I think I'm going to stick with Blue Buffalo cat foods

[jenny]

Cellulose is wood fiber - not a good filler.  I have an email from Blue saying they did get rid of the Menadione last year - I told them they might have got better PR if they updated their web page sooner

[Caylynn]

Cellulose is found in *all* plants, not just woods.  It is an essential component of plant cell walls.  It is very high in fibre.

[jenny]

Yes - I actually should have said 'woody' not wood.  My point really was that it is a cheap filler and that there are better choices.

[rchow]

I have recently switched to Blue Buffalo Indoor Dry cat formula before Blue Buffalo had the recall on their kitten formula.  I bought a small bag of the Indoor dry formula to see if my cats would like them.  They love it.  My problem now is if I trust that the Blue Buffalo Indoor Dry cat formula is safe to feed. 

Pet parents out there, are you guys continuing to use Blue Buffalo's other dry formula? Or discontinuing the use?

[MissLori]

I'm fine with their other foods as long as they don't have any rice protien or glutens in them (the Hairball formula does, but Adult and Indoor do not.) Having said that though, my cats don't love it as much as they did at first so I think I am switching them to Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul.

[garypen]

Unfortunately, Diamond has their own issues.

[Christi]

I am using Blue Buffalo dry and wet, and see no reason to change.  It doesn't make sense to bail on a company just because one of their products was recalled when the product you are using doesn't even have the problem ingredient in it.

Blue doesn't use wheat, corn, soy and only uses rice protein in four of their products.  I don't see how that can possibly be a concern.    Unlike other companies, they turned their testing around in 24 hours, recalled their food immediately and are more than willing to talk with customers on the phone.  They also took the precaution of testing all other rice protein products even though they were from other suppliers just in case this was more widespread than anyone could know.

They do not use menadione in their food, and have not since October 2006.  They have tried to stress this to folks but can only do so  much when folks don't care to believe them.  As for their website, they did not have menadione listed in their ingredients on their website - I was researching their food weeks ago and went thru their ingredients and it was not there, and I have the printouts to prove it.  So, they did not change their site.

It can do an animal more harm than good to keep jumping from food to food just because you are afraid of what could be. 

[Christi]

As for the discrepancy in their labeling, I did ask them about this.  They received an okay from the FDA to use up the labeling they had even though it still contained menadione.

When I asked them why they removed it, she explained that they had numerous phone calls from folks who were concerned about it being there to begin with and decided that it wasn't worth it to continue using it, especially since they were using an incredibly small amount in their food.

They have no reason to lie, it is not illegal to use menadione nor does it seem to keep to many folks from buying pet food that contains it.  I have done extensive research on this product and have spoken with my vet clinic as well.  Both have told me the same thing - it takes a much higher dose of menadione on a regular basis to be a problem than what it contained in pet food.

[garypen]

FYI - Menadione was definitely listed, without a shadow of a doubt, on their website for their canned cat food products up until very recently, stopping at the most a couple of weeks ago, probably less. I know this because I personally checked, and definitely saw it. I didn't print anything out, as it didn't occur to me I'd have to prove anything to anybody.

That being said, they do seem like a good company. They answered my emails prmptly. My cats loved their canned food. But, they didn't care for the dry, and wouldn't eat those stupid "lifesource bits". I understand the reasoning behind cold-processing the vitamin/mineral content into a seperate kibble, so as not to destroy any of the nutritional value. But, if it results in cats not eating the most nutritious part of the food, it defeats the purpose. And, I know from reading various reviews of their dry food, my cats are not the only ones not eating the lifesource bits.

If they had eaten the dry, I'd probably be using Blue wet and dry right now, as PetSmart is much more convenient to me than the feed store where I get their current foods. Also, my neice works for Blue Buffalo. So, I certainly have nothing against them.

The issue with being able to use outdated labels is an industry problem, and the FDA needs to outlaw that practice. It gives companies the right to put whatever they want in their foods, without letting the customers know. A perfect example is the Natural Balance formulas that were only supposed to contain meat and vegetables, yet they were using rice protein powder!!! That is ridiculous.

[Cindy Nevarez]

I completely agree. When I first learned about these loose labeling practices, I was completely floored.

Somebody posted an idea awhile back about putting stickers on the products to reflect a change in ingredients. I think that's the perfect solution...after all that's what they do with human food. They HAVE to do it with human food. It's pretty clear now that there's not a whole lot of distance between the pet food and human food anymore.

[Babs]

I believe BB's canned food is made by American Nutrition!
The same company which  adulterated the canned food formula for Natural Balance foods, according to NB.  According to NB AMI put (I think it was the contaminate rice protein into their formula without permission)  NB is suing AMI, I believe.

In any case, I would feel uncomfortable feeding any canned food made by American Nutrition.

I met a rep from BB in Petsmart, and he said they had cancelled their contract with AMI because of the Natural Bal situation.
You would have to call and verify that fact with Blue Buffalo. 
Sooo, I am still looking for a safe canned food for my cats.

[garypen]

That's pretty common knowledge. They had to drop their contract with them a few weeks ago. Of course, what is the alternative for Blue now? Menu Foods Income Fund? (That name is so appetizing, isn't it?) Maybe they'll go with Evangers or Merrick. But, personally, I don't care for inconsistency of Evangers-made canned foods. But, that's me. A lot of people love Evangers and Felidae.

[jenny]

I noticed this a few days ago on their web page - dated May 2. 

Dear Pet Parents,

As many of you know, we have removed all BLUE and Spa Select canned foods and BLUE Health Bars from store shelves as a precautionary measure because our manufacturer was adding rice protein concentrate to our canned formulas without our knowledge or approval. While there is no evidence that the ingredients in our BLUE Health Bars were altered, we felt it was prudent to include them in this recall, as we clearly can't trust this manufacturer to produce our formulas as directed.

No BLUE or Spa Select dry foods are part of this recall. They have been tested for melamine and are safe for your pet to consume.

While removing all of our canned foods and biscuits from the retail market may seem to some as a major over-reaction, The Blue Buffalo Company was founded on the principle of providing the highest quality and most nutritious pet foods available to our pet parents. Anything less is not acceptable.

We are taking steps to identify a new manufacturer-a company that will meet the standards of excellence that our brand is known for and that pet parents have come to expect from BLUE. As of today, we have identified two family-owned companies who have the potential to be excellent long-term partners and we will keep you up to date on our progress via the BLUE News section of our website.

Again, none of our BLUE dry dog or Spa Select dry cat foods are involved in this recall. Our dry food manufacturer is one who shares our value system, and all BLUE and Spa Select dry foods currently on retailer shelves are safe for consumption by your pets.

We want to thank our loyal pet parents who have stood by us during these extraordinary times, and we pledge to you that we will continue to do the right thing for our beloved cats and dogs.

[garypen]

Sounds like Merrick and Evangers, doesn't it?

[jenny]

That is what I thought too.  I never tried their food previously.  Would be interesting to see if they went with Evanger's if it took on the Evanger's look since it sounds like a lot of the products they make look similar.