Reg: 08-29-2006
Posts: 2324
Loc: Central Coast, California
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you may want to read this.
As of last week, my raw food store no longer carries the NV Rabbit formula that I give my cats. When I asked why I was pretty stunned by the answer.
Apparently, NV Rabbit carcasses, organs, and fat come from, of all places, China.
I wrote NV for verification and the email response I received today is below in its entirety. Despite their quality control assurances, I won't purchase NV Rabbit for my animals and I may not purchase any of their products again. Seems like quantity and $$$ trump quality with Nature's Variety.
Email response:
Sarah,
Thanks for writing! We currently import rabbit carcasses, organ meats and fat from a facility in China. These are used in our rabbit formula Nature’s Variety™ Raw Frozen Diet. Our CEO has visited the facility personally and some of the associated rabbit farms. The sanitary standards and procedures are excellent. The facility is certified to export product to the European Union, which has very strict product quality and animal welfare requirements. We are currently working to qualify this EU-approved supplier for our can production where we face a shortage of EU-approved rabbit meat products.
The rabbits are fed an all natural, grass-based diet. No antibiotics or hormone supplements are used in rabbit production there (the rabbits breed and grow pretty fast all on their own).
It is helpful to understand the international market for rabbit meat to appreciate why we are sourcing product from China. Rabbit meat is consumed mainly in Europe, with France the largest consumer by far, followed by Germany and Italy. Europe is a net importer of rabbit meat; that is, more rabbit comes into Europe than is exported from it. China is the largest exporter of rabbit in the world and has been for many years. In order to assure an adequate supply of raw material we have gone where the product is available.
In addition to his personal inspection, we have a US-educated, Ph.D. food scientist on staff in China in order to assure product quality. He coordinates the services of third-party firms that provide additional quality audit and testing services. All products are tested for quality prior to being shipped. We test the raw materials for contaminants such as those involved in the spring recalls. All of our tests have been negative.
Our customers want rabbit products and we have sought out quality raw materials. We found them in China. We have taken steps to assure ourselves that the products are of the highest quality. We are seeking to convey that assurance to you in this post. We understand that some consumers do not trust any Chinese products regardless of assurances like this or otherwise do not want to purchase products from China. Many others do, however.
much of the rabbit sold in this country comes from China, so if you want to feed rabbit to your dog it's best to buy locally raised or raise them yourself.
Right now there is a huge rabbit shortage, many of the places I know of that are raw food suppliers (and either raise their own or buy domestically) don't have any at all.
Sandy Moore Webboard User Reg: 07-25-2006
Posts: 2665
Loc: AZ
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Doggone it (in place of what I want to say).....one of the things I've been feeding Lear is NV rabbit since he was a pup. I'm getting disgusted at non-disclosure ON THE PACKAGE of where a food comes from. Seems non-edible items always state the country of origin; you'd THINK that would be required of something as important as food!!!
This whole China thing is disgusting and pathetic.
Reg: 08-29-2006
Posts: 2324
Loc: Central Coast, California
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Quote: Cindy Easton Rhodes
Right now there is a huge rabbit shortage, many of the places I know of that are raw food suppliers (and either raise their own or buy domestically) don't have any at all.
That's good to know. My dog is on Bravo so I've written them asking the same question.
What really angers me is you can't find this information on NV's web site. I looked and I can't find it. For many people this IS important information since nearly everything these days that comes out of China is dangerous, deadly, and of poor quality.
I boycott ALL things from China (including things like clothing) not only because of quality concerns but also because of their policy.
I'm talking about human rights violations and also the fact that they torture dogs and cats and skin them alive to make fur and meat. Torture. I've seen a video of what they do and will never buy anything if I know it's from China. Who cares if it's the best quality product in the world (which it never is).
Non-disclosure of the origin of a product angers me, too.
sue lessner Webboard User Reg: 07-11-2007
Posts: 139
Loc: 35 miles south of chicago
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i was wondering if evangers imports rabbit from china,i just called them,everything is from usa except for new zealand lamb,processed-canned in chicago area.we dont do china
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