Thanks Bonkers!  I will read this --

Don't know what type of bones either because Teresa was only allowed to say what was written in the formal report, of course.  Originally Karalyn fron QC said she thought fish bones based on my photo, but that was not validated in their statement.

I agree that if the food is deboned to begin with, then how & why do the bones even make it to the grinding/screening part of the process?  Although in my earlier phone conversations, they did say that ground up bones provide calcium....I haven't figured out my next move yet, but I definitely would like to pursue this further.  Only thing I do know for sure is that I will not go back to solely feeding Wellness.

I got a call from Teresa, Consumer Affairs at Wellpet with a formal response.  She read to me over the phone, the written response back from Wellness Quality (& probably Legal as well) -- so here goes:

- They confirmed bones in the food samples measuring 2 - 4mm, and that the bones and the amount of bones were not typical & more than normal
- Sometimes bones can pass through the grinders and screens
- The size of the bones were small enough to be considered non-harmful/ would not cause harm to your pets (in their opinion)

I asked if I would be getting a copy in writing -- answer "no" -- so I made sure to take notes & made her repeat what she said.  Then I read everything back to her & she confirmed that I heard her correctly.  She said she would be calling my pet store with the same response.

So I asked her the following questions: What is being done to correct this? What will Wellpet do to ensure it does't continue? What happens now? Can I expect to receive further updates?  Will I get a response fron Karalyn, QC, since I had sent her an e-mail last week & heard nothing back?

Her responses: No further updates & nothing in writing; They will be reviewing their internal manufacturing processes to see where they can improve; She was surprised I didn't get a response from Karalyn.

Although I am not surprised, I am disappointed -- I felt like I was being written off and that this won't go anywhere.  I'm not sure what else I expected, but I feel like I need to do more.  Any insights or suggestions from anyone?

While my cats were not harmed & probably would not be if they ate a few pieces, no one knows for sure.  Plus the food claims to be "deboned" on the package.  Does anyone know what the Regulations &/ or Quality standards are?  What agency regulates pet food?  Is this worth pursuing further?

Thanks!

GG,

My vet said the same -- they shouldn't be sticking out or that sharp.  And while they would not likely be hurt if they accidently ate a piece or two, I wouldn't take the chance & knowingly feed it.  Plus I would argue that these pieces seem harder than a natural fresh bone -- they are as hard as a tooth or solid piece of plastic, which may be due to processing?  And the food claims to be "deboned" -- not sure what the Regulations are on this.  I'd estimate the bag I found was about 30% bad.

PS -- I sent an e-mail Friday morning to follow up with QC on the issue.  No response yet, but hopefully in the next day or so.

No word yet & the store hasn't heard anything yet either.  If I don't hear anything by Friday, I will call them to get an update.

B

[They did find more defective bags]

Important updates:

1. Spoke to Karalyn, Director QC yesterday and I felt it went well.  She basically restated what Perseus quoted in the earlier post, and added (and I'm paraphrasing) the following -- they aim for at least 99% quality; The photo I posted would not be acceptable by their standards; the food is scanned and also physically inspected/ spot-checked every 15 minutes; they are going to go back and check the exact lot & records (they can determine where & at what time a batch was made -- the letter/number code after the exp. date determines the manufacturing facility); they work closely with Vets to ensure the quality & safety of their food; she was definititely concerned and wanted to reassure me that they are addressing this; She also mentioned that there has been more "activity" regarding this issue lately -- they are not sure if it is because people are indeed finding more & unacceptable amounts of bone, or if it is due to the recent "You Tube" video, and that people are looking for issues -- in other words, are people finding a few pieces in a bag or several, and are they acceptable or not by quality standards?  Is someone pulling 1 or 2 pieces from several different bags & claiming they are from the same bag? (Which is what they suspect the guy in the video may have done).  She said it is somewhat "subjective" in what people think may be an issue or unacceptable which is why she needs the samples.  I reassured her that all my samples are from the same bag, and the Pet Store and the Wellness Rep saw it for themselves -- besides, the number of bad pieces is one issue, but the actual pieces, regardless of how many, is its own issue.  Plus the Salmon looks different from the Indoor & Core, and my store keeps records of customer purchases.  (FYI, I have asked the store to give me the original bag back so I can hold onto it until this is resolved...just in case.)  Karalyn also mentioned that she heard from their PR person, so word must be getting around.  I felt confident after speaking with her that they are doing all they can at this point.

2. I spoke with my Pet Store today -- The Wellness Rep came in & they opened several more bags of food.  The store is returning all the dry cat food at all locations and having Wellness replace it -- opened bags that were OK are being donated to shelters.  The Rep acted a bit strangely according to the staff, but he loaded up his vehicle and took it all back.  They did find more defective bags.  The Kitten, Healthy Weight/ Lite, & Chicken were all fine.  The following was found defective and they will be sending samples of these to Wellness:

- Salmon 12lb.: UPC 0 76344-08831 8 -- exp. 29-MAY-2009 Z21012
- Indoor 2lb.: UPC 0 76344-08845 5 -- exp. 31-OCT-09 Z3
- Core 5lb.: UPC 0 76344-08844 8 -- exp. SEP-29-2009-G 08:23

I will call Karalyn tomorrow to let her know this new information and that they are also sending samples of these back, so she knows they are coming & can start the investigation.  The store did receive their envelopes from Wellness today, so they should be mailing everything tomorrow.  From PA to NJ should only take a day or two.  Stay tuned...

B

Thank you, Perseus!

I will reach out to Karalyn today.  Also, my pet store has asked Wellness to replace all of their dry food and the local Wellness Rep has a meeting with them Thursday to see the samples and address the issue from his end.

I will continue to post as I learn more information.

Betsy

I'm glad that Wellness has been so responsive and so quickly.  Thanks, Perseus, for sending the e-mail & photos!  I hope everyone is having a great weekend --

Kindest Regards,
Betsy

Hi, Perseus!

You are correct -- It is the "Complete Health – Salmon, Salmon Meal & Deboned Turkey Recipe". 

Let me know if there is any other info you need.

PS/ FYI -- Just in case, the reference # I was given on the phone by WellPet - #97579

Thanks for helping with this!
B

Just got a follow up call from OMH/Wellness (spoke to Teresa from "Well Pet").  She said that they haven't gotten any other reports of this & that the fish flavors sometimes get bone fragments but shouldn't be large.  Once she receives the samples she will forward to QA, and then she will call both the store and me back with the outcome.  Whole process should take about 2 weeks.

In the meantime my store recommended 'California Natural' as a similar product and high-quality.  Has anyone tried this brand???  I will continue to feed the Wellness canned and Indoor dry, but I may try to mix in some of the CN brand as an alternative for now.

My picture of the Wellness Dry Cat Food Salmon/turkey kibble is too big to attach here (over 500KB) -- so I posted it to our Facebook page (copy/ paste the below to browser & it should take you direct to the photo but only if you are a member of facebook).  If someone has a better way, please let me know, or else I am happy to e-mail it.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16469&id=1356825737&saved#/photo.php?pid=270855&id=1356825737

This is the clearest & closest shot I could get with my digital camera.  The loose bones were some that I had picked out of the pieces in my cats' dish and then the full pieces were pulled from the bag. 

I will keep posting as I get new info & will call the store tomorrow to see how to get the lot#.

Thanks!
Betsy

Hi, all --

Thanks for the responses back & I have been working on this today and checking the internet, but can't find much out there on this issue

I did receive a call back from Wellness but wasn't home to receive it because I was at the pet store trying to address the issue.  They closed at 5pm EST but they left a message saying that they are calling me again tomorrow, and the person who left the message also did say that some small pieces of bone can be expected but they shouldn't be sticking out of the kibble. 

In the meantime, I had gone to my pet store (where they know me, since I'm a long time customer), and brought samples as well as the whole bag. The employees were shocked & said they had never seen anything like it, and had not received any other reports.  They were also easily able to pick out several pieces as a sample (you can visually see them & this paticular bag was loaded with them -- in some cases there were a few bones sticking out of one piece.  The employees even thought that some of the "bones" looked like 'nails' and were not fish bones.  They called Wellness directly and Wellness is sending them envelopes so that they can send back some samples to their QC.  They also told them that "bones" should not be sharp & sticking out of the kibble.

They also called the Sales Rep who covers this area (Southeast Pa) and he is going to go to the store & may also be calling me.  I left them the bag (they gave me a refund) and we opened some other bags in different flavors to check.  The Indoor Health had a few and the Core too, but only a few here & there -- the Salmon was by far the worst.  They told me that the Salmon is manufactured in a different location, and that Wellness was bought out a short time ago, but this bag had an expiration of Jan. 12th 2009 (I bought it Jan 6th, and yes, the store sold me an almost expired bag & I didn't catch it until I opened it now), so not sure when it was made.

I did keep samples for myself, plus I wrote down the UPC #76344-08830 -- Salmon 5lb bag.  I am trying to find out the lot#, but we couldn't find one on the bag.  I hope to hear from the girls at the store & Wellness tomorrow.  I will take pics of the pieces & post them as soon as I'm done sending this message.  I will be anxious to see what you all think.  Stay tuned...

Hi, all!

I'm new to this site and found it while seeking information --

I have been trying to find more information on bones in Wellness dry cat food -- particularly the Salmon flavored.  I have been buying Wellness, both wet & dry, for 7 years and my cats love it!  I've never had any problems until recently.  The bag I have now has kibble with sharp bones sticking right out and they are not fish bones and they do not crumble.  They are very hard and sharp and I have never experienced this before.  I also have some of the Indoor Health & Core dry, all of which is fine, and over the years have bought all the flavors with no issues.

I contacted the local pet store & they want me to bring the bag in plus I am bringing them samples which I pulled out.  I left a message for Wellness at the 800# and hopefully I'll get a response.  I am a concerned "mom" and a loyal Wellness customer and just looking to see if anyone has any recent information or experiences with this.

PS -- I had seen the dog video before and at the time thought the guy was nuts, but now I'm starting to wonder...  I know quality issues can happen from time to time in the manufacturing process.

Thx!!!