Rice Protein Concentrate Contamination

[Beryl]

Wilbur-Ellis Voluntarily Recalls Rice Protein Concentrate

Contact:
Ann Barlow
415-438-9826; 925-200-6539
Deborah Brown
212-931-6113

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- San Francisco, CA -- April 18, 2007 --
Wilbur-Ellis Company is voluntarily recalling all lots of the rice
protein concentrate the San Francisco company's Feed Division has
shipped to pet-food manufacturers because of a risk that rice protein
concentrate may have been contaminated by melamine, an industrial
chemical used to make plastics and fertilizers that can lead to illness
or fatalities in animals if consumed.

Wilbur-Ellis noted that it obtained rice protein from a single source in
China and shipped to a total of five U.S. pet-food manufacturers located
in Utah, N.Y., Kansas and two in Missouri.

Last Sunday, April 15, Wilbur-Ellis notified the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration that a single bag in a recent shipment of rice protein
concentrate from its Chinese supplier, Binzhou Futian Biology Technology
Co. Ltd., had tested positive for melamine. Unlike the other
white-colored bags in that shipment, the bag in question was pink and
had the word "melamine" stenciled upon it. Wilbur-Ellis separated that
bag and quarantined the entire shipment for further testing and since
that time, no further deliveries of rice protein concentrate have been
made. Samples from the white bags tested negative for melamine. However,
subsequent and potentially more sensitive tests by the FDA came back
positive for melamine, leading Wilbur-Ellis to voluntarily issue the
recall.

Wilbur-Ellis began importing rice protein concentrate from Binzhou
Futian Biology Technology in July 2006. A total of 14 containers
holding 336 metric tons of rice protein concentrate were sent from
Futian to Wilbur-Ellis. Wilbur-Ellis has distributed 155 metric tons to
date.

On Monday (April 16), a pet food distributor issued a voluntary recall
of its pet food, believing the source of contamination to be rice
protein concentrate supplied by Wilbur-Ellis. As an additional
precaution, Wilbur-Ellis is urging all pet food manufacturers using rice
protein concentrate supplied through Wilbur-Ellis to recall any pet food
that may be on supermarket shelves.

Consumers with questions about the pet food they use should visit the
FDA Web site at www.fda.gov <http://www.fda.gov/> .

FDA's Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts Page:
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html

[Beryl]

Yesterday I saw an email from a person who still thinks there is a small recall on wheat gluten products in canned foods produced by Menu Foods.

Important: This recall has expanded to dry foods and other grains - rice and corn. Further, it is not just pet food companies associated with Menu Foods.

April 19, 2007 Dear Royal Canin USA Customer,
It is with sincere regret that I inform you of a new and unfortunate development with some of our pet food products.
Although we have no confirmed cases of illness in pets, we have decided to voluntarily remove the following dry pet food products that contain rice protein concentrate due to the presence of a melamine derivative.
ROYAL CANIN SENSIBLE CHOICE® (available in pet specialty stores nationwide)
Dry Dog Food
- Chicken Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Puppy
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Adult
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Rice & Catfish Meal Formula Adult
ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY DIET™ (available only in veterinary clinics)
Dry Dog Food
- Canine Early Cardiac EC 22™
- Canine Skin Support SS21™
Dry Cat Food
- Feline Hypoallergenic HP23™
We are taking this proactive stance to voluntarily recall these products to avoid any confusion for our customers about which Royal Canin USA products are safe and which products may be affected.
Pet owners should immediately stop feeding their pets the Royal Canin USA dry pet food products listed above. Pet owners should consult with a veterinarian if they are concerned about the health of their pet. No other Royal Canin diets are affected by this recall and CONTINUE TO BE safe for pets to eat.
In addition, Royal Canin USA will no longer use any Chinese suppliers for any of our vegetable proteins.
This decision to recall some of our dry pet food products is driven by our philosophy that the “Pet Comes First”. The safety and nutritional quality of our pet food is Royal Canin USA’s top priority. Pet owners who have questions about this recall and other Royal Canin USA products should call 1-800-592-6687.
On behalf of the entire Royal Canin family, our hearts go out to the pet owners and everyone in the pet community who have been affected by all of the recent recalls. We are as passionate about the health and happiness of our customers’ pets as we are of our own, so we are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure this never happens again.
Sincerely,
Olivier Amice
President and CEO
Royal Canin USA

[trainingrixie]

is it in the grain itself or just the stuff with gluten on concentrate??? I'm so confused!!!!

[kalija]

Uggh this is so scary. Does anyone know why the heck we are importing all these things from China anyway??? I mean isn't the US a huge producer of wheat, corn, etc? Is it really cheaper to ship it all the way over here? I just don't understand, and I wish all these companies would do the same thing and refuse to use China suppliers.
This is really getting out of hand -every day I expect to see my food pop up on the list. Yikes.

[TinyAlbinoDancer]

http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html

Blue Buffalo food is said to be affected, too.

[c0_re]

How sad, no more food from PetCo or PetSmart only the good stuff from teh co-op from now on. Sad to Molson loves his sensible choice and is so dam finicky.

Very upsetting my 2 were hit with the Natural Balance Venison and Rice canned AND Sensible Choice Lamb and Rice.

I ratate all different flavors of Natural Balance canned and I mix in Solid Gold kblle with their Sensible choice kibble but still I feel pretty lucky their ok.

I'm so unhappy, why the are we importing this *&%! from china?

Probably to save .08$ on a bag of food or something stupid like that.

[Beryl]

I'm not playing the waiting game anymore. What is left of the "unaffected" food was put away for a while. When things settle down, I'll know if the food is really "safe".

In the meanwhile, my guys are doing great with home cooking. I just cooked a batch of chicken and turnip greens and quartered a Rock Cornish Game Hen for raw days so I'm good for another week or so.

Also bought some mackerel, salmon and frozen mixed veggies to give them variety.