Monday, May 19, 2008

Hello Purina? Anyone Minding the Store?

When Purina declined to go public with their aflatoxin contaminated livestock feed recall in March, they figured out (by May) that didn't look so good. So they tossed up a fancy worded statement on their website. Well Purina, the fact that your company is not answering queries or providing information to reassure dog and cat owners that Purina pet food is safe also doesn't look so good. Is it too much to ask to at least put up a response on your website stating that pet owners don't have to worry because the aflatoxin contaminated mystery ingredient in your livestock feeds did NOT make it into your dog and cat foods? How about naming the supplier of the mystery ingredient so people who feed other brands can ask those companies if they buy from that supplier? (Especially given that it was your own statement which cast doubt on the safety of products made by other companies who bought from your supplier.) Or even naming the ingredient so pet owners can choose to buy food without that ingredient in it if they want? Anything?

Pet owners may recall that Purina dog foods have been called into question regarding aflatoxin contamination as recently as last year.

Referencing Land O'Lakes spokesperson Lydia Botham, this article at thehorse.com states:
"Botham said the aflatoxin was discovered through routine product testing performed by a state regulatory agency, with results confirmed by company testing." So if the state agency hadn't caught the aflatoxin, the company may never have "confirmed" it? (Note: Purina's updated statement on their site says, "In mid-February our own incoming ingredient testing and routine state regulatory testing simultaneously indicated aflatoxin above FDA action levels in certain feeds..." which sounds rather different from Botham's earlier statement.) If in fact the state agency caught it first, then this bit: "Botham said there have not been any confirmed health complaints due to aflatoxins related to the current recall of feed." is a horse of a different color, wouldn't you say? Maybe a state agency hasn't forced Purina to be in a position to confirm any health complaints - yet. I don't know. I'm speculating. Because right now, that's about all I can do unless Purina decides to speak up.

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