cat411

Earlier we announced the recall of Feline Pride Natural Chicken Formula. Originally the only product affected was manufactured on 6/10/2010,. The FDA and Natures Variety has now extended that recall to include the following dates

Felines Pride Raw Food Natural Chicken Formula produced on both  6/10/10 and 6/21/10.

Having experience in the pet manufacturing industry I know that batches of pet food are not made every day, or even every week in a small company. This means that two subsequent batches have tested positive. Whatever steps Feline Pride took in trying to correct their problem did not work.

Being a small pet food company is a good concept, but it does pose challenges in quality control. Small companies do not have the cash flow and profits needed to do the expensive quality control testing. Even medium size pet food companies have budgets that allow for nutritional and quality assurance. Large corporations like Purina have in-house quality control labs and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on testing, they can’t risk the liability.

Out sourced testing is not cheap. According to MidWest Laboratories a full AAFCO nutritional panel cost over $2000, although most pet food companies run a proximate analysis of $45.00. Mycotoxin screening costs over $100.00 and a Salmonella test only $25.00.  Doing the basic salmonella test sounds simple and cheap, but it’s far from simple. There are several critical control points at which salmonella testing should be done.

• Raw ingredients: all meat and animal based products including egg
• Equipment: swabs at several critical control points
• After blending: blending can cause heat and heat promotes bacterial growth
• Before cooking: important if a product has been stored
• After cooking: cooking should kill salmonella, but it depends on what temperature
• Before packaging: assurance check
• Finished product: assurance check

If any positive samples are returned at any stage above the product is disposed. For export purposes multiple representative samples are required of the finished product, depending on the batch size this is often 10 samples from a documented random lot.

If the pet food facility does not have an in-house lab samples must be sent out and the product sits and waits until the test results are released 24 to 48 hours later. Now there is the additional fees of overnight shipping. Waiting product is a haven for bacterial growth. As you can see testing without an in-house lab can run into several hundred and even thousands of dollars per batch,

Samples are only as good as the representative sample. For example if bread is left on the counter too long a corner of a slice may mold. The whole loaf is not bad,  but if a sample was taken from the opposite end the test would turn up negative.

So where does all of this lead? What lesson is to be learned? Small companies can make safe pet food, if they use quality sources of ingredients and work with a pet food manufacturer that has high standards. Large pet food companies can make mistakes, but have systems in place to catch them faster.

To play is safe, choose a pet food company with a long standing tradition of quality and safety. Check the U.S. Food and Drug Administration list for recalled pet food, and thirdly choose a company that has a quality statement on their website. If they export their pet food then there is a very good chance there quality assurance program is very in-depth and comprehensive.

Below are some cat foods that meet the criteria, including exporting products.

Nutri Source Cat (company website)

Purina ProPlan Salmon & Rice

Purina Proplan Chicken & Rice

Pro Pac Adult Cat

Pro Pac Hairball Reduction Formula

If know any other cat foods that meet the above criteria I’d be more than glad to add them to the list. Please send me a comment and add me to your blogroll.

Images by Fantasy Stock and Berrytea