Mr. Weaver,

You're right.  We have been through a lot.  But we do appreciate you coming here to answer our concerns.

You write, "The ingredients we use are farmed/ranched here. The only ingredients that aren't from the US are our Lamb and Venison, which come from New Zealand."

So I have a question about the vitamins/premixes you use.  Are you saying those are from USA sources and USA made ingredients?  

The reason I ask is that it seems impossible for me to find vitamins that are made in the USA from USA originated ingredients.  Have you accomplished the impossible?

Also, I don't see that anyone here has called you a crook.  If you're referring to my post, please re-read it.  I'm refering to those who want to sell to you.  

5CatMom
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Lesliek, I never pointed my finger at you. The person who did try to extort us was demanding that we pay them thousands of dollars, so unless you demanded that of us, that person would not be you. I am not here to be defensive about anything. The FDA report that was issued did have some inaccuracies on it, but a lot of what was there was accurate. I am here to try and answer questions about us, and to expose us. We are not dishonest manufacturers, and we try to the best of our ability to make the best possible food. I think it is great that you make your own food for your dogs. In fact, making your own food is probably the best thing that you can do. The reality is that most of us cannot cook for our dogs every meal, so we must rely on commercial companies, like Evanger's, to feed our fur-children. We must form a balance of using the highest quality ingredients that we can find, along with testing for reasonable problems (which I again point out that we have never found a problem) and try to make it affordable. We obviously cannot compromise our ingredients, so we do all testing that we think appropriate to make a safe product. If we tested for everything, we would make a product so expensive that it would not be affordable to anyone. So you come back to the predicament of whether or not you have the time to cook for your pet. We believe that we are making one of the highest quality pet foods on the market, and whether or not anyone here cares, I'm still feeding it.

I'll be back later to answer additional questions that have been raised.

Since I have been told conflicting answers to whether or not you tested this batch of food,the only thing that will satisfy me and anyone else worried about it is for you to post these test results either here or on your website. Or both.I'm sorry if you feel put at a disadvantage,but ignoring a complaint for 11 months tends to make people not think well about your company. We are not stupid here or willing to accept blind reassurances. We have all spent the last year researching every ingredient and want full answers with printed backup and proof.It is unfortunately not a case of can you make time to homecook. It is can you take the chance on poisoning your furkids if you don't.The burden lies with you and other pf companies. We want proof in print that your food is safe.Take the time to read through some of the other threads here about problems with pf,or the memorials to pets who were killed by pf.Then maybe you will know that we want safety not low cost.

Can Mr Weaver answer a question for me?  The FDA said that the retorts werent being operated properly (not venting) and the firm's retort supervisors had not attended the required training schools.  Is this info accurate and if not, in what way? 

I just want to put my vote in for testing results posted too and in this day and age of melamine being everywhere, I would still think it would be one of the things to test for just to be safe.

Forgot to add I will be contacting the FDA again tomorrow,so you might want to send me one of your warm & friendly letters too .

A previous post reminded me to look up a couple of definitions.  Thought it might be helpful to review.  

slander
 
A type of defamation. Slander is an untruthful oral (spoken) statement about a person that harms the person's reputation or standing in the community. Because slander is a tort (a civil wrong), the injured person can bring a lawsuit against the person who made the false statement. If the statement is made via broadcast media -- for example, over the radio or on TV -- it is considered libel, rather than slander, because the statement has the potential to reach a very wide audience.

libel

An untruthful statement about a person, published in writing or through broadcast media, that injures the person's reputation or standing in the community. Because libel is a tort (a civil wrong), the injured person can bring a lawsuit against the person who made the false statement. Libel is a form of defamation, as is slander (an untruthful statement that is spoken, but not published in writing or broadcast through the media.

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Hope this is helpful to all concerned.

Mr. Sher, thanks for logging on this evening and viewing both this thread and Itchmo's warning.  Would appreciate your comments.  We have been down this road with other pet food companies.  One even had their attorney log on and make what some of us believed were threats.  That is why we are careful to make truthful statements based on personal experience.

5CatMom
₌^..^₌

Mentions of lawsuits based on conflicting lab results seems rather unproductive in
a discussion of general overall considerations a company may want to take as a result of
consumer concerns about pet food safety in general since March 16, 2007. I'd say you've
been asked some honest questions. I'm hoping to see some responses addressing them.

Maybe he got the call from the attorney, it's about that time at night.....