# truth about pet food



## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

Has anyone seen the article ,today on the purnia plant,there are pictures .


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Yes, I did. I get her emails. Certainly food for thought. It's scary how little control there is in the pet food industry. Dr. Marion Nestle has some very good books with lots of insight.


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## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

It does seem concerning, i wish there were better regulations on pet food.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

The comments below the blog are interesting. I'd like to hear Purina's explanation of these photos.


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

Could someone please link me to these photos? I have not seen them...

ETA- I found them for those who are interested in seeing http://truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/purinas-inedible-animal-food.html


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

The third photo is clearly a different truck than the first two. What are they trying to pull?


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

tippykayak said:


> The third photo is clearly a different truck than the first two. What are they trying to pull?


Looks like the same truck to me.


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## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

I have looked at this, it looks the same to me, just a close up,is anything i see different.


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

Not to go off topic since its Purina related but maggots anyone?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hRVXN-amO0

Pretty gross if you ask me and even grosser that Purina took it so lightly


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## Zombo (Nov 2, 2010)

It is possible that it is the same truck; however, it is in a different location. The first two pictures show several rows of tanker trucks with trees behind them. The last picture is on a divided highway and only shows the last part of the truck. 

I'd want more answers and fact-checking before I took action on something like this, assuming I was feeding Purina.  YMMV.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

The location is clearly different, and the mudflaps on the third photo are dark gray, while they are clearly very light in the first two photos.

In the first two photos, the truck is on the other side of a fence. In the third photo, you can see the clear reflection of a big empty parking lot, no fence. So the photographer cannot be standing on the inside of the fence taking the photo. The other trucks are also not in the third photo.

It's a different truck in a different place. So why lie about either unless you have an agenda?

What if the truck is for material being _removed_ from the facility?


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## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

I see what you mean now, i hope that is addressed by susan.


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

I just posted on the PPP page since I DO feed Purina. 

One thought--we're assuming the tankers BROUGHT things into the plant, perhaps they're taking stuff OUT.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

If you scroll down in the comments the blog author has an explanation of why these trucks would not be taking things out; however, she bases it on her review of the Federal Code--that is difficult for a lawyer to do, unless they practice in regulatory law in that particular area, so unless she has a law degree I don't give her opinion much credence. JMO.


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

Yet another reason to never buy Nestle Purina again! At least for me!


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

Or the tanker truck outside the gates was taken as it was driving down to the road to the plant...then there was some already inside.


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## crazy daisy (Jul 3, 2011)

just to play devil's advocate...

"Inedible" for humans? Hence allocated for animal food?


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

That was how I interpreted it, too.
*sigh* 
here we go again with the bash the big dog food companies threads. The person who produces the "the truth about pet food" website makes money off it, and therefore has an agenda. 
Don't argue politics, religion, or dog food with people. It just causes hard feelings.
To be honest, and you can call me a bad dog mom if you want, I don't particularly care WHAT Purina puts in their food. Tiny is 15-1/2 and still going strong, Toby was 14. Both ate/eat Pro Plan. A lot of very, very old dogs I board eat Purina products. Whatever they are putting in there, it seems to work, which is ultimately all I care about.



crazy daisy said:


> just to play devil's advocate...
> 
> "Inedible" for humans? Hence allocated for animal food?


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

Anyone should care what gets put into their dogs food....


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

If you're going to break FDA regulations (and according to what the article has quoted from the FDA website, it would be illegal to put material marked "inedible" in dog food), you don't do it with a truck with a huge label on the side. You, at the very least, do it in an unmarked truck.

This is a classic hit piece by a website that does little else than write hit pieces about the pet food industry. There are certainly legitimate criticisms to be made of these companies, but that website is so dead set on pushing the agenda that any legitimate criticism gets lost in a sea of half-truths, assumptions, and outright deceptions.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

People should care a lot more about the results they get from feeding the food, rather than the marketing hoopla about what goes into the food itself, and I won't be guilted into feeling any differently by anyone.
Dogs would do better on a diet of ground up insects, as long as the right micronutrients are added, than they would on a diet of pure filet mignon with no additives, just to make a silly example.
Feed whatever works for your own dogs. Period. I don't plan to eat their food, so I don't really care whether or not the ingredients are human grade. As I said, the results I've had speak for themselves. If the food I feed were all that bad, I doubt I'd have dogs living many years past the normal life expectancy.



A1Malinois said:


> Anyone should care what gets put into their dogs food....


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

We all care what goes in, but some of us care more about results, and some of us care more about the way ingredients are designated.


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## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

I do care what goes in to dog food, but i posted this because, i thought this site could be trusted, if this is not the case, shame on her.


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## AlanK (Jun 28, 2008)

Who is to say whatever is in the tankers is going into Dog food. Purina makes a wide variety of cows for many types of animals.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

AlanK said:


> Who is to say whatever is in the tankers is going into Dog food. Purina makes a wide variety of cows for many types of animals.


Who's to say it's not _leaving_ the plant? There is certainly leftover organic matter that doesn't go into the food.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I really think a hit piece like the ones they publish over there really distract from the things that pet food manufacturers really could be doing better.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

AlanK said:


> Who is to say whatever is in the tankers is going into Dog food. Purina makes a wide variety of *cows* for many types of animals.


Heehee

Seriously, though, my dad did a lot of work with laboratory animals just prior to and during world war II. They fed them Purina chows. Purina made (makes?) monkey chow, rat chow, all kinds of things. They sent my dad a calendar every year featuring their more unusual chows.


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## AlanK (Jun 28, 2008)

AlanK said:


> Who is to say whatever is in the tankers is going into Dog food. Purina makes a wide variety of *cow*s for many types of animals.


haha I meant chows.:doh:


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

tippykayak said:


> Who's to say it's not _leaving_ the plant? There is certainly leftover organic matter that doesn't go into the food.


Apparently some readers questioned the author's understanding and opinion that these were materials going into the plants, not out. See below. Unless this author is a regulatory lawyer working in this particular area of the law, I doubt seriously she has a good understanding of the Code....it's convoluted and they pay lawyers good money to research these things full time! I feel this blog entry is sensationalist and irresponsible without further proof. 



> Could it be that these trucks are there to carry waste out of the plant?
> Reply to this Comment
> #4
> Susan Thixton
> ...


Purina's Inedible Animal Food


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Dallas Gold said:


> Apparently some readers questioned the author's understanding and opinion that these were materials going into the plants, not out. See below. Unless this author is a regulatory lawyer working in this particular area of the law, I doubt seriously she has a good understanding of the Code....it's convoluted and they pay lawyers good money to research these things full time! I feel this blog entry is sensationalist and irresponsible without further proof.
> 
> 
> Purina's Inedible Animal Food


Yeah. They're just assuming that it's going in because that fits their preconception about Purina. There's nothing in the stuff they cited that says that the inedible truck is only a one-way truck.


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## Otter (Feb 23, 2011)

FWIW, I have been in many of the manufacturing facilities in the US of one of the worlds largest pet food manufactures. All of the people I have met, from workers on the floor, to middle and upper management, go to extreme measures to ensure quality product goes out the door and on to store shelves.

They have to. They can't afford to be sued by pet owners.

The process of making pet food is pretty amazing really. There are many, and redundant, quality control checks all along the process too - at least where I was.

I was only ever in plants that produced dry products (not canned), but I was always impressed with the plants I was in.

We are pretty particular about the care of our Goldens.
We feed this stuff (manufactured pet food) to them.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

I don't know what plants you were in, but the FDA report on the Diamond SC plant was absolutely shockingly disgusting..... a total lack of basic hygiene ( including paddles being held together with duct tape). Ugh.

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutF...cy/ORA/ORAElectronicReadingRoom/UCM304252.pdf

I know this is not related to the Purina truck issue, but does point out the need for much improvement in how our dog foods are made and the lack of oversight of the industry. In the Diamond issue, the salmonella issue had gone on for months before it was addressed... and then because humans were getting ill.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I recently had to search long & hard for a kibble to send with my Towhee while she whelped & raised her litter. She is normally fed primarily raw with Fromm's as a weekly kibble to ensure she can handle kibble when not home.

Anyway, I needed a Puppy kibble for her and I must have spent almost 4 hours going to various feed stores and Petco - reading ingredients and if they seemed reasonable, checking for recalls. This in addition to looking before hand for the companies with the most recent recalls that did not warrant a 2nd glance in the stores.

2 Foods made it into my truck - Spot's Stew Puppy Chow and Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy. Both, btw; more costly than her normal Human Grade Raw Food (average - 1.60/lb for Whole Foods quality TQDF food)

Honestly, I hated having to do that much research to buy a reasonably safe & nutritious kibble for my dog .. whether you think the pictures are real or not, whether you believe the food is nutritious or not, everyone needs to be aware of how careful they need to be when choosing a food to feed their dogs. The steady stream of recalls are very frightening to me, and the food companies often just deny potential problems while dogs are getting sick. These foods are advertised as being healthy and nutritious for our pets and so they should be. 

I cannot say if food not fit for human consumption is dangerous or healthy for my dogs - they have entirely different digestive systems after all. But I do need to make informed decisions that I can feel comfortable with and I believe it is important that these types of issues be brought to the public's attention.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

I would love to see Purina's explanation of the way these trucks are used. I looked at this blogger's background and she has no legal expertise at all. She should be careful with this because it is sensational and does defame the corporate reputation of Nestle Purina. Just saying...


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## newport (Aug 8, 2011)

Yes- I put it on my facebook page to share with people I know.


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## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

Has anyone, asked her about this, you can ask questions.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I am not so sure about the defaming. It is perfectly legal to use ingredients in animal feed that is considered unfit for human consumption - 'Inedible, animal food' is very different than 'inedible animal food' and the 2 separate lines imply a comma to me.





Dallas Gold said:


> I would love to see Purina's explanation of the way these trucks are used. I looked at this blogger's background and she has no legal expertise at all. She should be careful with this because it is sensational and does defame the corporate reputation of Nestle Purina. Just saying...


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Sunrise said:


> I am not so sure about the defaming. It is perfectly legal to use ingredients in animal feed that is considered unfit for human consumption - 'Inedible, animal food' is very different than 'inedible animal food' and the 2 separate lines imply a comma to me.


Personally I agree with your interpretation of the term Inedible, Animal Food. I think the whole tenor of the article is that Purina is hiding something from the public, which can be defamatory in certain situations. This blogger is sensationalizing some photos which she did not take and we don't know if the photographer photo shopped those words on the trucks or not. I find this irresponsible without detailing in her blog what she's done to determine the validity of the photographs. That said, I sent Purina an email to see if they cared to explain what goes in and out of the trucks and also to address the bloggers assertions. I'm not sure I'll get a response, but if I do I will post.


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## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

I just tried to post,on there twice now, neither time,was my post taken.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Just because a truck is sitting somewhere doesn't mean whatever is inside the truck was going in or coming out. If I have a moving van in front of my house does that mean I'm necessarily loading things INTO my house???? Of course not. I would reserve judgement on this... and if "inedible" simply means "inedible for human consumption" that changes the meaning as well.


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

It's important to note that self-publishing people (bloggers) are not edited and reviewed by third parties as they would be if publishing in a bona fide journalistic outlet. There are holes in her "article" that you could drive those trucks through (LOL). I doubt her piece would have been published as it is by a reputable newspaper. Doesn't mean we should ignore what she's asking about--just that we can't trust what she says and her conclusions in the same manner as a publication we know and trust.


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## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

I see some one has brought up the difference of the tankers,on the site.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Ha! Was it the comment from "Brian"? That was me.


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## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

tippykayak said:


> Ha! Was it the comment from "Brian"? That was me.


 YES,i wondered if it was,i tried to post twice, but finally gave up.


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

*A message from Purina*

It took a while but I got a response back from Purina. 

Here's what I asked them:
_Hi, Pro Plan, Just read a weird story implying some bad things...Have you all issued a statement about it? I'd like to know your side of this. Here's what I saw: Purina's Inedible Animal Food_

Here's how they answered: 
_Pro Plan Hi, Kathleen. Thanks for your patience while we got back to you. With regard to your question, the USDA requires specific signage for the transport of inspected ingredients not intended for human food. In this case, the "Inedible" designation (in large letters) is used for this purpose. "Animal Food" (in smaller letters) is further emphasis that the ingredient, while not used in human food, is suitable for animal food. We use only quality ingredients that meet government standards for pet foods, and monitor each ingredient through our quality assurance program. Learn more about our quality standards at Why is quality our top priority? | NestléPurina.com. Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to give us a call:800-877-7551, weekdays between 7am-7pm CT. -Alex_


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

That's what I thought it meant. Not exactly as big of a scandal as the blogger made it appear.


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

They say "quality ingredients" but their jerky treats killed my Zoey! I have no patience or understanding for the is company!


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## Melfice (Aug 4, 2012)

MikaTallulah said:


> They say "quality ingredients" but their jerky treats killed my Zoey! I have no patience or understanding for the is company!


Sorry to hear that your dog died, but how did Purina's jerky treats kill Zoey? That's pretty bad if their products kill animals


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## goldentemperment (May 16, 2012)

The first thing I thought when I saw the pictures was exactly the way it was described in the email response from Purina in OutWest's post. Pity that Ms. Thixton cried foul on this issue, because I think it did a disservice to her overall cause, which is a good one.


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## msdogs1976 (Dec 21, 2007)

OutWest said:


> It took a while but I got a response back from Purina.
> 
> Here's what I asked them:
> _Hi, Pro Plan, Just read a weird story implying some bad things...Have you all issued a statement about it? I'd like to know your side of this. Here's what I saw: Purina's Inedible Animal Food_
> ...


Someone should cut and paste Purina's response in her site.


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## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

I don't think one can trust them, look what they have done with treats, so while i don't know why the pictures are different, i sure don't trust them.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

OutWest said:


> It took a while but I got a response back from Purina.
> 
> Here's what I asked them:
> _Hi, Pro Plan, Just read a weird story implying some bad things...Have you all issued a statement about it? I'd like to know your side of this. Here's what I saw: Purina's Inedible Animal Food_
> ...


Thanks! I haven't gotten a reply yet, but I assume it will say the same thing.


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

Melfice said:


> Sorry to hear that your dog died, but how did Purina's jerky treats kill Zoey? That's pretty bad if their products kill animals


They own Waggin Train and Canyon Creek dog treats. I feed my Zoey Sweet potato and chicken jerky treats made by this company.


http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...1925-purina-selling-poisonous-dog-treats.html
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...566-stop-nestle-purina-killing-more-dogs.html
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...567-stop-nestle-purina-killing-more-dogs.html

This is an on going thread 
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...mation/114049-jerky-treat-warning-update.html

IMO they should take these treats off the market to prove it is not their treats. Numerous dogs are getting sick and many are dying after eating these treats. The only think they all have in common are these treats.

They will keep selling the treats as long as they make money from them. 

Do your own research and then make your own decision. Mine was made the day Zoey got sick and the company did not care.

Purina pulled a therapeutic cat food after 1 consumer complaint but they are hiding behind the FDA saying they have found nothing with respect to the jerky treats. The FDA even if they do find what is causing the issue can only recommend a company stop but they can't make them.


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