PET NUTRITION YOU CAN TRUST.

Yes, Our Foods Are Safe!

These are sad and stressful times for pet owners. Pet owners want assurance their pet’s food is safe and nutritious, both today and tomorrow. Please be assured our dry and canned foods have not been recalled, they have been tested, they are safe and will continue to remain safe:

• We do not use Wheat or Rice Gluten/Protein Concentrate in any of our dry or canned foods. The label does not list these ingredients because they are not in the foods. There will not be any surprises later. ⁽¹⁾
• Some of our Super Premium Formulas contain Corn Gluten. The Corn Gluten is made in Hammond, Indiana and Iowa, from a source we have trusted for years. It has been tested.
• All meat meals are tested by NIR analysis to determine protein, fat, fiber and moisture levels. Grains, such as rice, corn and oatmeal, are tested for mycotoxins. We have good and trusting relationships with our suppliers.
• Eagle Pack Pet Foods, Inc. is regulated by the FDA, the State of Indiana, the USDA/APHIS and AAFCO.
• Our Rice is grown in 3 southern states. Rice, as well as our other grains, are all grown in the United States.
• Pork meal has been tested and is safe.
• None of our chicken or chicken eggs come from Indiana
• Ingredients shown on our ingredient label are in the bag, and what is in the bag is shown on the ingredient label. You can trust what you see.
• Many of our employees are feeding our canned and dry foods, including a prominent breeder. There have been no adverse reports. Other top breeders have had their dogs tested; tests were negative.
• We make our own dry food in our own family-founded plants, in Mishawaka, Indiana, as we have been doing for over 35 years. Well over half of our dedicated plant employees have been here over 15 years. While Menu does make our canned food, none of our foods are on the recall list nor will they be added, there is no wheat or rice gluten in our canned or dry formulas and canned product is made using high quality ingredients specific to that formula, with no alterations. Product has been tested and results have been negative.

⁽¹⁾   One Prism Formula contained Rice Gluten. It was removed some time ago and prior to the FDA recall. It is made in the U.S. and it has been tested. Our Holistic Transition uses Rice Protein Concentrate as a carrier. The Rice Protein is made in the U.S. and has been tested. In the next production run Stabilized Rice Bran will be substituted for the Rice Protein Concentrate, so as not to raise a question with pet owners. Again it is safe.

The Other Shoe?

Pet owners keep asking what food is next. To date the contaminated ingredient has been identified as Wheat Gluten and Rice Protein Concentrate/Rice Gluten. These are not in any Eagle Pack Dry or Canned foods, so pet owners can feel safe in feeding our foods for these and the following reasons:

• We attended a seminar where an expert stated, “You can’t test your way to ingredient safety, though you must test. The best way to assure yourself of ingredient safety is to know your suppliers.” We have been dealing with many of the same trusted suppliers for 35 years. EU certification also requires you know your sources.
• Testing is ongoing. We have an onsite laboratory and also use the industry’s leading laboratory.
• Our formulas are fixed formulas using high quality ingredients that remain constant batch to batch. We don’t switch suppliers based on a supplier coming to us with a cheaper price.

Background

Eagle Pack Pet Foods, Inc. understands that, while the recalled pet food has found confinement, consumers might still have a lot of questions. Be assured that none of our products have been affected by the recall.

Fortunately, there have been no records indicating that the wheat gluten meal had been shipped to U.S. human food producers.  An import alert has been issued on wheat gluten and other ingredients from China.

Eagle Pack Pet Foods, Inc. does not use wheat gluten as an ingredient in our pet food. Wheat gluten, although not as well known, is an alternative to soy-based meat substitutes such as tofu; some types may taste even more like meat than tofu due to their chewy or stringy texture. It is often used in place of meat in Asian, vegetarian/vegan, Buddhist, and macrobiotic cuisines.

Eagle Pack Pet Foods, Inc. sources most of its approximately 100 ingredients domestically. However Duck Meal originates from Germany, Anchovy and Sardines Meals from Mexico, Salmon from the Pacific and Kelp from ocean waters off Nova Scotia.

Due to the global economy and worldwide outsourcing, some ingredients or supplements are not made in the U.S. or are not made in sufficient quantity. Most pet food and human food companiesand makers of supplements most likely source some supplements from China. Most B vitamins for human and pet consumption come from China. In our supplements, U.S. vitamin maker BASF sources some vitamins from China. This will be true of the vitamin content for most pet foods you buy and for many pet or human vitamins you use. Some pet food makers seem unaware that some ingredients of necessity must be sourced from China; scary they don’t know.

Our China sourced products are purchased only from suppliers that are on an approved material list. The list assures that product is only purchased from companies that have and continue to meet the quality demanded in our ingredients.

We know the word China is not welcomed by pet owners, so why are we even mentioning it? Because pet owners are scared and want the truth. Some companies have been less than forthright.  Consumers are looking for assurance their pet food is safe, nutritious, natural and holistic and will stay that way. Eagle Pack Pet Foods wants to be truthful, up front and transparent with pet owners. Pet owners don’t want surprises later. And they want the whole truth and they want it now.

If you have fed your pet any of the pet food recalled by other manufacturers, we urge you to take them to the veterinarian and have tests performed. Kidney failure can be a painful and deadly disease that can sometimes be reversed with early detection and aggressive treatment. Many other consumers are opting to stay away from products that contain wheat gluten, as the FDA warns consumers that retailers could still have the recalled product on their shelves.