March 13, 2015 – Primal Pet Foods is voluntarily recalling a single batch production code of Feline Turkey Raw Frozen Formula 3-pound bag. FDA tested product in response to a single consumer complaint. Primal Pet Foods was alerted by FDA that the testing of two bags of this lot resulted in a low thiamine level. Neither FDA nor Primal have received any other reports concerning Thiamine in Primal products. No other product manufactured by Primal Pet Foods is involved in this voluntary recall.
Only the product with the following Best By date and production code is included in the voluntary recall. It is best to check the production code on the back of the bag to determine if the product has been recalled or not.
The lot involved in this voluntary recall is:
Primal Pet Foods Feline Turkey Raw Frozen Formula 3-pound bag (UPC# 8 50334-00414 0) with Best By date 060815 B22
Primal takes very seriously, the need for adequate Thiamine levels in our feline diets. We include Organic Quinoa Sprout Powder as a natural B-Complex supplement to ensure that adequate levels of Thiamine are met. Additionally, Thiamine occurs naturally in other ingredients contained in our Feline Turkey Formula such as: Turkey Muscle Meat (including heart), Turkey Liver, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Dried Organic Kelp, Organic Collard Greens and Organic Squash.
Consumers who still have bags of cat food from this lot should stop feeding it to their cats and call us at (866) 566-4652 Monday through Friday, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm PST. Consumers with further questions should visit our website at www.primalpetfoods.com or call us at this same number.
Cats fed only diets low in thiamine for several weeks may be at risk for developing a thiamine deficiency. Thiamine is essential for cats. Symptoms of deficiency displayed by an affected cat can be gastrointestinal or neurological in nature. Early signs of thiamine deficiency may include decreased appetite, salivation, vomiting, and weight loss. In advanced cases, neurologic signs can develop, which may include ventriflexion (bending towards the floor) of the neck, wobbly walking, circling, falling, and seizures. If your cat has consumed the recalled lot and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian. If treated promptly, thiamine deficiency is typically reversible.
brit
March 14, 2015 at 7:04 pm
curious how that product could be thiamin deficient if they included all the ingredients they claim to include?
Cortney
March 15, 2015 at 9:15 pm
It simply doesn’t meet the required amount of thiamine per regulations. It doesn’t mean that the food has no Thiamine at all, just that it doesn’t match what is on the label. If the label states that there should be 500mg of thiamine (I’m simply throwing out random numbers here), but when tested, it came back with only 400mg, then that would be a cause for concern for a company that cares – like Primal. Much, much different than the issues going on with Purina. (Primal has ONE consumer complaint, and they take the particular formula off the shelves, to keep pets safe. Purina receives THOUSANDS of complaints – with pets actually becoming very ill and even dying – and they do nothing.)
So, kudos to Primal for doing the right thing. I went to a local feed shop near my house, for the first time, and they gave me a free sample of Primal for my dog. She loved two out of the three flavors in the sample pack. 🙂 I definitely see myself buying more of their stuff in the future… They seem to take pride in what they make and care about the dogs and cats that will be consuming the food.
Sandra Cole
March 16, 2015 at 10:21 am
Hey there Courtney! My pup eats Primal and has been on it for almost a year now (May marks 1yr for him). He’s done fabulously on their food! He’s even begun to re-grow hair in thin/bald patches that were always that way. Even though Primal has now had a recall, given the circumstances around it, I’m still proud to support the brand.
KARENWR73
March 17, 2015 at 12:48 am
Very well written. Its nice to see a company that really cares.
KARENWR73
March 17, 2015 at 12:50 am
My comment was about what Courtney wrote.
Anne
March 15, 2015 at 10:59 am
Cats fed only diets low in thiamine for several weeks may be at risk for developing a thiamine deficiency. Thiamine is essential for cats. Symptoms of deficiency displayed by an affected cat can be gastrointestinal or neurological in nature. Early signs of thiamine deficiency may include decreased appetite, salivation, vomiting, and weight loss. In advanced cases, neurologic signs can develop, which may include ventriflexion (bending towards the floor) of the neck, wobbly walking, circling, falling, and seizures. If your cat has consumed the recalled lot and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian. If treated promptly, thiamine deficiency is typically reversible.
Primal
Source: http://www.einnews.com/pr_news/254732724/primal-pet-foods-voluntarily-recalls-a-single-lot-of-raw-frozen-cat-food Comment: “Refined Corn: Refined Rice and Refined Flour cause “Thiamine Deficiency”!
This is why I approve “of Brown Rice Bran; Brewers Yeast and Peas; all great sources Thiamine Vitamin B1”
Sage
March 16, 2015 at 4:44 pm
BREWERS YEAST is an EXCELLENT source of B Vitamins but RICE BRAN is NOT one of the safest pet food ingredients due to possible Micotoxin contamination. Quote below regarding Rice Bran is from University of Geulph http://atguelph.uoguelph.ca/2013/06/is-your-pet-food-safe/
“Smith says pet owners can help prevent their dogs or cats from consuming mycotoxins by avoiding cheaper pet food that is more likely to contain vegetable cereals and corn or wheat fillers. He particularly urges pet owners to AVOID FOOD with significant amounts of RICE BRAN”.
“That’s the ingredient that’s often contaminated,” he says. “Although we have no exact numbers, we can estimate that when half of the food is of vegetable origin, there will almost always be some degree of contamination. If the food is mainly of animal origins, the chances of contamination are greatly reduced.”
PRIMAL PET FOODS has posted information about the recall and their ingredients here.
http://www.primalpetfoods.com/company/notification
In Q & A format, #7 addresses their sources of Thiamine including Quinoa Sprout Powder.
7. What are you doing to ensure that the issue does not happen again?
We want to reassure you that Primal Pet Foods is committed to the health and safety of your pets. Primal takes very seriously, the need for adequate Thiamine levels in our feline diets. We include Organic Quinoa Sprout Powder as a natural B-Complex supplement to ensure that adequate levels of Thiamine are met. Additionally, Thiamine occurs naturally in other ingredients contained in our Feline Turkey Formula such as: Turkey Muscle Meat (including heart), Turkey Liver, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Dried Organic Kelp, Organic Collard Greens and Organic Squash.
“We’re making an additional enhancement to our Feline Formulas and raising the level of Quinoa Sprout powder to absolutely ensure it addresses the Thiamine requirement in any testing environment.”
Anne
March 21, 2015 at 7:07 am
THIAMINE VITAMIN B1 WAS DISCORVED IN BROWN RICE BRAN IN 1856;!
Jackie
March 15, 2015 at 12:11 pm
My further understanding via the primal rep is that original FDA testing was not as sensitive as the testing equipment that was used in third party testing by Primal. Primal’s third party testing shows the food to have adequate thiamine levels. Primal chose a path of caution to do the voluntary recall for this lot code. I am sure it is a much easier road financially for Primal. In my opinion, FDA needs better and more fair testing methods in the raw pet food market However that is not likely to happen. If your follow the money in the market, it would seem unfair testing will continue by government agency’s such as the FDA since there most likely exists a bias from major pet food manufacturers owned by major Corporations who resent giving up kibble margins to the raw pet food market. Think about it. Lobbiest are paid everyday in our country funded by large food conglomerates to make sure their profits continue. Finally, I would not make a big deal about this recall.
jb
March 16, 2015 at 5:39 pm
How refreshing to hear a company take action after ONE complaint.
jb
March 16, 2015 at 5:40 pm
And a VOLUNTARY recall to boot!
Misty
March 16, 2015 at 6:56 pm
I think it’s great that Primal is issuing the recall, but rather annoying that the FDA gets ONE complaint and tests this particular food yet has done NOTHING about the many complaints about Purina or other “big name” brands.
Susan Thixton
March 16, 2015 at 7:15 pm
Exactly how I felt about FDA – am sending them questions about this.
Hope Williams
March 16, 2015 at 8:11 pm
EXACTLY!
Hope Williams
March 16, 2015 at 8:23 pm
This recall magnifies the need for a multi-level recall system to be used by the FDA.
I’m a retail store that sells Primal products as well as all the other best things for dogs and cats. I wish we knew the motivation for the FDA to test two bags of this food for cats based on one consumer complaint. And we truly don’t know if it was a consumer or a competitor given the “one”. This in context with 1000’s of complaints about other products that are truly causing death in our pets never getting the same recall.
When it comes to testing for thiamine levels there are so many variances that could take place such as FDA equipment versus Primal’s testing authority equipment. And where is the agency to say that the FDA is correct? Primal responded quickly and positively even if they had questions about testing variances that may have caused this outcome. THAT is the sign of a quality manufacturer of quality real foods for our pets. They care about our pets and their future in the business. Sounds sour grapes but Purina who manufactures Beneful doesn’t even care enough to respond let alone recall this inferior product for pets. Why? Because they’re not worried! And that says much about the FDA and the need to call into force our caring legislators.
Bravo to Primal for caring on all fronts and responding so quickly and positively! You deserve to be in this business of keeping our pets healthy. And please let’s not paint this recall to be the equivalent of other recalls of toxic pet food. That would be a great mistake!
Jane Eagle
March 17, 2015 at 12:37 pm
As I’m sure many of you know, there has been a concerted effort by the dog food manufacturing-backed FDA to try to get people away from buying raw/fresh food. Since the consumer funded tests reported here, I no longer recommend ANY kibble; I have been recommending Primal, and I am glad to see that they are as good as I believed them to be.
jb
March 17, 2015 at 5:13 pm
The only way would be to stop any farmer or store selling food, LOL!
I also raw feed. I use Blue Ridge Beef frozen raw mainly but supplement with some grocery store meats
In the process of collecting info to buy a pastured, processed cow soon. Organs & all. Hallelujah! Then I will know exactly what my Girls are eating!
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TopCat
April 2, 2015 at 7:29 pm
FIRST thing I wondered as well!! —
“Misty March 16, 2015 at 6:56 pm
I think it’s great that Primal is issuing the recall, but rather annoying that the FDA gets ONE complaint and tests this particular food yet has done NOTHING about the many complaints about Purina or other “big name” brands.”
(Beneful apparently is the “sacrificial lamb” for the whole lousy product line-up.)
Jane eagle nails it:
Jane Eagle March 17, 2015 at 12:37 pm
“As I’m sure many of you know, there has been a concerted effort by the dog food manufacturing-backed FDA to try to get people away from buying raw/fresh food.”
Wish more people would open their minds up and help demand some change, but they won’t — even when indisputable proof is presented.
Emily
May 30, 2015 at 1:55 am
Thanks for the information on the recall. It’s funny how one complaint gets them off the shelves so quickly. Good job Primal for caring enough to do something about it.
ban ban
June 3, 2015 at 9:47 pm
I found prmail to change their formula, and there was a new formula for the montmorillonite
where are the montmorillonite? As far as I know, China is the main country of producing montmorillonite..
as far as I know montmorillonite have side effect and is not suitable for long-term consumption, this is an article about the side effects of montmorillonite: http://durablehealth.net/montmorillonite/montmorillonite-clay-side-effects-pets-humans/