Pet Food Recall

Or Thalidamide.

sue.t wrote:
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No recall of poultry products being issued
The FDA and USDA said the likelihood of human illness from eating chicken fed the contaminated product is very low. With no evidence of harm to humans, no recall of poultry products processed from these animals was being issued, the agencies said.

I saw this on CNN yesterday - and my first thought was "how do they KNOW melamine won't harm humans, or unborn fetuses, etc???"

A lot of other things first thought to be "harmless" have turned out to be anything but: mercury and asbestos immediately come to mind....

Deb

Contaminated pet food linked to chicken feed
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 1, 2007 | 8:19 AM ET
The Associated Press

Chicken feed in some farms in Indiana contained byproducts from pet food manufactured with contaminated wheat gluten imported from China, two federal agencies said Monday.

The U.S. Agriculture Department and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a joint statement that officials learned of the link between the chicken feed and tainted pet food as part of the investigation into imported rice protein concentrate and wheat gluten that have been found to contain the industrial chemical melamine and related compounds.

An estimated 30 broiler poultry farms and eight breeder poultry farms in Indiana received contaminated feed in early February and fed it to poultry within days of receiving it, the agencies said. Other farms will probably be identified as having received contaminated feed, they added.

All the broilers believed to have been fed contaminated products have been processed, while the breeders are under voluntary hold by flock owners, the agencies said.

No recall of poultry products being issued
The FDA and USDA said the likelihood of human illness from eating chicken fed the contaminated product is very low. With no evidence of harm to humans, no recall of poultry products processed from these animals was being issued, the agencies said.

On Saturday, the FDA and USDA cited similar reasons for not issuing a recall after determining that hogs in some states may have been fed the tainted pet food.

More than 100 brands of pet food have been recalled since March 16 because they were contaminated with melamine. An unknown number of dogs and cats have been sickened or died after eating chemical-laced pet food.

Finally, but a little too late for owners of ill or lost pets.

fda alert

Sorry, bad link.

I keep thinking of when our oldest daughter was a toddler. We would catch her munching a handful of the dog's kibble. It was funny back then but it sure wouldn't be today. You know we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg...

A veterinary organization of pathologists, I believe, has put together a list of 4 findings where any two present in a case of kidney failure results in inclusion of the case as a "confirmed" case. This guideline has enabled us as veterinarians to reliably include a case and report it to the FDA without all of expensive, specialized lab work and special necropsy. The lab test to document crystals in the urine and documented ingestion of the contaminated foods should be able to be performed at any veterinary hospital.

AAVLD advises that cases should meet two of the following four criteria:

1. known exposure to one of the recalled pet foods
2. histologic lesions consistent with crystal-induced tubular nephrosis (pictures are posted on the AAVLD Web site)
3. urinalysis with crystals (also posted on the site) and/or
4. chemical confirmation of the presence of melamine or other marker chemicals in pet food, tissues, or urine.


Doug

"There have been 16 confirmed cases of animals dying in the U.S. after eating Menu Foods products."
Such BS, no one does an autopsy, unlees the owner pays.
I wasn't going to spend $5000 on a cat that was going to die anyways. Estimates are based on clinical numbers defore and after the poisonings that statistically, 39,000 had died as of April when my cat died.
The lab test of urine can only be done at UC davis vet school around here, only so many facilities only the country. Very expensive.

CBC has two other articles of interest

Protecting four-legged friends
Is it time to lay down the law on pet food production?

Home Cooked Options
The skinny on making Fido's dinner
This quote from this article caught my eye because we feed a home-prepared diet to our canine and this has been our experience ...
"They don't need to have their teeth brushed because there's no carbohydrates gumming up their teeth, and they don't smell like smelly dogs or cats," says Freibauer.

Researchers find link between pet food, kidney failure
Last Updated: Friday, April 27, 2007 | 3:47 PM ET
CBC News

Canadian researchers said Friday they've made a chemical discovery that may explain how contaminated pet food blocked animals' kidney function, sickening hundred of dogs and cats in Canada and the United States.

University of Guelph researcher Perry Martos said animals likely developed crystals in their kidneys because of a reaction between cyanuric acid and melamine — a chemical used to make plastics and fertilizer, and found in the recalled pet food.

"We knew these two compounds had been implicated, but because neither seemed sufficiently toxic on its own, it was unclear how they might have been involved," Martos said in a statement.

Martos said tests on the affected animals have shown the presence of crystal-like substances in the animals' kidneys and urine samples.

More pet food withdrawn

Meanwhile, Diamond Pet Foods said Friday it was pulling three of its products from the marketplace because they are believed to contain tainted rice protein concentrate.

The recall applies to Diamond Lamb & Rice Formula for Dogs (13 oz. cans), Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul Kitten Formula (5.5 oz. cans) and Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul Puppy Formula (13 oz. cans). The products were available in Canada.

The Meta, Mo.-based company said it issued the recall after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirmed the rice protein concentrate used by the manufacturer was contaminated with melamine.

ChemNutra offices searched

A U.S. supplier of wheat gluten also believed to be tainted with melamine, ChemNutra, said federal agents searched its Las Vegas offices. The company said it imported the gluten from a supplier in China.

"We have co-operated and complied fully with FDA investigators both prior to and since being served with today's search warrant, and will continue to do so," Steve Miller, chief executive officer of ChemNutra Inc., said in a statement Friday.

"We keep very good records, which has made it relatively easy for the investigators to retrieve what they needed."

Menu Foods Midwest, an affiliate of Ontario-based Menu Foods Ltd., filed a lawsuit against ChemNutra this week, seeking payment for the costs of its extensive recall of 60 million cans of pet food, along with damages.

ChemNutra countered that Menu Foods knew of a problem related to the pet food but waited several weeks before acting. ChemNutra officials also said they were not Menu Food's sole wheat gluten supplier.

More than 50 lawsuits have been filed against Menu Foods.

The FDA traced the problem to melamine after pet owners grew concerned about apparent kidney failure in their cats and dogs. There have been 16 confirmed cases of animals dying in the U.S. after eating Menu Foods products.