Chinese Tainted Feed May be in DRY dogfood too!!!

[Anonymous]

Pet Food Recall: FDA Says Chemical To Make Plastics Found

Last Edited: Friday, 30 Mar 2007, 11:02 AM EDT

Menu Foods has recalled its 'Cuts & Gravy' pet food sold December 3- March 6. SideBar



Washington -- Recalled pet foods contained a chemical used to make plastics, but government tests failed to confirm the presence of rat poison, federal officials said Friday.

The Food and Drug Administration said it found melamine in samples of the Menu Foods pet food, as well as in wheat gluten used as an ingredient. Cornell University scientists also have found the chemical, also used as a fertilizer, in the urine of sick cats, as well as in the kidney of one cat that died after eating the company's wet food.

Menu Foods recalled 60 million containers of cat and dog food earlier this month after animals died of kidney failure after eating the Canadian company's products. It is not clear how many pets may have been poisoned by the apparently contaminated food, although anecdotal reports suggest hundreds if not thousands have died. The FDA alone has received more than 8,000 complaints.

The new finding comes a week after scientists at the New York State Food Laboratory identified a rat poison and cancer drug called aminopterin as the likely culprit. The FDA said it could not confirm that finding.

New York officials have detected melamine as well, though it's not clear how that chemical would have poisoned pets. It's typically used to produce plastic kitchen wares, though it's apparently used as a fertilizer in Asia, said Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine.

The recall involved nearly 100 brands of "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat food made by Menu Foods. The recall covered products carrying names of major brand-name and private-label products sold throughout North America.

The apparently melamine-contaminated wheat gluten also was shipped to an unnamed company that manufactures dry pet food. The FDA is attempting to determine if that product, imported from China, was used to make any pet food, Sundlof said.

Menu Foods used wheat gluten, a source of vegetable protein, to thicken the gravy of its pet foods, FDA officials have said.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't trust much of what PETA says- but it would be nice for FDA to let folks know what dry dogfood may be contaminated... :roll:

---------------------------------

Though the Food and Drug Administration has not yet called for a widening of the recall, PETA senior researcher Alka Chandna said today that the organization is asking that dry foods be investigated -- and that Iams dry food be taken off shelves because PETA has received numerous complaints about dogs and cats becoming ill or dying after eating it.

"We've heard from too many people who have experienced problems when they've been fed exclusively Iams dry dog food or cat food," Chandna said. "There are multiple cases in which the animals have died. They've all been kidney failure, and it's extremely concerning that it's such similar symptoms to what prompted the recall of the wet food."

At a press conference today, an FDA spokesman said the recalled foods showed no trace of rat poison, which had previously been reported as a possible cause for the illnesses. The spokesman said the foods showed traces of melamine, which is used to make plastic, and he noted that the apparently contaminated ingredient was shipped to a company that makes dry pet food, though he did not identify the company.


PETA is also calling for the FDA to investigate whether Menu Foods waited too long to recall the food. A New York Times report noted that Menu Foods knew of the potential problem by Feb. 20, began conducting tests on Feb. 27 and recalled the foods on March 16 after seven animals died in the Menu Foods laboratory from eating the food being tested.

"We consider this to be clear evidence that Menu Foods was putting the bottom line first," Chandna said. "We need to get to a point where safety is being considered first and commercial considerations second."

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-now-peta,0,5142700.story?coll=dp-news

 

[IL Rancher]

Well crap. I have two big old bags of the stuff... Okay... Might be time to change to the raw diet exclusively... at least than I know 100% of what I am giving the critters...

 

[Anonymous]

Well crap. I have two big old bags of the stuff... Okay... Might be time to change to the raw diet exclusively... at least than I know 100% of what I am giving the critters...

Don't throw it out, yet-- P & G claims it ain't them-- FDA is still not saying- again putting corporate economics ahead of safety :roll: ....

But P&G ain't angels either if they are knowingly using a banned chemical :roll:
------------------------------------
Procter & Gamble says its dry pet food not contaminated
Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:44PM EDT
(Reuters) - Procter & Gamble Co. said there was no melamine or wheat gluten in any Iams or Eukanuba dry pet foods on store shelves, a day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to its Iams pet food unit.

The company assured pet owners that Iams and Eukanuba dry foods are not manufactured by Menu Foods, which makes pet food under contract for national brands like P&G's Iams unit.

P&G Pet Care suspended production of all wet pet foods at the affected Menu Foods Emporia plant on March 14, the statement added.

(Reporting by Amitha Rajan in Bangalore)

http://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSWNAS528620070330

---------------------------------

March 29, 2007, 5:56PM
FDA targets chemical in Iams pet food


© 2007 The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it has issued a warning letter to Iams Co. that says some of its diet pet foods contain an unapproved substance.

Eukanuba Veterinary Diets Optimum Weight Control/Canine dry, Optimum Weight Control/Feline dry, Restricted-Calorie/Canine dry and canned, and Restricted-Calorie/Feline dry and canned contain chromium tripicolinate, which is not an approved food supplement, the FDA said.

The warning follows a recall of nearly 100 brands of pet food made by Menu Foods after animals suffered kidney failure. That recall included some Iams products made under contract by Menu Foods.

New York state's food laboratory last week identified aminopterin as the likely culprit in that recall, which involved "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat food.

The new warning letter urged Iams to remove chromium tripicolinate from the products but did not ask for a recall.

In 1996, the FDA said it would not block the use of low levels of chromium tripicolinate as a source of supplemental chromium in diets for pigs. But that did not apply to other animal food. Chromium can affect the metabolism of glucose in animals.

Iams requested that that decision concerning swine be extended to its products for overweight pets, but FDA said it denied the request. It said a 2006 letter from Iams did not contain sufficient information to address safety concerns.

Iams will remove the ingredient from its Veterinary Diets cat and dog food, spokesman Kurt Iverson said. The products are sold by prescription only for overweight pets. They have used chromium tripicolinate as a metabolism enhancer, Iverson said.

The letter is part of an "ongoing dialog" with the FDA, Iverson said.

The FDA considers chromium tripicolinate to be genotoxic, meaning it can damage DNA and cause mutations and tumors.

The letter was dated Jan. 8 and posted on the FDA's Web site Thursday.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/4673221.html

 

[Mrs.Greg]

OT...I found this on my news on the net.

Hill's Pet Nutrition, a division of Colgate-Palmolive Co., recalled its Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry cat food on Friday.

The food included wheat gluten from the same supplier used by Menu Foods; however, Menu Foods is not affected by the latest recall because the company only manufactures wet pet food products.

Earlier Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said melamine, a product used as a fertilizer in Asia and in commercial plastic products in North America, had been identified in the wet pet food.

Animal advocates had called for the current recall -- which involves nearly 100 brands of "cuts and gravy'' style dog and cat food -- to expand to all dry foods.

Michael O'Sullivan, of the Humane Society of Canada, told CTV Newsnet the only safe option is to issue a complete recall.

"I think I'd rather err on the side of caution, and in our opinion it makes more sense to do a complete recall in order to protect those 13 million dogs and cats," O'Sullivan said during a news conference.

"Some people now believe dry food is what caused their animals' deaths, so the question has to be asked, shouldn't dry foods be added to the recall list," said Bruce Friedrich, PETA's vice-president of international grass roots campaigns.

"PETA is calling for precautionary dry food recall until it can be chemically tested and its safety assured."

Both Friedrich and O'Sullivan said more stringent mandatory requirements must be imposed on the pet food industry.

Contamination determined

Menu Foods says the source of contamination that sickened thousands of dogs and cats in Canada and the U.S. has been identified and removed, and its products are now entirely safe.

At a Toronto news conference Paul Henderson, president and CEO of Menu Foods, said the melamine was contained in wheat gluten provided by a new U.S. supplier that sources product from China.

He told reporters the supply is now safe.

"Quite simply, one supplier's product was adulterated in a manner that was not part of any known screening process for wheat gluten," Henderson said.

"The important point today is that the source of that adulteration had been identified and removed from our system."

He said the FDA's announcement earlier in the day supports the recall process used by Menu Foods and clears the company of wrongdoing.

Henderson also said the company will be providing compensation to customers for veterinary bills and said the investigation is ongoing.

"To the extent that there is a cause and relationship to the extent that the individuals suffered a loss as a result of consuming Menu Foods, yes Menu will take responsibility."

He also said there has been no further evidence that the pet food was contaminated with aminopterin, a rat poison and cancer drug.

The New York State Food Laboratory announced last week it had found aminopterin in the pet food.

The FDA probe found melamine in wheat gluten that was used as an ingredient in the pet food, in samples of the food itself, and in the urine and kidneys of some deceased cats.

FDA official Dr. Stephen Sundlof said there is little information in scientific literature about the effect of melamine on dogs or cats, so it's difficult to determine what would be a lethal dose.

Nor are officials certain melamine caused any deaths.

"Melamine is an ingredient that should not be in pet food at any level, however I want to make it very clear we are not fully yet certain that melamine is the causative agent of the illness and death of pets," Sundlof said.

The FDA had not identified aminopterin in the food or animals.

However, officials said melamine may not be the only "causative agent" in the pet food.

Menu Foods recalled 60 million containers of cat and dog food earlier this month after animals died of kidney failure after eating the company's products.

It is unclear how many pets may have been poisoned by the apparently contaminated food, although anecdotal reports suggest hundreds, if not thousands, have died.

The FDA has received more than 8,000 complaints.

With files from CTV Toronto's Galit Solomon


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[Anonymous]

Wheres Canadian Kathy when you need her :???: She could tell us what all these chemicals and substances would do to us....Make our dogs glow in the dark- or jump big fireplugs with a single bound :wink: :lol: ....

Makes you wonder what all is in your human food- that might not even be known or be being tested for...Or supposed to be- but our safety agencies are letting slide :???:

 

[IL Rancher]

I'm still saying "Oh Crap".. Mainly, because I know deep down inside that this is something that is going to happen again... Hmm, how many cull cows/sheep am I going to need a year... Carry the 5.... Divide by 2... Oh crap... Going to need a bigger freezer

 

[Mrs.Greg]

Nestle Purina PetCare Co. recalled all sizes and varieties of its Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with specific date codes. The company said that a limited amount of the product contained contaminated wheat gluten from China.

However, in a release issued Saturday Purina said products available in Canada are safe, because the recalled products are not available in Canadian stores.

The same U.S. supplier that provided the bad wheat gluten, a protein source for pets, also provided contaminated wheat gluten to Menu Foods of Mississauga, Ont.

In the past month, Menu Foods has recalled 60 million containers of wet dog and cat food it produces for sale under nearly 100 brand labels, but has refused to identify the company that provided the product.

On Friday, American officials said they now believe the contaminated wheat gluten may have spread to dry pet food, despite assurances the problem was contained.

Hill's Pet Nutrition, a division of Colgate-Palmolive Co., recalled its Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry cat food on Friday.

The food included wheat gluten from the same supplier used by Menu Foods; however, Menu Foods is not affected by the Friday recall because the company only manufactures wet pet food products.

Earlier Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that melamine, a product used as a fertilizer in Asia and in commercial plastic products in North America, had been identified in the wet pet food.

Click here for more information about the Purina recall.

 

[kolanuraven]

Wonder what in the world they are doing with ALL that bad dog food?

 

[Econ101]

Wonder what in the world they are doing with ALL that bad dog food?

They will just put it in cattle feed because there is not a rule against it.

 

[IL Rancher]

I would imagine hog or chicken feed before cattle.. Actually, I know of a person who brokers dog food to hog farmers in situations just like this...

 

[Mrs.Greg]

YAAA but it eventually makes it into our bodies...grrr.

Worse yet our childrens bodies :!:

 

[IL Rancher]

Yep.. Actually what she sold to the hog farmers was expired dog food.. I don't know if this stuff would fall into that realm or not.. I was a bit unhappy about it, to say the least, when I found out about it... Just think it is aking for trouble... But you know me, I am a bit of a nut case about what my family eats and what my family's food eats. My folks wonder why we raise all of our own meats and a lot of our fruits and veg here... This is why... The biggest problem we have is eating out now, which we do very infrequently..

 

[kolanuraven]

It might be best if we DON'T know what we're eating......cause if we did we'd not get a nite's sleep for worry!!!! :? :? :?

 

[Econ101]

YAAA but it eventually makes it into our bodies...grrr.

Worse yet our childrens bodies :!:

Whether cattle (which I was just saying for the point), pig feed, or chicken feed, the point is that we have a potential problem, as Mrs. Greg points out.

It is interesting that you already know of a connection that shows this potential, IL rancher.