Linda Plumstead
Just now ·
SHARED FROM FEEDING FEATHERS..IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT PANIC OVER THE POSSIBLE PROBLEM AT MICHIGAN BIRD RESCUE.
From Zupreem:
ZuPreem Customers,
On January 15th, Birds and Beaks Rescue and Rehab in Michigan posted an update on their Facebook page.
ZuPreem reiterates that all our products are safe to feed, including the batches fed in Michigan, as we stated on January 4th. We continue to feed our own precious birds ZuPreem food, including the Michigan batch, knowing they are getting highly nutritious and safe food.
Why are we so confident our food, including the Michigan batch, is safe to feed?
ZuPreem uses industry-best food safety and quality processes that ensure that when products leave our facilities, they are safe to feed. We have conducted numerous research studies to identify the critical points of food safety in our process and have strict protocols in place to manage these critical points to ensure we deliver the safe food you have come to expect from ZuPreem.
ZuPreem has not historically disclosed our food safety processes publicly, given they are highly technical and could easily be misunderstood or misrepresented by the public or by our competitors. However, given the nature of this situation and the massive spread of misinformation about ZuPreem products, as a result of the Michigan incident, we have decided to change our policy and disclose our quality management process with the hope that you, our customers, will remain confident in feeding ZuPreem foods to your birds.
ZuPreem utilizes a “hold, test, and confirm” food safety process to ensure our foods are safe for birds to eat. Every batch of ZuPreem pelleted avian diets, including the product fed in Michigan, must be declared safe during three separate food safety holding periods in our process, before it is approved for shipment to a customer. More specifically, our food safety process is conducted as follows:
1. Grains used to make flour are tested for specific toxins, including aflatoxins, before being milled.
2. The milled flour is then blended with other ingredients, including 18 essential vitamins and minerals.
3. This blend is then formed into the finished pellet shape and cooked to temperatures greater than 185 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure harmful bacteria are killed.
4. The finished batch of pellets is then air-dried to reduce moisture levels to prevent the growth of mold.
5. The batch is then put on the first hold and tested by two laboratories.
6. The first laboratory is an independent facility testing for specific harmful bacteria, including Salmonella.
7. The second laboratory is an internal facility testing levels of key nutrients and moisture levels.
8. Once all tests from the first hold come back safe, the batch is then held a second time
9. During the second hold, another independent laboratory tests levels of 18 different nutrients, including vitamins A and D. Many batches are tested more than once, as were the batches fed in Michigan.
10. Once all tests from the second hold come back safe, the batch is packaged and then held for the third time.
11. During this third hold, ZuPreem conducts environmental testing for harmful bacteria in the packaging equipment area, on the packaging equipment, on the food-handling equipment, and in the finished product warehouse.
12. Once tests from the third hold come back safe, the batch is declared safe, and products from the batch are made available for shipment to customers.
13. Representative samples of the thoroughly-tested batch are then retained at ZuPreem.
14. If credible information is presented that suggests a specific contaminant may be present in a batch of ZuPreem food at levels that could be harmful, we will then test our retained samples in search for that specific contaminant.
Additionally, each step of the manufacturing process occurs in a facility subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the Food and Drug Administration. The last inspection occurred in July 2017, a short time before packaging of the batches of concern in Michigan. ZuPreem passed that very thorough FDA inspection.
ZuPreem pelleted products only leave our facility and ship to pet stores if they pass each and every one of these tests. If a batch fails our strict pathogen testing or falls outside our nutritionally acceptable range, it never ever leaves our facility. These are very expensive testing protocols, but nothing is more important to us than the safety of our products and the health of your birds.
Our process has the support of independent food safety experts. One such expert is Dr. Edward Richter, PhD, President of Richter International (one of the independent ISO Accredited Laboratories used by ZuPreem) and recognized human food and pet food safety expert and process authority. Dr. Richter supports the Food Quality & Safety practices of ZuPreem. Here is what Dr. Richter has to say about ZuPreem food safety processes: “ZuPreem takes the necessary steps to validate their pet food products are free from bacterial contamination. ZuPreem pet food products are safe based on the results from analyses conducted by our laboratory.”
And while we do our utmost with food safety best practices and processes, we know that no process is perfect. When cases like the one in Michigan arise, we do not just dismiss them. Our protocol is to reach out to bird owners and dig as deeply as we can into each case to determine if our food contributed in any way to the issue. If we believe it did, we will state it publicly and work to fix our process to prevent it from happening again (as was the case with our self-reported calcium incident in 2012). If we believe our food was not a cause, we will also state it publicly (as is the case in the Michigan incident).
The unfortunate deaths in Michigan sadden all of us. Any reported bird death saddens us. That’s why we sought advice from one of the most world-renowned avian pathologists, Dr. Drury Reavill, DVM, Diplomate ABVP (Avian Practice), Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathologists, to help us understand the role our food may have played in these very difficult cases.
This is what Dr. Reavill had to say about the case in Michigan, based on the public statements made by the Birds and Beaks Rescue and Rehab and on information gleaned from their Facebook videos describing the case: “I have been reading through the postings about this very tragic event. To have multiple parrots die within such a small period of time (30 minutes) must be devastating and frightening. As both a board-certified avian practitioner and pathologist focused only on exotic animals, I believe that the clinical presentation, the fact that multiple species (cockatoos, macaws, Amazons, and conure) were involved, and the lack of significant post-mortem lesions, makes a food-borne and/or water-borne toxin/nutrient imbalance very unlikely. As these birds of different species and ages all have different physiologies, toxin ingestion/nutrient imbalances would not have resulted in such an explosive loss of life over such a short time period.”
Please know that ZuPreem is doing everything possible to provide safe and nutritious food for your precious birds. Also know that we are confident that all our food is safe for you to continue to feed. And finally, know that if it’s not, we will publicly and proactively tell you that it’s not and what ZuPreem will be doing to resolve the issue.
Thank you so much for your faith in us and your continued support.
ZuPreem
P.S. Keep a watch out for two more Facebook posts from ZuPreem, including a message from our president and owner, David R. Morris, who will share more about ZuPreem’s animal health heritage
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