Were YOU Aware of THESE Facts in the Weeks Following the Feb 28 2011 Wellness Voluntary Recall? (kitten, eating)

[leanansidhex]

Cans of Wellness Core Cat Food were also recalled.

The TOTAL number of cans recalled. (The Answer is at the bottom of this post.)

"The [Wellness] recalls on this list are primarily Class I."

The link is posted below.

"Class I recall: a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death."

Background and Definitions

Wellness was classified as a Class I recall (the highest classification) yet the FDA did not, to My knowledge, alert the news media. I never heard Anything about a Wellness recall on t.v., radio or in print, i.e. newspaper.
Did You?

When you read the following (and I know not everyone will see what I'm getting at, probably since it was only cats, and not people, that could end up with serious adverse health consequences, or dead) but, the words "serious hazard" and "widely distributed" stand out. (How widely? The Answer is at the End of this post)
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From the FDA Website: FDA 101: Product Recalls - From First Alert to Effectiveness Checks

Alerting the Public
FDA seeks publicity about a recall only when it believes the public needs to be alerted to a serious hazard. When a recalled product has been widely distributed, the news media is a very effective way to reach large numbers of people. FDA can hold press conferences, issue press releases, and post updates to its Web site regularly, to alert people.

"It's about being as transparent as possible," says Catherine McDermott, public affairs manager in the Division of Federal-State Relations in FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs. "If we feel there is that much of a health risk, we will offer media updates every day to give new information, and all that we know gets posted to FDA's Web site."

Not all recalls are announced in the media. But all recalls go into FDA's weekly Enforcement Report. This document lists each recall according to classification (see "Recall Classifications" box), with the specific action taken by the recalling firm.


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FROM the FDA Website: They posted the PRESS release from Wellness LLC, Including, the folksy comment from "pet parent" himself, Tim Callahan, chief executive officer of WellPet.

And yet I don't know anyone, including two veterinarians, that saw an email alert from the FDA on Feb 28 2011.

Was anyone who is reading this, signed up for recall information from the FDA during that time period? and did you receive an email from the FDA alerting you to this recall?
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Recall -- Firm Press Release

FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.

Wellpet LLC Voluntarily Recalls Certain Lots Of Canned Cat Food


Contact:
Media:
Claire Burke
Hunter PR
212-679-6600

Consumer:
877-227-9587
Wellness® - Healthy Dog and Cat Food
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 28, 2011 - WellPet LLC announced today it has voluntarily recalled certain lots of Wellness® canned cat food.

While recent laboratory testing found that most lots of Wellness canned cat food that were tested contain sufficient amounts of thiamine (also known as Vitamin B1), some of the lots listed below might contain less than adequate levels of thiamine. However, out of an abundance of caution, WellPet has decided to recall all of the lots listed below.

Cats fed only the affected lots for several weeks may be at risk for developing a thiamine deficiency. Thiamine is essential for cats. Symptoms of deficiency displayed by an affected cat can be gastrointestinal or neurological in nature. Early signs of thiamine deficiency may include decreased appetite, salivation, vomiting, and weight loss. In advanced cases, neurologic signs can develop, which may include ventriflexion (bending towards the floor) of the neck, wobbly walking, circling, falling, and seizures. If your cat has consumed the recalled lots and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian. If treated promptly, thiamine deficiency is typically reversible.

The lots involved in this voluntary recall are:

Wellness Canned Cat Food (all flavors and sizes) with best by dates from 14APR 13 through 30SEP13;

Wellness Canned Cat Food Chicken & Herring (all sizes) with 10NOV13 or 17NOV13 best buy dates.

Consumers who still have cans of cat food from these lots should stop feeding them to their cats and call us at (877) 227-9587 Monday through Friday, 9:00 am – 7:00 pm Eastern Time. Consumers with further questions should visit our website at Wellness® - Healthy Dog and Cat Food or call us at this same number.

WellPet discovered the lower thiamine levels during independent testing conducted together with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in response to a single, isolated consumer complaint received by the FDA. Although WellPet has received no other reports concerning thiamine in its products, WellPet has taken additional steps with the manufacturer to ensure that this does not happen again.

“As a pet parent myself, I’m concerned for the health and welfare of all pets, and as a company we are committed to delivering the most nutritious natural pet food,” said Tim Callahan, chief executive officer of WellPet, the maker of Wellness products. “Even though the chance of a cat developing a thiamine deficiency is extremely remote, we are voluntarily recalling all of these lots of our canned cat food as an extra precaution.”

###

List of recalls for Pet Food Products from Wellness

Pet: Cat
Trade Name: Wellness
Fiscal Year: 2011
Lot: Best by dates from 14APR 13 through 30SEP13
Product Distributed Quantity: 2,219,755 cans
Product Description: Wellness Canned Cat Food Turkey & Salmon Formula, 3.0 oz., 5.5 oz., 12.5 oz
Best Before Date: 4/14/2013
Recall Initiation Date: February 28, 2011
Recall Completed Date:
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Pet: Cat
Trade Name: Wellness
Fiscal Year: 2011
Lot: Best by dates from 14APR 13 through 30SEP13
Product Distributed Quantity: 1,378,312 cans
Product Description: Wellness Canned Cat Food Beef & Chicken Formula 3 oz., 5.5 oz.,12.5 oz.
Best Before Date: 4/14/2013
Recall Initiation Date: February 28, 2011
Recall Completed Date:
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Pet: Cat
Trade Name: Wellness
Fiscal Year: 2011
Lot: Best by dates from 14APR 13 through 30SEP13
Product Distributed Quantity: 3,073,053 cans
Product Description: Wellness Canned Cat Food Chicken Formula 3 oz., 5.5 oz.,12.5 oz.
Best Before Date: 4/14/2013
Recall Initiation Date: February 28, 2011
Recall Completed Date:
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Pet: Cat
Trade Name: Wellness
Fiscal Year: 2011
Lot: Best by dates from 14APR 13 through 30SEP13
Product Distributed Quantity: 2,899,631 cans
Product Description: Wellness Canned Cat Food Turkey Formula 3 oz., 5.5 oz.,12.5 oz.
Best Before Date: 4/14/2013
Recall Initiation Date: February 28, 2011
Recall Completed Date:
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Pet: Cat
Trade Name: Wellness
Fiscal Year: 2011
Lot: Best by dates from 14APR 13 through 30SEP13
Product Distributed Quantity: 622,446 cans
Product Description: Wellness Canned Cat Food Sardine/Shrimp/Crab Formula 3 oz., 5.5 oz.,12.5 oz.
Best Before Date: 4/14/2013
Recall Initiation Date: February 28, 2011
Recall Completed Date:
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Pet: Cat
Trade Name: Wellness
Fiscal Year: 2011
Lot: Best by dates from 14APR 13 through 30SEP13
Product Distributed Quantity: 811,932 cans
Product Description: Wellness Canned Cat Food Chicken & Lobster Formula 3 oz., 5.5 oz.,12.5 oz.
Best Before Date: 4/14/2013
Recall Initiation Date: February 28, 2011
Recall Completed Date:
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Pet: Cat
Trade Name: Wellness
Fiscal Year: 2011
Lot: Best by dates from 14APR 13 through 30SEP13
Product Distributed Quantity: 763,908 cans
Product Description: Wellness Canned Cat Food Salmon & Trout Formula 3 oz, 5.5. oz ,12.5 oz
Best Before Date: 4/14/2013
Recall Initiation Date: February 28, 2011
Recall Completed Date:
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Pet: Cat
Trade Name: Wellness
Fiscal Year: 2011
Lot: Best by dates from 14APR 13 through 30SEP13
Product Distributed Quantity: 539,724 cans
Product Description: Wellness Canned Cat Food Beef & Salmon Formula 3 oz, 5.5. oz ,12.5 oz
Best Before Date: 4/14/2013
Recall Initiation Date: February 28, 2011
Recall Completed Date:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pet: Cat
Trade Name: Wellness
Fiscal Year: 2011
Lot: Best by dates from 14APR 13 through 30SEP13
Product Distributed Quantity: 6,342,030 cans
Product Description: Wellness Canned Cat Food CORE Chicken , Turkey & Chicken Liver, 5.5 oz
Best Before Date: 4/14/2013
Recall Initiation Date: February 28, 2011
Recall Completed Date:
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Pet: Cat
Trade Name: Wellness
Fiscal Year: 2011
Lot: Best by dates from 14APR 13 through 30SEP13
Product Distributed Quantity: 155,088 cans
Product Description: Wellness Canned Cat Food CORE Salmon, Whitefish & Herring, 5.5 oz
Best Before Date: 4/14/2013
Recall Initiation Date: February 28, 2011
Recall Completed Date:
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Pet: Cat
Trade Name: Wellness
Fiscal Year: 2011
Lot: Best by dates from 10NOV13 through 30SEP13
Product Distributed Quantity: 992,814 cans
Product Description: Wellness Canned Cat Food Kitten Formula 3 oz,
Best Before Date: 11/10/13 to 9/30/13
Recall Initiation Date: February 28, 2011
Recall Completed Date:
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Pet: Cat
Trade Name: Wellness
Fiscal Year: 2011
Lot: Best by dates from 10NOV13 and 17NOV13
Product Distributed Quantity: 1,808,134 cans
Product Description: Wellness Canned Cat Food Chicken & Herring Formula 3 oz , 5.5 oz, 12.5 oz
Best Before Date: 11/10/13 to 11/17/13
Recall Initiation Date: February 28, 2011
Recall Completed Date:
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THE TOTAL NUMBER of CANS listed above:

------------ 21,606,827 -----------

[no kudzu]

thanks for your continued efforts to get the word out about cat food which is destroying our cats. I appreciate it.

[jasper12]

No, I never saw this, and they were selling Wellness cans at Petco that week, and since then, I never saw anything about a recall! I have been giving Jasper Soulistic pouches for wet food. Thanks for the info.

[andthentherewere3]

The recall was over a year ago, too long ago for me to remember.

[Pamina333]

Note the "Best Before" dates -- 2013. Probably still on shelves everywhere....

[AnonChick]

Originally Posted by andthentherewere3

The recall was over a year ago, too long ago for me to remember.

It's a good thing my cats were eating mostly kibble at the time. They were getting enough thiamine, then!

Seriously though, this year-old recall -was- publicized, I remember there was a to-do about it in the weekly newspaper, in the pet section. Also, the recall gives the number of cans -existing- that were recalled. The amount of cans actually -sold- with those best buy dates, and the number of the ones sold, that were actually -fed- to cats, before people learned of the recall, is not as spellbindingly horrible.

They took all those Wellness cans off the shelves in our pet food store and there was a sign on the store window AND on the shelf explaining that Wellness had voluntarily recalled them all.

Also, this isn't even an issue of tainted food, or food that contains something it shouldn't. There are -many- people who only give wet food to their cats a treat. Whether they should or shouldn't isn't relevent in this thread, it's a fact. And if the cats were being fed this as only a treat, and they were fed sufficient thiamine in whatever -other- food they were consuming, then the lack of thiamine in this canned food posed no risk of harm at all.

The only risk to cats on this particular recalled product, therefore, was in owners who fed their cats -exclusively- this canned food, with these sell-by dates, for longer than several days consecutively. I'd venture to guess that this number of consumers was minimal. It doesn't lessen the heartbreak of a sick cat, and I'm glad my cat wasn't one of the ones who got sick from it. But it also means that any connection to "massive enormous clusters of cats worldwide tragically traumatized by recalled evil Wellness food" would be...incorrect.

[no kudzu]

Originally Posted by AnonChick

The only risk to cats on this particular recalled product, therefore, was in owners who fed their cats -exclusively- this canned food, with these sell-by dates, for longer than several days consecutively. I'd venture to guess that this number of consumers was minimal. It doesn't lessen the heartbreak of a sick cat, and I'm glad my cat wasn't one of the ones who got sick from it. But it also means that any connection to "massive enormous clusters of cats worldwide tragically traumatized by recalled evil Wellness food" would be...incorrect.

my Oscar got extremely sick on Wellness and I spent a fortune getting him well again. Who knows if his current IBD is related to the damage Wellness did. If your cat had gotten sick on this or any other recalled food I think you might be a bit more sensitive.

[AnonChick]

It has nothing to do with being sensitive. The OP is presenting facts. If one person dies because they didn't wear a day-glo shirt when they walked across the street one night, then yes, it's a tragedy. But it doesn't mean that the day-glo shirt people should be villified, just because they didn't insist that everyone who walks across streets at night should wear their shirts. It doesn't mean that all shirt manufacturers are evil, because they don't add day-glo pinstripes to all their shirts.

It means one person experienced a tragedy.

The entire recall was based on a -single- complaint to the FDA. Wellness voluntarily recalled millions of cans of cat food, because ONE person complained to the FDA with a tragic situation. Instead of villifying Wellness, how about giving them credit for taking action, voluntarily?

Conversely, how many people don't go to the FDA weekly to read who has recalled what for which purpose? How about THOSE people be villified, for gross neglect of their furbabies? The information is there, they chose not to educate themselves. BAD cat owners BAD! See how stupid this is?

Do you see - how utterly stupid - that argument is?

So how about saying "Hey Wellness, good for you, that you prevented what *might* have been a more severe tragedy, by taking action before it was even required of you."

Think about the profits Wellness LOST by recalling all that food. Think about the expense in manufacturing millions of cans of food, and then removing them from the market. Think about all the money they chose to give back to every consumer who bought them and asked for a refund. Wellness did the responsible thing before a significant amount of damage was done. They don't batch-test every batch like some companies do, and they're not required to batch-test every batch. So they have to rely on someone -informing them- that something is wrong. Someone did. And before it got to a second complaint, they had already closed shop on the entire category of foods for that time period. I'd say that's a pretty responsible thing to do.

[no kudzu]

Anon- somehow I doubt all that Wellness did was in response to that one complaint they got from FDA. That would not be good business. I'm sure but cannot prove that something was found to be defective for them to issue that recall.

And how many pet owners would think it was the fault of the food when their pet gets sick. I doubt many people would automatically think at the first sign of illness "It must have been the food." I certainly wouldn't. Now after repeated days or weeks of illness it might have dawned on me it was the food but more than likely I would think "He must have gotten into something."

Yes Wellness did the responsible and ethical thing by recalling their product but only after they found the product was defective.

I was just saying that your tone seemed to be that "Oh well, very few cats got sick so what's the big deal". If I read you wrong I apologize. The sensitivity remarks comes from a place of having recently - and still- going thru a very expensive and painful episode with my beautiful 10 year old Oscar losing so much weight from IBD that his backbone and hips stick out. I have to give him pills and drops every 12 hours which is especially difficult for me since my left hand is partially paralyzed. So my sensitivity meter is turned up way high these days.

Also I know leane has spent a lot of time on this issue since she lost her beloved cat to food issues and I respect her efforts for all cat owners. I was trying to give her some support when I perceived you were mocking her efforts.

[AnonChick]

I'm not mocking anyone's efforts to learn about potential problems for their pets, and adjusting their own spending habits to accommodate their pets' needs.

What I -am- mocking, is the very serious, and real scare-mongering and panic-raising effort done here on City-Data in general - not merely in the pets forum, but in the health-wellness forum, the Connecticut Forum, etc. etc. I stay out of the conspiracies forum because it's all just a bunch of malarchy. So when I see it in the forums that I -do- frequent, it raises flags, and I get that "these people really need to calm down" feeling in my gut.

The Wellness recall was a *year* ago. Suddenly showing up in a brand sparkling shiny new thread this past week, to warn everyone about how evil Wellness is, *based on a year-old incident* is scare-mongering. And I'm mocking THAT. Because it's mockable.