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More Recalls

Mike

Well-known member
Mar 6, 2007
Product recalls increase: Chicken is added

by Jenni Thurman
Kraft Foods’ recall of Oscar Mayer chicken products has removed more then 2.8 million pounds of chicken from supermarket shelves, making it one of the largest meat and poultry recalls since 2004.
Originally announced Feb. 18, the recall initially removed more than 52,000 pounds of Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich Chicken Breast Strips-Grilled from wholesalers when bacteria was detected in a single package.

The bacteria, called Listeria monocytogenes, was discovered during a routine health examination at a Dawsonville, Ga. supermarket.

The contaminated chicken came from Carolina Culinary Foods in West Columbia, S.C., a Kraft manufacturer.

According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Georgia Department of Agriculture scientists tested a sample of the meat and found that it was positive for the bacteria.
As a precaution, the recall was expanded to all chicken products that were manufactured at the same plant, said Kraft’s Elizabeth Warner in a statement.

“We run a safe plant – and we’ll do whatever it takes to keep it safe,” said Carolina Culinary Foods.
Originally, the recall only applied to ready-to-eat chicken strips with a “use by” date of April 19.
The recall now includes all 6-ounce and 12-ounce packages of Oscar Mayer/ Louis Rich Chicken Breast Strips and Cuts with a “use by” date of May 28, 2007, or earlier.

The packaging displays the number “P-19676” inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture mark of inspection.

“We have a goal of always being able to assure consumers of the safety of our products, and we regret not having met that high standard in this case,” said a statement from Carolina Culinary Foods.

Listeria can cause a disease called listeriosis, which can be fatal to infants, senior citizens and individuals with weak immune systems.

At press time, there had been no reports of illness due to the contaminated chicken.

As a result of the chicken debacle, the USDA announced on a new inspection plan on Feb. 22 that will target facilities responsible for manufacturing foods prone to bacterial and viral infections.

Richard Raymond, the USDA’s undersecretary for food safety, told USA Today that plants producing foods such as ground chicken and beef, which can have high rates of organisms like E. coli O157:H7 and salmonella, will be more intensively inspected.

The new system will begin inspecting 254 plants in April and will expand to 1,300 locations by the end of the year.By 2008, all of the 5,300 plants in the U.S. will be monitored under the system.
The Consumer Federation of America released a statement slamming the USDA’s new system, claiming it was not based in scientific fact.

“In their zeal to save a few dollars in future years, the Bush administration is subjecting Americans to an increased risk of illness and death from food poisoning,” said the statement.

Raymond also told USA Today that the new system would not expand to other plants at the end of the year if it were found to be ineffective.

The chicken recall was the fourth U.S. food scare in a week, with peanut butter, cantaloupe and organic baby food blazing the trail for Kraft Foods.

Peanut butter manufactured at a ConAgra plant in Sylvester, Ga., was found to be contaminated with salmonella.

More than 300 people in 39 states became ill after ingesting the infected peanut better.
Castle Produce of Los Angeles recalled more than 2,500 cartons of cantaloupe when several of the melons tested positive for salmonella.

The cantaloupes had been shipped from Costa Rica and were slated to be sold to retailers on the West Coast.

Jars of Earth’s Best organic baby food, manufactured by Hain Celestial Group, were recalled after the Food and Drug Administration discovered traces of Clostridium botulinum, a bacteria that can cause botulism.

There are currently no reports of illness in relation to the organic baby food or cantaloupes.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Lawyers, Lawsuits, and statistics in the peanut butter wars
By Bill Marler - MarlerClark.com
Mar 11, 2007 - 9:56:03 AM

The CDC reported in a statement March 7, 2007, that 425 people in 44 states had been infected with the strain of Salmonella Tennessee also found in Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter products, and that 71 people had been hospitalized and no deaths. That same Salmonella strain was also found by FDA investigators in the Con Agra plant, but where it was located has not been announced. Two-thirds of the reported 425 cases began after December 1, 2006. At last count there were also at least 25 lawsuits filed with at least 13 competing Class Actions.

Putting this in context, the CDC estimates that 76 million foodborne illness, or food poisoning, cases occur in the United States every year (6.3 million per month), which means that one in four Americans contracts a foodborne illness annually after eating foods contaminated with such pathogens as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Hepatitis A, Campylobacter, Shigella, Norovirus, and Listeria. Approximately 325,000 people are hospitalized with a diagnosis of food poisoning, and 5,000 die.

The CDC also reports that 40,000 cases of Salmonella are confirmed yearly in the U.S. As only about 3% of Salmonella cases are officially confirmed nationwide, and many milder cases are never diagnosed, the true incidence is undoubtedly much higher (approximately 1.3 million per year or 111,000 per month). It is estimated that 1,000 deaths are caused by Salmonella infections in the U.S. every year.

In 2004 only 52 cases of Salmonella Tennessee were reported. Using the same estimate that only 3% of Salmonella cases are every actually reported, it is likely that only 1,500 Salmonella Tennessee cases occur annually.

It is unclear how many tests have been run on jars of peanut butter. It is my understanding that it may be as few as a dozen jars, and that the jars tested may have only come from the homes of people who were actually stool-culture positive for Salmonella Tennessee (some of the 425). I have no idea why the FDA and Con Agra are not aggressively testing left-over jars of peanut butter.

The FDA and Con Agra made the original recall announcement on February 14, 2007. On March 9, 2007, the FDA announced that the recall had now been extended back to October 2004 (2 years and 4 months of production). No explanation has been given as to what prompted the temporal expansion. I assume that is was because of a link between a Salmonella Tennessee stool-culture positive person in 2004 to the consumption of Con Agra peanut butter. This certainly is ample evidence of at least an ongoing, but sporadic, contamination in the plant.

I wonder how many jars of peanut butter were produced at the Con Agra Sylvester, Georgia plant during those 28 months? During that same 28-month period of time, over 177 million Americans became ill from eating food and there were approximately 3 million Salmonella cases. If the statistics for Salmonella Tennessee held during that time frame, we would expect approximately 3,500 cases generally.

So, here is an interesting quandary:

We have received over 4,500 calls and emails from people in the U.S. and from many corners of the world. Most report illnesses consistent with a Salmonella illness. Of those people, nearly 3,500 still have jars with code 2111 (we have started testing). Many, however, did what the FDA and Con Agra advised, and threw the product away. Nearly 1,000 of the people who contacted us sought some level of medical treatment (ER visit to hospitalization), seven families report the death of a love one. Interestingly, only 125 people (part of the 425) report that they are stool-culture positive for Salmonella Tennessee and only 2 are both Salmonella Tennessee positive in stool and peanut butter testing.

Although we have seen 4,500 inquires, lawyers from around the country (without previous foodborne illness litigation experience) report hundreds, if not thousands of additional cases. So, what does this all mean? Are we seeing an enormous increase in Salmonella, specifically, Salmonella Tennessee, illnesses tied to eating Con Agra peanut butter? Or, are we seeing some part of the 177 million Americans who became ill in the last 28 months, who also just happened to eat Con Agra peanut butter?

By the way, this is how you read the lid code – 2111 is the Con Agra plant in Sylvester, Georgia; the next digit, a 6, is the production year, 2006; the next digit, 165, is the day the peanut butter was produced; the next two digits, 00, mean nothing; the next four digits, 2036, is military time for 8:36 PM; and, the last letter, A, is the line that the peanut butter was produced on.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
GM Rice: Second US contamination incident revealed
By news release
Mar 3, 2007 - 10:18:49 PM
GM Rice: Second US contamination incident revealed

Press Release from GM Free Cymru, 4th March 2007

It has emerged that the GM rice contamination scandal which caused massive damage to US rice producers last year was not an isolated incident. Now a second incident has come to light -- involving a different strain of GM rice and a different contamination history (1).

Statements which have been slipped out quietly by the US regulatory authorities have confirmed that a widely-used rice variety called Clearfield 131 is contaminated with a Bayer GM rice variety called LL62. In a major programme of testing, involving more than 500 samples, 20% of samples have been found to be contaminated with trace amounts of LL62, suggesting that the contamination incident may have occurred some years ago (probably in 2004) and was previously undetected because nobody bothered to do any GM testing.

Last year's contamination incident, which led to financial damage amounting to millions of dollars in the southern states of the USA, and which has caused much of the world to block off the once-profitable market for American long-grain rice, involved the contamination of a rice variety called Cheniere with Bayer's LL601 GM rice (2). As a result of that incident, there are thirteen pending lawsuits against Bayer CropScience in America, and it is rumoured that there will be further lawsuits in Europe, where rice importers, millers and food retailers have all suffered from major disruption, damaged public confidence and financial loss.

In the United States there has been no formal announcement of this second contamination incident, and indeed there is a concerted campaign to keep it under wraps as part of a long-standing "damage limitation strategy." However, there is turmoil in the rice industry, and rice growers are being forced to plant contaminated Clearfield 131 this year since Cheniere (which is very widely contaminated) cannot be planted for at least two years since the rice processors will not buy it. If the farmers do not plant Clearfield 131, there will not be enough rice seed to go round (3). So the decision has been made in Arkansas to plant contaminated Clearfield 131 specifically for the American market, bearing in mind that the GM variety LL62 does have US authorisation for growing and marketing.

In Europe neither of the varieties responsible for the contamination -- LL62 and LL601 -- has any authorisation in place, and the new revelations will inevitably do further damage to the US rice industry.

Commenting on the new revelations, GM Free Cymru spokesman Dr Brian John said: "It is now apparent that GM contamination of US rice supplies is endemic (4). Bayer, the US regulators, and the rice industry itself are all culpable. But hopefully some good will come out of this appalling situation, when farmers finally wake up to the fact that GM contamination (by out-crossing and other means) is impossible to control, and that the global market wants food that is
clean and healthy, not genetically manipulated to increase sales of chemicals and the profits of the biotechnology corporations."

ENDS

Contact:
Brian John
Tel: 01437-820470

NOTES

(1) APHIS Program Announcement
http://www.aphis.usda.gov /publications/biotechnology /content/printable_version/ia _ge_rice.pdf
Biotechnology Regulatory Services February 2007: Independent testing by the Arkansas Rice Board in January indicated the presence of genetically engineered (GE) material in non-GE Clearfield 131 (CL131) rice. As a result, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service conducted its own CL131 testing, which detected trace levels of LLRICE62 in CL131 2004 headrow seed. LLRICE62 is a line of GE rice developed by Bayer Crop Science... The positive sample was pulled from 2004 headrow seed--an early step in the plant breeding process--and not from foundation seed. NOTE: this "positive sample" has now been supplemented by many others. In Arkansas alone, 21 samples of Clearfield 131 have tested positive for LL62 contamination.

(2) http://www.guardian.co.uk /gmdebate/Story/0,,1884523,00 .html
http://www.gmfreecymru.org /news/Press_Notice12Sept2006 .htm
http://www.gmfreecymru.org /news/Press_Notice18Sept2006 .htm
http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2 .asp?arcid=6973
http://www.saveourseeds.org/en /frame.php?page=../dossier /fact_sheet_bayer_LLRICE601

(3) http://deltafarmpress.com/news /070301-cl131-session/
Arkansas' third most popular variety in 2006, CL 131 was planted on 500,000 acres, and there remains an undeniable demand for the variety. With certified seed stocks already in the shortest supply in years, "any loss of CL 131 will make for a very short certified seed supply," warned Randy Woodard, speaking for the seed industry. "CL 131 and Cheniere represent 39 percent of the certified rice seed acres in the South. If we were to lose CL 131, it would cut our seed
supply to 36,000 acres."

(4) The contamination of Clearfield 131 by LL62 is particularly worrying from an environmental point of view, because Clearfield out-crosses very easily with red rice, which is a weed for the rice growers of the southern states of the USA. It has already been proved to pass herbicide tolerance to wild red rice -- and it is now virtually inevitable that it will pass on tolerance to the herbicide Liberty (glufosinate ammonium) as well. See this: http://www.centerforfoodsafety .org/pubs/LLRice_Petition_9.13 .06.pdf
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Chicken Processor Warns Of Salmonella
Mar, 20 2007 - 7:50 AM


CALGARY/AM770CHQR - Lilydale is warning the public that certain packages of its cooked seasoned sliced turkey breast may be contaminated with salmonella bacteria.
The affected product was sold in one-kilogram packages in Costco stores in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Lilydale says there have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of the product, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has been notified of the recall.

Thats good for BEEF
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Salads Recalled In Nebraska, Iowa

March 20, 2007

Source of Article: http://www.kcci.com/news/11305944/detail.html?rss=des&psp=news

DBC Foods is recalling potato salad sold both prepackaged and at deli counters in Iowa and other states because it could be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes.

The prepackaged potato salad was sold in 1-pound containers under the labels Midwest Pride, Coborn's and Cash Wise. The containers have lot No. 7057018A.


The salad packages were sold in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan. Some potato salad also was sold at deli counters in 89 stores in those states plus Nebraska.
 

Econ101

Well-known member
".......and we have the safest food in the world...."

It is if you can get the bad stuff out of the refrigerator, the store, or the shelf at home!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

The USDA overseeing food safety is a BIG JOKE.

Porker, I am glad I am not eating dog food :roll:

Do we know if any of that grain went into the human feed supply?
 

Mike

Well-known member
Econ101 said:
".......and we have the safest food in the world...."

It is if you can get the bad stuff out of the refrigerator, the store, or the shelf at home!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

The USDA overseeing food safety is a BIG JOKE.

Porker, I am glad I am not eating dog food :roll:

Do we know if any of that grain went into the human feed supply?

I thought they found Rat poison in the dog/cat food?
 

Mike

Well-known member
Investigators have reportedly found a rodent-killing chemical sprayed on imported Chinese wheat in the tainted pet food that has killed several animals in the US and Canada.
"A source close to the investigation tells ABC News that the rodenticide, which the source says is illegal to use in the United States, was on wheat that was imported from China and used by Menu Foods in nearly 100 brands of dog and cat food," the US network said in its website.

Several people have filed suit in US courts following the deaths of their pets, including that of a cat called Phoenix in Chicago and another called Samoya in the northwestern state of Oregon, court sources said.

A couple in the US state of Arkansas have sued for compensation for costs incurred by the illness and death of their dog Abby.

In the northern state of Wisconsin a woman also filed a complaint concerning her cat Gumbi, who will require life-long treatment following kidney failure caused by pet food.

Last week Menu Foods issued a massive recall of 60 million cans and pouches of food.

ABC said the chemical at issue is aminopterin. So far however investigators have not said if this is the only contaminant in all of the recalled food, ABC reported.

"There is some good news according to the source. Knowing the chemical should aid veterinarians who are treating animals that have been sickened by the pet food," it added.

Pet owners in Canada also sued the Canadian branch of the company over the alleged taintings.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Do we know if any of that grain went into the human feed supply?

I read in another release that the Chi Com wheat was imported because it was CHEAP. In order to get wheat gluten you have to process wheat for bread or pastries. Somebody sold it to the dog food company,Most likely a broker.WalMart always wants cheaper dog food as their prices are always falling . This forced the pet food company to find cheap ingredients .
 

PORKER

Well-known member
ABC said the chemical at issue is aminopterin. So far however investigators have not said if this is the only contaminant in all of the recalled food, ABC reported.

Makes you wonder where the wheat gluten in the calf pellets comes from??
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Petrapport Issues Recall of Pig Ear Dog Treats

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.
— Petrapport, Inc., a New Jersey-based manufacturer of dog treats, is voluntarily recalling pig ear dog treats it imported from a Chilean company because the pig ears have the potential to be contaminated with salmonella, the company announced March 23.

Salmonella can cause serious infections in dogs. Dogs that become ill from salmonella generally will have a fever and diarrhea that may contain blood or mucus. Affected animals may seem more tired than usual, and may experience vomiting. Some dogs may also exhibit decreased appetite and excess salivation, the company said.

"Food safety is important not only for human health, but animal health as well," said Dr. Roger K. Mahr, DVM, President of the American Veterinary Medical Association. "If any of your animals are exhibiting the signs, you should contact their veterinarian for examination and possible treatment."

Young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems may also contract salmonella if they come in contact with the product.
Laboratory testing has confirmed that samples of Full-Cut Pig Ears dog treats sold by BJ's Wholesale Club in 25-count packages under the "Berkley & Jensen" brand with no lot number and only the expiration advisory "BEST IF USED BY 2009" (without referencing a specific month) were contaminated with salmonella. BJ's Wholesale is a membership warehouse retail club operating more than 160 locations along the East Coast from Maine to Florida, and in Ohio.

Additional testing of other pig ear dog treats from shipments between August 2006 and December 2006 has not revealed any additional evidence of salmonella contamination, but Petrapport announced that it is voluntarily recalling them out of an abundance of caution due to concern that the pig ears imported during this period may not have been effectively irradiated for salmonella before shipment from Chile.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Souplantation E. coli Outbreak
California health officials have stated that seven people who ate at Souplantation in southern Orange County have contracted E. coli infections. Three of them were hospitalized. Six of the E. coli victims dined at Souplantation on March 23 or 24. The seventh is believed to have eaten there March 25.

Health officials have not determined the source of the E. coli contamination.

According to a story in the Los Angeles Times, San Diego-based Souplantation specializes in a soups and salads at 100 restaurants nationwide, including 34 in Southern California. Its parent company, Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp., issued a statement Monday saying that only one restaurant was involved.

It is the same ecoli H7 as was in the spinach out break.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
JUMP TO HEADLINES
►ARCHIVED HEADLINES


►LIST OF RECALLED BRANDS & LABELS
►WHO MAKES WHAT?

Menu Foods has changed this list without changing the date-stamp on their website. Howl 911's list also includes recalled products other than Menu Foods. Bookmarkthis page and check back daily for updates of this list.

Which companies contract with
Menu Foods and which do not.


Click HERE to notify this site of news, links and updates pertaining to the recall.
Click HERE to report a food poisoning case to the Pet Connection Online Database
►Petconnection.com (as of 04/07/07; 6:30 a.m. PDT):3,499 PET deaths (1,833 cats; 1,666 dogs)
Click HERE to report your
pet's food poisoning to the FDA.
►IMPORTANT NOTICE: if you suspect your pet was poisoned by any food NOT on the official
Menu Foods recall list--including DRY food--it is imperative to report the food in question to
the FDA, as this is the only way an investigation will be opened on these particular foods.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Purina Countdown begins

BLOG From Ric-I am furious at Nestle/Purina and you will find that I am very passionate about what I believe in. I can tell you that Nestle/Purina has already figured it out. They probably can't understand it. Wouldn't DoggyBling.com rather sell us ads like the other media who will be quiet in exchange for ad dollars? Not in this lifetime. Nestle/Purina packages junk food for dogs and markets it as healthy. When there is a problem, they promote it more so you will think everything is ok. They are a pitiful excuse of a company. Let me give you a non-insider/insider tip. If you own Nestle/Purina stock...sell it. The dog community is huge and dogs are dying for Nestle/Purina profit. We inserted a notice in a news segment a couple of days ago for people to let us know if they wanted a list of the products made by Nestle/Purina. I stated that I will no longer use any products by the Nestle/Purina Corporation...the whole corporation...ever. We have already received hundreds of emails from dog lovers pledging to avoid any products made by Nestle/Purina now or in the future. There is only one way that Nestle/Purina can salvage their reputation at this point and that is to come forward and admit some uncomfortable facts. The worst fact is that while they tried to protect their reputation, dogs were dying from the Menu Foods issue. Had Nestle/Purina recalled Beneful in January, when we first sent out our "Beneful Alert", the Menu Foods problem would been forced into the news media faster. In my opinion, every dog that has gotten sick or died is directly Nestle/Purina's fault.
Look for the Next big recall for Dog chow
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Purina Countdown begins

BLOG From Ric-I am furious at Nestle/Purina and you will find that I am very passionate about what I believe in. I can tell you that Nestle/Purina has already figured it out. They probably can't understand it. Wouldn't DoggyBling.com rather sell us ads like the other media who will be quiet in exchange for ad dollars? Not in this lifetime. Nestle/Purina packages junk food for dogs and markets it as healthy. When there is a problem, they promote it more so you will think everything is ok. They are a pitiful excuse of a company. Let me give you a non-insider/insider tip. If you own Nestle/Purina stock...sell it. The dog community is huge and dogs are dying for Nestle/Purina profit. We inserted a notice in a news segment a couple of days ago for people to let us know if they wanted a list of the products made by Nestle/Purina. I stated that I will no longer use any products by the Nestle/Purina Corporation...the whole corporation...ever. We have already received hundreds of emails from dog lovers pledging to avoid any products made by Nestle/Purina now or in the future. There is only one way that Nestle/Purina can salvage their reputation at this point and that is to come forward and admit some uncomfortable facts. The worst fact is that while they tried to protect their reputation, dogs were dying from the Menu Foods issue. Had Nestle/Purina recalled Beneful in January, when we first sent out our "Beneful Alert", the Menu Foods problem would been forced into the news media faster. In my opinion, every dog that has gotten sick or died is directly Nestle/Purina's fault.
Look for the Next big recall for Dog chow
 

PORKER

Well-known member
'Mistake' caused delay in latest pet-food recall


PET FOOD RECALL

Timeline: How key events of the pet food recall unfolded

Recall widens: Canadian pet food added to list | Dog biscuits become latest product | Pet deaths not easy to solve | Owners go organic
Solutions: No easy answer on feeding Fido | Poison vs. pests | Raw foods are popular, but ...

Backlash: Pet food maker Menu Foods to pay vet bills | Audio: Cat owner sues

Toll: Scores more may have died | Video: 104 lost

Foods affected: 50 dog brands | 40 for cats
Video: Critical information for pet owners

By Julie Schmit, USA TODAY
Menu Foods said Wednesday that a "clerical error" caused the company to overlook that it shipped potentially contaminated wheat gluten from one of its U.S. plants to one in Canada. That apparently delayed the recall of some Canadian-made cat foods.
"Humans are not perfect. Someone made a mistake," spokesman Sam Bornstein said in an e-mailed response to questions from USA TODAY. "We were shocked."

Menu Foods, which recalled more than 60 million cans and pouches of dog and cat food on March 16, revealed the shipment Tuesday and recalled additional products from 12 brands made in the Canadian plant.

Bornstein says Menu confirmed on Monday that the shipment had been made from its plant in Kansas to Ontario, Canada. The discovery was prompted by reports from the Food and Drug Administration that Menu's Canadian-made pet food contained melamine, the chemical found in the U.S.-made food and in the wheat gluten used in the food. Menu got the gluten from an importer that obtained it from China.

Menu, the largest maker of wet cat and dog food in North America, produces food for some of the nation's leading brands, including Procter & Gamble's Iams and Wal-Mart's Ol' Roy.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Food and Drug Administration | Canadian | Foods | Menu | Iams | Sam Bornstein
Menu's failure to discover the intra-company shipment sooner surprised foodmaking consultants. They say companies such as Menu typically keep good records on products and ingredients but that some companies are better than others. Still, missing such an event "shouldn't happen," says consultant Sakharam Patil of S.K. Patil & Associates in Munster, Ind. "They have the responsibility of controlling all the ingredients going in their products."

The expanded recall also angered Menu customers, including Royal Canin Canada. It had one type of cat food added to the recall and said it had been earlier reassured by Menu that none of the suspect wheat gluten had gone to Menu's Canadian plant.

When it first announced the recall, Menu says, it had no evidence wheat gluten was the problem, but it was a suspect because it came from a new supplier.

Last week, Menu first expanded the recall to include products made from Nov. 8, 2006 — instead of the original Dec. 3 date — to March 6. Menu says it used some of the suspect wheat gluten in the pet food along with other wheat gluten before Dec. 3 — and used the suspect wheat gluten only after Dec. 3. It was dropped once concerns arose.

Menu extended the recall's date range after the gluten importer, ChemNutra, said on April 3 that it had begun wheat gluten shipments on Nov. 9.

Menu's mixing of gluten from multiple sources also surprised foodmaking consultants. "It's odd," says Peter Clark of Oak Park, Ill.

He says manufacturers generally avoid that so they can more easily trace the source of problems in finished products. That helps companies limit the size of recalls.

The FDA said on March 30 that the gluten, used forbinding and as protein in wet pet foods, containedmelamine and was in some Menu-made foods. The FDA is checking how the fairly non-toxic chemical, or something related, may have led to pet deaths.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Natural Balance pet food recalled
Updated 55m ago|


Enlarge By Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Pet Food Express manager Ernie Tovar, right, advises a San Francisco pet owner.



PET FOOD RECALL

Science: Pet deaths not easy to solve | Timeline: How key events of the pet food recall unfolded



Recall widens: Premium dry foods recalled | Canadian pet food added to list | Dog biscuits become latest product



Solutions: Owners go organic | No easy answer on feeding Fido | Poison vs. pests | Raw foods are popular, but ...



Backlash: Pet food maker Menu Foods to pay vet bills | Audio: Cat owner sues



Toll: Scores more may have died



Foods affected: 5270 at this moment

By Julie Schmit and Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
The industrial chemical melamine has been found in more pet food, and suspicion is falling on a second pet-food ingredient imported from China as the source of the contamination.
Natural Balance Pet Foods said Tuesday it found melamine in samples of some of its food, which led to a recall. The company suspects melamine was in a rice protein concentrate used as an ingredient, said President Joey Herrick in an interview.

Melamine is the chief suspect related to the Menu Foods recall, first announced four weeks ago for more than 60 million cans and pouches of wet dog and cat food. The melamine in Menu's products was in wheat gluten imported from China and sold to Menu and several other pet-food makers, which also did recalls.

The rice protein concentrate was imported from China by San Francisco-based Wilbur-Ellis. Herrick says the concentrate, which is being tested, is suspected to have melamine, as it was the only new ingredient. Recalled Natural Balance products include Venison and Brown Rice canned and dry dog foods, dog treats and Venison and Green Pea dry cat food.

Wilbur-Ellis CEO John Thacher said his company sold the concentrate to five pet-food makers, but that most of it went to two firms. One of the primary companies was Diamond Pet Foods, which packs some of the Natural Balance product but doesn't use the concentrate in any Diamond-made foods, says Diamond spokesman Jim Fallon. The other major customer, which Thacher would not name, tested the rice protein and found no melamine, Thacher says. Natural Balance's rice protein concentrate is mixed with venison meal, Thacher says.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: China | Food and Drug Administration | Foods | Petcare | Menu Foods | Balance
Natural Balance has received about 10 reports of sick pets, mostly dogs, since Thursday, Herrick says. It started testing the foods Friday, when it also asked retailers to pull the products. As in the Menu recall, some of the pets developed kidney failure, Natural says.

Natural Balance was co-founded in 1989 by actor Dick Van Patten, according to the company's website.

The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that melamine is believed to have contaminated rice protein concentrate used to make a variety of Natural Balance Pet Foods products for both dogs and cats. It said Monday that Natural Balance had informed the agency of the issue. Thacher says it told the FDA on Sunday that it had detected melamine in some rice protein concentrate imported from China about a week ago. Wilbur-Ellis has ceased importing the ingredient from the Chinese firm, Binzhou Futian Biology Technology, Thacher says.

Along with Diamond, pet-food makers Nestlé Purina PetCare and Procter & Gamble said Tuesday that they don't use rice protein concentrate in their foods.

No other Natural Balance products include the ingredient, the company says.

Melamine is not allowed in human or pet food. It is an industrial chemical used in plastics worldwide and also sometimes as a fertilizer in Asia, the FDA says.

While melamine is not highly toxic, the FDA is investigating whether it, or something related to it, is responsible for pet deaths in the Menu recall.
 
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