklin, Tennessee (September 12, 2008)—Today, Mars Petcare US announced a voluntary recall of products manufactured at its Everson, Pennsylvania facility. The pet food is being voluntarily recalled because of potential contamination with Salmonella serotype Schwarzengrund. This voluntary recall only affects the United States.

Salmonella can cause serious infections in dogs and cats, and, if there is cross contamination caused by handling of the pet food, in people as well, especially children, the aged, and people with compromised immune systems. Healthy people potentially infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. On rare occasions, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Animals can be carriers with no visible symptoms and can potentially infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

The company stopped production at the Everson facility on July 29, 2008 when it was alerted of a possible link between dry pet food produced at the plant and two isolated cases of people infected with Salmonella Schwarzengrund.

Even though no direct link between product produced at Everson and human or pet illness has been made, Mars Petcare US is taking precautionary action to protect pets and their owners by announcing a voluntary recall of all products produced at the Everson facility beginning February 18, 2008 until July 29, 2008 when we stopped production.

The company is continuing to work collaboratively with the FDA to determine the nature and source of Salmonella Schwarzengrund at the Everson facility. Since it has not yet identified the source of the Salmonella Schwarzengrund at the Everson facility, Mars Petcare US does not plan to resume production out of a commitment to the safety of our pet owners and their pets, customers, and associates.

The top priority of Mars Petcare US has always been and continues to be the health and welfare of pets and their owners. Consumers can continue to have confidence in the quality and safety of the products produced at other Mars Petcare US facilities. Only those products which were produced at the Everson facility are impacted by the voluntary recall.

Many of the brands involved in the recall are national brands produced at multiple facilities. A chart for all products is below. For example, PEDIGREE® is manufactured in numerous facilities throughout the country, and Everson represents a very small portion of the manufacturing base – 2.7 percent of total PEDIGREE® production.

Mars Petcare US will work with retail customers to ensure that the recalled products are not on store shelves. These products should not be sold or fed to pets. In the event that consumers believe they have purchased products affected by this voluntary recall, they should return the product to the store where they purchased it for a full refund. Specific product details and other information can be found at www.petcare.mars.com

Please find recalled pet food UPC information at www.petcare.mars.com. It includes Pedigree, Old Roy, Wegmans and others produced by the Mars corporation.

09/10/2008

High levels of zinc and copper found in Nutro products?

The Pet Food Product Safety Alliance had private testing done on samples of Nutro Natural Choice Chicken Meal, Rice and Oatmeal Formula, and Nutro Max Puppy, according to SunSentinel.com, in response to consumer complaints reported by Consumer Affairs. The Pet Food Product Safety Alliance was started by Don Earl of Port Townsend, Washington, USA who lost his cat during last year’s recalls.

The alliance says levels of copper - which can cause health problems in some dog breeds, according to research - were found in both foods that were above levels recommended by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). The alliance also questioned the food’s zinc content. While the amounts fell within AAFCO’s guidelines, those amounts are 10 times higher than what would be recommend for human adults, based on body weight. The symptoms of zinc toxicity “are consistent with the majority of those reported by consumers suspecting problems believed to be associated with feeding Nutro dry dog food,” according to the alliance.

Link to original story:
http://petfoodindustry.com/ViewContent.aspx?id=22724

Comments from the Pet Food Products Safety Alliance
http://www.pfpsa.org/news.html

Article on Canine Zinc Toxicosis
http://www.vet.uga.edu/vpp/clerk/Hardy/

There is a toy, made by Four Paws that has hurt some dogs. Beware of giving this toy … or ANY toy that doesn’t have any hole in it. Without a hole, biting into it makes a vaccuum.

For the safety of your pet, and gift-giving for others:

Chai’s story and to read the updates on his, and others, stories.

So we made it to the big time. Our local paper, The Wednesday Journal, had a small bit on Sirius Cooks and a turtle.

You can read about it here.

If you have read Bark magazine’s August issue (the Nutrition area), the regular dog food manufacturers and AAFCO (the federal mediator within each state agricultural department that determines labeling for dog food) have decided that putting calories on dog and cat food and treat labels is unnecessary.

Sirius Cooks will always list the kcals on each of our home-made Sirius Suppers™. It helps a responsible “feeder” to know, not only WHAT is in the food, but how much to give. An overweight dog is not a healthy dog. It will affect the joints and hips in the future. Please don’t give too many treats. Your dog and cat will be healthier for it.

Fireflydog has a very good description and breakdown of amounts of calories for your dog.

and

Chris Zinc, DVM, PhD has also listed calories:

Dog’s Weight (in pounds) Inactive    Moderately Active     Highly Active

                10         234          303                    441

                20         373          483                    702

                30         489          633                    921

                40         593          768                   1117 

                50         689          892                   1297

                60         779         1008                   1466

                70         863         1117                   1625

                80         944         1222                   1777

                90        1022         1322                   1923

               100        1097         1419                   2064

Figures represent the average number of calories required daily to maintain
the dog’s weight. The figures include calories from all sources during a
given day, including treats and snacks.

Court says petfood research not public

The Iams Company’s records from seven years of petfood research conducted at Mississippi State University are not public documents, the state Supreme Court has recently ruled. In 2006, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sued Mississippi State University, alleging that the school violated the Mississippi Public Records Act by denying the animal rights group access to records of dental experiments and other tests on animals conducted since 1999 by Iams.

Iams had argued that the experiments were the company’s intellectual property. The company also said it had made substantial investment at Mississippi State to develop and protect that property. PETA responded by saying it didn’t want trade secrets and that the organization only wanted to know what happened to the animals at Mississippi State. PETA also claimed that the university wanted an advance fee of US$40,497 for the documents it requested. When it reduced the number of pages asked for, PETA said MSU told them that only 19 of the requested pages would be sent and the cost would be US$1,000. According to court documents, the university claimed the remaining pages contained proprietary information.

In a 2006 ruling, it was determined that the type and number of animals used in an experiment, whether surgery will be performed and information related to animals’ pain and discomfort did not qualify as trade secrets. In a ruling in June 2008, however, the Supreme Court rejected PETA’s arguments.

“PETA failed to rebut the evidence presented by MSU and Iams that the data and information requested in the subject records constituted trade secrets and/or confidential commercial and financial information of a proprietary nature developed by MSU under contract with Iams,” Justice Michael Randolph wrote in his majority opinion. “Therefore, this court finds that the data and information requested by PETA is exempted from the provisions of the Mississippi Public Records Act.”

Yes, Sirius Cooks normal phone number is down for the count. All calls to ATT have NOT been helpful. Calling on Wednesday and told that they wouldn’t fix it until Saturday night (when we’re closed).

Yes, they know it’s a business.

Yes, they know we can take credit cards over a phone line.

and NO we were not approved for moving up the “fix” date.

I’ve now been on hold for 20 minutes, trying to get them to transfer the phone number to our emergency cell phone number. They said they would, it didn’t work the first time.

Thanks for your patience. I’m finding myself in short supply with ATT.

Success! Now you won’t even notice that the regular phone forwards onto our “emergency food” number.

In order to share the knowledge, we’re including some of our customers specific breed rescue websites. Haven’t we said already, we have the best customers out there?!

Greyhounds: http://greyhoundsonly.com and http://greyhoundalliance.org

Dobermans in Illinois: http://www.ildoberescue.com

Golden Retrievers in Illinois: http://www.asgoodasgold.org

There are so many more out there … we wanted to give a “shout out” to some of the groups who come in regularly. Thanks to all who also save those lives from the Puppy Mills!

Another celebrity on the healthy dance of dog food Nutrish. I’m sure with all the best of intentions - hey, she saved her Isaboo AND is donating proceeds of her food to shelters. That is awesome.

But,

We have to take exception to the ingredients in her food “propylene glycol?” “Soybean meal?” “Dried Beet Pulp?”

I leave it to those wondering if this is a real healthy food, please continue to ask “Why is this food considered healthy?” Any holistic vets out there willing to answer?