Photo: TikTok
I wouldn't feed these to my pets.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Oct 21, 2022
A man on TikTok named James Salvinski claims to have once been an employee of Platinum Pet Treats — a pet supply store on 1880 Holste Road in Northbrook, Illinois.
In two videos posted by Salvinski, he claims that Platinum Pet Treats is forcing him to partake in unsafe business practices that would potentially endanger the lives of people’s beloved pets.
James Salvinski claims that Platinum Pet Treats is changing expiration dates and selling treats with bugs in them.
“This is my first TikTok video, and unfortunately, I have to make it,” he said. “What I’m forced to do, as you see in front of me here, there are a lot of tags.”
He claims that the tags are expiration dates for products that Platinum Pet Treats sells and also claims that it’s his job to apply them to the packaging.
“I have to change them so they’re no longer expired and we could sell them,” he claims.
“Now, these are for your pets that you love with all your heart. I have two dogs and I will not give these products to my German Shepherd or my American Bull Dog.”
In the comments, many people slammed the company for replacing the expiration dates and praised Salvinski for his post.
“Whether it’s safe for animals to consume or not, it’s 100% deception by the company,” one user wrote on Reddit.
“Put them out in a reduced bin at a discount and leave the stickers on there. Be transparent and there’s no problem here.”
“You’re a good GOOD man! My dogs mean the world to me, I would never risk their health for anything. This is very wrong, I hope they go out of business,” wrote another user on TikTok.
Although there are arguments that these dates don’t actually mean the food is expired or unsafe to eat, Salvinski posted another video that would definitely raise the alarm for pet owners.
“This is just one of the thirty-packs, now, it’s hard to see but see all of these dots?” he asks. “What those dots are, are feces from, these bugs,” he says as he pans the camera to bugs he removed from the packaging.
His job is to remove the beef sausages from the packs, remove the bugs, and place the treats into ten-pack bags.
“Now, what I'm not doing, is opening up and making sure there are no bugs, larvae, or eggs inside these,” he says, referring to the sausages.
He does confirm that the sausages have been frozen so whatever bugs or eggs remain in the packaging wouldn’t be alive, but he also states that he wouldn’t purchase the products since he has no idea what effect that would have on the dogs.
Salvinski posted an update claiming he was contacted by a lawyer and fired for his posts on TikTok.
In the video, he says “hopefully I don’t get sued,” but reveals in subsequent videos and comments that a reporter from Channel 2 gave him the number to a lawyer in order to fight his battle.
He continued posting his many thanks to the people who have kept up with him, praised him, and supported him during this time.
People in the comments claim that he should make a GoFundMe or reach out for other employment opportunities because of his integrity, but so far he hasn’t done either.
Platinum Pet Treats responded to the accusations by posting a message on their website addressing the issue.
"Platinum Pet Treats is dedicated to providing healthy and natural products, being focused on the health, safety and well-being of our customers," they claim.
They also claim to have removed the products in question as they await "further testing and quality verification."
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Keep up with his rants about current events on his Twitter.