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Just opened a really bad can of Nutro...

post #1 of 6
12/19/11 at 10:06pm
Thread Starter 

We've been feeding Albus and Luna Nutro MaxCat, wet and dry, for a couple years without any problem.  My husband feeds them the wet food every night (we free feed the dry and they don't gorge themselves or anything.)

 

He opened a 3oz can of Chicken Supreme Entree and he said there was a "pop", like a champagne cork and the liquid sprayed out with a lot of pressure.  He had the good sense to not feed it to them, and called me in to look at it.  The can's not dented, and it wasn't bulging before he opened it.  I bought it about 6 weeks ago (I buy about 2 months of wet food at a time) and except for spending a couple nights in my car (and it's December in Chicago, so it's been consistently cold outside), it hasn't been exposed to any weird temperature changes.  

 

The food smells positively foul.  One of the worst things I've smelled in my 31 years.  One of those odors that gets stuck in your nose, unfortunately.  It looks like a normal color, but the liquid doesn't quite look right- like there's the normal clear-ish part, but part of the liquid looks sorta cloudy.  We opened another can of the same food, from the same lot number and it smells fine (as good as cat food normally smells, that is!)

 

The bottom of the can says "Best by 05-03-13  20 U" and "118EUNSC0104:44 NCS"

 

I sent an email to the company through their website with all this information, and we gave the cats one of the other flavors of food, but I'm pretty concerned about the food we have in the same flavor, from the same package.  I have saved the can (in a sealed bag) and it is currently in the refrigerator.

 

Anything else I should do?  Besides scrub my nostrils? greenbarf.gif

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post #2 of 6
12/20/11 at 12:45am

I had a can of foul smelling wet food. Took it back to the store. Shipping sometimes does that. the heat Stuff like that

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post #3 of 6
12/20/11 at 1:20am
Let's hope it was just a one-off. I have never had a bad can of cat food but I did have a horrible tin of anchovies once that had gone to brown mush . The store refunded my money and gave me a tin as well. I think alerting the supplier and the maker is the right thing to do - did you take any photos by any chance? You could check the consumer protection laws where you live to see if there is anything further you could consider. Good you spotted it, though I doubt whether the cats would have eaten it - they usually know when something is bad.
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post #4 of 6
12/20/11 at 4:06am

That is very alarming!  I've been lucky and to date only had a "bad" case of Diet Dr Pepper (I didn't even know those could go off, but they definitely can).

 

How to report "bad" pet food:

1) Notify the manufacturer.

2) Notify the retailer (should offer a refund, no questions asked typically)

3) Optionally notify your local FDA consumer complain coordinator: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/ReportaProblem/ConsumerComplaintCoordinators/default.htm

 

Quote:
FDA Warning:
For canned goods, do not eat the contents if the cans are dented, cracked, or bulging. These are warning signs that the product may not be safe. Clean the top of the container before opening. After opening, inspect the product. Do not use products that are discolored, moldy, or have an off odor. Do not use products that spurt liquid or foam when the container is opened.

 

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post #5 of 6
12/20/11 at 8:06am
It was under pressure for some reason - very odd and how awful the smell must have been barf.gif. Let us know if you get any answer's as to why it would have "exploded" like that. I don't know if heat/freezing/heat would have done that - but not sure on that one. You would think some of the other can's then would be doing the same thing though. Curious though if you will get an "honest" answer as to the possibility of why this happened or what could have caused this. Obviously, there was not a tiny crack in the can to cause the spoilage because it exploded and was pressurized. hmmm.gif
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post #6 of 6
12/20/11 at 11:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Feralvr View Post

Let us know if you get any answer's as to why it would have "exploded" like that.

Bacteria as they grow will release gasses, primarily C02.  The seal could have been microscopically misaligned or damaged enough by mishandling (the reason you shouldn't buy canned food that is dented) for bacteria to grow, which the expansion and heat may have resealed/clotted any tiny gap as it tried to escape, causing the can to bulge from the pressure or at least foam/squirt when opened. 

 

Or that can may not have been sufficiently heated for some reason.  I don't think they can know, at least certainly not the receptionist they have answering consumer calls, but they should pass along the info on the can which allows them to check the lot made with it and the machinery and if necessary perform a recall if it wasn't just a can damaged after it was out of their hands.

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