Nutro Pouches...Oxidization Problems???

[sarahp]

If you find another pouch with black specks would you be able to take a clear, close up photo for us to see?

There was some dark looking spots in her last pouch and I worried, then I realised it was just little holes in the chunks... I don't really know what I'm looking for, and it would be useful to know bad spots from good spots!

 

[xocats]

I do not have any pouches left.
I sent 3 to Nutro for testing & returned the rest to the store.

The black spots look kind of like coarse ground black pepper....
definitely not like holes.

If you have used Nutro pouches for awhile...
you would know when something has changed...like the black spots.
They would be hard to miss if you were looking for them.

Some members have not had them in their pouches...
maybe you are one of the lucky ones.

 

[white cat lover]

Sarah, are these good photos? I am seeing what can only be described as "holes" as well as some "spots". If you open a pouch & see something, try to get a pic & post it here, then we can *try* to comapre(I know, my pics aren't the best). In my pics, you can notably see the "holes", but there are also "spots" that don't show up well. IMO, the "spots" are simply smaller "holes". xocats, is this what you were seeing??




You should've seen my family when they walked in & I was taking pictures of the cat food. I wouldn't be surprised if they put me in a loony bin now!

 

[xocats]

I would love to have seen the look on your family's faces when they saw you taking a picture of cat food.

That is an excellent picture.
The tiny black spots are not small holes...they are solid.
There used to be just plain chunks with some holes ... no spots.

Thanks for posting that picture.

 

[white cat lover]

Originally Posted by xocats

That is an excellent picture.
The tiny black spots are not small holes...they are solid.
There used to be just plain chunks with some holes ... no spots.

I didn't remember seeing the holes before, but I don't think I ever looked close. It wasn't until you posted this thread that I really looked. At least I knwo the holes are normal for Nutro pouches.

 

[xocats]

That photos looks exactly like what I was describing as black spots.
Usually the rectangle pieces were fairly uniform in color & texture, with small holes occasionally.
I do know that the black spots are not normal.
As soon as I hear from Nutro about their lab results,
I will post what they said.

 

[sarahp]

Thanks for the pics! I've only started feeding the nutro pouches in the last week or so, and they've all been from the same box, so I don't really know what to look for!

I have a much idea now

Thanks for sacrificing yourself for a greater cause white cat lover - hopefully you won't get sent to the loony bin for it!

 

[sharky]

Umm stupid question that I suppose I could find the aswer for myself ... but do these pouches have flaxseed??

 

[godiva]

I was thinking the same thing, sharky. Those dark spots are normal, and if you dig into the piece, it is a flax seed. But the pouches that I had that had these spots were different. They looked like mold.

 

[sophiacat]

Have there been any more updates about the spots?? I went to feeding sophia meow mix pouches and she loves them, but Nutro had better ingredients so I would really like to know when the problem is going to be fixed.

 

[xocats]

I received a telephone update from Nutro about the lab results from the Complete Care Wt. Management Pouches that I sent to them.
I will attempt to summarize what I was told.

Nutro sent the pouches to outside labs to be tested for toxins, fungi & spoilage.
The food was also tested for nutrient values following the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) specifications.

The lab's report said that ...
The food was free of toxins, fungi & spoilage.
It met the AAFCO standards for nutritional value.
The black spots are oxidation of minerals in the pouches.

Nutro's vets have concluded that because the minerals are distributed throughout the meat pieces,
only the minerals on the outside of the pieces have oxidized.
The oxidized minerals will not harm our cats.

The "best by" date on the pouch packages with the oxidized minerals that I sent to them was March 08.
It was probably sometime during that batch that the oxidation problem happened.
Nutro told me that the problem was probably corrected within a couple days of being discovered.
Nutro would not give me a "best by" date after repairs to their equipment were made.
They must have had a huge run because my local pet supply store is still selling Wt. Mgmt. pouches from "best by" March 08.

Out of desperation, I bought some CC Senior Pouches with a "best by" date of June 08.
They are clear of the black spots.

My conclusion....
Nutro is a good company with decent food for our kitties but....
I will not by Nutro pouches with a "best by" date before June 08.
I will watch the quality of their food carefully.

I am not a scientist....
just like you, I love my kitties & want to know that any food I give them is safe.

Lets keep this thread current until this problem is resolved.
Any feedback is really appreciated.

 

[sarahbeez]

Hey I was just curious if any of you are continuing to find black specks in your pouches?

I was feeding Maui Wellness but ran out and picked up some of the small cans of the Nutro Kitten food- he loves them and his breath smells much better! I was debating on switching over to Nutro full time since it's much easier for me to get than the Wellness.... but then I found this thread!

I also was wondering if anyone knows if Nutro is switching everything over to pouches or what? I like the cans, but I didn't pay much attention to the pouches since their kitten food was in cans at Petsmart. I am trying to buy some from petfooddirect.com and their kitten food is in pouches.... hmm...

I should also mention that I never noticed any black spots in the 8 or 10 cans I've gone through but I also wasn't watching for them!

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by SarahBeez

Hey I was just curious if any of you are continuing to find black specks in your pouches?

I was feeding Maui Wellness but ran out and picked up some of the small cans of the Nutro Kitten food- he loves them and his breath smells much better! I was debating on switching over to Nutro full time since it's much easier for me to get than the Wellness.... but then I found this thread!

I also was wondering if anyone knows if Nutro is switching everything over to pouches or what? I like the cans, but I didn't pay much attention to the pouches since their kitten food was in cans at Petsmart. I am trying to buy some from petfooddirect.com and their kitten food is in pouches.... hmm...

I should also mention that I never noticed any black spots in the 8 or 10 cans I've gone through but I also wasn't watching for them!

It was in only pouches not canned... I dont beleive any others have been found>>>???

 

[xocats]

That's correct.
The problem was with Nutro's pouches.

I am still giving my kitties the Nutro CC Seinor pouches dated June 08 or later and have not seen any black spots.

 

[xocats]

A former Menu Foods employee posted on Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:19 am in the "Through the Grapevine"...
Please read the whole post.

http://howl911.com/

I believed what Nutro told me about the black spots and continued to feed Dexter & Sadie Nutro pouches.
They ate the Nutro recalled pouches and are now ill & under the care of a vet.
I am sickened by this.
I should have known better.

"But if I had been thinking a bit more clearly at the time, recalling a large batch of food that was pulled that had dark flecks in it and later distributed, I don't know why I would think that the plant would be profoundly concerned with qc. Except for the fact that Menu owned the Walmart account and it was highly coveted. Iams, Eukanuba, Mighty Dog, Special Kitty, were all regularly ran. (We did very little Science Diet, no Alpo.) The fleck situation happened, I might add, because a gravy
employee put the wrong additive into the food and it reacted with another additive, or so I was told."

 

[mzjazz2u]

Please don't panic or read things into everything you hear/read. This is an EX employee. We don't know if they have a grudge or even how credible they are. They may be perfectly credible but at this point, we have no way of knowing.

I like some of the information on that site though. This is one of the best places to verify what is and isn't made at menu foods:

http://Who, What & Where!Who, What & Where!

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by mzjazz2u

Please don't panic or read things into everything you hear/read. This is an EX employee. We don't know if they have a grudge or even how credible they are. They may be perfectly credible but at this point, we have no way of knowing.

Ditto .. Right now the FDA labs cant verifiy what the other is finding so everything should be read with a grain of salt approach ...

 

[xocats]

Originally Posted by sharky

Ditto .. Right now the FDA labs cant verifiy what the other is finding so everything should be read with a grain of salt approach ...

This thread was started almost one year ago.
I thought I would share what I found today and how I felt about it.
My mistake....

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by xocats

This thread was started almost one year ago.
I thought I would share what I found today and how I felt about it.
My mistake....

No mistake .... I am worried for all the babies who got any possible conamination... it is Just the facts are in yet..

how are the " kids" feeling

 

[xocats]

Check out post #63 in this thread for a photo of the black flecks.
It was posted last July.
I have heard nothing about this until I saw that message posted today.
That issue was unrelated to the current pet food recall as was this thread.

My kitties are sick and under the care of our vet.
Menu foods talked to me and confirmed that Dexter & Sadie did eat a Nutro recalled food.
The FDA called yesterday and will follow-up next week.