Contributed by Col. Potter Nutrition Volunteers
October 8, 2010 Letter from Blue Buffalo
Dear Fellow Pet Parent,
At Blue Buffalo, nothing is more important than the health and well being of our dogs and cats, so it’s consistent with this guiding principle that we are voluntarily recalling specific production runs of our Wilderness Chicken-Dog, Basics Salmon-Dog and Large Breed Adult Dog products, as we have reason to believe that the products from these runs may contain a higher level of Vitamin D than is called for in our product specifications.
We came to this conclusion after discovering that our ingredient supplier had made a scheduling error and produced a Vitamin D supplement immediately prior to preparing the ingredients for the BLUE products that are in question. We believe that some of the Vitamin D supplement may have been carried over into our products, resulting in more Vitamin D than is called for in our formulas.
While the potential of increased Vitamin D presents no serious health risk, and any negative reaction to these products has been confined to a very small segment of the canine population who appear to be sensitive to higher levels of Vitamin D, we have a zero tolerance for any product that does not meet our specifications. I think you’ll agree that our decision to withdraw these specific products is simply the right thing to do.
From a next steps standpoint, all products with the specific manufacturing dates in question will be removed from retailer’s shelves. If you have any products with the codes shown below you should stop feeding them immediately.You may call Blue Buffalo at1-877-523-9114 to arrange for return of the product and reimbursement.
These are the ONLY code dates being recalled:
Product
Bag Size
Best Used By Dates
BLUE Wilderness Chicken (Dog)
4.5 lb., 11 lb., 24lb.
JUL1211B, JUL1311B, JUL2611Z, JUL2711Z, JUL2811Z
BLUE Basics Salmon (Dog)
11 lb., 24 lb.
AUG2111B, AUG2211B
BLUE Large Breed Adult Chicken
30 lb.
SEP 22 11 P, SEP 23 11 P, OCT 26 11 P
This Vitamin D issue does not effect any other code dates of these products or any other Blue Buffalo dog or cat foods. In addition, new bags of Wilderness Chicken, Basics Salmon and Large Breed Adult Chicken will be available on the shelves so you can continue to feed BLUE with complete confidence.
If your dog has shown any adverse reaction to the recalled products, have him checked by your veterinarian. Typical symptoms might include excessive water intake and/or excessive urination, and in some cases vomiting. Blue Buffalo will reimburse any veterinary or testing expenses related to illness caused by these products.
As Blue Buffalo is a family founded and run company, I am personally very upset about this and apologize for any discomfort or inconvenience that this situation has caused you or your pet family members. Product quality and safety have been, and always will be our top priority, and we’ve taken some serious corrective action to ensure that this type of human error will never happen again.
Sincerely,
Bill Bishop
Note from Col. Potter's Nutrition Volunteers: I want to admit that I don't believe everything I read from the Truth About Pet Food website. But this is something to keep in your mind. I know we have a lot of Blue Buffalo feeders so you should know what's going on. The biggest thing to take away from this is that if your dog starts acting lethargic and eating, drinking, or peeing more or less than usual....it's a BIG warning sign. Stop feeding whatever you've been feeding and switch to a different brand, at least temporarily. Or feed chicken with a small amount of rice or oatmeal added, hard cooked eggs, canned mackerel, cottage cheese, etc. until you feel comfortable with your dog's state of health. You can use inexpensive frozen chubs of ground turkey or ground beef by simmering them in water until thoroughly cooked and then pouring meat and cooking water through a sieve to allow most of the fat to be removed along with the water. You can rinse more fat off by pouring hot water over the meat remaining in the sieve. If everything goes well then you can re-try the food your dog was eating. If things go badly again I would get rid of that food permanently...at least that bag of it.
You'll have to click on this link to get the whole story as it is too long to post here in it's entirety.
In view of the current issue with Blue Buffalo 's BLUE Wilderness Chicken,BLUE Basics Salmon,BLUE Large Breed Adult Chicken Col. Potter has recommended that foster families that are feeding one of these varieties stop now and feed something else for the time being. If they are feeding a different variety of BB by all means finish the bag but please don't buy any more BB until we see how this is going to play out. The official letter from Blue Buffalo above lists the production dates of the foods in question.
October 8, 2010 Letter from Blue Buffalo
Dear Fellow Pet Parent,
At Blue Buffalo, nothing is more important than the health and well being of our dogs and cats, so it’s consistent with this guiding principle that we are voluntarily recalling specific production runs of our Wilderness Chicken-Dog, Basics Salmon-Dog and Large Breed Adult Dog products, as we have reason to believe that the products from these runs may contain a higher level of Vitamin D than is called for in our product specifications.
We came to this conclusion after discovering that our ingredient supplier had made a scheduling error and produced a Vitamin D supplement immediately prior to preparing the ingredients for the BLUE products that are in question. We believe that some of the Vitamin D supplement may have been carried over into our products, resulting in more Vitamin D than is called for in our formulas.
While the potential of increased Vitamin D presents no serious health risk, and any negative reaction to these products has been confined to a very small segment of the canine population who appear to be sensitive to higher levels of Vitamin D, we have a zero tolerance for any product that does not meet our specifications. I think you’ll agree that our decision to withdraw these specific products is simply the right thing to do.
From a next steps standpoint, all products with the specific manufacturing dates in question will be removed from retailer’s shelves. If you have any products with the codes shown below you should stop feeding them immediately.You may call Blue Buffalo at1-877-523-9114 to arrange for return of the product and reimbursement.
These are the ONLY code dates being recalled:
Product
Bag Size
Best Used By Dates
BLUE Wilderness Chicken (Dog)
4.5 lb., 11 lb., 24lb.
JUL1211B, JUL1311B, JUL2611Z, JUL2711Z, JUL2811Z
BLUE Basics Salmon (Dog)
11 lb., 24 lb.
AUG2111B, AUG2211B
BLUE Large Breed Adult Chicken
30 lb.
SEP 22 11 P, SEP 23 11 P, OCT 26 11 P
This Vitamin D issue does not effect any other code dates of these products or any other Blue Buffalo dog or cat foods. In addition, new bags of Wilderness Chicken, Basics Salmon and Large Breed Adult Chicken will be available on the shelves so you can continue to feed BLUE with complete confidence.
If your dog has shown any adverse reaction to the recalled products, have him checked by your veterinarian. Typical symptoms might include excessive water intake and/or excessive urination, and in some cases vomiting. Blue Buffalo will reimburse any veterinary or testing expenses related to illness caused by these products.
As Blue Buffalo is a family founded and run company, I am personally very upset about this and apologize for any discomfort or inconvenience that this situation has caused you or your pet family members. Product quality and safety have been, and always will be our top priority, and we’ve taken some serious corrective action to ensure that this type of human error will never happen again.
Sincerely,
Bill Bishop
Note from Col. Potter's Nutrition Volunteers: I want to admit that I don't believe everything I read from the Truth About Pet Food website. But this is something to keep in your mind. I know we have a lot of Blue Buffalo feeders so you should know what's going on. The biggest thing to take away from this is that if your dog starts acting lethargic and eating, drinking, or peeing more or less than usual....it's a BIG warning sign. Stop feeding whatever you've been feeding and switch to a different brand, at least temporarily. Or feed chicken with a small amount of rice or oatmeal added, hard cooked eggs, canned mackerel, cottage cheese, etc. until you feel comfortable with your dog's state of health. You can use inexpensive frozen chubs of ground turkey or ground beef by simmering them in water until thoroughly cooked and then pouring meat and cooking water through a sieve to allow most of the fat to be removed along with the water. You can rinse more fat off by pouring hot water over the meat remaining in the sieve. If everything goes well then you can re-try the food your dog was eating. If things go badly again I would get rid of that food permanently...at least that bag of it.
You'll have to click on this link to get the whole story as it is too long to post here in it's entirety.
In view of the current issue with Blue Buffalo 's BLUE Wilderness Chicken,BLUE Basics Salmon,BLUE Large Breed Adult Chicken Col. Potter has recommended that foster families that are feeding one of these varieties stop now and feed something else for the time being. If they are feeding a different variety of BB by all means finish the bag but please don't buy any more BB until we see how this is going to play out. The official letter from Blue Buffalo above lists the production dates of the foods in question.
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