Thanks again for all the replies! I'm still trying to gather more info. None-the-less, that hasn't stopped me from opening my mouth on my blog and in my e-mail newsletter.
I'll post here what I had to say. It's a bit long and rambly but the current situation is just really ticking me off and a few honest answers would be nice. Anyway -- for what it's worth -- here's what I wrote to our readers:
What's the Deal with Nutro?? Over the last few issues of the Digest, we've kept you informed about the situation with Nutro. And in this issue, an update would say, "everything is the same. More letters to consumeraffairs.com and that's about it."
Personally, I find this situation rather alarming. Partly because I had used Nutro for many years and recommended it to quite a few folks over the last eight years (I had switched off Nutro a year before the 2007 recalls simply to move to a higher grade (organic) food - I had no problems with Nutro). Here we have people reporting that their animals are getting sick and some dying and the issue seems to dead-end with the letters to consumeraffairs.
When I scour the internet, I can find many folks in forums and in their blogs all concerned with Nutro -- and they all point to the letters at CA. But it's difficult to find mention of Nutro problems anywhere else. Why is that? And why haven't any of the other consumer protection or quality dog food advocates investigated this situation? A few have indicated that they are watching the situation. Watching the situation? Hey, our pets may be getting poisoned and they're "watching"??
And where's Nutro? Why aren't they actively engaged in this conversation that seems to be growing with each passing week? Surely this will eventually have an impact on their business. So what is going on here??
That's really hard to say. Nutro is a large company with many folks using their products. If this was a massive problem, you can be sure there would be a lot more fallout. But that's not to say that small batches couldn't be contaminated and there is always the possibility of a sicko disgruntled employee randomly messing with product. And I would even accept the possibility of the whole thing being a disinformation campaign by a competitor.
What is lacking is information. There have been numerous reports of shortages of Nutro and people report having been told by "Nutro Reps" that some plants where shut down for various reasons: they're redoing their formulas to make the food taste better; they had some problems with some rice shipments, they had a bad batch of bags and are waiting for more, they're renovating their machines and for remodeling. This could feed the perception that something is wrong with the food.
I had been in the natural food business and other retail endeavors over the years and I'll tell you now that Reps generally know squat. They are sales people trying to sell the food and rarely have inside info. It makes sense to me that each Rep could have different info depending on what scuttlebutt they received from their personal grapevine. It's not necessarily accurate.
A few days ago, I came across a blog by a Nutro fan bitterly complaining about how she cannot find the Nutro food her dogs need for their health within a 200 mile plus radius (
http://texasdream.blogspot.com:80/2008/05/nutro-customers-beware.html ). This seems to be an independent roundabout corroboration of the shortage issue. It also seems to be written by someone totally unaware of the current health rumors and is just feeling letdown by a company she relies on.
Particularly after last years recalls, what is desperately needed in the entire industry is transparency and openness. Here's a great opportunity for Nutro to break the mold and actively engage in this discussion. You can bet they are aware of every comment made on the net as I'm sure they monitor it at least as I well as I do.
This is a very difficult path for Nutro to walk. If a scare about their food, accurate or just rumor, hits the mass media, the resulting reaction could cost the company millions and possibly even threaten their viability. Any good corporate lawyer will tell you NOT to say anything, deal with incidents in a hush-hush way, correct whatever problems there are and move on without public comment. This is true for ANY company. Because of our litigious society, it's difficult to fault Nutro if they choose this legal self-preservation approach.
When I've asked, I found quite a few folks with a very negative opinion about Nutro's customer service and their products. Now, I find this to be true about ANY product or incident from ANY company - there's ALWAYS some folks who have problems - even the best companies are not perfect. But in today's instant communication era, a few incidents can combine with speculation, rumor and misinformation, and quickly spin out of the control of a company's PR department.
Here's the response I would like to hear from Nutro or ANY company in this situation:
'We are very concerned about the reports of possible problems with some of our products. We have or are attempting to contact each person who feels as such and will work with them individually to see if there is a connection with our product and their problem. We are now collecting samples from around the country and are testing them. We will publish all results on the internet as soon as we get them. We are diligently working round the clock to investigate this matter. We believe this will show that we have a quality product. If a problem is discovered, we will immediately report it, rectify it and keep everyone informed as to what is transpiring'.
Corporately terse but honest, open and willing. Companies may not yet be ready to have such a policy but the ones that eventually follow this path will find more success than they thought possible. As more and more things become mega-this and mega-that, consumers are desperately looking for companies that are on their side. Companies, especially pet-food companies, that champion their customer will find rabidly loyal fans who would rather "fight than switch".
Finally, speaking of those on our side, I still want to know where all our Watchdogs are?? Certainly there must be someone with clout looking into all this. Who? Where are they?? Even more concerning is a report that I read recently that said that the FDA recently held a public meeting on Pet Food safety, and no owner/pet/animal advocate group was in attendence. The meeting only lasted 90 minutes.
The sad truth to all this is that we simply cannot afford to trust ANY pet food company at this point in time - or rather, as has been said in the past - "trust but verify". Nor can we depend on others to stand vigilant watchguard over our interests as dog owners (& cat owners & critter owners, etc). Hopefully this will change soon. Till then, we're on our own....
As always, we'll keep you all informed as to any developments!
