SALMON BONES IN ORIJEN

WHY ARE THERE SALMON BONES IN SOME ORIJEN PET FOODS?

The "Q&A" below explains the recent appearance of larger than normal bone fragments in some of our ORIJEN products.

We hope this posting will answer questions you have about this incident, and I invite you to write me - our Product Assurance Coordinator, Charlie Kaufmann - with any additional comments, questions, or concerns.

On behalf of our entire organization, we apologize for this inconvenience and assure you it will not be repeated. Thank you for your understanding and, from all of us here at Champion, warm regards to you and your beloved pets.

Charlie Kaufmann,
Product Assurance,
CHAMPION PETFOODS LTD.
t. 780.939.6888 ext 233
e. charliek@championpetfoods.com

Q: ARE ALL ORIJEN PRODUCTS AFFECTED?

A: NO, the affected lots are listed below and are associated with the above mentioned salmon shipment.
The affected lot numbers made with salmon containing larger bone fragments are:
ORIJEN 6 FISH DOG 82659
ORIJEN ADULT DOG 82660, 82664, 82665
ORIJEN PUPPY LARGE BREED 82662
ORIJEN PUPPY 82558
ORIJEN SENIOR 82661

Q: CAN THE BONE PIECES HARM MY DOG?

A: No. Although the bone fragments are unsightly they will not affect dogs. Dogs are actually evolved to easily consume much larger and sharper bones, and the small bone fragments will dissolve in their highly acidic stomachs (pH 1)!

Q: WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY ORIJEN HAS BONES IN IT?

A: We understand that our customers are not pleased to see larger bone fragments in their pet’s kibble. As ORIJEN is made from meats that have undergone minimum processing before arriving at our factory fresh, small fragments of bone are always present in ORIJEN kibble. At less than 2mm in size, these bone fragments are usually smooth, very small and pose absolutely no threat to either pet or person.

If your ORIJEN is among the lots listed above, you may find bone fragments that are larger than usual. If you are concerned about the larger bone fragments, the easy and fast solution of simply removing any kibble containing larger bone fragments from your pet’s bowl. If you do not wish to use the food, please contact our customer service for advise on how to exchange your ORIJEN product.

1 780 939 6888 ext. 238

diana@championpetfoods.com

Q: WHAT MEASURES HAS CHAMPION TAKEN?

A: Since this incident our fresh salmon supplier has implemented additional procedures to their fish processing systems, including double grinding all our salmon, herring and flounder before running the minced fish through 2mm screens twice. Smear tests are then performed on the final ingredient where samples of the minced fish are spread onto glass plates to determine whether or not any bone is present.

When the ingredient arrives at Champion, Charlie personally inspects each and every shipment of salmon that arrives which includes the physical handling of the salmon throughout the load to check for bones. Charlie also personally samples kibble throughout the production stream to monitor the bone size, and makes sure that all QC inspectors inspect our kibble through each and every run.

Q: WHY ARE THERE LARGER BONE FRAGMENTS IN SOME ORIJEN

PRODUCTS?

A: On March 6, 2008 Champion received a shipment of fresh salmon from
our North Vancouver Island supplier of fresh salmon, herring and flounder.
On this shipment our supplier experienced problems with the screens
that separate bone fragments from the salmon meat. Unfortunately they
did not notify Champion about the problem and, as the bone fragments
are small, they were not identified when the salmon was QC’d on arrival.
The fresh salmon was subsequently used in the production of several
runs of ORIJEN.

Reinhard Muhlenfeld

President & Founder, CHAMPION PETFOODS LTD.