# Blue Buffalo Recall



## American_Pit13 (Apr 23, 2007)

MSU researchers link pet food, dog illnesses nationwide - College Of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University

MSU researchers link pet food, dog illnesses nationwide. EAST LANSING, Mich. A team of researchers at Michigan State University has discovered a group of illnesses reported in dogs across the country is linked to a specific brand of dog food from the Blue Buffalo Co.

Veterinarians from across the country recently began sending samples from dogs with elevated levels of calcium in their blood to MSU's Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health, director Carole Bolin said. The sick dogs had increased thirst and urination, and some of them also suffered weight loss, loss of appetite and signs of kidney damage.

Endocrinologists with the Diagnostic Center, a service unit of the College of Veterinary Medicine, soon noticed the pattern and found a common factor: All 16 dogs whose samples were tested had very high levels of vitamin D in their blood and were fed a diet of Blue Buffalo's Wilderness Chicken Recipe.

The diagnostic center is cooperating with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration on an investigation into the brand, Bolin said.

The only reason we were able to identify the pattern is because of the vast national resource our center has become, said Bolin, who added her lab performs more than 1.3 million tests a year. Because of our nationwide reach and expertise, we were able to discover this and notify the proper authorities.ˇ

It is routine for veterinarians across the country to contact the center for specialized testing to explore the causes of clinical conditions. In this specific case, all the dogs were found to have very high levels of vitamin D in their serum, a quite unusual finding. Endocrinologist Kent Refsal picked up on the pattern of cases and began to investigate.

The affected dogs ranged in age from 8 months to 8 years. There were three mixed-breed dogs and 13 purebred dogs. The samples originated from eight states: Michigan, Texas, Colorado, Wisconsin, California, Illinois, North Dakota and Utah. In addition to the testing, there was either a brief written history and/or communication with the referring veterinarian to discuss the possible sources of excess vitamin D.

Dogs seem to recover when the diet is changed, Bolin said, and there have not been any reported deaths related to the diet.

For more detailed scientific information, go to

http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu/Misc/WEBCD.GEN.REF.026.pdf


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## amber7579 (Feb 3, 2011)

*Blue Dog Food*

This is scary! I feed my dog blue duck formula...i am starting to think that a home cooked diet might be better for her. She got sick from the last pet food recall when my vet suggested I put her on Science Diet and it was tainted!


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## CaLi 2 B.C. (Dec 4, 2010)

amber7579 said:


> This is scary! I feed my dog blue duck formula...i am starting to think that a home cooked diet might be better for her. She got sick from the last pet food recall when my vet suggested I put her on Science Diet and it was tainted!


check out Orijen.


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## Aireal (Jul 2, 2010)

we've had a great dane die from BB and another already end up in ER from vitamin D deficiency, lets just say my guys wont be changed to that any time soon


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## amber7579 (Feb 3, 2011)

*BB*

Wow! thanks! I will check out that dog food. . . . it is sooo frustrating trying to find a decent dog food. I found this website that rated dog foods and it gave the Blue Buffalo 5 stars! It also said that that Orijen dog food was 5 stars so i will look into that one


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## Blue_Nose_Bella (Jan 16, 2011)

Between them having pet food recalls and human food recalls is anything really safe anymore??? I get so confused I don't know what to feed anymore?!?!?? IMO everything these days that we put into our mouth and bodies or our dogs is a risk. I feed BB and I knew about the recall last year but it has been taken care of and on BB's website it states that they back there food 100% and have taken care of the problem and will never let it happen again. They also offered to cover peoples vet bills if there dogs were affected by it. I like that they are a small company and for now I will continue to feed it. That's just me  On the other hand I wish I had Orijen near me. I probably would feed that if I had a choice. People rave about it like they eat it LOL!! I also am looking into a raw diet eventually for Bella but I would do the pre-made NV or one of the others. :roll:


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## Lex's Guardian (Aug 8, 2009)

Aireal said:


> we've had a great dane die from BB and another already end up in ER from vitamin D deficiency, lets just say my guys wont be changed to that any time soon


Are you kidding me? Glad I switched to TOTW


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## Aireal (Jul 2, 2010)

Lex's Guardian said:


> Are you kidding me? Glad I switched to TOTW


i am completly serious, you should see the look of horror that my doc has every time someone mentions they feed it now poor dane he was young to and those owners spent thousands trying to save him.


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## Silence (Dec 30, 2010)

Is this just the Chicken Wilderness formula or is this all Blue Buffalo foods?


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## Nizmo (Jan 15, 2009)

thats scary. nismo's on BB and over the last 3 months i have noticed him lose about 3 pounds. its winter time he doesnt do much at all. so he shouldnt be losing weight. makes me wonder


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## Silence (Dec 30, 2010)

October 8, 2010

Dear Fellow Pet Parent,

At Blue Buffalo, nothing is more important than the health and well being of our dogs and cats, so it's consistent with this guiding principle that we are voluntarily recalling specific production runs of our Wilderness Chicken-Dog, Basics Salmon-Dog and Large Breed Adult Dog products, as we have reason to believe that the products from these runs may contain a higher level of Vitamin D than is called for in our product specifications.

We came to this conclusion after discovering that our ingredient 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. 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.

While the potential of increased Vitamin D presents no serious health risk, and any negative reaction to these products has been confined to a very small segment of the canine population who appear to be sensitive to higher levels of Vitamin D, we have a zero tolerance for any product that does not meet our specifications. I think you'll agree that our decision to withdraw these specific products is simply the right thing to do.

From a next steps standpoint, all products with the specific manufacturing dates in question will be removed from retailer's shelves. If you have any products with the codes shown below you should stop feeding them immediately.You may call Blue Buffalo at
1-800-919-2833 to arrange for return of the product and reimbursement.

These are the ONLY code dates being recalled:
Product Bag Size Best Used By Dates
BLUE Wilderness Chicken (Dog) 4.5 lb., 11 lb., 24lb. JUL1211B, JUL1311B, JUL2611Z, JUL2711Z, JUL2811Z
BLUE Basics Salmon (Dog) 11 lb., 24 lb. AUG2111B, AUG2211B
BLUE Large Breed Adult Chicken 30 lb. SEP 22 11 P, SEP 23 11 P, OCT 26 11 P

This Vitamin D issue does not effect any other code dates of these products or any other Blue Buffalo dog or cat foods. In addition, new bags of Wilderness Chicken, Basics Salmon and Large Breed Adult Chicken will be available on the shelves so you can continue to feed BLUE with complete confidence.

If your dog has shown any adverse reaction to the recalled products, have him checked by your veterinarian. Typical symptoms might include excessive water intake and/or excessive urination, and in some cases vomiting. Blue Buffalo will reimburse any veterinary or testing expenses related to illness caused by these products.

As Blue Buffalo is a family founded and run company, I am personally very upset about this and apologize for any discomfort or inconvenience that this situation has caused you or your pet family members. Product quality and safety have been, and always will be our top priority, and we've taken some serious corrective action to insure that this type of human error will never happen again.

Sincerely,
Bill Bishop

Blue Buffalo Recall - Vitamin D

October 8th, 2010, why are we just hearing about this now? :/


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## k8nkane (Jul 9, 2010)

This was an old post -- dated 11/03 of last year.


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## Silence (Dec 30, 2010)

Oops rotfl -facepalms-


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## aimee235 (Apr 29, 2007)

Only 3 months ago. I don't think it's super old the information could still help. Some bags could still be on the shelf.


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