Colony Collapse - Food Tainted

[lord jackel]

Wonder if communication got crossed up or maybe the person just did know whether or not they got grain for Asia

Very possible...and also I am not feeding a direct PMI product so what they are saying could very well be true...that is not to say other mills (operated, financed or whatever) don't import (like mine). It is also interesting that they say ALL their grains are domestic and we know that isn't true...since they were part of the big pet food recall last year due to imported tainted grains.

Oh well time to move on...I have 30 rats now using a new batch of food and no deaths to date in about 2 weeks...so looks like the bad stuff is behind me.

[stangs13]

Very possible...and also I am not feeding a direct PMI product so what they are saying could very well be true...that is not to say other mills (operated, financed or whatever) don't import (like mine). It is also interesting that they say ALL their grains are domestic and we know that isn't true...since they were part of the big pet food recall last year due to imported tainted grains.

Oh well time to move on...I have 30 rats now using a new batch of food and no deaths to date in about 2 weeks...so looks like the bad stuff is behind me.

Cool! Hope you can get everything back up to normal in a few months! good luck!

[Dr Owens]

It is also interesting that they say ALL their grains are domestic and we know that isn't true...since they were part of the big pet food recall last year due to imported tainted grains.

No...they didn't import tainted grains. They imported wheat gluten, which is a manufactured product that was produced in China.

Quite frankly, it doesn't even make sense to say that a large company like Purina would import grain. There is more grain available, and for a lower price, in this country than anywhere in the world. Rice might be the only exception to this.

[Louis Kirkland]

On 1/16/08 I sent the following email to Mazuri:

To whom it may concern,

I am a reptile breeder. I raise my own rodents to feed my snakes. I use Mazuri 6F5M30 rodent food exclusively.

It has recently been brought to my attention, that a thread on one of the internet reptile forums that I visit occasionally, has an active thread that at least implies that there may be a problem with Mazuri 6F5M30 rodent feed being contaminated with Formaldehyde. Would it be possible for you to have someone read the thread in question (I'm including a link to the thread) and respond with any information that you have available.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide. Here is the link to the thread:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=58962

Louis Kirkland
Cornerstone Reptiles

[Louis Kirkland]

On 1/17/08 I received the following replies:

Hi Louis,

Thank you for your email and thank you for your business. We do appreciate your use of Mazuri Rodent 6F and expect it to be meeting and exceeding your needs. I will read the thread on the link you've sent and respond appropriately, but wanted to assure you up front that there is no formaldehyde in any of Mazuri diets. Once I read the thread I will provide interpretation to you.

Thank you again for your email and I'll be in touch soon.

Carrie

Carrie Kuball, M.S.
Mazuri Exotic Animal Nutrition


Mr. Kirkland,

Thank you for contacting Mazuri and sharing your concerns with us. We do not obtain any ingredients from Asian countries to manufacture Mazuri diets (the rumor being formaldehyde tainted soybean meal from an Asian country). I am copying the quality manager at our specialty manufacture facility for verification of this and will have someone contact you. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Tricia A. Lutman
Marketing/Technical
Communications Manager
LabDiet/TestDiet/Mazuri

[lord jackel]

They imported wheat gluten, which is a manufactured product that was produced in China.
.

This is simply a technicality. Wheat gluten is a grain product to say they don't import is misleading. This would be like someone saying Tropicanna isn't real Orange Juice cause they use juice concentrate.

However, I agree with the PMI responses (and your earlier point) even Purina is assuming that we are saying Muzuri is tainted and in NO post so far has anyone said that. All the emails and calls to Purina were based on a supposition or trying to connect the dots between what happened to me (a custom made food NOT Muzuri)...and that Ed had some deaths and he DOES use Muzuri. As soon as it was determined his weren't a food issue it should have stopped this assumption.

[Louis Kirkland]

On 1/18/08 I received the following email:

Good Morning Louis,

I have read the blog of emails regarding formaldehyde and have a few important points to bring up:

First of all and most importantly, Mazuri products are made with US based ingredients only. All ingredients in all Mazuri products are sourced in the US, nothing is imported. We may pay more for our ingredients being US based but by doing so, we know there are regulations in place and we avoid situations such as this one.

We take the manufacturing of our products very seriously and have extreme quality measures in place. We spend a fair bit of time and money testing testing each batch of ingredients being used and then the finished products we produce. After all, we are feeding highly endangered exotic animals and pets! (Many smaller companies making "custom" diets do not have the manufacturing knowledge required or the quality measures in place that we are able to have.)

Mazuri is the leading exotic animal nutrition company in the world for a reason. We take pride in our products and stand behind each ton of our very own manufactured feeds. Very few (if any other) exotic animal feed companies have the capability to manufacture feed. We have a strong team of in house nutritionists developing diets, doing research with many of the leading zoos, aquariums, and private collectors/breeders in the world, and we have our own manufacturing plants controlling the manufacturing of each diet we develop.

Unfortunately there are a lot of misconceptions regarding nutrition and animal feed out there. Thank you for taking the time to come to us with questions. Please let me know if you have any further concerns regarding our products. I'd be happy to help you.

Have a wonderful day.
Carrie

Carrie Kuball, M.S.
Mazuri Exotic Animal Nutrition

[littleindiangirl]

I gave everyone back their Mazuri after I got those emails. It's nearly impossible for me to feed Harlan, and I do like Mazuri. I'm confident in that each of our responses, I'm glad they got back to us as quickly as they did.

[Freakie_frog]

On 1/18/08 I received the following email:

Good Morning Louis,

I have read the blog of emails regarding formaldehyde and have a few important points to bring up:

First of all and most importantly, Mazuri products are made with US based ingredients only. All ingredients in all Mazuri products are sourced in the US, nothing is imported. We may pay more for our ingredients being US based but by doing so, we know there are regulations in place and we avoid situations such as this one.

We take the manufacturing of our products very seriously and have extreme quality measures in place. We spend a fair bit of time and money testing testing each batch of ingredients being used and then the finished products we produce. After all, we are feeding highly endangered exotic animals and pets! (Many smaller companies making "custom" diets do not have the manufacturing knowledge required or the quality measures in place that we are able to have.)

Mazuri is the leading exotic animal nutrition company in the world for a reason. We take pride in our products and stand behind each ton of our very own manufactured feeds. Very few (if any other) exotic animal feed companies have the capability to manufacture feed. We have a strong team of in house nutritionists developing diets, doing research with many of the leading zoos, aquariums, and private collectors/breeders in the world, and we have our own manufacturing plants controlling the manufacturing of each diet we develop.

Unfortunately there are a lot of misconceptions regarding nutrition and animal feed out there. Thank you for taking the time to come to us with questions. Please let me know if you have any further concerns regarding our products. I'd be happy to help you.

Have a wonderful day.
Carrie

Carrie Kuball, M.S.
Mazuri Exotic Animal Nutrition

Wow great talk up about their product.. Where did they address the fact that a mill owned by them produced a product tested by them showed resultes found by them to contain formaldehyde??

They didn't.. Sounded more like a sales pitch.

[lord jackel]

Wow great talk up about their product.. Where did they address the fact that a mill owned by them produced a product tested by them showed resultes found by them to contain formaldehyde??

They didn't.. Sounded more like a sales pitch.

Ed...I would only caveat this by saying my info is via a call with the mill and what I was told. I could have gotten the sales pitch too - pass the buck sort of thing . (Also, as came out earlier...I was able to figure out "owned" in this case isn't accurate there is some other relationship)

I think what PMI is and has been saying is that Muzuri is safe and well tested which wasn't really in question in the first place.