# Bugs in our Natural Balance food



## mamamia (Jul 26, 2008)

I bought Bleu a bag of Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish about 3-4 weeks ago. I keep it in an airtight plastic container in the house. I opened it up today and found these black winged bugs in there :shocked: Obviously there were some kind of larvae in the food when I bought it from Petco. What makes me feel worse is...Ive been feeding it to Bleu now for over 3 weeks :eek2_gelb2: poor baby.

Hubby says just to throw out this food and go buy another bag. I feel like I cant trust them now...either Petco or Natural Balance. So I think Im going to try the Origen 6 fish which I will have to buy from our local feed suppy. Anyone else have this problem with pet food from Petco?


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## sassy's mommy (Aug 29, 2005)

Eeeekkkk! Kristi, that sounds awful. You can return the bag for a refund.


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## CeeCee's Mom (Sep 14, 2006)

Yes, get a refund!!! That is so unacceptable.......How awful that your poor baby ate that but his gastic juices probably killed everything....so sorry this happened. I use Natual Balance too!!!!!


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## totallytotontuffy (May 16, 2007)

There were articles all over the internet last year about the FDA being involved in a raid at one of PETCO's distribution centers. Here is one article:

http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/06/feds_seize_unsa.php

You might be better off getting your food at a different store. If I were you, I would return the bag for a refund but I would also report it to the FDA.


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## mamamia (Jul 26, 2008)

QUOTE (TotallyTotoNTuffy @ Jun 11 2009, 07:27 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=789409


> There were articles all over the internet last year about the FDA being involved in a raid at one of PETCO's distribution centers. Here is one article:
> 
> http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/06/feds_seize_unsa.php
> 
> You might be better off getting your food at a different store. If I were you, I would return the bag for a refund but I would also report it to the FDA.[/B]


OH...now that just Pee's me off :smmadder: That's just totally disgusting. Im never shopping at Petco again!! Thanks for the link.


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

Ewww....definitely return the bag to Petco for a full refund, and report it.


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

Yuck! We feed NB, too. I've posted before on how the same flavor kibbles can differ so much in color from bag to bag and even had a piece of what looked like cat food in the bag once--it was star shaped. But never bugs. I'd not only get a refund but also sent Petco AND NB letters on how disgusted you were and you'll probably get an apology and coupons (if you still want to feed NB).


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## princessre (Dec 23, 2008)

:shocked:


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## HaleysMom (Jun 4, 2009)

EEK :yucky: I just started Haley on NB and I bought it from Petco. So far I have not noticed anything but I will go look now! Thanks for letting us know!!


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## ckim111 (Dec 17, 2008)

Yet another reason to avoid feeding dry kibble :blink:


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## mom2bijou (Oct 19, 2006)

Yikes! I use that same food but always buy online. I would be so upset too! I always inspect the kibble too bc you just never know. Definitely return the bag. 

Speaking of bugs, I found an ant floating in my tea yesterday. I almost threw up!


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

i would blame petco more than natural balance  poor baby


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

yep 100% agree - whole foods sells natural balance 


QUOTE (TotallyTotoNTuffy @ Jun 11 2009, 06:27 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=789409


> There were articles all over the internet last year about the FDA being involved in a raid at one of PETCO's distribution centers. Here is one article:
> 
> http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/06/feds_seize_unsa.php
> 
> You might be better off getting your food at a different store. If I were you, I would return the bag for a refund but I would also report it to the FDA.[/B]


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## 3Maltmom (May 23, 2005)

I feed NB, and purchase from my local feed store. I love it, they are always packed with customers, and the food is
flying off the shelves. There's no doubt, in my mind, the food is nice, and fresh. The cost is also a huge difference (much less than Petco).

I will stop at Petco, in an emergency, but buy very little, and never any dry food.

I had a client buy cat food at the grocery store, he gets home, opens it, and said it was swarming with some type of bug.
He said they were almost flying out at him. It scared him ~ :HistericalSmiley:


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## 08chrissy08 (Sep 19, 2008)

I'm not a big fan of Petco. I used to get pet food there for Jazz and Pixie, but completely stopped going there after something I saw. 

I was at the registers one day waiting in line and saw these dental bone things up there in a bin on clearance. I took a look at them and noticed that a lot of them had holes and weird things in the bones themselves inside a closed package. It ws only after looking at one for a good long moment that I realized the black flecks inside were bugs! Several of the bugs were dead but there were live ones too and they were burrowing in the bones. I looked at a few of them and most of the bones in the bin were like this. I called attention to it and the chashier immediately said they would be removed. I made my purchases and left. Fastforward a week. I go back for more food only to find the bones all still there by the register. This time I called a manager over and showed it to her. She just kinda shrugged and said that yeah that happened a lot and that she would remove it. Another week later, I come back again. Still there. I checked to see if they had been removed before I even went and got the food for my fluffs. I pulled a manager over again, a different one this time, and pointed it out to her. Told her that it had been pointed out twice before and nothing was done. I told her I was never, ever coming back to the store and then left. As I was leaving, I heard her yell for someone to get rid of them. I kept my word. Haven't been back since.


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

Whole Foods sells Natural Balance?? There's a Whole Foods minutes from my work...BUT...they are super costly so i can only imagine that they are selling the stuff for the maximum price--we jokingly call it "Whole Paycheck." I'll have to check and see the price...

I ALWAYS prefer to buy from the local merchants over Petco...however, half the time I go to our local store for food the shelves are EMPTY and it's more than a week until the next shipping, yada, yada. I can't afford to be making wasted trips--even if it is only a slight detour on my way home from work. Working full time and I have two kids at home I don't have ANY spare time. I was buying online but I'm not sure that is the best alternative for me, either. I ended up going to Petco last night (which is nowhere near my house) to pick up treats b/c the local store was out. The bag of treats I get at the local vendor is $9.99--at Petco they are almost $14!


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

QUOTE (camfan @ Jun 12 2009, 07:56 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=789639


> Whole Foods sells Natural Balance?? There's a Whole Foods minutes from my work...BUT...they are super costly so i can only imagine that they are selling the stuff for the maximum price--we jokingly call it "Whole Paycheck." I'll have to check and see the price...
> 
> I ALWAYS prefer to buy from the local merchants over Petco...however, half the time I go to our local store for food the shelves are EMPTY and it's more than a week until the next shipping, yada, yada. I can't afford to be making wasted trips--even if it is only a slight detour on my way home from work. Working full time and I have two kids at home I don't have ANY spare time. I was buying online but I'm not sure that is the best alternative for me, either. I ended up going to Petco last night (which is nowhere near my house) to pick up treats b/c the local store was out. The bag of treats I get at the local vendor is $9.99--at Petco they are almost $14![/B]


Just called our Whole Foods...they don't carry it...


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## thinkpink (Sep 25, 2004)

QUOTE (dwerten @ Jun 11 2009, 11:00 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=789572


> i would blame petco more than natural balance  poor baby[/B]



Yep, I agree. I feed NB and while it's a new food for us I have yet to have a problem. Back when I used to shop at Petsmart it wasn't unusual for me to see tiny bugs all over some of their bags of food. I think the large chain stores have a harder time keeping their eye on that sort of thing than a smaller local store would.


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

bummer luckily ours does - many times i have asked them to order items and they do and it comes the next day and they call me to pick it up so maybe ask if they can do that for you - depends on manufacturer -- i would be careful of the large chain stores more so petco after the info came out about their facilities i would not buy from them  The smaller stores do not have as large of stock so i think it is more fresh and i always check the bags - sometimes people poor into containers to look at food first before giving so they can see if anything lurking in there. I found rat poop in a vet food before it happens sadly  and can happen in people food too


QUOTE (camfan @ Jun 12 2009, 07:08 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=789644


> QUOTE (camfan @ Jun 12 2009, 07:56 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=789639





> Whole Foods sells Natural Balance?? There's a Whole Foods minutes from my work...BUT...they are super costly so i can only imagine that they are selling the stuff for the maximum price--we jokingly call it "Whole Paycheck." I'll have to check and see the price...
> 
> I ALWAYS prefer to buy from the local merchants over Petco...however, half the time I go to our local store for food the shelves are EMPTY and it's more than a week until the next shipping, yada, yada. I can't afford to be making wasted trips--even if it is only a slight detour on my way home from work. Working full time and I have two kids at home I don't have ANY spare time. I was buying online but I'm not sure that is the best alternative for me, either. I ended up going to Petco last night (which is nowhere near my house) to pick up treats b/c the local store was out. The bag of treats I get at the local vendor is $9.99--at Petco they are almost $14![/B]


Just called our Whole Foods...they don't carry it...
[/B][/QUOTE]


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## mamamia (Jul 26, 2008)

I went to the feed store today and spoke to the owner about what happened. She said those bugs are called Food moth's. She said in all honesty...they are in ALL food....including human food. She said that the food would have been contaminated from the manufacturer. Most of you know...the bags of NB come sealed in plastic. She also said by putting the food in the airtight plastic container just incubated the bugs :yucky: So I asked her....so how should I store my food. She said she spoke to the Solid Gold distributor and they recommend keeping it in the original bag sealed with a clip.

So I have decided to switch his food to the Orijen Fish formula and I'll only be buying from the local feed supply.


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## 5maltsmom (Aug 12, 2007)

Be sure to check the expiration date on any dog food that you buy at Petco or anywhere else for that matter. I came across some at Petco that was going to expire within a week.


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## roxybaby22 (Feb 25, 2009)

QUOTE (MamaMia @ Jun 12 2009, 01:40 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=789819


> I went to the feed store today and spoke to the owner about what happened. She said those bugs are called Food moth's. She said in all honesty...they are in ALL food....including human food. She said that the food would have been contaminated from the manufacturer. Most of you know...the bags of NB come sealed in plastic. She also said by putting the food in the airtight plastic container just incubated the bugs :yucky: So I asked her....so how should I store my food. She said she spoke to the Solid Gold distributor and they recommend keeping it in the original bag sealed with a clip.
> 
> So I have decided to switch his food to the Orijen Fish formula and I'll only be buying from the local feed supply.[/B]


The great thing about Orijen is that it comes with a zip seal, so you don't have to clip it. I hope you don't have to deal with bugs again!


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

QUOTE (MamaMia @ Jun 12 2009, 01:40 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=789819


> I went to the feed store today and spoke to the owner about what happened. She said those bugs are called Food moth's. She said in all honesty...they are in ALL food....including human food. She said that the food would have been contaminated from the manufacturer. Most of you know...the bags of NB come sealed in plastic. She also said by putting the food in the airtight plastic container just incubated the bugs :yucky: So I asked her....so how should I store my food. She said she spoke to the Solid Gold distributor and they recommend keeping it in the original bag sealed with a clip.
> 
> So I have decided to switch his food to the Orijen Fish formula and I'll only be buying from the local feed supply.[/B]


huh? Tthey are not in ALL food. Maybe in SOME food, but not all. Yeah, if there's bugs there already, plastic will incubate them but the point is that there is no reason for them to be there in the first place. 

It's perfectly fine to store your bug free dog food in an air-tight plastic container!


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

QUOTE (camfan @ Jun 12 2009, 06:40 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=789990


> QUOTE (MamaMia @ Jun 12 2009, 01:40 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=789819





> I went to the feed store today and spoke to the owner about what happened. She said those bugs are called Food moth's. She said in all honesty...they are in ALL food....including human food. She said that the food would have been contaminated from the manufacturer. Most of you know...the bags of NB come sealed in plastic. She also said by putting the food in the airtight plastic container just incubated the bugs :yucky: So I asked her....so how should I store my food. She said she spoke to the Solid Gold distributor and they recommend keeping it in the original bag sealed with a clip.
> 
> So I have decided to switch his food to the Orijen Fish formula and I'll only be buying from the local feed supply.[/B]


huh? Tthey are not in ALL food. Maybe in SOME food, but not all. Yeah, if there's bugs there already, plastic will incubate them but the point is that there is no reason for them to be there in the first place. 

It's perfectly fine to store your bug free dog food in an air-tight plastic container!
[/B][/QUOTE]

I honestly don't know about if the bugs were there to start with or got in later, but I do know that as a kid growing up there was one or two times mom would find bugs in the flour, oatmeal, cereal, etc. She would go on a cleaning rampage, throw out all the dry products whether you could see bugs or not. And my mom is a total neat freak. Her house is almost sterile...at least that's the joke among family and friends. So I know it can happen in even human foods. I'm inclined to think that it has been setting there for awhile. I know I get my Dr. Harvey's pre-mix in 10lb bags and I open the bag and pour it into several different tupperware containers and store them in my freezer or refrigerator so bugs won't get in and to keep it fresh since a 10lb bag last forever.


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## sassy's mommy (Aug 29, 2005)

QUOTE (Crystal&Zoe @ Jun 13 2009, 10:37 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=790273


> I know I get my Dr. Harvey's pre-mix in 10lb bags and I open the bag and pour it into several different tupperware containers and store them in my freezer or refrigerator so bugs won't get in and to keep it fresh since a 10lb bag last forever.[/B]



I also freeze part of Sassy's food when I buy a new bag. It takes a long time for one little fluff to eat 6--8# of food.


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## princessre (Dec 23, 2008)

This is great for my OCD. Now I have to remember to wash my hands EVERY time after I touch pet food or treats.


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