From strange foreign objects, to bugs, to mold. Recent pet food (feed) Twitter posts.
All of these pet feed tweets were posted since May 1, 2019. The pet owners twitter names were redacted in each image.
Foreign Objects found in pet food:
Found in a Blue Buffalo pet food – @BlueBuffalo:
And found in Friskies pet food – @Friskies:
Another pet owner found this in Friskies:
A tweet to Hill’s pet food – @HillsPet – found this unusual item in their pet’s food:
In multiple tweets to Natural Balance pet food – @NaturalBalance, a pet owner provided a picture of a bone sticking out of their kibble:
A pet owner shared with Purina ProPlan – @ProPlan – strange objects embedded in the kibble:
This pet owner found five screws in her Royal Canin cat food – @RoyalCanin:
Mold, clumps, spoiled pet food tweets:
This pet owner found her bag of Freshpet Pet Food – @Freshpet – swollen and spoiled easily:
Another pet owner found “green” pieces of Freshpet:
This pet owner found molded kibble at the bottom of the bag of her Hill’s pet food – @HillsPet:
One tweet for clumps of Merrick pet food – @MerrickPetCare, another for moldly Merrick kibble:
This pet owner found a large clump in Purina Pro Plan – @ProPlan – that Purina described as “a buildup of the coating we use on our food“:
This pet owner showed Purina a moldy can of cat food:
Pet owners sent Purina One pet food – @PurinaOne – evidence of moth and bug infestation (both of these Tweets were videos – click on the link below the image to view on Twitter):
Improperly filled cans:
There was 2 complaints tweeted to Merrick pet food – @MerrickPetCare – regarding cans that were not full:
Other feed tweets:
This pet owner tweeted about a kibble size change and bag weight change, Taste of the Wild pet food – @TOTWPetFood – tweeted back that there was a price increase of ingredients:
No explanation was provided for this strange Wellness pet food – @WellnessPetFood:
A new veterinary clinic was looking for some perks from Royal Canin:
And this pet owner was wanting their Purina perks:
This pet owner was hopeful to turn their pet into a Purina model:
Hmmm…Fancy Feast claiming feed grade pet foods contain no ingredients that are harmful to people?
Another hmmm…I am not aware of any new AAFCO regulations that would have required lowering the protein and increasing the carbs in pet food:
Pet owners can monitor any tweets to pet food by visiting Twitter.com, go to the company page of your choice, then click on Tweets & Replies.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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~Pet Owner~
June 5, 2019 at 12:17 pm
Amazing. And yet people still continue to feed this garbage to their pets.
Linda Horn
June 5, 2019 at 2:29 pm
I agree with your sentiment. Unfortunately, not everyone has the ability, money, or time, to cook their own pet food.
Ability: Sometimes people preparing their own pet food don’t get it quite right. A cattery I bought a cat from prepares their own fresh cat food. They were using raw, until a contamination issue with the meat caused serious illness in many of their cats, including fatalities. When they subsequently started preparing cooked cat food, they ended up not getting the recipe quite right, and had several cases of flat-chested kittens (all of the affected kittens survived, and most outgrew the deformity, thankfully). They finally got the recipe right, with enough bioavailable calcium and their cats are thriving. The average cat owner probably isn’t going to feel qualified to prepare their own cat food, when even people who work with cats for a living can make serious mistakes in their cat food preparation.
Money: I have a lot of friends who are simply too poor to buy anything other than Friskies canned cat food or kibble. The majority of their cats thrive and live into their teens or longer. Nearly all of their cats are shelter rescues or strays, which would have been killed, if my friends hadn’t adopted them. Even if the cats don’t live as long as they could have with better food, I’ll still say some life is better than none.
Time: I hardly need to discuss how many people have almost no free time, because they are spending 3+ hours per day just commuting to and from work, due to ridiculously high housing prices.
What I’m trying to point out is that things aren’t always black and white, when it comes to pet food. Yes, let’s try to educate people about the flaws of commercial pet food, but let’s also try to understand their situation, and show them some compassion, instead of criticism. Our best bet may be to insist that the Federal Government start enforcing the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, so that commercial pet foods wouldn’t be so unsafe, instead of criticizing other pet owners for not preparing their own pet food.
Susan Thixton
June 5, 2019 at 2:34 pm
I don’t see any criticism of pet owners for not preparing their own foods in Pet Owner’s comment.
Connie
June 5, 2019 at 3:21 pm
The original comment said they couldn’t believe anyone could continue to feed that garbage. To me, that implies all commercial foods. When you eliminate commercial foods you are left with making your own
Linda seemed to be addressing that
~Pet Owner~
June 5, 2019 at 6:24 pm
If the definition of “making your own” is NOT pouring food out of a bag then I’m guilty. I eliminated kibble because you can’t trust what you can’t see.
“When you eliminate commercial food, you are left with making your own.”
Not at all, because it’s not a binary choice, and there’s a difference between garbage in food, and food that’s intended to be healthy nutrition. I don’t make the (very admirable) home made recipes that Susan does. My dog can’t handle that wide a range of ingredients anyway, which are needed for balance. But kibble is not a natural (instinctive sought after) food for dogs. I combine (not overly) cooked lean hamburger, 2 types of carb, plus Sojo’s premix (cheaper alternative to THK), with an AAFCO formulated limited ingredient (1 protein & 1 carb) canned food. This isn’t all perfect, nothing is. But my dog’s physical exam and lab work checked out. I did this to control my dog’s reaction to individual variables (and learning to cut out ALL forms of chicken!). His diet doesn’t even need to be “raw food” (which makes me nervous). But I can rotate that in, occasionally.
I’ve been in the middle of this PF discovery process for 10 years now. With every new revelation, sometimes adjustments are required. ?
jnshok
June 5, 2019 at 5:40 pm
Susan Thixton and others on this website do exactly what you suggest in your final sentence. This site is ALL about trying to get the FDA and Big Pet Feed and State governments to follow the laws and for pet food companies to be transparent and responsible about what they put in their feed. This website absolutely offers compassion to people who cannot handle homemade or expensive specialty foods by trying to educate all consumers and expose what pet feed companies do to take our money while delivering some horrible products that are detrimental to pets. Consumers are allowed in comments to express opinions, be emotional, and exchange ideas about how to combat feeding horrible foods to their pets.Most people understand the points you raise about time and money constraints, but that doesn’t mean consumers have to put up with the dangerous products that pet feed companies use and lie to us about, as they suggest, “no problem here, just move along.”
There are decent pet foods ready made for purchase and some responsible companies, or people can make their own using recipes developed by vets and experts about pet feeding.
Reader
June 6, 2019 at 1:44 am
The average cat owner probably isn’t going to feel qualified to prepare their own cat food, when even people who work with cats for a living can make serious mistakes in their cat food preparation.
Umm working with cats … for a living, meaning like for the cattery? The breeders I know have a particular responsibility to feed pregnant bitches (and puppies) properly. They augment their diets and never offer just a bowl of kibble or only a can of PF. But even so, a breeder checks in with a vet specializing in reproduction to assure what the correct supplementation needs to be.
“Even if the cats don’t live as long as they could have with better food, I’ll still say some life is better than none.”
Whoa. So does volume override quality. If so then large families, institutions, charity work, food pantries, and donations get an automatic pass for nutritional compromises! The homeless eating peanut butter is sufficient. Among solutions, wouldn’t it seem that frequency, rotation and balance have “some” consideration. Studies have shown that the (assumed lower) cost of eating a steady diet of “fast food” and “prepared food” (by the under-privileged) does not show an economic advantage over the inclusion (or substitution) of fresh whole foods.The study factored in the real cost among those able to prepare meals. Particularly for children and those with health concerns. Then why would the requirements for pets be abt different. Ohh that’s right because they’re considered animals, and animals eat livestock grade feed.
“Hardly need to discuss how many people have almost no free time …” including what’s spent on social media. Augmenting my dog’s diet takes 30 minutes maximum a week (shopping, steaming a few things and mixing into his bowl). Takes twice as long to prepare my own meals – nightly!
The FDA is NEVER going to conflict with AAFCO or the PFI. Ever. There isn’t one person in government who cares. Sorry. Nobody is criticizing the pet owner, but they are the victim of misunderstood beliefs about commercial PF. And what it’s going to take for PFI reform is a consolidated consumer REVOLT! No more excuses. Because a mistake never happens to a single bag or a can. But to a batch (or pallet) of product. And while mistakes happen, where is the checkpoint? Gad knows what the checkpoint pulls out! Multiply by hundreds of formulas & recipe changes (requiring machine cleaning between runs). Posted are 18 examples in ONE month, regarding 9 higher priced and 2 prescription brands! So what in the world are people paying for?
Those pictures represent the visuals. If manufacturers can’t control THAT, then what are our assurances about the integrity of the ingredients we can’t see. The failure to pulverize feathers, bone fragments and hair indicates the use of by-products. Are they being declared on the label.
.
chuck LINKER
June 5, 2019 at 12:31 pm
botique pet food stores only. READ THE honest LABELS OF INGREDIENTS & ANALYSIS.
nEVER ASK A SALESPERSON “WHAT IS THE BEST FOOD? ”
THEY KNOW NOTHING MORE THAN FILL THE SHELVES & LIE WITH ANSWERS TO GET YOU TO BUY CRAP.
NEVER EVER GROCERY STORES. ALL CRAP. YOU BUY IT THERE OUT OF CONVENIENCE BECAUSE :YOU ARE THERE ANYWAYOR HUMAN FOOD”.
DON’T BE LAZY. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS THE BEST DOG FOOD.
.PONDER ON THAT.
THAT’S RIGHT. DEPENDS ON THE CANINE, MONEY, GUARDIAN WITH MONEY, VALUE, ETC.
DO NOT BELIEVE ALL DOG FOOD MARKETING– TV COMMERCIALS.
DO NOT BELIEVE LABELS ONBAGS &CANS. DO SME HOMEWORK FOR WHAT IS THE BEST FOR YOUR PET.
WISE UP. IF YOU WANT TO EXTEND THE LIFE OF YOUR CAT OR DOG. DO NOT BUY ANY COMMERCIAL FOOD. YOU HAVE TIME. MANY HOLISTIC RECIPES TO USE ONLINE.
TAKE THE TIME IF YOU LOVE YOUR PET(S).
Jane
June 5, 2019 at 12:33 pm
Thanks for posting this, Susan. I think holding companies accountable for things like this is one of the best uses of Twitter.
Do you have any idea where Merrick pet food is canned? We use a different brand, but have been noticing the cans don’t seem as full lately, too.
Susan Thixton
June 5, 2019 at 12:34 pm
To my knowledge, Merrick (owned by Purina) has their own manufacturing facility.
Karen
June 5, 2019 at 12:38 pm
Many of those tweets are questionable anyway. Dented cans in which the food may be exposed to air? Moldy food in the bottom of a bag? The people don’t post whether the bag was damaged or exposed to water. These issues are not necessarily the fault of the manufacturer. ….and sorry, I don’t believe at all that some person found 5 wood screws in a bag of pet food. These posts just look like people looking for “free stuff”.
Susan Thixton
June 5, 2019 at 12:43 pm
You need to talk to some pet food manufacturing employees – those that work down in the plant, not in the office or sales reps. You might change your mind if you did.
Karen
June 5, 2019 at 5:07 pm
Maybe, but the manufacturer still has no control over what happens to their product once it hits a grocer’s warehouse or a person’s home. To accuse the manufacturer of producing a contaminated product in a badly dented can is not fair. The screws???? I will continue to think that is very bogus. Bolts, nuts, a piece of metal, I can possibly understand, but wood screws, just don’t make any sense.
Reader
June 6, 2019 at 1:57 am
Sure they do. Wood screws (for repairing pallets drywall, structures) falling out of someone’s pocket, their overalls, a tool bag. Probably onto the plant floor, Then getting scooped up material and junked into a mixing vat. Susan knows of one manufacturing plant that had a huge hole in the roof over the assembly line, allowing contaminated rain water down onto the plant floor! Ummm, a dented can doesn’t create egg larve (yuk!) inside a product. I’ve bought a Mars candy bar with green contaminated “whatever” all through it! Metal fragments, for real. This is just ONE month’s worth of pictures!! It’s not about the mistakes really … it’s about the absence of a check point. Who’s sampling the checkpoints? And in the end, who there, really cares.
Connie
June 5, 2019 at 3:27 pm
I buy bulk amounts of food for foster kittens. It is a rare case of canned food that doesn’t come with multiple dented cans. They reduced the material in the can so it is weaker and basically can’t stand up to the entire process of getting to your house safely.
The screws are weird, since I believe they have metal detectors check the food before it goes out, at least Hills does (and you know there is a reason for that) but even if that one tweet is fake it doesn’t negate the others
Cannoliamo
June 5, 2019 at 1:02 pm
…. just in case anyone doesn’t know this, FDA will accept any complaint about any pet food …
https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/report-problem/how-report-pet-food-complaint
??? ?? ?????? ? ??? ???? ?????????
Description of the problem with the product. Examples include:
Foul odor, off color
Swollen can or pouch, leaking container
Foreign object found in the product.
FDA safety issues involving:
Premarket or marketed human drug and biologics
Human or animal reportable foods
Animal drugs
Animal foods
Top priority is given to products that have caused or may cause a serious illness, injury, or a life-threatening situation. Swollen cans of various food products, an unexpected drug reaction, a serious medical device defect, or, in some cases, even mislabeling of a product would be in this category.
Complaints can also be filed by notifying the State AAFCO Feed Control Official, but some states are less responsive to pet food product consumer complaints than others and I’ve found it to be frequently difficult to contact the appropriate AAFCO official
https://www.aafco.org/Regulatory/State-Information
I’ve reported a number of contamination occurrences that meet the criteria for an FDA complaint / report. Unfortunately, the consumer will not be notified about the outcome of their investigation without submitting a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
Susan Thixton
June 5, 2019 at 1:06 pm
Great addition – thank you!
T Allen
June 5, 2019 at 1:51 pm
Well the first pic is of a feather and the green kibble is from the green dye used to mark slaughter plant meat waste as non-human edible but the rest, except for plastic pieces, labels, etc, are disgusting. In 45 years of feeding lots of dogs I never saw any of this garbage. I haven’t fed kibble or canned in 7 years so obviously things are getting much worse. Hopefully al of these pet owners found out better ways of feeding from the replies to these posts online!
Deep Search
June 5, 2019 at 2:09 pm
I haven’t found foreign objects in pet food, but did find black smudgy spots in two brands of canned cat foods. First was Tiki Cat Succulent Chicken shreds and the second was the American Journey chicken/turkey pate. When I inquired about Tiki Cat I was told it was some of the mineral/vitamin mix in the canned food. My cats didn’t get sick, but I didn’t feed them the dark, discolored food anyway.
And my experience with Fresh Pet is also getting food that’s not fresh. I bought a bag of the kibble-sized pieces of cat food and when I opened the bag it smelled really strong. Two of my cats were very interested in eating some of it, but then threw up all the food shortly after. So I trashed the rest of it.
I’m pretty positive the food had gone bad due to being stored improperly. It wasn’t expired, so probably during shipping/stocking it got too warm. I bought the bag at a big pet food store where nearly all the food is shelf-stable, so I don’t know if buying it at a grocery store where they have experience in safely handling perishable foods would yield better results.
Debi Cohen
June 5, 2019 at 2:16 pm
Couldn’t be more happy that I do not feed this horrific CRAP, make my dog’s own food and buy Ziwi Peak, have for 15 yrs., and I have not had any worries or trouble, could happen with the Ziwi, but so far not.
Debi Cohen
June 5, 2019 at 2:19 pm
Love you Susan, you are a tireless advocate and we all, hopefully, appreciate the work you do, I am sure, daily, just wanting to say a HUGE thanks from me and the informed public that loves you and the people that work alongside you to bring us info. that we would otherwise never know !
jnshok
June 5, 2019 at 5:56 pm
Twitter is truly a good way to get the message out. Whether we like Twitter or not, many people are hooked and get their “news” there. It unfortunately touches a lot more people than factual websites like these. Considering Twitter is often called “The Outrage Machine”, what would be better than people finally becoming outraged at pet feed companies that try to pull the wool over our eyes while making us pay for it?
BettyS
June 5, 2019 at 7:43 pm
A few years ago I was walking through Barnes & Noble when a book “Foods Pets Die For” caught my eye. Of course I bought it. It would be an understatement to say that the book changed forever my approach to feeding my fur babies. Taking that book seriously and changing feeding strategies for my cats changed their lives too. Up to that point every cat I had was diagnosed with some nasty disease, usually cancer, by the age of 10. The tragedy is that experts do not pay enough attention to nutritional needs of our companion animals and laws are either not passed or not enforced so that literally garbage ends up in way too much pet food. The book has been updated and is still being sold. It’s worth every penny paid for it.
We all assume that many people on budgets have pets, even so, a few hours research on line will provide many inexpensive ways to feed without offering kibble which is the same as ordering up health issues. In fact, the happiest, healthiest cat I ever met was fed the same dinner his dad ate. The human cooked for both at the same time. I thought that was risky when I first found out but as I said the cat thrived. Now, I often feed my cat the same meat I eat, I just cook hers without spices, etc. and feed Kiwi and Weruva food the rest of the time (and pray those two foods stay safe to eat). There is a cat/human cookbook at on line bookstores that further explains how some human food can be prepared safely for cats plus recipes galore on line just for cats. Anyway, thanks Susan for all the hard work you do for our pets. Hopefully soon worthwhile changes will be made re cat food companies. The health of our cats depends on it!
Terry Crissman
June 6, 2019 at 9:21 am
It appears every pet food company is listed in this article. My question is, if I’m unable to make my dog’s food what can I safely feed her. I actually spoke to my vet this week about making my dog’s food. He was necessarily against it, but he also wasn’t totally okay with it either. He said you have to be very careful to incorporate into the food when making it ALL of the nutrients a dog requires to be a healthy dog. If not, he said feeding homemade food can cause serious problems for dogs. Now what? I’d like to continue feeding canned food to my dog but it seems from this article that no brand of dog food is safe.
~Pet Owner~
June 6, 2019 at 1:32 pm
Commercial PF contains a protein, a filler and vitamins & minerals. These are not “magical” properties. But Vets and PF companies will scare you to death about not using a (so-called ultimate) pet food formula! Curiously, isn’t it interesting how doctors will discourage people from eating “prepackaged formulated” meals, extolling the virtues of whole food!! I am fascinated by the hypocrisy of it all!
Of course in canine diets ratio is important, which can be achieved by range and a variety of products and additions that are rotated over time. But you don’t have to make every element of PF from scratch! Start with a premix like Sojos. (Or THK if you can afford it, but they’re pricey and over-hyping themselves!). To the premix add the requisite amount of (human edible) protein!! Discount chains like Costco/Sam’s Club offer lean hamburger for about $3.50 a lb. Minimally cook it, drain off the fat. Regarding the individual meal, rotate in some steamed carbs like sweet potato (filler), or brown rice, or veggies like broccoli or bok choy for variety. The filler can aid stool consistency, but Sojos does work really well! I use a “limited ingredient” AAFCO formulated canned food (1 protein + 1 carb) with all the vits/mins (even Taurine) listed. Doing so keeps my Vet reassured! Occasionally I alternate with a raw food (like Northwest Naturals) which is very basic. Raw does add increased bio-availability, plus ground up bone (for calcium). “Just Food For Dogs” is now offering a balanced supplement or premix too, for people to add protein. For general supplements, there’s Balance IT. And (over time) I’ve used Nupro, Missing Link, Solid Gold and Pet Kelp. At 8 yrs. my dog checks out physically (heart is sound), lab work is good, and he can easily walk 4 miles a day. Endless energy in the house!
We ELIMINATED kibble completely.
P.S. You’re never going to find one single brand of product on a shelf that’s perfectly “safe.” Just hedge your bets!
** For specific breed issues, raising puppies, breeding purposes, be sure to seek appropriate guidance and consult with vets specializing in reproduction support.
CK
June 11, 2019 at 8:54 am
I found one for Zignature, which we use for breakfast after doing a lot of research. Can’t remember if it was on Susan’s list or not. This is canned food and we use kibble and have never had a problem. https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1136125547497558016/pu/img/MHuybL0pnZ4-kE6a?format=jpg&name=small (larvae)
Then I went looking for Honest Kitchen, which we feed at night, and is on Susan’s list, and found this: https://twitter.com/honestkitchen (piece of plastic in Grain Free Chicken 10 lb bag).
I guess it happens a lot! Once years ago when I fed Science Diet, after a week or so of being open but in a metal garbage pail with lid, it was full of moths. I always figured they got in from the garage, but now I’m not so sure.
Ellen Johnston
June 19, 2019 at 1:17 pm
Thanks for these pictures. I was one of those that sent pictures (twice) last month to Merrick.
I was so proud of myself for finding Merrick Back Country. One wet can of food was half full and a bag of kibbles left out the main important ingredient all together (freeze dried kibble bits). You just can’t feel confident about wet and dry dog food of any brand. I have not found anything better at the moment but one more slip-up and I will be hunting for another brand. We left Purina six months ago for Merrick. We will see.
Susan Thixton
June 19, 2019 at 2:46 pm
Hi Ellen – I just want to make sure you are aware that Purina owns Merrick. Purina purchased both the Merrick and Castor & Pollux brands a couple of years ago.