Wal-Mart Pulls Dog Treats From Shelves

Retail Giant Yanks Two Chinese-Made Brands In Response To Customer Complaints

(AP)  Wal-Mart quietly stopped selling two brands of dog treats in July, after customers voiced concerns that the Chinese products may have caused their pets to fall ill, a company spokeswoman confirmed Monday, but no recall has been announced.

Spokeswoman Deisha Galberth said the world's largest retailer started pulling Chicken Jerky Strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co. and Chicken Jerky from Shanghai Bestro Trading on July 26. Galberth said Wal-Mart also placed a computerized block on all cash registers to prevent workers from selling the products.

"When we took it off shelves at the end of July, we pulled it based on the customer feedback so we could do testing prior to announcing anything publicly," Galberth said. "That's why did not make a public announcement — it was still going through the testing process."

Wal-Mart's action follows a massive pet food recall in March, when retailers began pulling products made in China that included the chemical melamine — a contaminant that's a byproduct of several pesticides.

Galberth said she did not know what the specific customer complaints were about the dog treats, nor when the testing would be done.

Galberth said she did not immediately know if the treats were sold at every Wal-Mart store.

"We are diligently testing this product," she said.

Philadelphia television station WPVI reported last week that a woman claimed her 2-year-old Chihuahua died after eating Bestro Chicken Jerky Strips. The station reported that an autopsy found the dog died of an infection caused by toxic bacteria.

Wal-Mart released a statement on the dog treats Monday night after a call from The Associated Press. In the statement, the company said it encouraged any customer who bought one of the products to return it to the nearest store for a full recall.

"We will continue to work with the supplier to assure that the highest safety standards are met — our customers expect nothing less from Wal-Mart," the statement read. "More importantly, our thoughts are with anyone whose pet may have become ill after consuming this product."

The Food and Drug Administration did not list the two products on its recall Web site Monday. Officials with the FDA did not immediately return a request for comment late Monday night.

This is the second quiet recall for the Bentonville-based retailer this year. In May, Wal-Mart pulled sets of baby bibs from stores after the products tested positive for high levels of lead. An advocacy group that tested the bibs said they, too, were made in China.

[usayesterday]

Here''s some China bashing with a cliche twist!...

- China has made our bed, now we must lie in it.

- What goes around, gets recalled.

- That went over like a lead painted balloon.

- Better to light a candle than to curse the faulty flashlight

- To be born with a silver spoon in your mouth, (and to have lead poisoning detected a few weeks later)

- As Ye sow, so shall Ye reap. (Ye is the fastest sweat shop employee in all of China).

- You''ve got an ax to grind. (Because it was never sharpened at the factory).

- You''re opening up a can of worms. (labeled as "Spaghetti-Os")

- Curiosity killed the cat. (Curiosity, a new type of cat food from Purina... imported from China).

Oh, there are so many more, but so few characters allowed!

[nskduke]

Hmmm... What we really should do is pull the plug on Wal-Mart. Pull the plug on Wal-Mart and you pull the plug on China. Wal-Mart is a greedy company. They could care less if their products contain something hazardous.

Yes I am anti Wal-Mart. If I had my way, I would wipe the retail giant right off the map.

Boycott Wal-Mart
Boycott China

[dogmeatmmm]

Yea you said I trust "Commies" now.......Lmao

[dogmeatmmm]

Yea you said I trust "Commies" now.......Lmao

[dogmeatmmm]

Yea you said I trust "Commies" now.......Lmao

Isn''t China-bashing FUN?

Especially in the absence of any -FACTS- leading us to believe that the "reported" cause of death of one poor dog was in any way related to this product.

I''m sure the dog was kept in a sterile environment... and fed this food for 100% of it''s diet... So there is NO other way any "toxic bacteria" could have gotten into the dog -except- from this product... BTW... read the label: These chicken strips are irradiated to kill any harmful organisms.

I guess that PROVES it must be a PLOT!

sigh

[dogmeatmmm]

What do you expect of a nation of people that consider ROVER to be a meal and you actually think they take pride in their millions of exports.We are now dependant on "communists" for food finance etc....I guess the unions were not so bad huh anti-union folks? Traded higher wages for safty.....Smart

[barbaraf4]

Walmart is the worst store in the world. They treat both customers and employees like dirt. They do not control shelf life of perishables and there is no logic to how their shelves are stocked. I am not really sure that you save enough money to make it worthwhile to put up with their garbage.

[incog-nito]

Read the story on the Chinese mining incident and see how they treat their own people. Do you think they have any qualms about exporting poison-laden products to the U.S.?

[engp]

Does Walmart''s actions actually surprise anybody?! With them, it is ALL about the bottom line. That is why they force manufacturers to produce in China - cheaper. Who cares if it makes people/animals sick........... ALL ABOUT PROFITS!!!!!
So much for Sam Walton''s book "Made in America". Try to find it at any Walmart.