Twice last week Kroger issued a recall for products over the concern of possible E. coli contamination. This time it is their store brand ground beef and popcorn seasoning. The beef was sold from late April to early June. We were told in late June that if we still have it we can return it for a refund or replacement. I have to wonder why this seems to be happening so much. There has been a laundry list from spinach to pet food.

A store spokesman says Kroger takes recalls and preventing recalls seriously. Other companies do as well. Let me tell you of my recent experience.

As a pet food retailer I was invited by one of my vendors to tour their plant on June 29th. The company hosting the tour was Eagle Pack in Mishawaka, Indiana. This is a very established company of many years. Because it is made in Indiana, we the citizens are loyal to the brand. We love to buy local. To that I say "Yeah! And keep it up". It is one of my best selling brands. When companies are family owned and they have their blood, sweat and tears invested, they are passionate about quality more than bottom line. Recently the founder of Eagle Pack died and with him so did his family dedication. The family sold the company to another large premium pet food company - Wellness. With the merge came the new name (WellPet) and the concern of retailers as to would the quality remain the same. Rumors were rampant as sales reps changed and internet users shared their qualms. You see, this also happened with the IAMS brand which started out in independent stores, where those retailers made the brand as only a small retailer can. They have more ability to talk to the customer in depth and can develop a following. I am told before my days in the business this was THE brand. It was sold to Proctor and Gamble, taken out of independent stores and stocked in big box stores. Now, WellPet needed to allay our fears that this might be history repeating itself. None of us want to see our best sellers go to the big stores. So a chartered bus was ordered and many of us were invited up to join other independent retailers from Indiana and Michigan to take the tour, have a BBQ on the lawn, and have a question and answer session with the new company executives. Kevin, the plant manager with Eagle Pack for thirty years, was our guide. At times the process was deafening, so I missed a lot of what was said but my eyes got the picture. We followed as the cat duck formula was being processed. This is a holistic formula with cranberries and blue berries. We were told that these components are all human-grade and are procured from the same source as the cereal companies. I'll cut to the chase by telling you how immaculate the facility is and most importantly how on top of quality control they are by taking samples every hour and detailing reports in their labs. Raw materials delivered by their vendors are tested and sampled before acceptance. The manufacturing decision makers all have food industry backgrounds. They treat this pet food manufacturing no differently than the other human food plants they worked in. I'm not so sure that I am convinced that they will remain loyal to the independents, but it was a good start that they care enough to open their doors. I am hopeful that we will remain strong partners. It was especially good to know that among us they had invited the editor of Whole Dog Journal, Nancy Kearns, from California. This is a publication that is the industry bible. Every February the top super premium dry dog foods are released with great detail on their manufacturing methods and ingredients. She demands company transparency. Those that don't comply are called out. Those that excel are recognized and published as "approved". It is imperative for a manufacturer to be included in this issue and suicide not to be. Last February Eagle Pack's quality control manager was quoted as saying "We test ingredients knowing I am going to be feeding them to my own cats". Get your hands on one if you want to know the best brands for your dog or you can log onto whole-dog-journal.com/pub/backissues.html to purchase articles and download them to your computer. You will want WDJ's Approved Dry Foods, February 2008.

On a sad note I had a wonderful customer who passed away last week. She had no husband or children to keep her three golden retrievers. They now need a home. Her first wish was to have the man who owns the kennel where they stayed during her hospitalization find them homes. Her second wish was golden retriever rescue. They are ages 3, 4 and 9. I am told the 9 year old is very healthy. They are both genders. Contact me if you are interested. Pets make you smile.