Blue Buffalo Inc. has issued a voluntary recall on specific production runs of its Wilderness Chicken-Dog, Basics Salmon-Dog and Large Breed Adult Dog products due to higher than normal levels of vitamin D.
“We came to this conclusion after discovering that our supplier had made a scheduling error and produced a vitamin D supplement immediately prior to preparing the ingredients for the Blue products that are in question,†CEO Bill Bishop said today in a letter posted on the company’s website. “We believe that some of the vitamin D supplement may have been carried over into our products, resulting in more vitamin D than is called for in our formulas.â€
Bishop noted that the potential of increased vitamin D presents no serious health risk. However, if a dog shows any adverse reaction to the recalled products, the dog should be seen by a veterinarian, he added. Typical symptoms might include excessive water intake and/or excessive urination, and in some cases vomiting.
Bishop said Blue Buffalo will reimburse any veterinary or testing expenses related to illness caused by the recalled products.
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This has happened before. Blue Buffalo’s recall is just one of many in recent years, due to excessive Vitamin D or other synthetic nutrients in pet food. In 2006, Royal Canin recalled several of their foods because they also contained too much added Vitamin D. In 2009, Nutro recalled cat foods, citing the formulas contained “excessive levels of zinc.†At about the same time, 21 horses at the U.S. Open Polo Championship in Florida died from a supplement overdose of the mineral selenium. The common factor to all of these events is the use of added man-made vitamins or minerals. With the exception of Nature’s Logic, all commercial pet food manufacturers producing dry kibble or canned food add chemically-synthesized vitamins and minerals to their foods.