04-29-2008, 01:38 PM
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 | Old Guy | | Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Northern, mid-western, lower Peninsula of Michigan... and then go just a tad to the left
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Here is my original correspondence to Orijen from yesterday... It has recently been reported that your Orijen dog food contains many sharp bone shard fragments that might be harmful if swallowed by a dog. Could you please comment on this? Currently there is a thread on the Golden Retriver Forum ( (Orijen Concern)here) where the problem has been brought up by one of your distributors. I feel it would be appropriate for a company representative to respond rationally to the questions being raised. An immediate response would help to relieve people's fears, as postings from this thread are now being cross-posted onto other forums and boards by concerned consumers and dog owners. Thank You for your time and I do hope someone responds soon. And this is the response I got today from them... You are exactly correct that this issue needs addressing. It is true that there was a limited amount of ORIJEN made with some fresh salmon that accidentally had some fragments of salmon bone in it. The supplier of the fresh salmon experienced some mechanical difficulties with their process, which lead to some large salmon bones being passed into the fish mince. I stopped an entire shipment of this product (several thousand kilograms) and put aside what I thought was all of the product that been infiltrated with the bones. It seems some got through, albeit not a large amount. The problem was immediately pointed out to the supplier and the problem was fixed right after. I can personally assure you that we have not received any salmon with bones like this since then, as I inspect every shipment of incoming salmon. In addition to this, the supplier has refined their process, going as far as using smears of the fish mince on glass to try and detect any bone fragments. However, I'd like to comment on the fear that these pieces could harm a dog. In looking back at samples I have seen, it is my educated opinion that these pieces, the vast majority of which are less than 0.25", would not cause any harm to a canine. How do I qualify such a resonse, you may ask? I qualify this statement based on what I know to be correct about canine feeding habits. Pet foods are a very refined foodstuff for a dog - the dog (and other carnivores) is designed to consume and digest materials that most other animals could not. I say this both from the standpoint of a nutritionist and as a farmboy who has seen the unsavory side of what dogs actually enjoy eating. This ranges from dead chickens to mice in the field, all the while with a full bowl of good food at the ready. Let us consider what a coyote or wolf eats in the wild. With their massive jaws, a wolf is fully capable of shattering a moose's leg bones, the fragments of which would be well in excess of the fish bone dimensions we are concerned with here. Once the bones are in the stomach, where the pH is extremely acidic, between 1 and 2, the lifespan of the bones is about 1 hour before they are completely dissolved. Please understand my intention is not to take blame away from me or anyone else here. I made the decision and it was the wrong one, based on what the consumer expects of a world class pet food. And a world class pet food must not contain these sorts of adulterations, harmless or not. Let me reassure you that this temporary breach of quality will not be seen again, as this has been an excellent, if not painful, learning experience. Please accept our apologies for any concern this has caused you. Regards, Charlie Kaufmann Champion Petfoods Ltd. Make of it what you will but that is their full response.  |