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RECALL ALERT: Petco Issues Recall & Warning on Stainless Steel Dog Bowls

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Pet supply superstore, Petco, has issued a recall notice and a warning to consumers regarding certain Petco branded stainless steel dog feeding bowls. One of Petco’s suppliers mistakenly used Cobalt-60, a radioactive material, in the production of the recalled bowls. Due to the presence of this material, the bowls are shown to emit low levels of radiation.

Details of the recall and warning posted to the Petco website are as follows:

Stainless Steel Bowl Notice

Petco has determined that one of its foreign suppliers used stainless steel mistakenly containing small quantities of Cobalt-60 when fabricating certain orders of certain SKUs/models of stainless steel pet food bowls. Cobalt-60 is a radioactive material commonly used in industrial gauging equipment and other uses.

We don’t know for certain how it got into our product, but we believe it came from scrap metal that had some Cobalt-60 accidentally mixed in. The affected products were found to emit low levels of radiation.

The Cobalt-60 levels in the affected products are far below State and Federal regulatory limits. All of the expert testing conducted on these products to date indicates that there is no health risk to the public, to our associates or to pets.

To our knowledge, the affected products were limited to two cargo containers that entered the United States in late May and early June. We’ve also determined that the affected products pose no health risk, and were and are safe to be handled by our associates.

The issue was discovered by Customs and Border Protection agents during a routine import screening of one of the containers. That container was held at the port and never reached Petco. The second container had previously cleared Customs and reached Petco’s distribution network.

Upon learning of this issue following the delivery of the affected products to our distribution centers, we promptly retained experts to examine the potentially affected products, and those experts determined that the SKUs examined were safe for handling.

Out of concern that products from the second container reached our stores, we removed from our store shelves and from our website all products from the supplier that produced the bowls.

We have confirmed that the vast majority of all of the affected products remain at Petco distribution centers, are quarantined outside and never reached our stores.

We also confirmed that very few affected items were actually sold to consumers. We are working to contact those customers to inform them of the situation and to retrieve those particular bowls.

Petco has notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a number of state governments, and is in the process of notifying other appropriate states as we continue to collect and verify information.

The Illinois state government did its own testing and issued a news release stating that “a person would have to hold one of the bowls against their chest for roughly six and a half days to receive a dose of radiation equivalent to a single chest X-ray,” and that “these bowls do not pose an immediate health risk.”

Petco tested other stainless steel pet products it carries from other suppliers and found no similar issues. The supplier that produced the affected products has told us that it has already instituted special screening procedures. We are in the process of reviewing those procedures ourselves, and we have put a hold on future shipments until this issue is resolved.

Customers who purchased these products between the dates of May 31 and June 20, 2012, should bring it to their local Petco store for a full refund. If you have any questions, please call Petco Customer Service at 877-738-6742.

SKU numbers can be found on labels inside and on the bottom of the bowls.

1047493SKU 1047493
PETC-3.75C DEEP TWO TONE NOTIP
9.25” diameter; 3.75 cup capacity
1386956SKU 1386956
PETC-3.5C NO-TIP SS HAMMRD BWL
9” diameter; 3.5 cup capacity
1047477SKU 1047477
PETC-7C TWO TONE NONTIP BOWL
9” diameter; 7 cup capacity

 

If you’ve purchased one of the dog bowls mentioned, please discontinue use immediately and return the product to your Petco store for a full refund.

Now, the big question is – how does a manufacturer of the bowls that our dogs eat from not ALREADY have procedures in place to prevent these mistakes from happening? In today’s era of trying to manufacture products as cheaply as possible, our dogs seem to be the ones suffering. Whenever possible, buy products for your dog that are made locally – not in China where there are little to no regulations in place to protect our furriest family members!

Image 100572046 13348155
12 Comments

12 Comments

  1. Avatar Of Daivies Expo DAIVIES EXPO says:

    We would like to introduce as one of the leading manufacturer & exporter stainless steel pet feeding bowls.

    Please visit our website daivie.com for our product reference.

    Thanks and regards
    Veejay

  2. Avatar Of Debbiedog Debbiedog says:

    Thank you for the consumer warning. We are always checking to see what are clients are using to feed their dogs…not just the food. If you happen to be using these bowls I would speak to your vet regarding any health tests that should be done. Mostly…I would hold onto those bowls just in case you would like to talk to a lawyer regarding the long-term issues …for us that teach consumers – try to remember to purchase American made products…Buy USA!!!

  3. Avatar Of Dusty

    Dusty

    says:

    Buy American made. Do search on computer and can find them.

  4. Avatar Of Paul Davis

    Paul Davis

    says:

    They don’t have procedures in place because the suppliers aren’t supposed to buy metal with radioactive elements added. The supplier of steel to the (doubtless Chinese) mfr is the one to blame. Nobody expects hospital waste to be added to cobalt stores used to make stainless steel, and that’s apparently what happened.

  5. Avatar Of Magneto

    Magneto

    says:

    This is how China gets rid of toxic materials. Better get use to it. It’s deliberate but all this could be made here but the EPA won’t you start a company that makes anything. If it did you would all be employed.

  6. Avatar Of Gpbushjr

    gpbushjr

    says:

    MADE IN CHINA — YA THINK !!!!

  7. Avatar Of Margie

    margie

    says:

    I recently bought a stainless steel bowl at Walmart—-should I worry?

  8. Avatar Of Marilyn Pharoah

    marilyn pharoah

    says:

    I DO NOT BUY FOOD OR TREATS FOR MY ANIMALS FORM CHINA. GOOD AMERICAN STUFF IS HARD TOI9 FIND.

  9. Avatar Of Leigh Ann Wagner Kroening

    Leigh Ann Wagner Kroening

    says:

    Have you noticed that nearly all of recalled children’s and pet products originate in foreign countries (namely China, though I don’t know if that’s the case with the stainless steel bowls). It is time to BUY AND USE AMERICAN PRODUCTS!

  10. Where is this product manufactured?

    • Avatar Of Zen Bonobo

      Zen Bonobo

      says:

      The world capital of stainless seems to be India. In the Libertarian sub-continent the watch word is “Press your limits.”

  11. Avatar Of Charlotte Hall

    Charlotte Hall

    says:

    First our dog food and treats and now the bowls our dogs eat out of? When will the USA figure it out? Bring our jobs back and start manufacturing and supplying our own products, again!

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