LoveDogs,

IMO many of the people on this forum have more credibility than some of the manufactures out there.  I personally would trust the folks on this forum to make a home-cooked meal for my dog rather than trust something that came out of a can.

Each post you have written promotes one product.  Each post you have written is sarcastic and somewhat rude.  Are you Joel or do you just work for them?

Which brings up a good point –  this situation is really no different from the one with Innova/Natura (or others). 

Recurring Theme:
Pets get sick. 
Pet Owner monitors and determines the one common factor to the sickness is the pet food. 
Pet Owner attempts to work with company to see if there are any formula changes, other complaints, etc. 
Company says no changes, no problems, great food. 
Pets continue to have problems. 
Pet Owner monitors and still believes sickness is linked to pet food. 
Pet Owner pays to have pet food tested. 
Laboratory advises Pet Owner that contaminants and/or high levels of supplements are detected in said pet food. 
Pet Owner contacts Company hoping (and desperate) for assistance. 
Company replies that all their tests are fine, no other complaints and their food is great.

At this point any manner of responses can occur:
-  Pet Owner is accused of not providing samples to Company for testing
-  Pet Owner is accused of not communicating with Company
-  Pet Owner is accused of false statements
-  Pet Owner is accused of extortion
-  Laboratory is discredited. 
etc, etc, etc,

Bottomline, one thing that is common to these experiences with the pet food companies is commonly seen in good “public relations” maneuvers.   You take the focus off the negative and you turn the focus to something else more positive.  If a company has a problem, the PR group is called in to downplay what is going wrong and focus on something good.  It is simply a diversionary tactic.  They do not address the issue at hand, but attempt to whitewash over it. 

Think about all the questions that have been asked on this thread.  How many of them have actually been answered? 

Instead, the focus was changed to put you to work thinking of various types of analyses you would like to see completed.  So, what happened to answering the questions? 

LeslieK explicitly asked that Mr. Weaver respond if he was accusing her of extortion.  Mr. Weaver responded with ambiguous words. 

The FDA issued an Order to Obtain Emergency Operating Permit and the company responded that the FDA report was highly inaccurate and misleading; falsely stated and then absolutely denied they were even operating under the Order. 

I’m glad everyone is suggesting things to test for.  However, I hope we do not lose focus on the original list of questions, the horrendous allegations against LeslieK and the issue of private test results. 

At some point, the pet food industry forgot that we are totally responsible for their salaries and the success/failure of their companies. 
Donna C

Wow Donna, extremely well said!  What ever happened to customer respect and satisfaction, it used to be the customer was always right.  One thing that maybe wasnt noticed in the post I put before is that Mr Sher admitted in a post at another site that it was true that they were ordered by FDA to obtain an emergency operating permit, but said there are other options they could take to continue operating, whatever that is.  They, to me, had kind of tried to imply that they werent even ordered to obtain the operating permit, when they were accusing FDA of making false statements and I have yet to see where that is the case.   

Edited to add:  I looked back on the statement I received from FDA and there was this:      
"The regulation does allow the firm to have a processing authority evaluate the  processing of each lot for adequacy and to submit release requests in writing to FDA for specific lots."  So it could be that is what Mr Sher is referring to when he talks of other options they could take to continue operating.

Evangers came here, we didnt go to their site.  They brought up their extortion issue, what was the purpose of that, I somehow dont think there were good intentions with that, hopefully it wasnt for intimidation purposes but if it was, obviously it hasnt worked at Itchmo,    But if I was in Leslie's shoes, I would be upset too.  Weaver could have put that to rest real quick but so far has not.

I agree with so much that has been posted here by the posters that I feel I have gotten to know over this last year---the only thing I add is that this is OUR forum and we only posted this topic as released by the FDA and the response Sandi K got when questioning the FDA using Mr Weaver's own words....after the debacle of 2007 I feel it is each pet food companies responsible to prove that their food is safe and healthy, not ours to disprove it!  Ignorance is not bliss and the pet food company needs to realize that we are getting educated in their field and we don't like what we have discovered.  We are the customer, the consumer, the pet owner and we deserve better than what led up to 2007.  With the declining economy the possibility for more greed related adulterations like the wheat flour melamine cocktail and the heparin -apparently deliberate-- will be on the increase and the pet food companies should be taking a pro-active approach---not re-active.   

Are not these the same directives in human food processing matters?  This protocol wreaks of the reason ConAgra was shut down.  They were "called" on their record keeping procedures, too, or should I say, lack of proper record keeping when the E-coli tainted pot pies appeared last October.  I recieved no response to that matter, as I was interested in the regularity of cleaning the machines and drums, with sterility of the entire plant mandated or at least bi-weekly, not announced visits.  Sadly, this is all too familiar to me. 

Sincerely,
Donna
average citizen for justice and equality

Yes, I thought so when I went to the link you posted, Offly-irked, and began reading the testing protocol questionaire.

Thanks for the confirmation, even though it does not provide 100% satisfaction in the comfort level I feel, as it relates to what I would feed my dog, my cat, my chinchilla, my family or myself.

Sincerely,
Donna
average citizen for justice and equality for ALL

Allow me to clarify, the above is NOT a reflection upon Evangers pet food products, this is my own personal confidence level in ALL food and many non-food products produced, whether human or animal.  If I was unclear, I did not mean the ambiguity. 

Personally, I realize I cannot make a judgement against this company [Evangers], but I do feel I can make a judgment regarding testing protocols as mandated by the FDA, the enforcement of those by the FDA, and if maintenance of the strictest of controls are in the forefront for all manners of food products as supervised by FDA protocol, as in the case of ConAgra.

Sincerely,
Donna
average citizen for justice and equality

From yet another pet food website:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Evangers-Pet-Food-Recall-Good-Business-Ethics

Evangers Pet Food Recall - Poor Business Ethics Or Just Forgot The Truth?
By AskSusanPeters

"Evangers Pet Foods VS FDA - Who Do You Believe?

"The FDA has posted a consumer alert on April 24, 2008 warning consumers that Evanger's Dog and Cat Food company is producing under-processed pet food which can cause botulism. The FDA states on the FDA website that Evanger's can not distribute their pet food products until changes are made and special permits are obtained by the company. Evanger's website states the FDA made an error and Evanger's is having no problems and continues to produce and distribute the Evanger's pet food and will not be conducting a pet food recall.

"Oh, Evanger's, what kind of a mess have you gotten yourself into? First off, the FDA, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has told you that you are so far out of compliance that your company can not continue to operate and produce the pet foods under the current operation practices for your company. The FDA, which does not regulate the pet food industry, has stepped in to stop production of your products because your products have been shown to be dangerous to the people who feed the pet food to their pets. The FDA has not posted any retractions to their press releases or their consumer alerts nor have they given you, Evanger's pet food, an all clear.

"The FDA states,

""As outlined in the Food Protection Plan, the FDA uses a risk-based approach to locate the areas of greatest risk for foods, and targets preventive controls and inspections to those areas, " said Dr. Stephen Sundlof, director, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "The FDA's authority to issue an order requiring an emergency permit is an enforcement tool designed to prevent unsafe foods from reaching consumers."

"The FDA issues an "Order of Need for Emergency Permit" if the agency determines that a company fails to meet the regulatory requirements to process a product that does not present a health risk. For Evanger's to resume business, the company must document that corrective actions and processing procedures have been implemented to ensure that the finished product will not present a health hazard."

"Also involved in the effort to protect man and beast is CFSAN. CFSAN is responsible for regulating all human and animal LACF processing. Looks to me like big trouble if these two regulatory bodies are involved, not a simple error on the part of the FDA as Evanger's would like for us to believe.

"Here is what the FDA has found against the Evanger's company.

"A recent inspection revealed significant deviations from prescribed documentation of processes, equipment, and recordkeeping in the production of the company's thermally processed low acid canned food (LACF) products. These problems could result in under-processed pet foods, which can allow the survival and growth of Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum), a bacterium that causes botulism in some animals as well as in humans.

"Now, let's take a look at what Evanger's website has to say in the press release given from the Evanger's company.

""Contrary to a news release issued by the FDA Thursday, April 24, 2008, Evanger's continues to make and distribute its products with FDA approval. Evanger's is working closely with the FDA and already has addressed many of the FDA's questions. Evanger's expects to have the few remaining FDA queries fully satisfied shortly."

"Evanger's futher states:

""No Evanger's product has been recalled, nor is there any indication that any Evanger's product is under-processed, unsafe, or contaminated in any way."

"Who is the liar in this matter? Evanger's, are you trying to kill pets and people? You know your products are below the standard set by the federal government but you go right on with business as usual? How long has Evanger's business ethics been so low? Does Evanger's want us to believe the United States FDA is the liar? Evanger's press release is saying the FDA is telling a lie and Evanger's continues to do wrong even though the FDA said Evanger's must stop.

"Shame on you Evanger's. How stupid do you think the public is? We love our pets and we value our own lives. Do you really think we want you to continue to decieve the public, gobble up our hard earned money, ignore consumer alerts issued from the FDA, and conduct business as usual? I won't be buying any Evanger's products."

There's also a place for comments on the site, for those of you who have had problem with the food.  They recently added this about two of their dry dog foods which are not made in the Wheeling, IL plant:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Evangers-Super-Premium-Pheasant-Brown-Rice-Dry-Healthy-Dog-Foods

Evanger's Super-Premium Pheasant & Brown Rice Dry

"Ask Susan Peters - Evanger's Healthy Dog Foods?

"Evanger's Pet Food has done an awful job of making healthy dog foods. Healthy dog foods do not include needless grains and other pet health damaging ingredients.

"Over use of grains and fillers.

"Millet - Goose feed.

"Potatoes - just a filler, much like the use of beet pulp.

"Chicken fat - Used to encourage a pet to eat a product the pet would not normally eat.

"Salt - should not be added to a pet's diet.

"Sodium selenite is mainly used in the manufacture of colorless glass - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

"Pet food producers are using ingredients unfit for human consumption which are killing our pets. The ingredients in pet food must be changed!

"The use of Corn, Wheat, and Soy are causing such awful conditions in pets including:

* Dry and itchy skin
* Fever
* Ear aches
* Ear infections
* Hot Spots on the skin
* Bad breath
* Dental disease
* IBD
* Hair loss
* Sore feet
* Abnormal nail growth
* Bloat
* Weight gain
* Tumors
* Moles and warts
* Seizures
* Blindness
* Deafness
* Heart conditions
* Kidney conditions
* Liver conditions
* Early pet death

"These companies need to be held accountable for the injuries to our pets and our best friends early deaths!

"Shame on you Evanger's Pet Foods for not making Healthy Dog Foods and not following the FDA statutes. - Susan"

http://hubpages.com/hub/Evangers-Super-Premium-Chicken-Brown-Rice-Dry-Healthy-Dog-Foods

Evanger's Super-Premium Chicken & Brown Rice Dry

The comments are the same for this variety as for the Pheasant and Brown Rice above--there are also places for consumers to add their comments to these pages.

Please feel free to copy and cross-post this to other threads.