Pitched to pet owners as “environmentally-friendly“, Canidae pet food is offering Kibble Refill Stations at 100 Petco stores across the US. Canidae also states pet owners will “save up to 45 percent per pound on their purchases” by using the Refill Station.
The following is Canidae’s instruction video:
The potential problems…
When pet food is manufactured, each batch is assigned a lot number. All ingredients added to that batch of pet food are also assigned the lot number of the food they are used in. Should a pet become sick believed to be linked to a pet food, the lot number is significantly important for regulatory authorities to trace the cause of the illness even back to a single ingredient in the food.
However, the Canidae website does not confirm that pet owners are provided with the lot number of the kibble they are purchasing at the Refill Station. The Canidae website also doesn’t provide any information regarding a best by date for the kibble purchased at the Refill Station. What if a manufacturing problem occurred, how would regulatory investigate without this information?
We also wondered if the Kibble Refill Station would be thoroughly cleaned in between batches? Could mold and/or bacteria build up inside the pet food storage area of the Refill Station over time? Is the kibble dumped into a bin inside of the Refill Station when refilling the Station is required? Is that bin airtight?
Also, pet owners refill their reusable bag each time they purchase pet food…are pet owners instructed to wash that reusable bag in between purchases? Could mold and/or bacteria build up inside the reusable bag contaminating each new refill?
While the concept of this Refill Station might have good intentions, we believe Canidae and Petco should provide pet owners with much more information than they have. Good intentions do not guarantee pet owners a safe pet food.
Wishing you and your pet the best –
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Dr. Laurie Coger
February 28, 2022 at 1:03 pm
Also, this delivery method exposes the kibble to a lot of air. This will accelerate the breakdown of the fat on the surface of the kibble, allowing it to quickly become rancid. Typical estimates are bagged kibble’s fats become rancid 2 weeks after the bag is opened. I would venture that that time will be cut in half or even less with this method.
JT
February 28, 2022 at 1:48 pm
You have raised a good point that has bewildered me for years. Whenever I visit a pet food store and see the large, humongous bags of cat kibble which takes longer to use up than dog food. I became aware of this early on when I fed my cat kibble and noticed that she would refuse to eat the dry food when the bag had 1/3 left. Smart cat. If she did eat any part of it she had horrible vomiting. My vet recognized the problem and said the kibble residual shifts down as it’s used and becomes concentrated at the bottom, making it harder for cats to digest the food at the bottom. [Wake up call] It’s INSANE that these pet food companies sell such large bags of kibble. It’s a waste of $$ and it’s bad for their health. Would we do the same with our kids?
Dorothy Lowrie
February 28, 2022 at 1:19 pm
This is insane and people that are using these stations have no idea what they are possibly subjecting their pets too. It is reprehensible what a Pet Food Company will do for the almighty dollar.
Francine
February 28, 2022 at 9:04 pm
Some idiot got accolades for “reducing packaging” — “Sus-stain-a-bility!!”
Invited to some dinners, lauded as “inno-vay-tive”.
Which is all that matters in The Land of Faux, esp when it comes to disposable groups that (here, anyway) include pets.
Amy
February 28, 2022 at 1:41 pm
I guess if you are going to feed gross then why not go cheaper and feed it grosser? Ew!
Andy Lange
February 28, 2022 at 1:44 pm
With Family Dollar stores recently making the news due to rodent infestations, that got me to wonder about the ‘big box’ pet stores. Are there widespread rodent issues at these warehouse stores with pallets full of pet feed, or are they more diligent about containing/preventing the problem?
It would be easy to see gnawing on a bag of feed, but might be missed or ignored on the containers that feed the bulk dispensers.
Christina
March 3, 2022 at 12:22 pm
I know from my own experience as a Dog trainer at three PS that there were no rodent infestations and that under every Aisle there were 1-2 rodent catches just in case.
Can’t say it couldn’t very easily happen if the owner/managers weren’t diligent though.
Sally
February 28, 2022 at 2:13 pm
It’s also difficult to tell from the video about what type of closure is on the reusable bag. Are people instructed to transfer their purchase to an airtight container once home? There are so many people who don’t care whether their dog’s/cat’s food is fresh and maintains any palatability or nutritional value. Things keep going from bad to worse.
alexa
February 28, 2022 at 2:30 pm
This is super scary. I understand they are trying to be environmental friendly but this is just as bad as leaving your pet food in the garage in the hot summer. it’s still asking for trouble…
Toby
February 28, 2022 at 4:53 pm
No. No. No. This is just so wrong on so many levels.
Health and Food Freedom for all of Us and Them.
February 28, 2022 at 6:33 pm
Oh my Lord….what to say about this….first a little background on the concept of sustainability, since it sounds related. We first got passionate about this in 1991, long before the bandwagon.
Fast forward to now, and I am embarrassed to almost think of any terms to do with environmentalism, for all the dilution behind its intended purpose.
This is another disgusting display of greed by a corporation. And in this case, not just greed, but gross negligent harm towards our companion family members! They are not even trying anymore. This isn’t creative, healthy marketing. This is as if we were shopping for sand to make cement!
”Hey public, come get our sand, conveniently located in open drums so you can dig up what you need, right after the last person got theirs. Plus, we’ll even throw in a reusable bag…just keep using the same bag, no extra charge. Aren’t we great company for thinking of you, helping you to be lazy and to buy our leftover sand?”
It is all out in the open, that living beings – all of us, the human and the companion – are expendable. People, your Big Govs and Big Corps do not give a damn about you – wake up!
Sherri
February 28, 2022 at 7:44 pm
Good grief, people will do anything to get dog food even cheaper and make themselves feel “green” in the process!! Feeding kibble is bad enough, this is even worse. SO much wrong with this!!
Jackie
February 28, 2022 at 11:55 pm
I will certainly do my part and reach out to anyone I see dipping into this well to enlighten them of the poison water within.
Tanya
March 1, 2022 at 2:08 am
It’s very alarming this makes traceability of any issues harder. I’m all for reusable packaging, but it needs to be done in a way that doesn’t create problems or make existing problems worse.
Also, where’s the warning to wash your hands after you use it? I wouldn’t even use a refillable human grade steak station without washing my hands, and pet food has the 4D in it. Kinda gross. And no warning to BE ABSOLUTELY SURE you don’t use this bag for groceries without sanitizing it in between? Irresponsible.
And you’re supposed to wash reusable shopping bags regularly to prevent foodborn illness, and that’s not when you put food IN DIRECT CONTACT with the bag. I’m not even sure food is supposed to come in direct contact with these bags, if they’re made from food safe plastic, if they absorb the oils in the food, if they can stand up to repeated exposure to food, etc.
Is there anywhere to provide feedback from a safety perspective? I’m concerned.
Mary Smith
March 1, 2022 at 3:26 am
Have you contacted Petco directly in order to express these facts and concerns? I suspect they will talk to you.
You can point them out here but demanding to speak with someone will help make a change. My guess anyway since I think they actually might care.
Bob
March 1, 2022 at 9:54 am
Not a big fan of Canidae/Felidae..several years ago I found several cat claws in several cans of wet Felidae cat food…after getting over the disgust of realizing they were using euthanized cats in their cat food, I called the company, and kept getting some smart ass “customer service” guy that told me I was crazy. -no more of their food for me.