Wal-Mart Pulls Dog Treats From Shelves
Retail Giant Yanks Two Chinese-Made Brands In Response To Customer Complaints




LITTLE ROCK, Aug. 21, 2007
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(AP / CBS)



(AP) Wal-Mart quietly stopped selling two brands of dog treats in July, after customers voiced concerns that the Chinese products may have caused their pets to fall ill, a company spokeswoman confirmed Monday, but no recall has been announced.

Spokeswoman Deisha Galberth said the world's largest retailer started pulling Chicken Jerky Strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co. and Chicken Jerky from Shanghai Bestro Trading on July 26. Galberth said Wal-Mart also placed a computerized block on all cash registers to prevent workers from selling the products.

"When we took it off shelves at the end of July, we pulled it based on the customer feedback so we could do testing prior to announcing anything publicly," Galberth said. "That's why did not make a public announcement — it was still going through the testing process."

Wal-Mart's action follows a massive pet food recall in March, when retailers began pulling products made in China that included the chemical melamine — a contaminant that's a byproduct of several pesticides.

Galberth said she did not know what the specific customer complaints were about the dog treats, nor when the testing would be done.

Galberth said she did not immediately know if the treats were sold at every Wal-Mart store.

"We are diligently testing this product," she said.

Philadelphia television station WPVI reported last week that a woman claimed her 2-year-old Chihuahua died after eating Bestro Chicken Jerky Strips. The station reported that an autopsy found the dog died of an infection caused by toxic bacteria.

Wal-Mart released a statement on the dog treats Monday night after a call from The Associated Press. In the statement, the company said it encouraged any customer who bought one of the products to return it to the nearest store for a full recall.

"We will continue to work with the supplier to assure that the highest safety standards are met — our customers expect nothing less from Wal-Mart," the statement read. "More importantly, our thoughts are with anyone whose pet may have become ill after consuming this product."

The Food and Drug Administration did not list the two products on its recall Web site Monday. Officials with the FDA did not immediately return a request for comment late Monday night.

This is the second quiet recall for the Bentonville-based retailer this year. In May, Wal-Mart pulled sets of baby bibs from stores after the products tested positive for high levels of lead. An advocacy group that tested the bibs said they, too, were made in China.


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