The Truth About The Recent Pet Food Recalls (from an insider)

If you have pets, you have probably heard about the most recent pet food recall.

You know what?  THIS IS A GOOD THING.  I have been in the industry a long time, and you would be surprised how many pet food companies cover up their problems.

(Hint hint:  They're the brands you are most-likely to see on TV or in Grocery stores)

Diamond Pet Foods is a manufacturer of many brands of pet food (including their own) and have many processing plants across the nation.  In April, they announced a recall on one brand of food because it tested positive for a rare strain of salmonella.

At that point (and as of the publishing of this article) there have been no confirmed reports of animals getting salmonella because of this product.

Want to know why?

It's almost impossible for dogs to get salmonella.  Their digestive tract is too short and their stomach is too acidic.  This is why dogs can eat garbage.  Cat poop.  Lick their butts.  Eat raw pet foods.  All without getting sick.

So why the recall?

It's a 'people' thing, not a pet thing.

People hand-feed their pets (mainly old ladies with the 'my wittle baby' complex).  People handle pet food then don't wash their hands.  People being dumb.  When I handle pet food, I wash my hands.  When I handle raw meats or vegetables, I was my hands.  When I handle door knobs, stair railings, or shake hands, I wash my hands.

And of course the media skews things to incite drama.

THE NEWS STATION SAYS I AM
SUPPOSED TO BE MAD.  RAAAAAARR!!!

Fox News reported workers in the plant were getting sick and "dozens of dogs" have died.  Neither are true.

MSNBC reported "for every case of salmonella reported, 29.3 go undetected. Using that multiplier, at least 410 people may have been sickened by the contaminated pet food."

Oh geez, shut up already.

The truth?  Diamond reacted fast, and tried to pull the product from shelves before any dog (or person) got sick.  They informed the public, distributors, and retail stores as quickly as possible.  They let the public know it was only one plant (South Carolina) with the issue, and only states in the East were affected.  (Idaho, for example, has nothing to worry about).

Diamond then went a step further.  Other products weren't testing positive, but they pulled every product of every brand produced around the same time as the tainted bags, just to be safe.

So when you see brands like Canidae, Taste of the Wild, Apex, etc. having recalls, it's all because of this.  Did they have tainted bags?  Most likely not.  But better safe than sorry.  BECAUSE THEY CARE.

The bottom line:  Don't panic.  The manufacturers have this under control and are being completely transparent.  Again, I have been in the industry for a while, and I can't tell you how many big-box brands would tell their distribution network and have a "don't tell the public" letter attached.  If you alerted the media, your ass would be sued.

Diamond doesn't play like that.  They don't cover shit up.  They care about the public and their consumers, even if it means losing money and shutting down one of their facilities temporarily, in the name of safety.

And for those in the "recalled?  I'm never going to buy THAT again" category, I dare you to go to  Recalls.gov and look at all the recent recalls.  If you stay away from a product that has been recalled, you'll never eat strawberries, ground beef, sausage or spinach, put your baby in a crib, ride a bike, drive a Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Mazda, Kia, Hyundai, Volkswagen or any other damn car for that matter.

Recalls happen.  GOOD companies alert the public and make things right.  If you hear about the recall, be happy.  Odds are for every recall you hear about, there are 3-4 that should be done and are covered up (speculation of course, but if MSNBC can do it, why can't I?)