So the story goes...
I may be kind of a bad doggy Mom. I've been feeding Kobi these chicken jerky treats that he got addicted to after he was given one by his doggy Grandparents. They're like "doggy crack" or something. The only problem was--you could only get them at Sam's Club or Wal-Mart. I'm not a big fan of Wal-Mart for the reason that they drive so many local trades and business' OUT of business... but I love my dog and he loved these treats. So I reluctantly went to the EVIL EMPIRE to purchase them. Only recently have I noticed that these treats were imported from China. This has been making me wonder what I'm feeding my loving, almost 14 year old, best buddy in the whole-wide-world dog.
Well today something happend that pretty much convinced me that buying CHICKEN Jerky Treats from a company that sources it out to China is really wrong. Below is short pictorial of the said event and then some more commentary after.
Here is the product. Waggin Train Chicken Jerky.
This is what was INSIDE said product. It not only looked bad--it smelled rank. Certainly, it would not have "tasted like chicken".
The lot number--just in case you have an unopened bag laying around that you might want to check.
Being the good consumer that I am, I immediately called the Wal-Mart store and spoke to the manager on duty and explained that I would be returning the product. I have to say--even though I was talking to the "evil empire" they at least apologized and thanked me for letting them know so they could go pull the product from the shelves to check it. I returned the item a half hour after purchasing and even the customer service desk workers were nice, polite and incredulous when they looked at the open bag. I noted the girl wrote in huge letters with exclammation marks MOLD!! on the return slip.
So I'm all cool with what transpired at Wal-Mart. It's the actual treat company that's giving me a rash. I sent an e-mail to the address listed on the package waggintrainbrand@adipet.com. I explained that I had been a buyer of their product for some time and explained what I found in my most recent purchase. Of course, I'm doing this to be nice as one would think they would want to check it out to be assured it was an isolated bad bag or batch. Here is their word for word response:
Dear Concerned Pet Owner:
-- NONE of the Waggin’ Train Brand pet treats have been recalled --
Regarding our Chicken Jerky Tenders:
Waggin' Train Brand Chicken Jerky Tenders are completely safe and should not be confused with the other two brands of chicken jerky that are being pulled from Wal-mart’s shelves. We have NO association with the Pingyang Pet Product Co. or Shanghai Bestro Trading Co. nor do we purchase our ingredients from the same supplier.
As American joint-owners of the factories, ADI Pet is completely familiar with and confident in the exceptional quality-control protocols that we have in place for the processing of our Chicken Jerky Tenders and other Waggin’ Train Brand products. We are intrinsically involved in all aspects of the manufacturing process.
Please be assured that we sell thousands of bags of this product each week and have never had a recall on our product. Over the past five years, approximately 50 million pounds of the Waggin’ Train Brand Chicken Jerky Tenders have been consumed (without incident) by thousands of dogs nationwide. Based upon this excellent track record, we truly regard this product as safe for pets of all sizes.
All of the raw material that we use to make the Chicken Jerky Tenders is fresh, 100% premium chicken breast tenderloins and natural seasonings. Our "natural seasonings" are simply apple cider vinegar, sugar and salt.
The Chicken Jerky Tenders contain no grain fillers, no wheat gluten and no rice protein additives. Nor do we use artificial preservatives, colorings nor flavorings of any kind.
All Waggin’ Train Brand products are sterilized by irradiation, based upon USDA safe sterilization guidelines. The sterilization process eliminates the possibility of contamination by any potentially harmful microbes including E.coli and Salmonella.
Because chicken is a regulated product, the USDA regularly pulls samples from incoming containers of product, for laboratory testing. We have never had a positive test for product contamination.
Our facilities are regularly inspected by SGS, which is one of the largest international inspection companies in the world. Costco, Sam's Club and Wal-Mart contract with SGS, for inspections, to ensure that the products are being processed, based upon USDA processing guidelines.
Please be assured that when you give your pet Chicken Jerky Tenders, you are providing your pet with the highest quality chicken pet product that is available in the marketplace.
For more product information and to view our current Press Release and FAQ's, please go to our website: http://www.adipet.com/
To speak to a Customer Service representative, please call (864) 622-0101.
Best Regards,
Customer Service
Waggin' Train Worldwide LLC
This kind of made me a bit PO'd as the tone of this response is "it couldn't possibly be our fault". Geez, I was e-mailing the e-mail address listed on THEIR product afterall. My response back was dissappointment in their response and that one could respond without even saying "We're sorry and we'll check it out".
And then their response....
See response above. It was the SAME exact response. This pompous response is an auto responder --which tells me they don't even READ their e-mail. I could call them, but now I'm at that "it's their problem" point. I'm not ever buying their product again and I won't be buying pet treats made in China anytime soon. That being said, with all bad experiences comes good. On my way home from Wal Mart I stopped by "Bonnie's Barkery". It's a small holistic/organic pet food place right across the street from my house. There I found some chicken jerky/good-for-you treats with the stamp of the USDA, organic and made in the good ol' USA. Kobi loves them! They cost more—but believe me—he's worth every penny. By the way his new favorite treats are Plato Smart Dog Treats. So away from the EVIL EMPIRE and the big cheapest route to make money company and back to the small local business I go. I feel much better about that!
2 comments:
Thanks for posting your experience and these pictures. Sure says all we need to know. Now to just get the word out to everyone!
Kim (from petfoodtracker.blogspot.com)
A word of warning, this is still an on going problem. I bought a package of this jerky at Sam's in May of 2008. After giving both of my poodles a few pieces both got sick and one nearly died. I spent nearly $1,500.00 dollars in vet bills for both dogs within one week. It started with vomitng, then diarhea with bloody stools, and dehydration. My vet immediately told me not to use any of these treats. I looked through the bag and none of it looked moldy and it look the same as the bags I had bought in the past. Sam's would not even talk with me about it. Bags were vendor stk #933737 with a best used by 091709 date. DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT!!
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