Pet Food Recall

[rangerette]

yahoo news link - pet food recall

There is incomplete information at this time, but thought it good to post this as soon as possible.

[sue_t]

Little Kopit wrote:

To repeat: US. pet food is regulated, Canadian is not
I heard that on CBC and after following CBC radio for many a year, I have to say there is a lot of credibility in everything they do. I trust that kind of information.

I also have faith in CBC's reporting. I quote it often, and provided a link to one of their reports on this thread.

The CBC stated, "U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigates pet food safety scares". Yes, the FDA investigates pet food safety scares. It does not regulate ingredients.

Another well-respected medium, USA Today has this report (see the article for the full report, these are excerpts only, with bold added for emphasis):
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-21-cover-pet-food_N.htm:
Q: Who's responsible for ensuring the safety of pet food?
A: The FDA and state feed program officials regulate the industry, but it's largely self-policing. That's also true of much of the human food industry, but the slaughter and processing of meat for human consumption is more heavily regulated. Pet food companies set their own standards for testing raw ingredients and finished products, Aldrich says.
Q: So the FDA doesn't have inspectors in pet food plants?
A: Not always. In the case of Menu Foods, FDA inspectors had never set foot inside the Kansas plant until this incident. "Their priority is human food and human safety," Aldrich says.

[gemini1968]

Thanks for clearing that up!

[Little_Kopit]

gemini1968 wrote:
Our Winnie eats Royal Canin Limited Ingredient Diet (Duck and potato) which is bought from our vet, but I'm worried about the fact that no one is regulating the pet food industry. Maybe we'll go to homemade dog food now.

To repeat: US. pet food is regulated, Canadian is not

I heard that on CBC and after following CBC radio for many a year, I have to say there is a lot of credibility in everything they do. I trust that kind of information.

:C

[gemini1968]

Our Winnie eats Royal Canin Limited Ingredient Diet (Duck and potato) which is bought from our vet, but I'm worried about the fact that no one is regulating the pet food industry. Maybe we'll go to homemade dog food now.

[59022]

Deb and Ed M wrote:

59022 wrote:
http://www.outoftheearth.com/petfood.htm
"Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) carried in pig- and chicken-laden foods may eventually eclipse the threat of "mad cow disease". The risk of household pet exposure to TSE from contaminated pet food is more than three times greater than the risk for hamburger-eating humans."

BSE & TSE gives me the willies.... It's a good thing my sheep & bison eat only grass, that we know has never been fertilized nor sprayed.

They give me the willies, too, because high temperatures don't seem to kill it. But your "organic" grazing isn't preventing your animals from being exposed - the disease is caused by a thing called a "prion" - it's not a bacteria or a virus. Deer get a similar prion-based disease called Chronic Wasting Disease (and the Human form is called Kreutzfeld-Jacob Disease)......and I'm not sure if they can share that with your grazers or not....but it's something to be aware of.

Basically, the prions eat holes in the brains of their victims. NOT a nice way to die.

Deb

If you remember the BSE outbreak in UK? They burned the carcasses with diesel fuel and then buried them in a lime filled pit. Neither the diesel fuel nor the lime destroys the prions. Only incineration in a kiln at 1400F will destroy it and the vets knew it. Pity the poor farmers whose ground water supplies will now be contaminated when these pits leach.

[59022]

Deb and Ed M wrote:

59022 wrote:
http://www.outoftheearth.com/petfood.htm
"Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) carried in pig- and chicken-laden foods may eventually eclipse the threat of "mad cow disease". The risk of household pet exposure to TSE from contaminated pet food is more than three times greater than the risk for hamburger-eating humans."

BSE & TSE gives me the willies.... It's a good thing my sheep & bison eat only grass, that we know has never been fertilized nor sprayed.

They give me the willies, too, because high temperatures don't seem to kill it. But your "organic" grazing isn't preventing your animals from being exposed - the disease is caused by a thing called a "prion" - it's not a bacteria or a virus. Deer get a similar prion-based disease called Chronic Wasting Disease (and the Human form is called Kreutzfeld-Jacob Disease)......and I'm not sure if they can share that with your grazers or not....but it's something to be aware of.

Basically, the prions eat holes in the brains of their victims. NOT a nice way to die.

Deb

Actually I'm very aware of this. Most were from Rocky Mountain Sheep whose bones layed fallow upon the ground for nearly a hundred years. Deer and other critters ate of the bones for the calcium. If you research it deep enough you'll find CSU (read APHIS) had it contained to a small area above Ft. Collins, CO to and thru the North Platte River Valley (Wyoming). But, for some reason the captured deer were released - the disease began it's spread. Fortunately, we keep a close eye on our grazers and there have never been these ancient sheep grazing within 150 miles of us.

[sue_t]

Very important ... the recalled food list was expanded on March 23. Visit http://www.menufoods.com/recall/ for complete info.

From the FAQs:

The recall is limited to “cuts and gravy” style pet food in cans and foil pouches produced on specific dates and times between December 3, 2006, and March 6, 2007 in two of Menu’s plants. The recall affects 42 brands of cat food and 53 brands of dog food. In order to determine whether cat and dog food that your pet consumed is subject to recall, you should refer to the list of brand names on this website.

You can also review the updated news release (March 24) from the FDA.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01590.html

[sue_t]

More from CBC
In Depth -- Pet food
Protecting 4-legged friends
Is it time to lay down the law on pet food production?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/consumers/pet-food-law.html

The pet-food industry is self-regulated in both Canada and USA. While there are requirements around accurate labelling in both countries, there are no requirements regarding what can and cannot be used to manufacture pet food.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

59022 wrote:
http://www.outoftheearth.com/petfood.htm
"Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) carried in pig- and chicken-laden foods may eventually eclipse the threat of "mad cow disease". The risk of household pet exposure to TSE from contaminated pet food is more than three times greater than the risk for hamburger-eating humans."

BSE & TSE gives me the willies.... It's a good thing my sheep & bison eat only grass, that we know has never been fertilized nor sprayed.

They give me the willies, too, because high temperatures don't seem to kill it. But your "organic" grazing isn't preventing your animals from being exposed - the disease is caused by a thing called a "prion" - it's not a bacteria or a virus. Deer get a similar prion-based disease called Chronic Wasting Disease (and the Human form is called Kreutzfeld-Jacob Disease)......and I'm not sure if they can share that with your grazers or not....but it's something to be aware of.

Basically, the prions eat holes in the brains of their victims. NOT a nice way to die.

Deb

[Auntie]

tomkatzid wrote:
At 9pm tonight our vet called and said Nina was just fine. The other 2 girls ate it too, but less. So we didn't have them tested as they didn't show any signs. Nina threw up for a couple days and we thought that we had better get her checked. But she passed with flying colors !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Katz

Great news! I'm happy to hear she is well. You must be so relieved.


Okay..now what's this about the "moist" food. Is this also food in gravy...or the sort of mix of moist and dry..?

[Little_Kopit]

Yes, I heard about a more blanket recall last night.

:C

[tomkatzid]

At 9pm tonight our vet called and said Nina was just fine. The other 2 girls ate it too, but less. So we didn't have them tested as they didn't show any signs. Nina threw up for a couple days and we thought that we had better get her checked. But she passed with flying colors !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Katz

[Spike88]

Did anyone see that an update was on CBC news today saying that all moist food made by the company is recalled not only the dates previously mentioned. They are concerned that the companies wont take all of the food off and some will still be sold. My father in law went to our local walmart today to return the case of food they bought that is on the list and they told him there was nothing they could do about it. They better have a better story tomorrow or there is going to be h### to pay.

[59022]

http://www.outoftheearth.com/petfood.htm
"Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) carried in pig- and chicken-laden foods may eventually eclipse the threat of "mad cow disease". The risk of household pet exposure to TSE from contaminated pet food is more than three times greater than the risk for hamburger-eating humans."

BSE & TSE gives me the willies.... It's a good thing my sheep & bison eat only grass, that we know has never been fertilized nor sprayed.

[Little_Kopit]

59022 wrote:
Only one of the two plants had USDA inspectors. www.fsis.usda.gov/Fsis_Recalls/index.asp

I don't believe it's a requirement to have them for pet foods, only for products for human consumption.

I spoke to my vet today and he said do not feed anything but kibble, even if the retailers offer you newer canned foods that aren't part of the recall.

That CBC program on this issue also said that pet food is regulated in the U.S. So, there has to be some periodic inspection possibility and some legal way of getting at these people down there.

There are times when I moan and groan about the bureaucratic process, but this is one time when I want laws to protect all pet owners.

:C