[The reason for the extension of the recall is that those diets may have come into contact with the holding bins that the recalled diets had been in. It is just a precaution.]

I was looking through some of the ingredients in the recall and I didn't find any that had rice protein or glutens, maybe I didn't look close enough...

I emailed Royal Canin about this exact question.  I asked them to please clarify what ingredient triggered this latest recall.
Their response: (Most of the response was just a form-letter reply stating what their website already said).  Then, this statement (looked pasted in - in a different font):

The reason for the extension of the recall is that those diets may have come into contact with the holding bins that the recalled diets had been in.  It is just a precaution.

I find that a bit confusing / misleading, because they did say in the recall announcement that trace amounts of melamine WERE found in the food they recalled -- this statement implies a less serious situation. 

They didn't really answer my question about suspect ingredients.  It looks like the majority of the new foods on the list do have some form of rice.  Maybe that's it?  Just speculating -- who knows what it is.

Anyone feeding VeRUS? (Either now, or in the past?)
Please post thoughts / opinions on this brand.  I'm considering it for my dog. 
Company philosophy seems pretty good and the ingredients look good as well. 
Thanks!

I'm confused -- so have 2 companies already issued recalls, or only one? 

A Consumer Affairs article I read leads me to believe that 2 companies have issued recalls.  We know Royal Canin is one.  They say another one issued a recall around April 19th (maybe Blue Buffalo?).

Excerpt from Consumer Affairs article (May 9):
In a written statement, Cereal Byproducts said it shipped the tainted ingredient to three customers in the Midwest between July 19, 2006 and March 14, 2007. The company, however, said only two companies recalled the contaminated products around April 19, 2007. The FDA said more pet foods could be recalled in the wake of this action by Cereal Byproducts. The company said it has not received any confirmed reports of pet deaths linked to the tainted ingredient.
(See full Consumer Affairs article)

In a different article than the one referenced earlier in the thread, the Chicago Tribune says something else.
Excerpt from Chicago Tribune article (May11):
A congressional source familiar with the pet food contamination issue said that Cereal Byproducts shipped tainted rice protein to Royal Canine, which issued a its own dog food recall on April 19.
A second customer, the source said, used the Cereal Byproducts rice protein to make a mixture of pet food ingredients, but those products sustained water damage and were discarded, making a recall unnecessary. A third company, the source said, hasn't been identified by the FDA.
(See full Chicago Tribune article)

Anyone done any sleuthing and found out more about the mystery companies?  Since the Royal Canin recall was for dry food, I wonder if the unknown companies make dry food as well.

I am so stressed with this new Royal Canin recall!!!

I SO want to get my dog off of Royal Canin!  She eats IVD Duck & Potato -- I took her off of dry when the original recall came out, but she is still eating canned. 

We've tried changing to Merrick French Country Cafe (their duck flavor) -- did the switch in ~ 1 week, but my pup got really bad diarrhea.  Other possibilities that I'm considering are Evangers Duck & Sweet Potato and Eagle Pack Duck & Oatmeal.  But I don't feel like I can try again until her stomach gets back to normal.  In the meantime she is back to eating Royal Canin.    I'm going to call the vet today and get some advice. 

How did you all manage the switch?  Any experiences on success and failures with switching are welcome.  (How much time did you take?  What ratio of old to new food did you use?  If you had a failure, how long did you wait before trying again?)

My dog has been eating IVD duck and potato for about 18 months.  I don't want to feed IVD anymore -- I check Royal Canin at least once a day for any additional recalls -- unfortunately I haven't been successful switching her to something else yet.  I wish I could do an abrupt switch, but her tummy just can't take it.
She is still eating the canned IVD, but the potato protein in the dry food makes me nervous, so I'm not feeding the dry duck and potato anymore. 

Thanks for the replies.  You're right that one week is probably too quick.  I really wanted to get her off the IVD Royal Canin after they issued a recall of some of their other food, so I rushed it.  Plus, I can only buy IVD in cases of 24 from the vet, and was hoping to do the switch without buying a whole other case.  But, I bought a case today, and over the course of the last 24 hours she is already feeling a lot better.  I'll probably keep her on IVD-only for a week or two to get her tummy back to normal, and then start trying a transition again -- more slowly this time. 

Because of her cancer, my dog has a fleet of vets (regular vet, oncologist, surgeon, and holistic vet).  I talked to the holistic vet about each of the foods I was considering and she did caution that some dogs get diarrhea with Merrick because it is rich (although she did think it was a good food and said that dogs normally love it). 

I had been experimenting with letting her taste some other food for a couple weeks (she did eat 2 cans of Evangers and liked it -- she liked the Eagle Pack too).  She did fine with just small bits of all three types.  It was after we went totally to Merrick that she stopped tolerating it.  Too bad, because she really liked it.  I may keep it around to use in the future as a treat.  (Despite the mysterious peas, I will probably try Evangers again too.)

 

I bought some canned French Country Cafe for my pup in an attempt to get her off of the IVD (Royal Canin) Duck & Potato she has been eating for the last 18 months or so. 

Used to feed raw years ago (she did great on it), but she stopped tolerating it around the time she was diagnosed with Mast Cell cancer (which was releasing histamine into her system and making her stomach super sensitive).  I thank God every day that her cancer is not systemic and that we've been able to control it locally.  She is my world!

But even though her stomach is much less sensitive now, I cannot seem to successfully switch her food.  Granted, the IVD did work.  But I've always felt nervous about the duck by-products -- and the recall gave me extra motivation to switch.

The French Country Cafe is the closest thing Merrick makes with all duck protein (there is some turkey broth in it).  My dog LOVES it -- goes crazy for it.  I switched over the course of a week or so, and about every-other-day she would have a little bit of soft stool -- nothing alarming.  Unfortunately, yesterday she had a major episode of diarrhea (no vomiting) -- I spent my evening cleaning carpets... -- so we're back to the IVD today.

Anyone else having this issue with Merrick?

I'm pretty frustrated.  I wonder if we switched more slowly if that would make a difference.  Any other recommendations for a duck food (canned and dry)?  We did try Evangers Duck and Sweet Potato, but had an issue with label discrepancy that made me nervous (see my post in Evangers).  Eagle Pack Duck and Oatmeal is another option.   

Any advice / input is welcome.

I recently bought 2 cans of Evangers Duck & Sweet Potato for my dog to try.  I was surprised to see peas in the can -- peas are not listed on the label.  I emailed Evangers to ask about the discrepancy. 

My email (this is the 2nd of two I sent):
Hi,
I sent an email a few days ago with a question about your Duck & Sweet
Potato entree.  I know you must be inundated right now with questions about
the pet food recall!  Sorry to be asking again after only a few days, but I
am anxious about it -- also I want to decide if I should stock up on
Evangers, or try another brand.
A recap of my earlier email:
I have some fear about your labeling because the 2 cans of Duck & Sweet
Potato I bought for my dog to try had peas in it, but the label does not say
anything about peas.  I'm not worried about the peas -- just worried in
general that there are things in the can that aren't listed on the lable.
I'm hoping you can clarify the discrepancy and dispell my fears.
Sincere thanks

The response:
I apologize for the delay in answering your email.  I have forwarded your
email to our quality control department so that they can determine what
happened.

Duck & Sweet Potato does not usually have peas in it, but it appears that a
few peas from another variety may have missed being cleaned out of the
system when the equipment was washed down between batches.  This is an
unusual occurrence since we wash down the equipment thoroughly in order to
prevent ingredients from one batch getting into another.

Evanger's has never been involved in a recall since our company was founded
in 1935 and we are committed to maintaining the highest standard of quality
to ensure that that record remains unbroken.  If you will let me know your
address, I will be happy to send you 2 replacement cans of Duck & Sweet
Potato at no charge.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns that you may
have.

I bought 6 more cans to give it another try.  I opened a can this morning and it has peas in it too.  I'm going to return them.  I emailed Evangers back with the info from the bottom of the cans: "1470E113 ED 12 Best by Feb 2012".  I'm hoping this is just an ill-timed incident.  The brand seems to be high-quality and trustworthy.  I may try them again at some point, but I'm kind of spooked about it now.  I'll post a follow-up with any more information I get from them.