Beneful Dog Food Alert

[cshellenberger]

I just got this through my Rescue site.
http://www.doggybling.com/newsarticle.php?id=1070

BENEFUL DOG FOOD ALERT!!! We have received multiple notices of dogs dying after eating Beneful...
January 29th, 2007
Author: Stephanie Creekmore
----------------------------------------------

BENEFUL DOG FOOD ALERT!!!

Please read the following emails from people who have fed Beneful to their dogs. We have researched this and have come to the conclusion that the problem is with dog food that was purchased from Wal Mart stores around Christmas.

A week before Christmas we bought a bag of Beneful dog food at Wal-Mart, DeFuniak Springs, FL. On 12/23 I noticed a tan mold like growth on the dog food. Our 14 year old Dalmatian mix had been getting weaker by the day and by 12/24 she was near death. Glazed eyes, couldn't stand, eat, drink or control her functions. Her gums were white. We had to carry her to the yard and hold her up so she could go. The only thing she would eat was ham and turkey scraps. I spoke with a microbiologist and she said the mold growing in the dog food was toxic. It took a week for Sparky to regain her strength.

I did notify the manufacturer of Beneful, they were very sorry and are sending coupons. Said it was a rare happening.

I know in multi-dog households, it's tempting to buy dog food in bulk...
Please check your dry dog food for toxic mold. It could save the life of your pet.

This was a response to the first email that was in our forum...

I didn't personally have a similar experience to yours, but a close friend did. When we started getting into the details, we found out that there were many cases of dog food (out of date) and other similar issues at Wal Mart. When the issue was brought up to the manager at the Wal Mart and my friend demanded that the food be removed from shelves, an employee said that the food was removed, but sent to another store. I would recommend trying to find an alternative to Wal Mart. I have and it has opened up a whole new world for me. They should be forced to remove the sign outside that says "always", because if you can shop around and can add, it is very misleasing. The sign should have to say "sometimes". Kelli

I ran out of my regular dog food Friday and got a bag of Beneful from my daughter that she had bought over Christmas when she was here visiting. It had not been opened. I fed to my dogs - one of my dogs started getting very listful and breathing rapidly Saturday night. I watched him and tried to make him comfortable. He was prone to airborne allergies so I assumed he was having one of his episodes. Saturday morning his gums whitened and he was feeling really bad. My vet was not available at that time. I went to the store and came back to find him dead. That quick! I came to work today and find that one of my coworkers lost his dog Friday after feeding him Beneful last week that he had bought around Christmas. This is seriously alarming and I will be pursueing this with the manufacturer. No coupons can replace our family member. I would like to see if there is a website where this may be documented. Jan

Other emails received-
Stephanie-Ric spoke to Jan who submitted the notice above and was told that Beneful said they had no previous reports on this issue, which is contrary to multiple emails and calls we have received, most who cited direct contact and an offer of coupons from Beneful. We've even had posts to the forum, which was brand new and had only 5 members at the time. Jan's experience with an agent named Terri was better than what we heard from other people. Terri asked Jan to send samples of the dog food and they would analyze it. Terri also offered to pay for an autopsy of Jan's dog, but it was too late since the dog had already been buried. Ric asked Jan where the food was purchased, since the other reports all listed Wal Mart and yes, it was Wal Mart. For those of you who remember, the Diamond food problem from last year was also a problem with dog food purchased primarily at Wal Mart or Sam's Club. From our experience, Purina is a responsible company, so it is not hard to figure out where a lot of these issues originate. We will be contacting Beneful today to hear how they are responding to this issue and will report it back here.

Point to make-Every time an issue with food quality comes up, so does the name Wal Mart.

Contact with Beneful--Ric spoke with Lisa Culp from Beneful, who was unable to give an official response, but did seem concerned with the problem. She will send the information to corporate, who will give an official response. Lisa said she would contact us with any news, as soon as she has it. Any correspondence will be reported in our news section.

We are working on inserting a "Health Alert Ticker" on DoggyBling.com where these types of alerts can be found. As of now, I don't know of any site where notices of this type are available. Because of this, our alert is being put on the fast track. We take issues like this very seriously and will hold companies accountable for how they handle situations of this kind. Lets hope that Purina puts what is right above the bottom line.

[Captbob]

Beneful is not a good food anyway. Ingredients are pretty poor.

[LabLady101]

IMHO, this sounds more like a Walmart problem than a Purina problem. However, I do agree that since Purina knows it's a problem, they should take action- possibly by putting out a public alert and pulling product from Walmart stores until Walmart can cooperate and start pulling expired products properly. People should be checking the expiration dates on the food they are buying- I know, easier said than done with most of the general public. It's something I always do- especially since I buy in bulk.

[cshellenberger]

This is why I don't buy dog food from Walmart or grocery stores, the stock just doesn't turn over quickly enough. Even at Von's and other such stores I've seen bags that have clearly been there for weeks. Of course, I don't feed a brand you'd find at a grocer or discount store anyhow.

[crazydog06]

I have fed my dog Beneful for a yr and a half and found no problem so far.
I buy it at Walmart too. I will check the food when I get home today for the mold. Thanks!

[Captbob]

I have fed my dog Beneful for a yr and a half and found no problem so far.
I buy it at Walmart too. I will check the food when I get home today for the mold. Thanks!

Here are the ingredients in Beneful. Some of the really poor ones for a quality dogfood are highlighted.

Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, [B]soy flour,[/B] sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, animal digest, salt, phosphoric acid, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, zinc sulfate, glyceryl monostearate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.
F-4090

here is a web page explaining what you should avoid in food you feed your dog...


http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index....badingredients

[MagicToller]

Thanks for the heads up on the ingredients as well as the stock info on buying in bulk, this is a good post for people to see

[LabLady101]

Here are the ingredients in Beneful. Some of the really poor ones for a quality dogfood are highlighted.

Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, [B]soy flour,[/B] sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, animal digest, salt, phosphoric acid, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, zinc sulfate, glyceryl monostearate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.
F-4090

here is a web page explaining what you should avoid in food you feed your dog...


http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index....badingredients

There is nothing inherently wrong with the first three ingredients. Corn, when it is finely ground, is an excellent source of Omega fatty acids and highly digestible- as it is with Ground Yellow Corn. Chicken By-Product Meal is actually highly digestible as well as nutritious and includes things that would be in any normal RAW diet. Corn Gluten Meal is the highly digestible inside portion of the corn kernel, and it's rich in protein.

Now, before my head gets sent to the chopping block, I do want to say that I don't care for Beneful and it's not because of the quality of the ingredients, but because of the order and the amount of the ingredients. I do not like to see Corn as the first ingredient (second ingredient is fine, just not first), nor two products of corn in the first three. Also as I said, By-Products are fine but I like to see a named meat (not necessarily a meal, although I know that it would be better) as the first ingredient and then if there are By-Products to back that up, that's fine. So, all in all, I believe it's not necessarily poor quality ingredients more than it's the amount of them.

Also, a little correction: Walmart and Sam's Club have never carried any of Diamond's foods, so it's almost impossible that the toxic Diamond foods came from there- I know because I've shopped at both Sam's Club and Walmart for years (never bought my dog food there, of course, but have made a trip down the dog food aisle everytime I'm there to check out what foods they are stocking) and not once have I seen ANY of the foods that were listed in Diamond's recall. Also, why didn't the owner's take the dog to an emergency vet if they were so concern? And, if the food came from Walmart, why contact Purina when the problem obvisouly doesn't lie there? The more and more I'm reading this post, the more and more I'm thinking this just may be an elaborate hoax aimed at discrediting Purina and Walmart. I may be wrong, but the facts are just not adding up and it wouldn't be the first of it's kind...

[Captbob]

There is nothing inherently wrong with the first three ingredients. Corn, when it is finely ground, is an excellent source of Omega fatty acids and highly digestible- as it is with Ground Yellow Corn. Chicken By-Product Meal is actually highly digestible as well as nutritious and includes things that would be in any normal RAW diet. Corn Gluten Meal is the highly digestible inside portion of the corn kernel, and it's rich in protein.

Now, before my head gets sent to the chopping block, I do want to say that I don't care for Beneful and it's not because of the quality of the ingredients, but because of the order and the amount of the ingredients. I do not like to see Corn as the first ingredient (second ingredient is fine, just not first), nor two products of corn in the first three. Also as I said, By-Products are fine but I like to see a named meat (not necessarily a meal, although I know that it would be better) as the first ingredient and then if there are By-Products to back that up, that's fine. So, all in all, I believe it's not necessarily poor quality ingredients more than it's the amount of them.

Also, a little correction: Walmart and Sam's Club have never carried any of Diamond's foods, so it's almost impossible that the toxic Diamond foods came from there- I know because I've shopped at both Sam's Club and Walmart for years (never bought my dog food there, of course, but have made a trip down the dog food aisle everytime I'm there to check out what foods they are stocking) and not once have I seen ANY of the foods that were listed in Diamond's recall. Also, why didn't the owner's take the dog to an emergency vet if they were so concern? And, if the food came from Walmart, why contact Purina when the problem obvisouly doesn't lie there? The more and more I'm reading this post, the more and more I'm thinking this just may be an elaborate hoax aimed at discrediting Purina and Walmart. I may be wrong, but the facts are just not adding up and it wouldn't be the first of it's kind...

The primary ingredient in any decent dog food should not be grains like corn, wheat , etc. Chicken byproducts are much less expensive and less digestible than the chicken muscle meat.The ingredients of each batch can vary drastically in ingredients (heads, feet, bones etc.) as well as quality, thus the nutritional value is also not consistent. A dogfood that has those ingredients is just like feeding a child a diet of twinkies and french fries in my opinion.

[Wimble Woof]

There is nothing inherently wrong with the first three ingredients. Corn, when it is finely ground, is an excellent source of Omega fatty acids and highly digestible- as it is with Ground Yellow Corn.

There are way better sources for Omega fatty acids than corn... corn is undigestible for dogs and more or less a filler. To me thats a horrible ingredient to be in a dogs diet.
However, on the topic of the Beneful..
What more do you expect from cheap crappy foods?? They spend more on advertisment of their product then actually trying to produce something good.

[LabLady101]

The primary ingredient in any decent dog food should not be grains like corn, wheat , etc. Chicken byproducts are much less expensive and less digestible than the chicken muscle meat.The ingredients of each batch can vary drastically in ingredients (heads, feet, bones etc.) as well as quality, thus the nutritional value is also not consistent. A dogfood that has those ingredients is just like feeding a child a diet of twinkies and french fries in my opinion.

This is not true- especially if the company produces what is called a "fixed formula" in which the quality and quantity of the ingredients never changes with the cost of purchasing them. Also, I think you really should search for a few current studies on By-Products as they are actually highly nutritious and digestible, providing a wide range of vitamins and minerals as well as being very high in protein. And, actually, there is nothing in By-Products that would not be fed to a dog on a RAW diet. That's something that has always striken me as odd- the fact that people dislike seeing By-Products in their dog's kibble, but will gladly serve them a meal of tongues, livers, hearts, necks, etc. Doesn't make sense, does it?!

[Wimble Woof]

I dont mean to pick at your posts LabLady but there is plenty that is considered a by product that I would never drop in my dogs dish.

http://cats.about.com/od/catfoodglos...byprodmeal.htm

Definition: Chicken by-product meal consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.

I do not feed undeveloped eggs or intestines to my dogs, or any amount of feathers....

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index....betterproducts
(midway down the page)
What to avoid:

►All generic meat ingredients that do not indicate a species (meat, meat byproducts, meat byproduct meal, meat meal, meat & bone meal, blood meal, fish, fish meal, poultry, poultry byproducts, poultry meal, poultry byproduct meal, liver, liver meal, glandular meal etc.)

►Byproduct meals, even if a species is identified (chicken/beef/turkey/lamb byproduct meal etc.), since highly questionable ingredients may be used in these rendered products.
►Any food that contains corn (ground or otherwise) as a first ingredient, especially if corn gluten meal is also a main ingredient and no concentrated source of identified meat protein (e.g. chicken meal, lamb meal etc.) is present.
► Corn gluten or soy(bean) meal as main ingredients. Note: Not all dogs tolerate soy products! Small amounts, especially of organic soy, are okay as long as a dog is not sensitive. There are only very few products on the market that include high quality soy ingredients, none of them sold at grocery stores or mass retailers.

[LabLady101]

There are way better sources for Omega fatty acids than corn... corn is undigestible for dogs and more or less a filler. To me thats a horrible ingredient to be in a dogs diet.
However, on the topic of the Beneful..
What more do you expect from cheap crappy foods?? They spend more on advertisment of their product then actually trying to produce something good.

No, Corn is not undigestible, nor is it always a "filler". If you really believe that, you have YEARS of study in the field of Dog Nutrition ahead of you. You really should look at the definition of "filler" too- it hardly describes the use of grains in dog food.

Also, advertising has nothing to do with anything. If it did, then I guess no one should feed Nutro, Diamond, Solid Gold, Eage Pack, etc. as they are all jumping on the advertising bandwagon.

[Wimble Woof]

Also, advertising has nothing to do with anything. If it did, then I guess no one should feed Nutro, Diamond, Solid Gold, Eage Pack, etc. as they are all jumping on the advertising bandwagon.

However, Nutro, Diamond, Solid Gold and Eagle Pack are decent foods.

No, Corn is not undigestible, nor is it always a "filler". If you really believe that, you have YEARS of study in the field of Dog Nutrition ahead of you. You really should look at the definition of "filler" too- it hardly describes the use of grains in dog food.

However, it seems strange to me that I havent heard of any wolves or dogs raiding a farmers corn field perhaps because grains are not a part of a carnivores natural diet??? Thats what gets me.. the people who are advocates for "lesser" food ingredients have some belief that dogs need to eat veggies or grains inorder to have balance in their diet. IMO adding grains is useless for a dogs diet, or should someone post a memo in the wilderness for the wolves to reconsider their diet?

[LabLady101]

I dont mean to pick at your posts LabLady but there is plenty that is considered a by product that I would never drop in my dogs dish.

http://cats.about.com/od/catfoodglos...byprodmeal.htm

I do not feed undeveloped eggs or intestines to my dogs, or any amount of feathers....

Feathers are not an acceptable By-Product, maybe you need to reread that part of the definition. Also, if you know exactly what a company puts in their product (which they will gladly tell you if you bother to call ), it might not be as "horrible" as everyone imagines. I know of one company imparticular (I'm not going to name names, if you want you can PM me, although the information is clearly on their website if anyone cared to actually look) that NEVER uses feet, heads, or beaks and specifically has only quality organs set aside to go into it's food- which costs more money. But, I suppose actually spending more money on ensuring a quality product makes them more of "crap", "junk", "garbage", etc. company. Things are not always as "horrible" as what they seem on the ingredients list. You really should contact some of these companies to find out why they use the ingredients they use. I can tell you, it's not always because they are "cheap", "crappy", "junk", "poor quality" ingredients- even basic nutritional research will tell you that.

Also, I think the dogfoodproject.com website is horse hockey, made by a person who only knows what they've been told and what consumers want to hear about Dog Nutrition- and none of it research. If I went by what that woman says, I'd have to put my waders on in order to stand in all the crap.

However, Nutro, Diamond, Solid Gold and Eagle Pack are decent foods.


However, it seems strange to me that I havent heard of any wolves or dogs raiding a farmers corn field perhaps because grains are not a part of a carnivores natural diet??? Thats what gets me.. the people who are advocates for "lesser" food ingredients have some belief that dogs need to eat veggies or grains inorder to have balance in their diet. IMO adding grains is useless for a dogs diet, or should someone post a memo in the wilderness for the wolves to reconsider their diet?

What's so different about Nutro, Diamond, Solid Gold, Eagle Pack etc. that makes them any better than others? I can't find anything, and can, in fact, question quite a few of their ingredients. For example, Nutro NC L&R may use Lamb Meal as their first ingredient, but then they engage in "ingredient splitting" with their next 3 ingredients being rice products. Now, exactly how much meat is in the product with that much rice? Not as much as they'd like everyone to believe.


Actually, I have heard the farmers complain about wolves and coyotes raiding their corn and wheat fields. They are just as bad as the deer around here. I saw a coyote in a corn field back in the fall. They do indeed eat grains- even when they have all sorts of ducks, cows, chickens, etc. that they could catch. And no, these are not "mutant" wolves and coyotes. These are the run of the mill type, nothing special or odd about them.

[Wimble Woof]

Im guessing more horse hockey??
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...oduct=70&cat=7
http://www.eridox.com/health/nutrition.php
Seriously, I have no intentions on turning the world against kibble, but in all reality... i see no point to certain ingredients.

I also have no intentions on having you agree with my point, these debates never end good.
I guess im just going to keep on with my belief on the issue and you on yours, next thing that'll probably pop up is how the Guide dog association doesnt agree with raw therefore no one should or that there has been no study of the benifits of raw feeding over kibble? and so on... I've been here before.

I'll just take the proof of centuries of healthy carnivores surviving just fine on a meat based diet with out certain ingredients and carry on with what Im doing.

[cshellenberger]

You now, had NO intention of starting an argument here, I simply wanted people to know there might be a problem with a product that many feed their dogs. Why argue over ingredients or raw versus kibble? It's a matter of choice.

[Wimble Woof]

Actually, I have heard the farmers complain about wolves and coyotes raiding their corn and wheat fields. They are just as bad as the deer around here. I saw a coyote in a corn field back in the fall. They do indeed eat grains- even when they have all sorts of ducks, cows, chickens, etc. that they could catch. And no, these are not "mutant" wolves and coyotes. These are the run of the mill type, nothing special or odd about them.

Im honestly yet to hear about it around here.
Anyways...as I said earlier i'm not going to debate about this forever... raw is working wonders for me (even without grains ) as kibble works wonders for you.
Also... perhaps I do have a lot of learning to do about kibble, but frankly, im not too interested, before kibble came about dogs survived and lived good lives. So there is something to be said about raw/home cooked

[LabLady101]

Im guessing more horse hockey??
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...oduct=70&cat=7
http://www.eridox.com/health/nutrition.php
Seriously, I have no intentions on turning the world against kibble, but in all reality... i see no point to certain ingredients.

I also have no intentions on having you agree with my point, these debates never end good.
I guess im just going to keep on with my belief on the issue and you on yours, next thing that'll probably pop up is how the Guide dog association doesnt agree with raw therefore no one should or that there has been no study of the benifits of raw feeding over kibble? and so on... I've been here before.

I'll just take the proof of centuries of healthy carnivores surviving just fine on a meat based diet with out certain ingredients and carry on with what Im doing.

Yup, you got it! More horse hockey! And, believe it or not, I have no intention of turning you away from RAW. My only point is that there is a lot of ingredients in kibble that are actually very healthy and have a purpose in a dog's diet beyond mearly what a consumer wants to see on the label- despite what a lot of people think.

No, I'm not going to get into the guide dog association's stance on anything, because ultimately I really don't care. (What does the guide dog association know about nutrition anyway? Training, yes. Nutrition, no.) I mearly care about what is good and healthy for my dogs. There are just a lot of ingredients that get VERY much undeserved bad raps (with no research to back up those conclusions), and that's where I feel I need to educate.

I also never said that a food should not be meat based- in fact, I tend not to even consider a food if it's not.

I agree, to each their own.

[Wimble Woof]

Great... so we agree to disagree on most parts!
Anything I have produced is "horse hockey"(thats an interesting image by the way lol) is your opinion, and By-products and corn are non essential ingredients is my opinion. I'll settle for that truce.

My only point is that there is a lot of ingredients in kibble that are actually very healthy and have a purpose in a dog's diet beyond mearly what a consumer wants to see on the label- despite what a lot of people think.

The way I honestly feel about it...
If you know why you choose to feed your dog X brand of dog food and have actually researched the benefits of it and are happy with your findings... Great! And yes... kibble does have healthy ingredients too.
But I hope you can agree that some foods have completely useless or potentially harmful (ie. menadione) ingredients and still say that their food is the best...

*** should edit... I am aware that menadione has been removed from most petfoods, but was fed for a long time****