FDA issues warning to Iams
By Gina Spadafori
March 29, 2007
Just moved:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning letter to pet food maker Iams about an additive in some of its products for fat dogs and cats.
The letter, dated Jan. 8, 2007, and posted on the FDA Web site Thursday, said that several Eukanuba-brand dry and canned pet food products made by The Iams Company, a unit of Procter & Gamble Co. (Charts), contain chromium tripicolinate, which is only allowed as a source of supplemental chromium in swine feed.
The company will take chromium tripicolinate out of future formulations of its Eukanuba Veterinary Diets Optimum Weight Control and Restricted-Calorie dry and canned products for obese dogs or cats, spokesman Kurt Iverson said.He pointed out that the FDA had not ordered a recall of the products now in pet owners’ homes or on store shelves.
Since chromium tripicolinate has not been tested for safety in dog and cat food, products containing the chemical are considered adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the FDA letter said.
Here’s the rest.
From the itch Blog. Forms on line.
Pet Food Accountability Petition Exceeds 1,000 Signatures
March 29th, 2007
Thanks to our readers, the petition is gaining steam. It’s been 8 days since the petition was started and now we’ve gathered more than 1,000 signatures.
http://www.itchmo.com/read/pet.....s_20070329
Comment by Steve — March 29, 2007 @ 5:58 pm
I PUT MY DOG ON that and she throw it up.what’s next??????
Comment by NIKIE — March 29, 2007 @ 6:22 pm
Diamond Pet Food recall was in 2006; however, some of the bags of DRY food have a “best by” date of January 29, 2007.
Comment by Jeanette — March 29, 2007 @ 6:26 pm
Where is Menu CEO Paul Henderson? Has he said anything as Chief Executive Officer of the company since last week? Who’s in charge?
Comment by Steve — March 29, 2007 @ 6:37 pm
Hey everyone, we found several articles that suggest a link between this substance and chronic renal failure:
http://www.itchmo.com/read/fda.....s_20070329
This is mind boggling…
Comment by itchmo — March 29, 2007 @ 6:53 pm
Itchmo…some of the articles (like the one on http://www.howl911.com) link it to ACUTE renal failure, which is more relevant to the symptoms many of the affected pets have been experiencing. Vit D, in excess, can also lead to CRF as well as pancreatitis. I mention this because I think it’s entirely possible that, if Royal Canin’s vendor supplied them with a bad batch of vitamin cocktail, then that same supplier might have sold the vitamin cocktail with excessively high Vit D to other manufacturers. I suspect there may be more than one causative agent in the foods—both wet and dry; both Menu Foods-made an not—responsible for the outbreak of illness and death over these past months. If the labs that are involved in testing the tainted food are only looking for biological toxins (aflatoxin, salmonella, etc.), heavey metals, and chemical contaminants, are they then NOT doing standard nutritional analyses to test for acceptable levels of the vitamins, minerals and other “nutritional” supplements, such as chromium tripicolinate? If so, they might be barking up the wrong tree, entirely…
Comment by Nikki — March 29, 2007 @ 7:08 pm
TWO of our beloved Siamese cats have been in ICU for over a week now, and have a slim chance of making it. BOTH were poisoned by the Iams wet food. Both have kidney failure, phosphorous issues, low electrolytes, high amalyase, and low urine PH values. I have spoken to MenuFoods three times, and all three times they were NOTHING BUT HOSTILE. THEY ADMITTED THAT THEY ARE NOT GOING TO PAY ANY BILS THAT PET OWNERS HAVE INCURRED DUE TO MENU FOOD’S NEGLIGENCE. I HAVE SPOKEN TO IAMS THREE TIMES, SAME STORY. NOT PAYING ANY BILLS. I HAVE SPOKEN TO PROCTOR AND GAMBLE ( OWNER OF IAMS ) AND THEY TAKE NO LIABILITY. I HAVE SPOKEN TO THE FDA THREE TIMES, AND THEY ADMIT THAT THEY HAVE NOT EVEN BEGUN TESTING THE FOODS RECALLED. ALL OF THESE CONVERSATIONS TOOK PLACE AGAIN THIS MORNING, FEB. 29TH, 2007.
BEWARE OF WHAT THE MEDIA IS TELLING YOU, FOLKS. THOSE WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE ARE NOT PLANNING ON HELPING ANYONE OUT.
I have called my local TV station, and they will be interviewing us and our vet. Maybe that will set a spark under Proctor and Gamble. I will make sure it is uploaded to youtube.com., so all of those whose animals and their people who are suffering so much can join in together. Beware of the lawyers offering to involve you in a Class Action Law Suit; they are in it for the money. After reading their information sent to US, we decided to NOT go with the several who are advertising. They can recoup up to 50% of what you are rewarded.
And, please DO NOT feed ANY of the dry foods that are on the recall list in the wet form. I have too many people emailing me after their pets died from eating the dried versions of the wet foods. I don’t believe in coincidences.
Blessings to all of the poor, innocent animals who are suffering so, and may God bring their humans peace and justice. The laws MUST be changed in this country regarding the food fed to our animals.
Comment by Jocelyn — March 29, 2007 @ 7:12 pm
Please could people email me if their pet has gotten sick or died from eating the Iams dry formula? My parents won’t take their pug off of it. I was fighting with them today over it, and I even tried to give them some no-grain dry dog food, but they’re concerned that changing Rosie’s food might bring back the skin and ear problems she had while she was on Nutro. Please contact me at AriseChicken420@aol.com with your stories, and hopefully help me convince my parents to feed Rosie something different.
Comment by Ginger — March 29, 2007 @ 8:03 pm
“FDA Confirms Dry Pet Food Complaints. . .”
http://www.pr-inside.com/fda-c.....r80882.htm
Comment by Jackie — March 29, 2007 @ 8:35 pm
Regarding the above article..
I can’t believe PeTA is using this as an excuse to capitalize on the country’s attention by plugging their anti Iams-testing stuff (completely irrelevant in terms of the food safety issue) at the recall press conference.
For a moment, I thought these people might actually be sincere about something.. but, alas, nope. It’s all about the press and the agenda.
I don’t buy for a moment that they’re genuinely interested in ascertaining whether or not the dry food is safe. This is clearly a cheap attempt to capitalize on free press in a thinly-veiled ploy to further their attempts to do away with Iams.
I also note that the only companies I’ve seen them go after in all this have been Iams and Menu (both of whose animal testing practices they’ve taken exception to in the past).. if this is genuine concern, where’s the ire at all the other companies involved? (Or have they mounted a similar anti-Nutro campaign I’m unaware of?)
How tacky.
On a more positive note, I’m glad that the FDA is taking the time to investigate the dry food related complaints. It’s about time!
Comment by Gwen — March 29, 2007 @ 9:00 pm
I say. . .AMEN to Gwen! I hesitated to post that link cause I do not agree with anything PETA does or says. I own show dogs (yes PETA, I did say own), which means PETA looks at me as the devil himself.
I also found PETA’s comments tacky, and very selective.
I also hope we get some answers tomorrow. . .seems Friday’s are the day for news on this.
Comment by Jackie — March 29, 2007 @ 9:32 pm
I should probably apologize for going off on (yet another) anti-PeTA tirade. Not that I don’t stand by what I said.. but ‘twas probably not the best venue to be posting a novel about it.
What can I say.. I’m over-tired, under-slept, and just had the pleasure of giving one VERY displeased feline fluids for the third time today (thank you, Menu foods!).. before exiting the bathroom to find my foot firmly planted in a ‘nice’, warm pile of fresh kitty barf. (Nicholas had gotten into Tyson’s kidney food, which, apparently, as with a great many other foods, does NOT agree with him.) It’s been a LONG week, lol.
Here’s waiting on Friday..
Comment by Gwen — March 29, 2007 @ 9:42 pm
I’m not real big on PETAS tactics and showmanship.
They rely to much on theater. It trivializes important issues and discourages participation.
It seems they are more interested in promoting themselves then actually solving problems most of the time.
Comment by Steve — March 29, 2007 @ 10:17 pm
I am confused as to why different people seem to be getting different answers from the same companies. I talked with IAMS on Monday and they told me my vet bills will be fully covered by their company. In fact, they just called me back late today and gave me a service request number to be referenced on all of my bills.
Comment by Carole — March 29, 2007 @ 10:32 pm
From Elsevier’s Journal Database…
Document title
Determining the safety of chromium tripicolinate for addition to foods as a nutrient supplement
Author(s)
BERNER T. O. (1) ; MURPHY M. M. (1) ; SLESINSKI R. (1) ;
(1) The ENVIRON Health Sciences Institute, 4350 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22203, ETATS-UNIS
Abstract
Trivalent chromium is an essential element required for normal carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism in humans and animals. This article describes how one particular form of trivalent chromium, chromium tripicolinate (Chromax®), a stable complex of trivalent chromium and picolinic acid, was determined to be safe for use as a nutrient supplement in foods (i.e., nutritional bars and beverages). A safety assessment of a nutrient supplement for use in food requires an evaluation of the safety of the product (Chromax®), as well as an evaluation of the safety of the intended dietary ingredient (chromium tripicolinate). In this assessment, the production process, final product specifications, and product analysis results for Chromax® were evaluated to determine the safety of the final product. Then, the Estimated Daily Intakes (EDIs) of trivalent chromium and picolinic acid from the proposed use of Chromax® were calculated using data from the USDA’s most recent Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals. The EDI for trivalent chromium was compared to the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for this compound derived from animal studies, corroborated with human data, while the EDI for picolinic acid was compared to existing in vivo exposure to this compound that occurs naturally in the body. As long as the EDI of trivalent chromium is less than the ADI for this compound and the EDI of picolinic acid is less than its estimated in vivo exposure, Chromax ® can be considered safe for its intended use. Employing this approach, it was determined that Chromax® is safe, as well as generally recognized as safe (GRAS), for use in nutritional bars and beverages as a nutrient supplement at a maximum use level of 2.4 mg of Chromax® per product serving.
Revue / Journal Title
Food and chemical toxicology (Food chem. toxicol.) ISSN 0278-6915 CODEN FCTOD7
Source / Source
2004, vol. 42, no6, pp. 1029-1042 [14 page(s) (article)] (1 p.1/2)
Langue / Language
Anglais
Publisher
Elsevier Science, Oxford, ROYAUME-UNI (1982) (Revue)
Comment by Carole — March 29, 2007 @ 10:36 pm
PETA is as bad as Menu Foods. PETA is all about promoting PETA. Menu Foods is all about $$$$. The jury is out on the FDA, but I have NOT been impressed.
Comment by Ron — March 29, 2007 @ 11:25 pm
Regarding the comments about Peta, I agree they are often over the top. But you’re talking about a group that is taking on a gamut of animal protection messages most of the world tunes out: the seal hunt, where fur comes from, or reminding you that your hamburger once had a face. It’s all a difficult message, with a varied audience that possibly doesn’t care, accepts it as inevitable reality, or is uncomfortable with it and doesn’t want to see it. Peta is asking people to think and make decisions about your own actions, if you want. Not just blindly accept. You have the choice, in my opinion, so feel however you want. Listen to the messages, do some critical thinking, sort fact from embellishment. Ultimately it’s up to you. I think Peta could do things differently, and they likely have a good share of loose cannons in the bunch.
By the way, Peta has been reporting on the Iams related cruelty stuff for quite awhile now. I don’t see how it is so out of place for them to bring it back to the table publicly now, unless you are someone who feels as though a company like Iams/Procter & Gamble is not culpable of negligence as related to the Menu Foods issue. This company (as well as others) didn’t fully implement a protocol of due diligence in regard to outsourcing their manufacturing.
Comment by Ryan Muskopf — March 29, 2007 @ 11:58 pm
Well, not to make this forum about PETA, but if you are here because you own pets, you are at direct odds with PETA. Their ultimate goal is to eliminate ALL pet ownership. Google “Ingrid Newkirk” and be prepared to be shocked. “I don’t use the word “pet.” I think it’s speciesist language. I prefer “companion animal.” For one thing, we would no longer allow breeding. People could not create different breeds. There would be no pet shops. If people had companion animals in their homes, those animals would have to be refugees from the animal shelters and the streets. You would have a protective relationship with them just as you would with an orphaned child. But as the surplus of cats and dogs (artificially engineered by centuries of forced breeding) declined, eventually companion animals would be phased out, and we would return to a more symbiotic relationship � enjoyment at a distance — Ingrid Newkirk, PETA’s President, quoted in The Harper’s Forum Book, Jack Hitt, ed., 1989, p.223.” http://www.rightwingnews.com/quotes/animal.php You can find these quotes on many different websites, I’ve read them many times.
Here’s another interesting website with info about Newkirk and PETA from former PETA members - http://www.nokillnow.com/PETAI.....Resign.htm
The reason for this post is just to ask people to be very careful who they support, and where they send money. If you want an eye opener about all the crappy BSL (breed specific legislation), or other anti-pet laws, go to the AKC website and check out the legislation section. You can also sign up for e-mail alerts. I always recommend people donate time and money to their local shelters and rescue org’s. You can find these org’s on Petfinder.com.
Comment by Jackie — March 30, 2007 @ 6:49 am
nutro is not recalling dry dog food but a few people wrote on the blogs that someome from nutro told them nutro will do a recall on dry food,which was false. nutro is not recalling dry food.
Comment by cindi — March 30, 2007 @ 6:52 am
I’ve had my cat Piper on Iams Dry Weight Control formula since Christmas. She’s vomited more than usual but hasn’t really been noticably sick otherwise. After the recall on March 16th, I attributed her recent vomiting to the wet food I had been giving my other cat Nikki who has since died of acute kidney failure from that recalled wet food. (I figured Piper probably cleaned up Nikki’s food bowl after she was finished and got enough of the poison to make her sick but not seriously ill.) I’ve had Piper to the vet and all her blood tests are normal.
I’m not sure if what’s in Iams is killing our pets in the short term, but it is causing some sort of digestive upset. I am going to stop feeding it to her now and switch back to Friskies. It made her fat but atleast she wasn’t sick!
Also, I fed my dog Nutro Natural Dry Chicken & Oatmeal formula just before Christmas and she threw it up both times I gave it to her so I stopped giving her that and reported it to Nutro.
Thus far, the only safe foods I’ve had experience with are Friskies and Eagle Pack Holistic foods. If anyone has had trouble with either of these, please post!
Comment by nikandboots — March 30, 2007 @ 7:07 am
My english bulldog, Dudley is sick. back in september, I switched his dog food from science diet to Iams lamb & rice dry dog food. I also had some vaccinations done. He was throwing up his dog food. the vet said he was probably eating to fast, put a toy in his dish to slow him down.Dudley became very ill, I rushed him to an emergency vet. He had a high temperature and was told his body turned on it’s self. His white blood cells were killing his red blood cells. something has taken over his body. there’s no way to tell what caused this. I looked at my husband and said the only things that have changed is his dog food and he had vaccinations 10 days ago. the vaccinations he had before and no reaction. but, not knowing it could be bad dogfood. we assumed it had to be the vaccinations. Dudley’s blood count was down to 18 and was told if it drops to 15 your looking at a blood transfusion. I changed vets thinking maybe they overdosed him on his vaccinations.(that only made sence)They put dudley on a very high dose of prednisone. The prednisone saved his life, until it stopped working. Dudley was then put on a cancer drug to help with his immune system called Azathioprine with prednisone, he currently takes both of these medications. Every time we try to cut back the medicine slowly we get to the point of his blood count dropping again. We have to start all over with high doses of these medications. Dudley is 2 years old, almost 3. He was a very energetic, full of life, happy, healthy and playful. Dudley had a full check up and blood work 2 months prior to this happening, he checked out healthy and everything was great. Dudley still loves life, just not as playful or energetic. I don’t think he is as happy, but i don’t think he is suffering. I can’t say it’s anything to do with dogfood but it sure is a coinsedence.
Comment by sandra — March 30, 2007 @ 9:27 am
Someone posted earlier about high Vit D with Royal Canin and acute renal failure. Could someone please give me more info on that. I have a cat with kidney issues but not kideny failure who was eating Royal Canin. 3 vets and we still don’t know what is wrong or why she is sick. The 5 other cats that ate the food are fine.
Comment by Lena — March 30, 2007 @ 10:03 am
Here’s a link to the update on the Iams website
they have no wheat gluten in their cat or dog dry foods.
http://us.iams.com/iams/global/Product_Recall.htm
Comment by Flip — March 30, 2007 @ 3:01 pm
Regarding PETA- I, myself, am against animal testing, but I’m also anti-PETA, since I found out they released a video of a man clubbing a baby seal, who later turned out to be employed and filmed by the organization itself. Why would an organization call itself “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals” and then turn around and do the exact opposite on film. I know they wanted to promote fanaticism amongst their members, but, still, that’s just hypocritical. Practice what you preach, or else just stop preaching.
Comment by Ginger — March 30, 2007 @ 10:02 pm