Blue Buffalo admits pet food was mislabeled, pets got inferior chicken instead
Blue Buffalo issued a press release telling consumers they just might not have been getting what they paid for. What’s worse, pets were not getting chicken meal but were getting poultry by-product meal instead.
Blue Buffalo recently found out that one of its suppliers has been sending them the wrong chicken ingredient: they were getting poultry by-product meal mislabeled as chicken meal, which was then used to make their some of their pet foods.
Blue Buffalo explains, that while they “may have received some of these mislabeled shipments,” there is no mention of how long their supplier had been shipping the wrong ingredient to Blue Buffalo, just that it has been going on for some time.
And, although Blue Buffalo states they just learned of this error, they say the mislabeling issue “was corrected by the supplier months ago.”
It is unclear for what length of time this error has been occurring or why consumers are just now being told about a mislabeling issue that was corrected “months ago.”
Because Blue Buffalo used the mislabeled ingredient, albeit unwittingly, the products containing the wrong ingredient are therefore mislabeled and subject to recall.
But which products are affected?
We don’t know, because Blue Buffalo chose not to reveal that information or if they have any intention of issuing a recall.
Meaningless assurances
Despite assurances by Blue Buffalo that “this mislabeling poses no health, safety or nutrition issue,” and that “any Blue Buffalo food could include a mislabeled ingredient is totally unacceptable”, it brings up several discomforting points:
- It is troubling that Blue Buffalo has not following the law regarding mislabeled products and issued a recall for their mislabeled product(s). Although Blue Buffalo finds mislabeled ingredients in their products “totally unacceptable,” apparently find it totally acceptable to continue selling products those mislabeled products that should be recalled.
- Some would argue that poultry by-product meal is inferior to poultry meal, therefore it could be considered a health and nutritional issue.
- Despite their assurances that they will “no longer do business with that plant in Texas”, that is not an assurance that they will no longer do business with the supplier, just that they won’t accept goods from that plant. The plant in Texas is only a miniscule part of the suppliers vast global enterprise. The supplier, Wilbur-Ellis, is the same company that ensnared Blue Buffalo in the Chinese melamine-contaminated rice protein pet food crisis in 2007 that poisoned and killed hundreds of thousands of pets.
- If, as they claim in the press release – “every bag of Blue Buffalo is tested to confirm that it meets their nutritional standards before it is released for sale” – were they able to miss that poultry by-product meal generally has a higher ash content than that chicken meal?
Ingredient comparison
The differences between the composition and nutritional profiles of the two poultry products depends largely on processing conditions and on the source of raw materials. However, in terms of definitions, AAFCO defines poultry by-product meal as the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered poultry such as necks, heads, feet, undeveloped eggs, gizzards and intestines, exclusive of feathers.
Chicken meal (or poultry meal) on the other hand, according to AAFCO, is the dry rendered product from a combination of clean flesh and skin with and without accompanying bone, derived from whole carcasses of chicken thereof, exclusive of feathers, heads, feet and entrails.
The illusion of transparency
Blue Buffalo takes pains to mention in the press release that although other pet food manufacturers will be affected by this gaffe, they distinguish themselves by saying “Although pet food companies are not required to inform consumers of an incident such as this, where no safety or nutritional issues exist, the Blue Buffalo way is to be transparent with you. So while we have now learned that this mislabeling issue was corrected by the supplier months ago, we believe that you have the right to know about it.”
In marketing, perception is reality. Transparency is when business activities are done in an open way without secrets, so that consumers can trust that they are honest. There are three primary dimensions of corporate transparency: information disclosure, clarity, and accuracy.
The quality of pet food should be judged not only by the quality of their ingredients, but by the quality of their corporate governance policy, the sincerity of their transparency and ultimately, their ability to be accountable by accepting responsibility.
Pet Food Safety News publishes reader-supported investigative reporting on commercial pet food, industry practices, and regulatory issues affecting consumers. It has no financial ties to pet food companies. Donations help fund the research, writing, and publishing costs behind this work and support continued reporting on transparency, accountability, and consumer protection in the pet food industry. If you value this reporting, please consider making a donation.
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29 Comments
Anonymous
I fed Blue for five years, last August, my dog starting getting sick rushed him to ER and after five thousand and many test later and meds for the rest for his life. from BLUE changed supplier in aug . Please read there are over a thousand complaints about this food, all with the same like problems my dog has. around the same time this all started. I have since changed to Wellness hopefully this company has more concern for animals than making money using cheap CHINA vitiamins BLUE IS DEADLY My dog is doing ok now but damage is done to his liver. blue should be ashamed.., Also had a dog get sick a few years back when Blue had a problem with vit d in their large breed dog food,not deadly but harmful only a thousand dollars then, Don’t feed this stuff if you care about your pet, toxins build up over time, ………………………………
Peter
Wellness is not made by Old Mother Hubbard itself, it is manufactured by a co-packer. Like any food that is made by a “contract manufacturer,” you may not necessarily get what you pay for. There can be mistakes, careless or institutional, or cross-contamination when batches are changed, etc., and a myriad of other problems. As far as vitamin additives, as Mollie has discussed, virtually all pet food manufacturers use bulk vitamins sourced from China, claiming that there is no readily available alternative. For that reason, “made in US” is not something you can rely on, either.
Jennifer
This is EXACTLY why we should be feeding our pets either raw or home cooked food that WE buy them and prepare for them. Do you buy your kid McDonalds every day for supper? No? why not?
Ohhhh it would make them sick…and it’s crap food…ohhhhh
If you are going to have a dog in your life, know that it is not as easy opening a bag of hard bits and pouring it into a bowl…it takes time, love, commitment and yes money….
I am so very glad that I never have to worry about what my pups are eating…I know what they are eating because I make it!
Christine
Maybe, just maybe, listen to what your veterinarian recommends for food and not “the kid at the pet store” and this kind of issue can be avoided every time They did go to school for 6+ years. Foods sold at vet clinics go through rigorous scientific testing (which is not mandatory in the pet food industry) and are developed by veterinarian nutritionists. How many of the foods sold at the pet stores can say the same thing?
Peter
You are correct, I would not regard the “kid at the pet store” highly, but I would not agree about listening to a veterinarian either. Most vets are painfully ignorant of nutritional science, as it is not a focus of training at most schools. Also, the agriculture conglomerates (pet food manufacturers) subsidize much of their veterinary education, through supplies and texts, that many students are reliant upon to meet the cost of attending. As a result, graduates are often very much “beholden” to these pet food giants for their education, and are reluctant to “bite the hand that fed them.” The foods offered for sale at veterinary clinics may well have gone through much “rigorous scientific testing,” but that is deceiving, as much pet food science is directed at developing “palatants” and other means to get your dog or cat to eat something that he otherwise would never touch. The base of many “veterinary formulas” is generally grain-based. I would never accept a veterinary formula for my cats, they are just a profit center for the veterinary clinic.
Nancy
I am a pet owner who lost my cat from feeding him Science Diet Veterinarian prescribed food.. I purchased the food at the Vet clinic. I know that at the same time a handful of dog owners who purchased prescribed food (also Science Diet lost their animals) to kidney failure. It was not the fault of the Vet….It was the fault of the manufacturer! Vets are not immune to getting poorly made food. The Vets do not regulate the manufacture of the food to my knowledge. I am a strong advocate to feeding your animal it’s natural diet as a result. If I don’t make it…my two GSDs do not eat it now…right down to biscuits! My two mean the world to me and I would never think of feeding them anything like processed foods…..when was the last time you saw a dog in the wild eat corn??? Does it not make more sense to feed them a balanced raw diet like their ancestors? Just my two cents
Anonymous
Nancy I too lost my my cat from feeding her Science Diet my vet prescribed and purchased back in 2008 which was devastating. She was way too young.
The vet was unaware and the manufacturer is to blame.
csil
Actually, Poultry by-products can be from ANY bird….turkey, chicken, duck, crows, budgies, as long as it is bird. Chicken meal on the other hand, must consist solely of chicken sources. BIG difference!!! Same with Meat meal vs Lamb or Beef meal. ANY animal vs specifically sourced meat.
Peter
Blue needs to undertake a serious examination of its business protocols for transparency and frankly, simple respect for its customers. We paid for one ingredient, but got another, which should have cost less, and we may well have bought their product attempting to avoid what we got. Absent a full-fledged recall, and some sort of compensation to its customers, I would have reason to distrust what they tell me, in the past, and going forward. It may be “totally unacceptable,” but that is just posturing: Blue is keeping the money we paid, apparently, without second thought.
Joan Windschitl
So basically people were paying premium prices for an inferior product. Sweet deal for the company but not so much for the consumer or the animal eating those leftover body parts. I don’t save receipts for dog food but if I did I would want a refund on all the months I paid their prices for food I could get at the dollar store.
cookielu1999
Why is it when a pet food company grows large their quality grows small. This ambiguous information shared by Blue Buffalo causes this pet consumer distress and I will continue to stay away from large corporate pet food manufacturers such as Blue Buffalo. If my favorite and trusted brands turn into, or are sold to large corporate machines I will quit buying them!
LeeAnn
We took our boys, Himalayan cats, off of Blue Buffalo months ago. It was causing, vomiting in one and urinary crystals in the other. We were feeding Blue Buffalo basics, Turkey and Potato. It seemed like an abrupt change… all of a sudden we had problems.