Orijen/Champion Pet Food has provided consumers a statement confirming counterfeit Orijen cat and dog food is being sold in China.
From the Orijen website:
Dear Pet Lovers,
We write to inform you about counterfeit ORIJEN dog and cat foods in China.
We recently received inquiries from concerned pet lovers in China questioning the authenticity of their ORIJEN food. While our investigation is ongoing, we can confirm counterfeit ORIJEN dog and cat food is being sold in China.
OUR FIRST PRIORITY IS FOR THE SAFETY OF DOGS, CATS AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM.
We believe that fraudulent ORIJEN food is only in Mainland China. We are in the process of determining who is responsible and will update you through our website and social media as we uncover more details.
IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE COUNTERFEIT FOOD STOP FEEDING THIS FOOD TO YOUR PET AND CONTACT OUR CUSTOMER CARE DEPARTMENT IMMEDIATELY.
Pet lovers, if you have friends or family in China, help us inform them that their ORIJEN food may be counterfeit and unsafe. Details on the differences between real ORIJEN and counterfeit bags can be found in the FAQ below.
Thank you for helping us to inform pet lovers in China of this urgent message and for your continued support. Our Customer Care Team is available to answer your questions.
Email: customercare@championpetfoods.com
Toll free: 1.877.939.0006Sincerely,
Peter Muhlenfeld
Chief Brand Officer
Champion Petfoods LP
In a Frequently Asked Questions section Champion Pet Foods tells consumers this problem is only in “mainland China”. And the company provides the following link for consumers to determine if their product is counterfeit: http://www.championpetfoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/ORIJEN-Bag-Comparison-Chart.jpg
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food
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Hope
August 26, 2015 at 11:31 am
Thank you Susan for being such a timely truth seeker! While this is not surprising it is sad for the pets that may have eaten these counterfeit products. I admire Champion Pet Foods for being on top of the issue.
Regina
August 26, 2015 at 11:59 am
O-Kaaay! So the Chinese are not just providing Americans with counterfeit products, they’re doing it to their own people, too???
Just one more reason to avoid ANYTHING from China.
Dianne
August 26, 2015 at 4:47 pm
They certainly do. Were you aware of the recent disaster in which melamine had been added to baby formula? If some people don’t care about the quality of products they produce for their own children, can they possibly care about what they make for our pets? As a Canadian, I am totally embarrassed that Harper signed a trade pact with China. He must have known it wouldn’t be popular since he tried to pass it in secret.
Marie
August 26, 2015 at 7:55 pm
I did not know that about baby formula. OMG. Maybe that will cause more of an uproar over all of what they’re doing to our loved ones’ food! I’m stunned. Sometimes it takes humans, especially children, getting hurt before they take animal abuse seriously, and what they’re doing to the pet food is animal abuse in my book.
Regina
August 27, 2015 at 9:33 am
Oh, I was being rhetorical!!!
I had heard about the melamine in baby formula. Not much of an uproar though!!!
It just seems like people just don’t care anymore! We have a small minority who are screaming into the void about this (and other horrors) but not enough people care, so things just get scarier and scarier (oh, and more deadly!!!!!)
Terri Janson
August 28, 2015 at 11:20 am
I believe the Chinese man responsible for the melamine in the baby formula committed suicide as well.
Marie
August 28, 2015 at 2:07 pm
Oh, rhetorical! 🙂 Yes, I’ve noticed too that people don’t seem to care. I literally cannot understand that mentality, not caring. It’s like a giving up, resignation to the “powers that be.” Thank God for us fighters and our amazing advocates! I saw a woman with Blue Buffalo in her cart and told her about the lawsuit and their admission of lying on the label. So what did she do? She read the label and told me it wasn’t so. I had to repeat myself, “no, they are lying, and they’ve admitted it.” Hard to get that to sink in. There are people who don’t know and people who don’t care, and it’s the latter that should be spayed and neutered. 🙂 Sorry – my bad.
Marie
August 28, 2015 at 2:10 pm
Oh my! That’s sad. I’m sure there was more going on with him. Not sorry to hear it though – I know I should be. People who do harm do not need to be here – my 2 cents.
Marie
August 26, 2015 at 4:23 pm
Scary! Is there any reason to be concerned here in the US?
Nicole
August 26, 2015 at 11:25 pm
My dog has been eating Origen regional for a long time. Suddenly maybe a month or so ago he won’t touch it. Not even if it has a burger and fries on top. He is old. 100lbs and 15 and has cancer so I thought it was a failing. But he will eat raw, freeze dried, home cooked other kibble anything but that. He will not touch that kibble no matter what. I have no idea if this is counterfeit and he sensed it was bad or he is just not wanting it but I still have the bag if anyone is interested.
Regina
August 27, 2015 at 9:35 am
Nicole, it’s possible that there might have been a small “recipe change” ??? that your dog noticed. I would contact the company and ask.
Kenneth
August 27, 2015 at 10:06 am
If they notice something off and don’t want to eat it, they are not stupid.
Millions of years of evolution has imprinted stuff like this, just like yourself. You know if there’s something “off” when you are about to eat something, smell, taste funny, something is not right.. you trust your nose and taste, your pet does the same.
Your pet don’t want to eat it because “change” could mean it might be dangerous, trust your pet to tell you something is not as it was.
If there’s a recipe change, I would expect it to be written on the package, full disclosure, or they are just another company you can’t trust with your loved ones.
Nicole
August 27, 2015 at 12:38 pm
I checked the website and checked my bag according to the instructions. There are no typos on the bag or an invalid appearing sticker. It could be that my very old and ill dog just lost his taste for it. I don’t want to create an alarm just because he will not go near it even with his favorite food in it, pizza, steak etc. Its just weird. I am sticking to raw and home cooked.
Marie
August 27, 2015 at 12:56 pm
Very good! That’s what I did too and just replied – we were probably doing the same thing at the same time! 🙂
Marie
August 27, 2015 at 12:55 pm
I just talked to Champion Pet Foods and was directed to the icon on their site on how to tell if your food is authentic. They said that if we’re not in China that our Orijen is okay. You can check your bag if you want to be sure, as there are many misspellings and periods where commas ought to be on the counterfeit bags. It’s all in that link http://www.championpetfoods.com with the icon Counterfeit in China, and I mention this because I clicked on what looked to be their website but clearly is not! There’s no icon for one thing, so maybe it’s a fraudulent site. Also, the correct English label has been changed slightly from what’s on their site, and Champion confirmed they’ve done some rewording – essentially the same message. Very easy to tell that the Chinese have no clue about English spelling and punctuation.
Laurie Raymond
August 27, 2015 at 6:56 pm
Nicole, as a retailer who has sold Orijen (which, with Acana and Nature’s Logic are the ONLY kibble brands I carry, because I can vouch for the quality) I suggest you give your bag the sniff test. Because Orijen is preserved with natural preservatives, the good quality fragile fats and oils will go “off” in high temperatures, or when stored in plastic bins. It’s tempting to buy big bags because it is so much lower cost per pound, but especially in summer, you don’t want to subject it to high temps for very long. I wouldn’t buy more than a two week supply, and I’d try to keep it at below 70 degrees F. That said, I would never recommend feeding an old dog kibble — even the best is hard on the aging GI tract that is slowing down. All kibble digests slowly (one of its main drawbacks, imho,) increasing susceptibility to many problems. You can’t go wrong with home made, as long as you incorporate variety and get your minerals right.
Kenneth
August 27, 2015 at 2:44 am
Just don’t buy anything that originates from China unless it’s some cheap electronics you can’t avoid for economic reasons.
Anything else, stay far far away from these people, they don’t seem to value life.
China MO is… if money can be made do it, who cares about living things, pets or humans, laws or common decency.
Anything from China either whole or in parts should have a mandatory big red sticker on the front so it can be avoided by people who care.
Ted Bartlett
August 27, 2015 at 6:58 pm
I asked Milk Bone if there was any Chinese content in their “good morning daily vitamin treats”. No reply!
Marsha
August 27, 2015 at 7:37 pm
I have found over the years that if you have been buying r\the same dog food for a long time and the bag changes…..CHECK THE INGREDIENTS ON THE BAG!!!!You will find that either ingredients have changed or been added. They always change the bag. I will not go into which ones have changed over the years but
I do not buy any of them anymore. Most of the time they add fillers…. such as dried beet pulp.
Kenneth
August 28, 2015 at 12:49 am
That’s what I did back when I wasn’t feeding raw.
Snap a mobile phone photo of the back of the can or cut out the back of an empty bag and keep it, check it every time you buy the same brand again so you don’t have to go through and calculate carb % etc.. from the guaranteed analysis every time.
I should have kept em’ all in a scrap book, it would probably look like a steady decline of quality for most brands 🙁
Marie
August 28, 2015 at 11:53 am
That’s a great idea and a very good experiment – label scrapbook!
Regina
August 28, 2015 at 9:44 pm
not only pictures of labels, pictures of the actual food also!!! Then you can see if anything changes there, as sometimes, the label change is not done as soon as the recipe changes (they get to use up the rest of their old bags and labels)
Marie
August 29, 2015 at 1:40 pm
That’s a great idea! I didn’t even think of them being allowed to use up their old packaging. I wonder when/if Blue Buffalo will use accurate labeling. Not holding my breath but don’t feed that anyway. I can’t believe they’re still in business – loss of trust. I’ll be starting a food photo album! But I still trust Champion Pet Foods. These days, doesn’t hurt to keep a sharp eye out! 🙂