Interesting - I have just been and had a look at the updated Champion site and they have changed their wording on the use of BHA & BHT:

Champion’s ingredients and foods are never preserved with BHA/BHT or any other chemical preservative.

Champion never adds BHA or BHT (or any other chemical preservative) to our pet foods or ingredients, and all ingredients and foods are preserved with our proprietary blend of vitamin E with botanical extracts.

As BHA and BHT are typically present in pet food ingredient supply chains (for example, BHA and BHT are often present in the feed fed to chickens, turkey or duck) we work with our suppliers to ensure our ingredients enable Champion’s final product standards.

Champion’s BHA, BHT standard is set at true trace level not to exceed 5 ppm (parts per million) of BHA/BHT, which is 0.0005%, or one half of one thousandth of 1% – the lower limit of what most certified laboratories are able to detect or measure.

   

Jo
   
Jo

OK I'm confused is this another of those PFC recalls where they put a tiny, hard to find recall notice on their site and fail to let retails know to pull products that are making pets seriously ill/killing them? So we continue to have people not knowing about the recall buying the product and killing/maiming their pets by feeding it?

How the hell can our governments continue to let this happen?

Jo

And almost forgot what about their products containing BHA & BHT despite their claims that their food is free of synthetic antioxidants? This was not just an Australian issue - these antioxidants were in the food they were marketing in north America too. What has happened with that - was there a recall on the affected product? were there labels put on bags so people knew the product contained BHA & BHT despite the companies claims to the contrary. Are their products now free of BHA & BHT and if so from what date? which best before dates are actually safe to buy if you do not want to feed BHA & BHT?

Seems to me that Champion have gone very quiet on more than the death and illness they caused in Australia.

Jo

Any news yet?

Michigan state have a wonderful toxicology lab if you want to do some testing of your own. This is where we sent blood and food samples from the Orijen issues we had in Australia.

http://animalhealth.msu.edu/

Hope you hear something soon.

Jo

Again it is about no truth in labelling and the multinationals bullying govt in to accepting what they want and the consumers right to an informed decision being no where on the priority list for either the multinationals or govts.

If you want to add synthetic or contaminated additives to foodstuffs fine do so but you should not be allowed to call it certified organic. Consumers should have the right to make an informed decision about what standard of food they want to bring into their home. If you want to grow and use GM fine, just tell me which products contain it so I do not have to buy them, you think irradiation is safe and negates the need for hygiene in the production line fine just put it on the label so I can choose not to buy it, you want to water down milk to "make it consistant" right oh you do that just put on the label what you have watered it down with and how much of that product you have added.

The reason companies do not want to label their products with what is actually in them or the process they have used is because they know consumers will choose not to buy these products. The reasons govts let this continue to happen is because they listen to the lobbyists hired by these companies because they get donations from them and/or are scared of them turning their money (and that means power) against them individually. The reason they don't give a rats about what we, the voter, thinks is because they are under the impression we are too dumb to know whats good for us - after all they read the information the lobbyist gave to them and that one sided view supported the line they are taking.

Following the poisoning of our cats in Australia not once but twice and after extensive lobbying (thankfully on this second occasion the press, vets and the RSPCA came on board and assisted affected cat owners) the govt has finally acknowledged that irradiation is not a safe treatment for cat food. Whilst this is a step in the right direction it is still a long way short of ensuring the food we feed is safe. Champion foods Orijen brand also claimed to be free of synthetic antioxidants - this was found to be a false claim when food was tested by affected Orijen owners. What happens to companies that make false claims about their products - nothing as far as I can see. It is left up to consumers to warn other consumers, in the case of pet foods recalls are voluntry regardless of the number of animals they manage to kill/maim through their negligence.

This has to stop - govts have to start taking into consideration the welfare of their constituants not just the pocket books of their backers.

Jo

Rosella we were so very very sorry to hear of Gus's passing.

So easy for Champion to walk away from the desolation they have caused. Two cats that were recovering have collapsed and despite the best efforts of their vets have died after the cut off date of their fund. Will they be looking favourably at these costs? and what about all the other onging costs owners are facing - we still have 4 sick cats thanks to Champions negligence and lack of adequate labelling. Given what has happened to Hali and Gus we have no intention of trying to wean the other cats off their alternate medicines anytime soon. We may find they need to be on them for the rest of their lives.

Their indecent haste in removing all mention of the recall is seriously sickening. And it beggars belief that they can not be bothered reading applications to their compensation fund fully. They said they would assess each case independently on its merits - how can they be doing that if they don't even bother reading what is sent to them.

And what about the monies they promised they'd donate and the testing results they said they would release - that was Dec 2008 and its now July 2009!

Jo

And today yet another victim of Champion foods & Orijen.

Our darling Hali who has fought the effects of Orijen for 11 mths has lost the battle she so valiantly fought. Our sweet little cat who refused to give in finally faced a challenge her frail little body could not surmount. This is the second cat we have lost due to Orijen and I pray the last.

Champion food executives might want this to go away but it can not whilst ever our cats are sick and still dying despite months of treatment and significant recovery. The compassion fund closed 31st May - treatment and expenses for our cats certainly did not stop then and will not be stopping anytime in the forseeable future. So easy for Champion to walk away and leave us to deal with the consequences of their negligence.

Jo

"Wage never ending war on the pet food industry"

I would have thought if there was a war it was started by the Pet Food Industry who through their lack of due diligence supply foods to our pets that are toxic!!!! And kill and maim our furry companions. Not once but over and over if you look at all the incidents that have occurred and keep occurring.

As an Australian whose cats are affected by Champion foods I can assure you I wish this was all over - but it clearly is not going to be anytime soon.

I also think that given what has happened to our cats and what we have found in our research we have a duty to warn other people that irradiation is being done without consumers being aware of it - to pet food and human food alike - and not just in Australia.

Taz you talk about being constantly vigilant I wish you well! Because companies do not have to have accurate labels and do not have to tell you how they treat product so good luck with your constant vigilance as no amount of research will tell you what is really happening until it all hits the fan. Unless you have a magic wand and a hell of a lot of luck on your side constant vigilance will not protect you.

We didn't feed Orijen with out first hand reports from pet owners who had been feeding the product successfully for years, without investigating, and even then we only introduced it as a very small portion of our cats diet. And we still have a cat dead and 5 others with this horrid syndrome after feeding Orijen. A simple label placed on Orijen stating it contained BHA & BHT &/or had been irradiated would have prevented it entering our home and poisoning our cats.

Jo

Itchmo is up again for those that were looking for it, Off to try and find information on Gizmo.

Jo

A Nth American friend wrote to Orijen regarding what was happening to us and below is the response she received from Champion foods.

Poor J...... now has steam coming out her ears as she is no more a fool then the rest of us and and has read the CW and Itchmo forum threads  and is aware of what Champion company representatives have said on these forums.


Hello J.....,

Thank you for taking the time to write to us, and I would like to address the concerns you expressed in your email. 

On November 20, 2008, Champion Petfoods announced a voluntary recall of its ORIJEN Cat food brand sold in Australia.  The recall was restricted to AUSTRALIA ONLY and was issued in response to reports from the Australian veterinary community of cats showing symptoms of a neurological syndrome after consuming ORIJEN CAT food.

The recall was unique to Australia and did not affect any of the other 50 countries to which ORIJEN is exported. Champion Petfoods believes the Australian cases resulted from the high-level irradiation (exceeding 50kGY) applied to ORIJEN upon entering Australia. Champion Petfoods no longer exports or sells its ORIJEN pet foods in Australia.

We didn’t know our foods were to be irradiated – we only learned AFTER our products had entered the country and had already been irradiated. We only learned the ORIJEN was irradiated when our importer complained to us about the high cost they had been charged for the irradiation process.  When we learned of this we immediately contacted the Canadian Consulate in Sydney and asked them, on our behalf, to ask the Australian authorities why our foods were irradiated.  At this time we also began to investigate the affect of irradiation but found that it is generally recognized as safe.  It wasn’t until we began to experience problems (that only happened in Australia) that we began to research the irradiation issue more.  Even then, the impact of irradiation upon cat food is not a widely studied subject so it was difficult to reach any clear conclusions at the beginning of our study. It was only after extensive testing and consultation with experts that we were able to make conclusions regarding the negative effect of irradiation and how this impacted cats.  In a perfect world, our importer would have been aware and notified us of the irradiation process. We in turn would have studied its impact on our foods before a shipment ever reached Australia.

We do not nor have we every used any synthetic preservatives or antioxidants in ORIJEN, instead we use natural antioxidants such as rosemary extract, mixed tocopherols (forms of vitamin E) and citric acid. Everything that we use in our products are listed on the packages.

Regarding the cat owners that have be affected by the recall, we are helping pay their veterinary and non veterinary costs up to $2000 per cat.  There was a miss communication regarding the time that they had to have their applications in by.  It is May 31st not February 28th as the email first indicated to them, we have apologized for this error and the extra stress this has caused them.

We have been nothing but honest regarding this voluntary recall and we have posted any updates regarding this on our website on our home page.  www.championpetfood s.com.

I hope that I have addressed your concerns and please contact us again with any further questions or concerns.

Warm regards,

Diana Mick
Customer Service
Champion Petfoods Ltd

She posted Orijen'sresponse on a raggie forum we are both on and as everyone is not as well informed as Janice I responded - my response below:

Thanks J.....,
 
It's certainly interesting especially given what their company representatives have already stated on public forums - it would appear they are again being frugal with the truth.
 
A representative of their own company was the one that admitted that both BHA and BHT were found on testing in their food when I challenged him with his claims of no toxins found. They apparently did not add it - it was present in dried chicken they had used. Given their claims to use only fresh ingredients the use of dried chicken came as a surprise too.
 
He also stated:
 
“ In the study at MSU done on our foods, there were a few compounds discovered. The summary from the veterinary toxicologist at MSU was that they did not find any chemical compounds that are known to cause neurotoxicity.”
 
This statement does not say there were no toxins found just no neurotoxins - since they are yet to provide these results who knows what toxins were actually found in their food on testing.
 
The company representative was Clark Stride and he made these statements on the Itchmo forums way back in December.

Also Michelle Granger another Champion foods rep posted on cat world on Dec 1st - introducing herself post #240 & stating they were aware their food was irradiated #242

http://www.cat- world.com. au/forums/ index.php? showtopic= 87540&st=240
 
Also worth noting on the Cat World thread is post #279 which asks why the company press release states the company did not know about the irradiation and Michelle's answer at post #282 and again this was way back on Dec 2nd. Yet again the company telling australians one thing and having a second story ready for their Nth American consumers which puts them in a so much better light.
 
So why over 2 mths later are they still stating they didn't know to concerned Nth Americans and why has their press release not been corrected?
 
Jo (not at all surprised that they continue to try and make this someone else's fault - no doubt the person that read the import permit, arranged the export documentation, signed the paperwork to allow the irradiation to occur and paid for the treatment and arranged the goods to be taken to and picked up from the treatment facility. Or are they expecting us to believe this was all done magically without a company representative knowing about it, arranging and signing documentation and paying for it!)[/quote]

I remember saying to my vet once you have seen a cat affected by eating Orijen it is something you will always remember.

Coontuffy so sorry for what happened to Gizmo - I know what it was like here when it first started to happen no one knew what was happening and we were testing and trying to find out what was happening to our cats. We had some of the earlier affected cats and when we lost our first cat - it appeared an isolated incident of renal failure and despite being strange we did not do an autopsy on Rob because our vets could not see we would gain anything and were not concerned about our other cats. Two weeks later we started having cats showing wobbley walking and paralyse. If we had only known earlier what was happening. And I don't blame our vets they were on the same horrid learning curve we were on.

When did you lose Gizmo and how long had he been on Orijen? sorry just trying to get a time line on what happened. Also given Peter whatshis name's comments about turning around a shipment it does give me grave concerns about what happened with that product after it left the factory and where it ended up?

Hugs

Jo

Will certainly let you know what happens.

Jo

My vet got back to me she said to say thank you for the hyperbaric information and she is doing more research.

Jo

Thank you all so much for what you are doing - it is so much appreciated.

I have forwarded the information onto my vet about the Hyperbaric treatment - thank you for that research too.

Kitties seem to be doing a bit better over the last few days and I think it is to do with the cooler temperatures which we are all very grateful of - unfortunately they are suppose to be starting to climb again soon. Still a lot of summer to go.

Jo

Pretty bloody compassionate of them when we are in the middle of a major disaster - even those of us not affected by fires still have to deal with the death of friends and families and we still don't even know whether they are safe or not in some cases. One of the vets who has been dealing with affected cats has lost her husband and all her own animals to the flames. What the hell are these people thinking. Yet again Orijen seem to think its OK to palm off responsibility to a third party when it comes to Australian cats that are affected by their total lack of due diligence and totally inadequate labelling.
 
I did not receive one of these emails and have been dealing with a major medical crisis with my disabled husband so have only just heard about this so have emailed Orijen to ask what is going on!!!!!
 
I am so disgusted with them I can not begin to describe how this has made me feel. Firstly they kill and disable our cats/then they offer a pathetic amount that goes not where near covering actual costs and have the gall to call it a compassion fund when it should be a compensation fund/and then with no notice they shorten up the date on this fund by three month and send very abrupt/rude emails to people who are only in this situation due to Orijen's commercial decisions! And I note this does not appear on the Champion website as they no doubt don't want their Nth American consumers knowing about their heartless actions.

Jo