merrick duck pate- what is this??

[haleyrose99]

opened a can to give my kittens for lunch and noticed something weird looking in the can so i pulled it out only to find this... does anyone know what this even is??? it feels rubbery like seaweed, but there's nothing even remotely like that in the ingredients. opened another can and found it again after mixing it around. merrick is about to be on my bad side, because i found a hard yellow lump that i couldnt even break apart in another can from the same flavor a few days ago. i don't even know if i should give the food to my cats, has anyone seen this before?

 

[Kat0121]

I would contact them and send them those pictures. Include a picture of the cans with the dates, batch number, etc. What ever is on it. I have no idea what that it. Contact - Merrick Pet Care

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hopefully it was all from the same batch, and while that doesn't explain what is going on, at least - this time - you can write it off as a bad processing issue. I wouldn't feed that batch to your cats. If you have other cans from a different batch, you can at least check them out to see if they too have an issue. I feed Feeby a couple of versions of Merrick Purrfect Bistro and have not (yet, anyway) seen anything amiss.

 

[Alldara]

I have 3 cans that expire Jun 2024 of the same. They ate two and I haven't opened the third..I always mix around because I add extra water and didn't see this.

I wouldn't let them eat it.

 

[haleyrose99]

Thanks for everyone's responses! I called them, and as she was asking me questions it felt as though it was a common topic that is called in about.... She asked about the texture, so I said rubbery but hard and brittle when it's dried out and she laughed, saying "that was my next question, if it was brittle when dry". Not sure if it's just a standard question, but I suspect it's not. She told me it was a "naturally occurring protein" (which is a bit vague and I don't really know what that means) and that it sometimes happens when the whole foods are being processed. I tried to ask more questions, but it was a little obvious she was reading directly from a prompt, so she couldn't tell me much. She assured me that the food was 100% safe with it in the mix.
Even still, like everyone suggested I didn't give it them, just looking at that thing gives me the heebie-jeebies... There are two cans left and I'll check them thoroughly like suggested! I usually do anyways, like Alldara I add water to their food so I mix it around and smoosh it, that's how I found this thing

 

[Alldara]

What a concerning response! Disappointed to hear that's how they handled your concern.

 

[Alldara]

My wife and I conferred over this photo and it looks like a small price of wakami (type of seaweed for anyone that isn't familiar). But there's no seaweed listed in the ingredients.

 

[haleyrose99]

My wife and I conferred over this photo and it looks like a small price of wakami (type of seaweed for anyone that isn't familiar). But there's no seaweed listed in the ingredients.

YES! That's exactly what I was thinking as well, I even mentioned thinking it was seaweed to the rep and she didn't have an answer. And yes nothing in their ingredients like seaweed... after looking last night as well none of their other flavors do either! No idea how this would have happened

 

[LadyLondonderry]

Could it be agar-agar, which is derived from seaweed? That's in the ingredient list for the Purrfect Bistro duck pate. (If it's the LID duck pate, never mind; that doesn't have any agar-agar in it.)

 

[haleyrose99]

Could it be agar-agar, which is derived from seaweed? That's in the ingredient list for the Purrfect Bistro duck pate. (If it's the LID duck pate, never mind; that doesn't have any agar-agar in it.)

Oh wow okay I had no idea what agar agar is made of but that actually makes a lot of sense! It was the Purrfect Bistro version. She did emphasize that everything in their food comes from "whole ingredients" so if they're making their own agar agar, it's possible some seaweed pieces didn't fully get processed. Thank you so much for your response!

 

[Alldara]

Could it be agar-agar, which is derived from seaweed? That's in the ingredient list for the Purrfect Bistro duck pate. (If it's the LID duck pate, never mind; that doesn't have any agar-agar in it.)

Oh good catch! I new agar-agar was plant based but not what it was made from. This is good to know!