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Jerky Treat Settlement

Information shared with TruthaboutPetFood.com is that the Purina Waggin Train/Canyon Creek Ranch jerky treat settlement has been finalized. Purina will pay – with no admission of wrong doing – $6.5 million dollars.

Information shared with TruthaboutPetFood.com is that the Purina Waggin Train/Canyon Creek Ranch jerky treat settlement has been finalized. Purina will pay – with no admission of wrong doing – $6.5 million dollars.

This settlement was for pet illness and death linked to jerky treats sold by Purina imported from China.

The USDA states (published in 2013): “Export growth by China has been particularly impressive increasing from less than 1 percent of global exports a decade ago to 16 percent in 2012. China is now the leading pet food exporter to the United States supplying nearly half of the U.S. import market of $691 million. Chicken and jerky treats appear to be drivers behind this increase in Chinese exports to the United States.” (Note: the USDA reference to pet food includes pet treats and pet food ingredients.)

The U.S. imported $691 million of pet food in 2012 – nearly half of this would be (estimated) $350 million imported from China. Estimating that a conservative $200 million of the Chinese imports into the U.S. was jerky treats ($200 million in one year), and safely assuming Purina’s Waggin Train/Canyon Creek had the largest share of this – I’d say Purina got off easy settling for only $6.5 million with no admission of wrong doing for years of pet illness and death.

I would doubt – regardless to any legal settlement – that any pet owner who lost a pet or suffered with a pet’s illness linked to Chinese imported jerky treats – the issue will ever be settled in their hearts. There is no amount of money that causes one to forget.

 

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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11 Comments

11 Comments

  1. Ann*

    July 2, 2015 at 12:45 pm

    And the highly touted “correction” to the chicken jerky treat package labeling i.e. with Made In China allegedly “prominently” displayed in a larger font is a big joke. I found one of the new packages on a store shelf and I had to search for the Made In China label in a slightly larger font than the old font and near the bottom.
    It is only for a two year period as well that any of these new and so called labeling improvements have to be followed. After that, it is business as usual.
    Be aware also, that China is now approved to receive our USA chicken for human consumption, cook and refreeze it, and send it back to the US for use here in all kinds of processed chicken foods and fast foods. And with no labeling requirements at all that it has been shipped and processed to and from China. Who thinks that China will not mix in their own antibiotic laden chicken and ship it all back to us.
    I have also recently put Amazon on notice that they are mixing into their Made IN USA dog treats online category many products that are Made in China. It is important to carefully read the BACK lower left corner of all packaging to find out the real story on dog food products. The manufacturers use the front and upper back packaging to put all the nonsense about how great their product is and then hide the real story on the lower left corner.

    • Mollie Morrissette

      July 2, 2015 at 5:15 pm

      Ann, you’ve got to read this post on TruthinAdvertising.com, they did a thorough investigation of WalMart’s ‘Made in the USA’ patriot washing of products (actually ‘Made in China’): https://www.truthinadvertising.org/walmart-deceptive-usa-claims/.

      I told her I want to do a similar expose of PetSmart and Petco. Now, it seems Amazon should be thrown under the no-truth-in-advertising bus.

      I’m sure this goes on all over the country at probably ever major retailer – manufacturers and retailers are terrified of losing consumers. And consumers should be allowed to make informed choices, after all, who wants zombie meat in their shopping basket!

      In case you missed it, just Google ‘zombie meat in China’ and you’ll get the shock of your life. 40+ year old meat was being sold there – millions of pounds of decaying, rotting flesh. Truly horrifying.

      When that story broke – I said to myself, “If that doesn’t take the contaminated cake and put a moldy cherry on top of it – I don’t know what does!”

      • Debra Dias

        July 2, 2015 at 6:09 pm

        Simply Nourish and Authority, Petsmart brands are marked distributed in the USA not made in the USA. I think they should have to print what country the foods are made in.

      • Ann*

        July 2, 2015 at 7:49 pm

        Thanks Mollie, That is quite an expose of online Walmart and very similar to what Amazon has been doing. I checked the Amazon website again and saw that they have changed nothing after I informed them of the problem. So here is a copy of the second email that I have sent them today:
        “I contacted you a few days ago to advise you that your online category “dog treats Made in the USA only” contain dog treats that are Made in China such as Kingdom Pets Chicken Jerky which is Made in China but you can’t find that unless you look at the back package label down in the crinkled lower left corner of the package. I am disappointed to see that nothing has changed since I reported it to you. This is FRAUD and I expect you to change it immediately. ALL of your pet food categorized as Made in USA only MUST be Made in USA, not another country and especially not China.
        Here is the same scam going on at Walmart:
        Walmart Website Riddled with Deceptive Made in USA Claims | Truth In Advertising
        https://www.truthinadvertising.org/walmart-deceptive-usa-claims/
        If Amazon wants to avoid the bad publicity that Walmart is currently getting, this marketing tactic needs changing now or I will be sure that consumers are educated as to what Amazon is doing. Thank you. Ann”
        And here is just one comment from their many Amazon customers who were tricked into buying these Kingdom Pet chicken jerky treats thinking they were made in the USA only because that is the category they are under:
        “Kingdom Pets Chicken Jerky Has Made My Dogs Sick
        By Amazon Customer on April 5, 2014
        Size: 16-OunceColor: Black Verified Purchase
        Kingdom Pets Chicken Jerky is made in China and has made all three of my dogs sick. I don’t buy these anymore.”
        Notice that the date is over a year ago which shows how long Amazon has been pulling this scam and they obviously don’t care that they treated their customer that way. I hope Truth in Advertising goes after them as well.

        • Mollie Morrissette

          July 2, 2015 at 10:20 pm

          It wouldn’t hurt to file a report with the FTC either. This is their advice (and I think it’s awesome):

          “What if I suspect noncompliance with the FTC’s Made in USA standard or other country-of-origin mislabeling?

          Information about possible illegal activity helps law enforcement officials target companies whose practices warrant scrutiny. If you suspect noncompliance, contact the Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580; (202) 326-2996 or send an e-mail to MUSA@ftc.gov (link sends e-mail).” (via: https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/complying-made-usa-standard#todo)

          This is the upshot on ‘Made in the USA’ claims from the FTC:

          “…unless they are automobiles or items made from textile or wool, there is no law requiring manufacturers and marketers to make a “Made in USA” claim. But if a business chooses to make the claim, the FTC’s Made in USA standard applies. Made in USA means that “all or virtually all” the product has been made in America. That is, all significant parts, processing, and labor that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. Products should not contain any – or should contain only negligible – foreign content. The FTC’s Enforcement Policy Statement and its business guide, Complying with the Made in USA Standard, spell out the details, with examples of situations when domestic origin claims would be accurate and when they would be inappropriate.”

          They take the ‘Made in the USA’ claim pretty seriously. I don’t know what results would come of it – however, as with all government reporting – sometimes it takes a mountain of complaints before they decide to take a look into the matter.

          Then again…

          Let’s just hope the FDA can stop that clock on Susan’s site…someday.

          *sigh*

          • Ann*

            July 3, 2015 at 9:15 am

            If I see no changes to the Amazon website, I will send an email reporting what they are doing to the FTC. Thanks for the info.

        • Ann*

          July 3, 2015 at 9:13 am

          Here is the response that I got from Amazon on their mixing in Made In China products with their Made in USA Only category:
          Your Account Amazon.com
          Message From Customer Service
          Hello,
          I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.
          Our customers’ safety is of paramount importance. Therefore, I’ve passed your concerns about Kingdom Pets Premium Dog Treats along to the appropriate team so they can be aware of this potential hazard.
          We appreciate the time you took to notify us about this product. We hope to see you again soon.
          Best regards,

          I will be checking back next week to see if any changes have been made to their Made in USA Only category.

          • Mollie Morrissette

            July 3, 2015 at 1:03 pm

            Good for you Ann. I know it’s a pain in the butt.

            If I have some time (ha ha), I will investigate some of the top retailers and report them to the FTC myself. Then I’ll let you know what results, if any, I get.

            And thanks for all your hard work – your efforts will, at the very least, educate pet parents of the deception happening on Amazon.

            If anyone else wants to jump on the ‘Made in the USA’ patriot washing bandwagon, I suggest other pet parents throw Amazon under the bus by filing a complaint with the FTC: https://www.ftc.gov/faq/consumer-protection/submit-consumer-complaint-ftc.

  2. Peter

    July 6, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    I spoke with someone not long ago who quit her job at a local “natural” pet food store. The store has a significant reputation in a very wealthy area. She told me she “couldn’t take it any longer” after the manager instructed her to remove the “made in China” labels from rawhide bones and put them in a “made in US” display.

  3. Sandy

    July 7, 2015 at 10:27 am

    Who is Purina paying this money to?????

    • Susan Thixton

      July 7, 2015 at 10:34 am

      Lawyers and members of the class action lawsuit.

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