Supercoat Problem

[Dave-o]

Last week I had a lady tell me her dog had become seriously ill from eating from a bag of Supercoat. Before she realised the food was the (likely) cause she gave the bag to her neighbour, which resorted in her dog vomiting.

She returned to the store, and the clerk said Purina had visited to buy up all remaining bags of Supercoat from that batch, of which there were none left.

She asked where the food could be analysed, and I've found a lab that would do chemical, toxin, and heavy metal screening but it would cost $700. I gather she has little money available for such an analysis. I contacted Purina Australia to ask if they would fund the analysis, but they didn't reply. They normally give me a lacklustre reply at the very least.

Does anyone have any clever ideas?

If Purina did distribute a bad batch and neglected to announce it to consumers then that's very concerning.

[Rebanne]

don't you mean Possible Problem as your info is 2nd and 3rd hand

[Dave-o]

Yes, possible problem. That's the reason I put (likely) cause.

[luvsdogs]

Purina obviously knew there was a problem with the food to come & buy it back. I think at the very least they could do is pay for any vet bills.

[_PL_]

Have you tried calling recalls.gov.au? I couldn't see anything on their recent list but I don't think it's mandatory for manufacturers to report bad pet food/treats anyway?

[J...]

Last week I had a lady tell me her dog had become seriously ill from eating from a bag of Supercoat. Before she realised the food was the (likely) cause she gave the bag to her neighbour, which resorted in her dog vomiting.

She returned to the store, and the clerk said Purina had visited to buy up all remaining bags of Supercoat from that batch, of which there were none left.

She asked where the food could be analysed, and I've found a lab that would do chemical, toxin, and heavy metal screening but it would cost $700. I gather she has little money available for such an analysis. I contacted Purina Australia to ask if they would fund the analysis, but they didn't reply. They normally give me a lacklustre reply at the very least.

Does anyone have any clever ideas?

If Purina did distribute a bad batch and neglected to announce it to consumers then that's very concerning.

Without knowing what specific issue you're looking for, then the number of tests required increase substantially and so does the cost.

If the owner of the dog wants to pursue the issue further via testing, do some research on the most common issues when it comes to pet foods. It might narrow the options down, but I would be inclined to add mold/mycotoxins to that list of tests required.

The owner needs to pursue it further through Purina, keep on going up the chain of authority until she receives a satisfactory answer - especially regarding any ongoing health implications. Reimbursement of all associated vet bills would be nice too.