WARNING - Burgess Excel banana and papaya treats

Just wanted to make you aware that there are some boxes of the above treats that have locust bean in them.

I was alerted to this when a client of mine arrived with a box for their bunny and when I opened it found that there was a fairly high percentage of the item in the box and it wasn't actually listed on the ingredients. I messaged Burgess as I actually think it's very naughty and also quite dangerous as I have always thought them to be a choking hazard or possibly even something that might cause a blockage to bunnies in the same way that hard corn pieces could be. Let's face it any risk is too much when it comes to blocked bunny tummies.

I would never personally feed this to my rabbits (it's carob) and certainly if I were to buy a product with them in unknowingly I'd be a bit upset.

Having read the ingredients it seems that there is no carrot in the item as listed on the box so am assuming it's an error.

Burgess have responded to my contact with the following comments "We are aware of a batch of our Banana and Papaya product in which locust pods have been included in error.

Please be assured that the ingredient in these packs is the locust pod, not the bean itself, which are extracted beforehand. The pods are soft and fibrous, compared to the beans which are more tough. There is no evidence of either the beans or the pods being toxic for rabbits, particularly at the low levels included in this snack product, however the seeds themselves can be hard for the rabbits to break down, and that is the reason they are not recommended. The pods themselves, which are what have been included in these packs, will not pose a problem for rabbits.

All future packs produced will have the intended carrot rather than locust pod ingredient. We understand your concerns at finding a product not listed on the pack, but please let us reassure you this does not pose a risk to your pet. In fact locust pods are routinely used as an ingredient in other rabbit and small animal nuggets, treats and mixes in the UK and Europe. "

The reason for my post is I wonder how many of you also noticed if you bought the product? And how many of you also have concerns about locust bean - or am I being over sensitive.

I would think that the product should be recalled or at the very least a notice should be put up at every point of sale to tell the client that the contents may not be as described.

I have to also say I think that it's a very large box for such a tiny amount of product..................but that's a whole other issue.

The unopened packet



The brown bits in this photo are the locust bean



What the pack should contain





Measly amount in the pack even after settlement but I think quite a high percentage of the locust bean

No, I don't think you are being over sensitive, I wouldn't give any of mine locust bean, or dried corn either, and as you say, I think they should have recalled it. Let's face it, if a human food had been produced with the wrong ingredients, it would be recalled, so why not for animal food

The problem is a lot of companies don't pay much attention to what rabbits can and can't eat

You were right to contact them.

Update

Burgess have withdrawn all of the stock that hadn't reached stockists and will be posting something on their Facebook page to notify owners about the issue so that people can make an informed decision about whether to feed. They also say "We are currently working with our retail customers to make them aware of the issue"

Whatever they might say about reassuring you about the contents, they have no choice but to withdraw the stock as it's in violation of the EU regulations concerning labelling of pet feed.

HungryBun said:

Whatever they might say about reassuring you about the contents, they have no choice but to withdraw the stock as it's in violation of the EU regulations concerning labelling of pet feed.

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That's interesting - I am not reassured at all by my correspondence with them and actually do think that they need to remove the products from sale...................they don't seem too keen

The Duchess said:

That's interesting - I am not reassured at all by my correspondence with them and actually do think that they need to remove the products from sale...................they don't seem too keen

Click to expand...

They might not have to - all I know is what we've had to read through and digest in order to sell our own treats. The labelling requirements are pretty strict. What I'm not sure of is what the requirements are in light of a mistake being made such as this.

As they are such a large company I would expect they've taken the necessary legal advice if they didn't already know, and would guess that their response is the cheapest that they're required to make. I would make another guess that "working with our retail customers to make them aware of the issue" would translate to putting up some sort of notice at the point of sale. Anything less than that wouldn't be enough - who checks a company's Facebook page just on the off chance there's a product recall before making a purchase?!