Complain about a product or service

Rawhide From India? Pet Owners Should Think Twice

Email solicitations from overseas pet product manufacturers raise doubts

By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com

August 25, 2007

• July 4th Can Be Dangerous for Dogs • Summertime Can Be Hazardous to Pets' Health • Kennel Hounded Out of Missouri • FDA 'Reapproves' Heartworm Drug • Menu Foods Settles Pet Food Class Action • Indictments in Toxic Pet Food Case • New York Tops Animal Cruelty List • How Smart is Your Dog? • Cat's Death Blamed on Contaminated Food • Finding Safe Toys to Give Your Pet • China Agrees to Stepped-Up Food, Drug Inspections • Menu Foods Denies Acetaminophen Found in its Cat Food • Entrust Your Pet to a Pet Trust • Secondhand Smoke Bad for Pets • Rawhide From India? Pet Owners Should Think Twice • Common Flame Retardant May Be Killing House Cats • Menu Food CEO "Doesn't Know" How Rat Poison Got into Pet Food • Pet Food Contamination May Be Rat Poison • Reports of Dead Animals Increase as Word of Recall Spreads • Latest Information For Pet Owners • List of Recalled Pet Foods • One in Six Animals Died in Pet Food Tests • Pet Food Recalled After Reports Of Kidney Failure • New Drug Treats Vomiting in Dogs • Salmonella Found in "Wild Kitty" Cat Food • Lost Dogs Found More Often Than Lost Cats • Feds Approve Weight Loss Drug for Dogs • Pocket Pets May Carry Disease • Pets Rescued Faster Than Elderly After 9/11 --- • Pet Food Recall • More about Pets

An India company that "introduces itself as a manufacturer and exporter of Rawhide Dog Chew products” captured the suspicious eye of ConsumerAffairs.com.

We received an e-mail solicitation from the Kanpur-based Rex International, which claims to be a pioneer name in dog food and chew products and has “the best infrastructure and technically vibrant workmanship that makes us (the) preferable supplier of many European Companies.”

The company’s solicitation urges U.S. businesses to become distributors of its rawhide dog chew products that include sticks, ear, bones, and chips.

“We guarantee you about the quality of Products and assure you for timely shipment,” the e-mail states in improper grammar and punctuation. “We look forward for an encouraging reply And a healthy profitable business relationship.”

But who is behind this company?

How are its rawhide products made?

And are they safe for pets?

The company’s Web site touts -- again with less than perfect grammar and punctuation -- that Rex International is “the global Exporter & manufacturer of Dog chew & Dog food products from India. Our products ranges are Ears, Sticks, Bones and Chips in Dog chews category which are made up of Natural Rawhide with nutrition ingredients in a very clean & hygienic conditions.”

It adds: “our products are well processed and tested so that they meet out the international quality and standards.”

Mr. Khursheed Ahmed is listed as the company’s director and “motivating force” behind what it calls Rex International’s phenomenal growth.

Visitors to the company’s Web site -- and businesses that receive its e-mail solicitations -- are encouraged to contact Rex International for more information.

We sent the company several questions about how it manufactures its rawhide treats, if it adds any colorings or preservatives to the products, information about its quality control procedures, refunds, and guarantees, and the costs of its items, which are not listed on its Web site.

But Rex International did not respond to our inquiries.

U.S. makers of rawhide products -- who told us they’d never heard of Rex International -- cautioned pet owners about buying products from overseas and unresponsive companies.

They said rawhide is not regulated in many countries.

They also warned that some countries use arsenic-based products as preservatives and bleaching chemicals in the ultra-white rawhide treats.

What about the quality of rawhide treats made in India?

“Products from India are generally lacking with products from other countries,” said Marco Corsi of the Pet Factory Inc in Mundelein, Illinois. “The look and workmanship level is behind the products from China, Brazil, Mexico, (and) South America.”

The best advice for pet owners -- or businesses that receive this solicitation -- is not to bite on Rex International’s offer.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.