MOLD IN PAST EXTRUDED DOG FOODS
-Notice, Explanation, and Response-
Mold
has been found in some bags of Wysong dry extruded dog foods
manufactured in June and July of 2009. No problems have been found or
reported in any other Wysong food product.
No products from the following batches should be sold or fed. The affected products are::
Wysong Maintenance™: lot #: 090617
Wysong Maintenance™: lot #: 090624
Wysong Maintenance™: lot #: 090706
Wysong Maintenance™: lot #: 090720
Wysong Senior™: lot #: 090623
Please contact the point of purchase for an exchange or refund.
Mold
spores are in all natural foods. When there is heat, oxygen, and
sufficient moisture the spores can bloom into mold. Everyone has
experienced this with foods at home.
From what can be
determined, the problem with the Wysong foods stems from unusually high
heat and humidity on those summer dates. This combined with a
malfunctioning moisture checking device is believed to be the cause of
the higher moisture and this isolated problem.
All Wysong
foods have been tested for mycotoxins and are negative. That is the
primary danger in consuming moldy foods. If your pet has consumed the
product, the most that could be expected would be loose stool, and this
should clear upon changing from these lot numbers.
As noted in the article below, mold is a ubiquitous problem in all packaged foods. Wysong takes many measures to address this:
1. Incoming ingredients are tested for moisture and mycotoxins.
2. Finished products are also tested.
3. Ingredients are used to inhibit mold growth.
4. The NutriPak oxygen and light barrier packaging inhibits aerobic mold growth.
5. Products are nitrogen flushed to remove oxygen.
6. Products are fresh batched.
7. Ingredients are used to help adsorb toxins should they be present.
8. People are advised to refrigerate or freeze unused product, i.e. treat it like any fresh natural food is treated.
9. Most importantly, Dr. Wysong has advised for the past 30 years
against feeding any singular food meal after meal. Diets should be
rotated and fresh foods incorporated into meal planning in order to
decrease the risk of chronic exposure to toxins that may be present in
any one food. This information is on all Wysong packaged pet foods.
If you have any further questions please email us at wys...@wysong.net
(Excerpt from June 2009 Petfood Industry magazine)
Mold in pet foods
Greg Aldrich, PHD
Petfood & Ingredient Technology, Inc.
Preventing
the appearance of mold in foods is a constant battle, and petfoods are
no exception. Everyone has experienced the gray-green mold on bread or
splotches on cheese; with petfoods, many have had an encounter with
"fuzzy" biscuits or green kibbles.
Unfortunately, despite our best
efforts, mold is an inescapable part of food production regardless of
whom the food is intended to serve...
Mold: insurmountable challenge
In elementary school we learned that starting a fire requires three
simple elements: fuel, oxygen and heat. A mold-bloom is similar in that
it only requires three elements: food, mold spores and moisture.
Because we are making food, element one is obvious. All that remains
for a mold-bloom are spores and moisture.
Mold spores are easy enough to find.
Mold is an inescapable part of food production. |
The
soil is loaded with them— molds are the earth's machinery fordecay and
rejuvenation. Because of this, any ingredient produced from or near the
ground will be inoculated by billions of spores. This doesn't just
apply to grains and tubers; meats are affected, too.
Given that
petfoods are produced from raw agricultural commodities, inoculation
with spores is inevitable. Agronomic practices can influence the level
of inoculation; for example, modern no-till practices leave more crop
residue in the field, resulting in increased mold production.
Mass transit system
Seasons can affect mold counts, too. Considering that mold spores are
light enough to float in the air interminably, harvesting grain in the
fall can release them into the air. Case in point: Altenaria mold
counts are often reported with the weather as part of autumn allergy
alerts. The net effect is that the air we use to cool and dry our
products in the manufacturing plant serves as mass transit system for
mold spores and food inoculation.
All ingredients are inevitably inoculated with billions of mold spores. |
This
is exacerbated by petfood production systems that depend on repetitive
additions and subtractions of water. Regardless of food or treat
type—extruded dry and semi-moist or baked—we add moisture as free
water, steam or part of other ingredients. Once our purposes have been
achieved, we drive off that moisture with super-heated air via dryers
and ovens.
The only purpose behind drying is to decrease the water
activity to a point that it limits microbial growth. Unfortunately,
achieving just the right level of heat and dryness while not
overcooking or damaging the food is tricky. Sometimes if we err on the
side of saving a little energy by drying less, or if problems occur
with the dryer or oven controls, or if we have product "case-hardening"
that prevents moisture escape from the interior of the food piece, the
water activity may be high enough for mold to occur.
Dr. Greg Aldrich
Petfood & Ingredient Technology, Inc. |
