Pet-food recall: Canaries in the coal mine?

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Pet-food recall: Canaries in the coal mine?

By Gina Spadafori

April 3, 2007

If you have a sick pet or a question on your pet’s health, call your veterinarian.
If you’re new to the site, please check out our general information page (includes links to recalled foods).
If you’d like suggestions on what to feed, click here.
If you want to report a sick or deceased pet, click here.
If you want to know what you can do, please read our call to action
If you want to read all our recall-related blog posts, click here.

Pet Connection Contributing Editor Christie Keith, who’s also the online pet columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle’s Web site, SFGate, writes for them about the numbers, the news and what the recall means to those who don’t have pets:

The issue may not be that the system broke down, but that there isn’t really a system.

There is, as the FDA pointed out, no veterinary version of the CDC. This meant the FDA kept confirming a number it had to have known was only the tip of the iceberg. It prevented veterinarians from having the information they needed to treat their patients and advise pet owners. It allowed the media to repeat a misleadingly low number, creating a false sense of security in pet owners — and preventing a lot of people from really grasping the scope and implication of the problem.

[...}

Think that’s going too far? Maybe not. On Sunday night, April 1, Pet Connection got a report from one of its blog readers, Joy Drawdy, who said that she had found an import alert buried on the FDA Web site. That alert, issued on Friday, the same day that the FDA held its last press conference about the recall, identified the Chinese company that is the source of the contaminated gluten — gluten that is now known to be sold not only for use in animal feed, but in human food products, too. (The Chinese company is now denying that they are responsible, although they are investigating it.)

Although the FDA said on Friday it has no reason to think the contaminated gluten found its way into the human food supply, Sundlof told reporters that it couldn’t be ruled out. He also assured us that they would notify the public as soon as they had any more information — except, of course, that they did have more information and didn’t give it to us, publishing it instead as an obscure import alert, found by chance by a concerned pet owner, which was then spread to the larger media.

All of which begs the question: If a system to report and track had been in place for animal illness, would this issue have emerged sooner? Even lacking a reporting and tracking system, if the initial news reports had included, as so many human stories do, suspected or estimated cases from credible sources, it’s likely this story would have been taken more seriously and not just by Rosie O’Donnell. It may turn out that our dogs and cats were the canaries in the coal mine of an enormous system failure — one that could have profound impacts on American food manufacturing and safety in the years to come.

The rest is here.

In the Sacramento Bee, Carrie Peyton Dahlberg also makes the “what if?” leap:

As more contaminated pet foods are pulled from the market, the widespread recall is a sobering reminder that the foods we eat can be a recipe for disaster.

While trouble is rare, lethal ingredients have crept into the human food supply before and undoubtedly will again, with increased globalization underscoring the need for vigilance, experts said Monday.

“The food safety system in Asia is nowhere near as developed as it is in the United States,” said Charles Shoemaker, a UC Davis food science professor. “It’s one thing to wear their stuff, but when you have to eat it, that’s another ballgame.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said again Monday that “at this time we have no evidence” that a Chinese company’s tainted wheat gluten has been used in human foods.

Still, Shoemaker and others suggest the episode could fuel calls for increased oversight, as well as bolster the food industry’s own interest in better ways of tracking the ingredients in our daily diets.

Here’s the rest. (Need a log-in?)

USA Today warns that more foods could yet be recalled as the tainted wheat gluten continues to be traced, and that the case is far from closed on what caused the deaths. Blogger Terrierman takes a look at what exactly wheat gluten is and where you might find it. Our friend at Itchmo points to more FDA “Heckuva Job, Brownie” work that may have left pet-food companies as in the dark as we were.

Yes, we continue to report the numbers from our Pet Connection database. The most recent death count — updated daily — our home page, and the dog/cat breakdown is on the page for reporting your own pet’s sickness or death. Remember, these are self-reported numbers, but we feel they’re a lot closer to the real number of dead pets than the widely reported official FDA toll, which remains at 16, most of those killed in feeding trials.

As of 5:12 a.m.. PT: 3,057 pets have been reported as deceased to our PetConnection database. Of these, 1,657 are cats, and 1,400 are dogs.

Meanwhile, it’s back to business for the Menu Foods plant in Emporia, Kansas. (Thanks to numerous readers for the link, especially Steve.)

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Technorati Tags: pet food recall, dogs, cats,veterinarian, veterinary

Filed under: 2007 food recall,animals: pets,medical,news — Gina Spadafori @ 6:51 am

Comments (108)

108 Comments »

Gina: You still aren’t reporting updated totals for the number who are sick, only the number dead. I’d appreciate a full overview, sick and dead, and petconnection.com is the only place I’m going to get it. Please, can you tally the number of sick as well? (And the new media stories posted today are great; it took too long, but finally a few of them are getting to the crux of the matter.) Thanks for all you have done throughout this crisis. This site is a national treasure.

Comment by Bernadette — April 3, 2007 @ 7:01 am
It’s about time the outrage of all pet owners is heard.over 3,000 pets have died.on cnn on wed. morning solidade o’brian will have the FDA ON TO ANSWER questions, the punk CEO FROM MENU FOODS refused to return cnn’s calls. my heart breaks for everyone who lost a dear pet.i hope every CEO from all these pet food co’s are reading these blog’s ,WE AS PET OWNERS WILL NEVER EVER BUY ANY PET FOOD MADE FROM MENU FOOD PLANTS. GET YOU ACT TOGETHER GUYS. 3,000 PETS DIED . WHY THE HELL DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN TO OUR PETS!!!!!!!!

Comment by Mary Ann — April 3, 2007 @ 7:13 am
The men at the FDA can’t make an intelligent proactive decision. I’ve seen it before - no common sense.

A group of high power big wigs in a car at rush hour heading late to the airport and they see no cars on the freeway. Do we stay on this odd deserted freeway or do we leave - no one wants to make a decision - why? they don’t want to be wrong. I said - get off - the freeway is blocked.

It’s the same thing. These ego oriented men with overinflated ideas about themselves and their jobs - can’t see the forest through all the trees.

I’ve seen it in universities - in board meetings - no one wants to be wrong - so we have a Katrina Fiasco - 911 and worse -

When will the FDA begin making good decisions? I hope they all get fired!

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 7:14 am
I just want to thank the folks at Petconnection. Through this whole thing, it has been the only place to go for clear, accurate, and up-to-date information. My cat Phoebe died on March 11 after eating 7 pouches of the recalled IAMS food. I am sad, angry, and frustrated and the good folks at this website have been amazing. Thanks for all that you are doing!!!!!

Comment by Krista — April 3, 2007 @ 7:17 am
Huge wake up call. Americans really need to pay attention. If ever there was a major violation public trust. This it it.

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 7:29 am
Read the FDA reports to Congress and the implimentation of the Bio Terrorist guidelines - the only conclusion is: our food is not safe, our pet food is not safe, we are not protected.

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 7:33 am
We will never be safe - not really. I don’t believe it is practical for everyone to hunker down and buy organic and make their own pet food - but we can certainly insist on better quality foods, full disclosure of all ingredients, and the offering of foods only grown in the U.S. that have no additives. What does Congress want us to do? Eat poison and go to an early grave along with our pets?

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 7:36 am
Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 7:33 am

Linda can you link that?

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 7:36 am
Bernadette, Gina said just the other day that they do not have the resources to extract the information on the sick animals. They are trying to get someone to help them with the database.

I almost don’t want to know that number. It’s sure to be as staggering as the number of deceased pets :(

Comment by Sharon — April 3, 2007 @ 7:38 am
BTW, SEND THOSE LETTERS TO CONGRESS!!!! YOUR STATE REPS AND THE FDA!!!!

Comment by Sharon — April 3, 2007 @ 7:39 am
I saw this morning where Anderson Cooper 360 is going to do a segment on the pet food recall under his “Keeping Them Honest” section of his newscast, way to go guys and gals. Maybe our pleadings with him worked! See what can be done when we all band together to be heard?!

Comment by Sandi K — April 3, 2007 @ 7:40 am
I had an interesting converstion with my vet tech yesterday.She made this comment “I shudder to think what is going to happen to the price of pet food”. The price of this fiasco will most certainly be passed on to the consumer. I hadn’t considered that.
I can afford a higher price for food for my pets but what about those that cannot? Many of us have been running around town trying to buy safe food for our pets, no matter the cost. What are many pets eating today now that so many brands of food have been yanked from the shelves?
Will pets starve because of this disaster?
Will there be an even greater increase in homeless pets once the cost of pet food gets out of reach to many people?
Just my thoughts…any comments?

Comment by Sue — April 3, 2007 @ 7:40 am
I’m confused why all of this is not a major story on the news. Where is the media?

Comment by Surfsista — April 3, 2007 @ 7:42 am
I buy my pet food at Whole Foods and don’t see the big difference in price (Pet Promise). I don’t get the reluctance people have to switching to organic. If you can afford a pet, you can afford a few cents more to feed them healthy food. I’d rather pay a bit more for the food than to the vet!

Comment by Surfsista — April 3, 2007 @ 7:48 am
I posted something the day that the “melamine story” came out—I honestly don’t remember which thread. I believe it may bear repeating now. Melamine in used in the process of microencapsulation of pesticides and fertilizers. Basically a coating which gradually degrades for a time-released effect.

I am reposting this observation because of the following comment by Neal Bataller at the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicide:

FDA researchers can’t say for certain that it is melamine that has sickened and, in some cases, killed the animals. “The information in the scientific literature doesn’t show the type of injury we’re seeing,” says Neal Bataller at the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.

“But there’s a very strong association between the wheat gluten and these problem. We can’t rule out melamine as a direct causative agent,” Bataller says. But he also noted that the presence of melamine could merely be an indication that there’s another, more dangerous, contaminant in the gluten.

I think the FDA is testing for melamine because it is easier than testing for the myriad (unknown) substances which might have found their way into the various supplies of wheat gluten “bundled” by Xuzhou Anying for export.

Comment by Eva — April 3, 2007 @ 7:48 am
Iams and Eukanuba employees and P&G Pet Care, maker of Iams and Eukanuba pet food brands, have published an open letter to its customers, the companies announced in Dayton, Ohio today.

Full page ads are appearing in 59 major North American newspapers today and Wednesday, including the Indianapolis Star.

“We feel deeply for everyone affected by the Menu Foods wet food recall … we are heartsick that any of our Iams and Eukanuba products were involved,” the statement reads.

Full story here:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/p.....S/70403007

I’ve checked a couple on-line publications and haven’t seen any letter from them - including the San Jose Mercury News. Has anybody else seen these ads?

Comment by Jamie — April 3, 2007 @ 7:53 am
Comment by Surfsista — April 3, 2007 @ 7:42 am

Walter Cronkite and Bill Moyers doesn’t work here no more.

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 7:54 am
Yes I will link that Steve.I’m on my way to work and will do when in about 1.5 hours. Sorry just can’t right now. But believe me it is a big wake-u call!

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 7:57 am
Just read back over my last post. Several typos, sorry. Also, to clarify my point…melamine might show up IN CONJUNCTION WITH other, more pernicious substances. So, just test for melamine…casts a broader net.

Comment by Eva — April 3, 2007 @ 7:57 am
I could care less about their apologies. Right now they are scrambling because their bottom line is hurting. They couldn’t care less about anyone’s pets. Do they think they are fooling anyone? The days when I trusted the major pet food manufacturers are long gone, and gone forever.

Comment by Elizabeth — April 3, 2007 @ 7:58 am
Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 7:57 am

Thank you, I am trying to get some other major blogs to start covering this story but they can not shake themselves out of the political circus they’ve become completely consumed with.

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 8:01 am
Yep, Anderson Cooper 360, 4/3/07, 10 p.m. EDT

Comment by Sharon Gilbert — April 3, 2007 @ 8:04 am
Production resumes at Menu Foods Emporia Plant.

Day 2.

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 8:10 am
I hope Mr. Cooper doesn’t go with the 16 dead figure from the FDA. Perhaps readers can point him to the stories from the L.A. Times, U.S. Today, the Portland Oregonian … and our self-reported figures here as well?

I actually think the Oregon figures are most reflective of what the death toll may be: 35 dead as reported by the state public-health veterinarian in a state with 1.2 percent of the nation’s human population? Folks, do the math!

Comment by Gina Spadafori — April 3, 2007 @ 8:15 am
LETTERS: Pet food recall
The Kansas City Star

Pet food recall

I completely agree that Menu Foods’ handling of this crisis leaves much to be desired (Jennifer Mann, “Action Was Needed in Pet Food Recall,” Star Business Weekly, March 27).

I am one of the Canadians who have lost their beloved pet to kidney failure. I have managed through sheer persistence to get through three times, but have yet to be contacted by anyone from Menu Foods.

In the first days of this recall, they had tons of additional information on their Web site — directors’ names and biographies, their code of ethical conduct, annual reports, etc. And very quickly that was removed.

They remained silent for over a week as to the cause of this, which undoubtedly caused additional and unnecessary deaths. When specifically asked at the Toronto news conference if they were responsible, the answer was an absolute “no.” And yet yesterday their Web site was very quickly updated with a correction notice clarifying “No Expanded Recall.”

It is apparent this company is doing everything possible to remain in the pet food business and protect their bottom line.

Their handling of this matter is a disgrace.

Cathy Sterling

Grimsby, Ontario

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/.....016726.htm

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 8:19 am
All I have to say is, “WOW!” I guess this one of the few places to find out what is going on. The FDA is not a place I would EVER look to for any honest help, they have their hands in too many pockets. We have three six month-old puppies in the beginning stages of renal failure. We are now giving a human food diet to as well as sub-Q. IVs daily to help flush their kidneys since they are not drinking like they use to. I am joing a class-action lawsuit in Washington State. I will not be silent, this is horrible. I think we are only seeing the tip of the iceburg. We have to keep coming back to sites like this, and spread the word, even to our friends who still want to act like sheep. We are the voices of our animals, just like our children.

I am praying God will continue to expose the hidden lies.

From Southern CA

Comment by Robin — April 3, 2007 @ 8:20 am
First it was RAT POISON, then, Plastic Poison.. now Salmonella found in pet Food what is NEXT!!!!!!! Let’s take this Seriously, this has to BE STOPPED.. Getting SCARRY!!! We need the Truth NOW, and ACTION.!!!!.. To many ARE Dieing NEEDLESSLY Love Kelly B.

Comment by kelly B — April 3, 2007 @ 8:21 am
April 2 Chicago Tribune
Owners suing for compensation in poisonings

By Mary Ann Fergus
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 2, 2007

“In the federal class-action lawsuits filed against Menu Foods, a judge eventually will have to decide which underlying state law applies. Most of the contaminated food was made in Menu’s plant in Emporia, Kan., according to the federal Food and Drug Administration.”

Menu Foods Kansas Plant Resumes Operations
April 2nd, 2007

Menu Foods let the Emporia, Kansas, plant continue to produce food after the recall. It then closed down this plant temporarily. Menu Foods originally stated that the plant would be closed for no more than 3 days, but it looks like it took more than a week. There isn’t any information about how they decontaminated the plant or even if it was required, but it’s clear that they have restarted making food.

Itcmo

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 8:23 am
Why are they stalling? It’s broader than wheat gluten. It may be wheat. It may even be broader than wheat. It may be corn (also supplied by the blocked chin. mfr. and found in dry foods that caused illness or death. See this comment: http://www.petconnection.com/b.....ment-16921 “So the possible toxins are aminopterin, melamine, both, and/or additional ones to these. If melamine is used in fertilizer, then that should mean that the wheat itself is affected, not just the gluten. Along with any other wheat ingredients made from this affected wheat. I can only assume that Menu Foods did not receive this Entire wheat crop. And if it is marketed only for pet consumption (which I doubt), many other brands should be affected. Also if the melamine is also used in the manufacturing of rodentcide, then the issue remains what else is in these foods?” Comment by Amy Boda — March 30, 2007 @ 1:24 pm

Comment by 4lgdfriend — April 3, 2007 @ 8:30 am
Surfsista: You would be wise to check Whole Foods 360’s ambiguous cyastatement on the petsitusa foods link!

Comment by 4lgdfriend — April 3, 2007 @ 8:34 am
This is what’s happening: Somewhere in America the FDA’s goonies are isolating this plastic junk poison without the dog/cat food Wheat Gluten element and feeding it to some pound pets to see if it kills, the ill effects etc. etc. etc.

Tragic beyond words. It’s on the QT for sure. I wish we knew where - but it is happening.

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 8:35 am
Comment by Maureen — April 3, 2007 @ 8:26 am

Americans need to demand FIRMLY that our representatives in Congress launch a complete and through investigation into this entire debacle from Menu right on through to this import issue.

I will look for resources and generic contact forms what have you. But am no superman and can not do everything myself.

And when I mean Americans I mean everyone. Leave the ego at the door, politics, and all the other usual fuel for debate and argument.

We need to drop our differences and address this issue.

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 8:37 am
For the pet Owners You can also go to menufoodsclassaction@yahoogroups.com there is also a data base and a photo area you may find it helpful.. Love Kelly B.. on Behalf of miss cuddles who died Feb17/07 My Angel!!

Comment by kelly B — April 3, 2007 @ 8:38 am
Theory: Rat poison, in the form of melamine coated capsules, used in the cargo holds of the ship the wheat was transported on? Or in the wheat fields themselves? Or in some storage facility?

Comment by slt — April 3, 2007 @ 8:40 am
Comment by slt — April 3, 2007 @ 8:40 am

It’s much more sophisticated, large scale, and complex. This is a major geopolitical, corporate, and agricultural industrial complex case.

Browse through yesterdays threads to get a grasp of the complexity of this.

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 8:48 am
In our contacting our senators, it should be asked what DHS, Department of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff is doing or even if he has taken notice. This IS about our food supply and absolutely vital.

Comment by Gary — April 3, 2007 @ 8:53 am
Some questions that I have not seen addressed:

Does Menu Foods do their own rendering or do they purchase the rendered product from a separate facility?

If Menu Foods purchases from a separate facility, where do the other pet food manufacturers purchase their supplies from ( the same place?) ?

Has there been separate testing done JUST on the rendered product?

Why were test products from the Labs and from the FDA so different. Is it possible that samples given to the FDA were purposely “peppered” with melamine to throw the investigation off track? I remember comments previously that Menu Foods also produces plastics in the same plants as their pet foods.

Any more insite into this twist would be appreciated.

Comment by mal — April 3, 2007 @ 8:58 am
This IS about our food supply and absolutely vital.

Comment by Gary — April 3, 2007 @ 8:53 am

Yes it is. Do not fold or cave in to hopelessness or resignation or apathy.

There has to be changes. We have to confront this and we are going to have to sacrifice some minor comforts and diversions for this cause. This is not the kind of future I want for our children. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 9:01 am
We import too much from China to test all, most, or even a fraction of it. Sorry to say, and just my opinion, but the FDA can only do a minimal job, if that, there is no proactive magic here. After the fact, they are still failing.

We can’t stop it. Congress can’t stop it. America can’t stop it. We can complain, fight for change, but really it is beyond our control. China needs to have the same safe guards as we do - and still the individual producer will do it the old way……

That’s the world we live in and we can’t change it. Don’t buy China and still unknowingly we eat it, feed it to our pets etc. etc. etc…….

We just need to buy from small manufactures and local and check it out ourselves.

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 9:03 am
Comment by mal — April 3, 2007 @ 8:58 am

Mal the threads here since March 16 are a veritable plethora of information.
And here are a couple other partner sites you can visit. At this time we are dealing with major information overload so you will have to do some sleuthing and sort it out to the best of your ability.

http://www.itchmo.com/
http://howl911.com/

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 9:05 am
http://www.kptv.com/index.html

Posted on howl911

Comment by Pat — April 3, 2007 @ 9:07 am
Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 9:03 am

Yes we can make a difference. One person can change the world. And that can be either positive or negative. I think we all know which direction we want to take.

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 9:08 am
FDA BEGINS TESTING HUMAN FOODS WITH WHEAT GLUTEN 04/03/07
Today, Fox 12 Oregon reported the following:
The Food and Drug Administration said it’s beginning an “across the board” investigation into human foods that contain wheat gluten.

RECALL OF PET FOOD COULD EXPAND 04/03/07
USA Today reports the following — as if we didn’t have enough to be paranoid about, now we’re told there could be still more brands of pet food recalled, and that melamine may not be the toxin-of-interest but merely a marker for some other as-yet-unidentified poison.

http://howl911.com/

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 9:10 am
sorry….correction on the link http://www.kptv.com/news/11498395/detail.html

Comment by Pat — April 3, 2007 @ 9:10 am
A response to your post from The Dog Food Project about the issue of menadione in pet food is needed to educate already confused consumers. While I am sure their website is well intentioned, the inerrancy of their claims specific to menadione need to be challenged. The Dog Food Project has become a widely used resource of information that presents ‘facts’ that are actually false.

In their post attacking BLUE BUFFALO PET FOOD, they state “it would be nice if we could rely on all companies at least being familiar with the AAFCO manual.”

If the author of The Dog Food Project would refer to page 355 of the 2007 AAFCO manual, they would see that three forms of menadione are approved ingredients in pet food. The Dog Food Project stating “the effectivity of menadione on blood clotting is inferior” is a blatant example that they are lacking knowledge in the science of nutrition.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

*The best known function of vitamin K is its role in the blood clotting mechanism. Specifically, it is required for the liver’s synthesis of prothrombin and the other clotting factors in the liver. It appears that vitamin K has a similar role in the activation of other proteins that contain glutamic acid residues in bone and kidney tissue. page 35

*Vitamin K deficiency signs include the development of gastric ulcers, increased coagulation times, and decrease the serum concentrations of vitamin k-dependent clotting factors. page 123

*Source: Canine and Feline Nutrition, A Resource for Companion Animal Professionals (2000)

*Case, Carey, Hirakawa, Daristotle

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Vitamin K

Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin. The “K” is derived from the German word “koagulation”. Coagulation refers to blood clotting, because vitamin K is essential for the functioning of several proteins involved in blood clotting (1).

1. Brody T. Nutritional Biochemistry. 2nd ed. San Diego: Academic Press; 1999.

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/inf...../vitaminK/

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A deficiency of vitamin K results in prolonged blood clotting time, generalized hemorrhages and death in severe cases. Often, subcutaneous hemorrhages appear over the body surface, giving a blotchy, bluish, mottled appearance to the skin. The clotting time of the blood is a good index of vitamin K status. A normal clotting time of a few seconds may be extended to several minutes in vitamin K deficient animals. page 242

Source: Basic Animal Nutrition and Feeding (1995)

W. G. Pond, Ph.D, Research Animal Scientist; D. C. Church. Ph.D, Professor Emeritus, Department of Animal Science, K. R. Pond, Ph.D, Professor, Department of Animal Science

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The U.S. Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for an Adequate Intake (AI) for a 25-year old male for Vitamin K is 120 micrograms/day. No Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) has been set.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_K

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

With not much time to work with, I easily sourced these indications that the claims made by The Dog Food Project about menadione (a safe form of Vitamin K) are scientifically in error.

I am sure that the NRC, the FDA and AAFCO would all be interested in substantive scientific data from studies done on animals to support their claims on the side effects of menadione in animals. To date and to their collective knowledge, none have been established.

I write in defense of all pet food companies that wisely use menadione as allowed by AAFCO in the formulation of pet food. I would especially like the reputation of BLUE BUFFALO PET FOOD to be defended and protected. I also offer a scientific response from my nutritionist concerning the issue of menadione and I hope that you provide this information along with The Dog Food Project post on your site to provide people who have already read their post and need to be reassured.

Evy Serpa

President

Kumpi Pet Foods

Hello to all…”The Facts About Vitamin K”

Vitamin K is only found in any substantive amount in a few natural ingredients. Most of those ingredients are dark green leafy vegetables like spinach. These aren’t good ingredient choices for cats or dogs as a viable dependable source of Vitamin K. It is true that in most cases with cats or dogs they don’t experience a shortage of Vitamin K intake. From time to time a Vitamin K deficiency is an issue with different individual animals, especially cats. Especially if someone is feeding cats fish (like tuna or other fish) mixed with their food. A cat food with an inclusion rate of over 25% fish of the daily food actually requires Vitamin K to be added to the food according to AAFCO’s 2007 Official Publication.

When you supplement a vitamin into a food it is essential that the source of the vitamin be safe, is approved by AAFCO and the FDA, is stable and dependable as a digestible source of the vitamin. The Vitamin K source (Menadione Dimethylpryimidinol) used in Kumpi and many other reputable pet food companies, is a common and safe form of Vitamin K that is approved for use in animal foods by AAFCO and is listed in their latest 2007 publication as an approved and safe source of the vitamin as it has been for over a decade.

For marketing reasons and to set themselves apart, some companies don’t use certain ingredients, like Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisufite (source of Vitamin K), to make their products seem safer or superior. Some don’t use it since it is difficult to battle against online information that would cause customers to not purchase their products.

There are not any real problems that have ever been reported to my knowledge which were attributed in a scientific or factual way to problems with cats or dogs receiving the normal feed levels of this common Vitamin K source.

A VERY MINOR level (far less than 1%) of this ingredient needs to be added to the food. It’s not a poison with hideous side effects. It is a vitamin source, common, safe, approved by AAFCO and the FDA. When fed at appropriate levels, like it is in Kumpi pet food and other companies, it has caused no problems in any animals fed over a period of many years.

If a prepared feed product is improperly formulated or manufactured your pets can get too much of any nutrient. The inclusion of too much Vitamin A, D, K etc. or numerous minerals like zinc, copper, iron etc. and many other nutrients is potentially terrible or deadly. That is why you need to find a food company that you trust and stick with them. There are many companies that care very much about your canine and feline family members. We are formulating for longevity, high immune response and using overall advanced nutrients from safe sources.

THE WELL BEING OF DOGS AND CATS WOULD BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT ALL THE COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE RAMBLINGS OF A FEW WELL MEANING BUT TERRIBLY MISINFORMED INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE WRITING ON SOME OF THE WEB SITES.

The bottom line is Vitamin K is a vital nutrient for cats. It could be important for dogs too, but that hasn’t even been studied enough to know the total truth, so we use a tiny amount even in the dog food to be sure we don’t have a deficiency of vitamin K. Cats can suffer from a deficiency of this nutrient which sometimes is brought on by too much fish being in the overall diet.

It’s much easier and cheaper to leave Vitamin K out of a food than put in an exacting amount. Whoever wrote that Vitamin K is a cheap additive, dangerous and needless by animals in general is totally misinformed.

Concerning feline vitamin nutrition it is more intelligent to use an appropriate level of supplementation of Vitamin K in the highest quality food. That way you are assured of not having a deficiency, ever. You rarely need to worry about vitamin excess either – most nutritionists have more sense than that. I am a multi-species animal nutritionist with over 35 years experience and I love dogs, cats and many other animal species. I have devoted my entire career to the nutritional betterment of all species through good nutrition.

The alleged information that a Vitamin K source can be harmful in dogs and cats, when it is included in the AAFCO 2007 Official Publication as a safe and appropriate source of Vitamin K is totally misinformed. If AAFCO thought for one second that adding this vitamin K source or any other nutrient posed a danger they would issue an IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY NOTICE concerning that issue. It is unwise to underestimate how much is being done to make sure pet foods are wholesome and safe by AAFCO.

Stick to the facts folks. Don’t get nutritional advice from people who aren’t animal nutritionists. When you need to know whose product to trust, don’t dive off the deep end into a pool of false truths that take you and your pets nutrition program on a terrible and potentially harmful ride.

Mark Urbanosky

Nutritionist, Kumpi Pet Foods

Comment by Evy — April 3, 2007 @ 9:17 am
With out a single doubt we are dealing with a colossal bureaucracy here. We need to continue to put a lot of effort into just making sure this story stays alive.

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 9:24 am
Whoa.. You know they wouldn’t be doing this testing if they didn’t think that the tainted gluten was in the human food supply. And I am sure that they are saying an “across the board” investigation so as not to implicate a particular company until they test. So everyone continue to eat foods with wheat gluten until the FDA gets around to telling us which ones are poisonous. Right. What a monumental crisis this is.

Steve I am with you all the way. I just threw out my Mr. Clean. No P&G product will enter my home. I am boycotting Menu, any company that did or does business with menu, Delmonte human and and animal, Nestles (human and animal), every product with wheat or wheat gluten until I am given proof positive that the ingredients were domestic and were tested. Am I missing anything. It isn’t a great sacrifice to me. I just wish every single person would do the same thing and then there would have to be change. Or am I being naive.

Comment by Garyn — April 3, 2007 @ 9:30 am
The canary in the coal mine idea occurred to me as I read the label on my Campbell’s tomato soup. It listed wheat flour as an ingredient, so I decided to call the number on the can, 800-257-8443 and ask just where that wheat flour came from. When I asked if it came from China the lady on the phone said she didn’t have that information. Then she went on to “assure” me that all their products were safe, they have their own quality standards and are tested, etc., etc. I told her I wasn’t assured and that all the testing on the pet food by top labs so far hadn’t determined exactly what the problem was, so why would I think their testing was any better?

I then asked if ANYof the ingredients listed on the can came from China. She responded that they don’t give out that information. I replied I wasn’t satisfied with that answer, nor did I think other consumers would be either. She did mention they don’t have to give out that information. Of course I let her know I would be contacting my reps in Congress and Campbells might have to tell if legislation passed mandating it. And I pointed out that they might want to be proactive and give consumers the information they want without being compelled to do so. She offered to send me a list of Campbells products that are gluten free. I accepted that offer and also asked for a list of their organic products.

I also commented that I didn’t want ANY ingredients from China to be in the food that I eat and I would like them to put source information on the can. I told her that any blouse that I wear indicates where it was made, why should standards be *lower* for food? Also, I told her that I live in California and in the grocery stores the produce is labelled as to its source like, “product of Chile” or “product of Mexico”. That gives us all choices as to whether we do or don’t want to buy something grown in a particular place. Why doesn’t that policy apply to canned foods, both people and pet?

Comment by Melissa Paul — April 3, 2007 @ 9:34 am
http://www.democratandchronicl...../1002/NEWS

This article details what the New York Food Laboratory is doing in the pet food investigation. It is being carried today in the Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle and probably elsewhere (written by Gannett and AP). Remember that this is the lab that made the breakthrough discovery 10 days ago.

“The state has used $1.5 million in homeland-security money from the federal government to upgrade the lab’s equipment. That funding helped the lab qualify as part of a nationwide network of labs beefed up with federal money to help fight biological threats.”

This underscores why we must contact our state and federal representatives across the country to become our allies in demanding emergency action so that federal and state resources are immediately directed to this investigation.

Pet food is where it starts. If enough resources are dedicated to the investigation, the findings will show where it goes from there.

JGALLAGH@Gannett.com

Comment by Maureen — April 3, 2007 @ 9:36 am
Comment by Garyn — April 3, 2007 @ 9:30 am

It’s a mighty undertaking. Keeping this story alive is of the utmost importance. The danger of it dropping off the radar and disappearing is high. With the constant media blitz-circus going on everyday distracting people from important issues like this we have to keep this one going.

It’s obvious, now that the FDA and China is becoming the main focus, The Pet Food Industry is pretty much going back to business as usual with Menus production lines cranking again. And what the heck are we going to be getting when they ramp up these next shipments and they hit the stores?

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 9:37 am
We need better truth in labeling laws. And then we the consumer simply must not buy cheap or even expensive produce with all these additives, maybe too we need the country of origin on all the food raw materials and additives - that’s even better.

The real power is our buying power. Congress can only do so much. I did call all my reps in DC yesterday, phone calls, and asked for an investigation but I do believe that we need to buy better. The companies will give us what we want. If we don’t buy it, they won’t make it.

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 9:41 am
This is from yesterday’s St. Petersburg Times’ editorial. It underscores the importance of Pet Connection and each voice that contributes to its effectiveness. And it points to a piece of important legislation that is quietly fading away because of the commercial food lobby. This is a must read:

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/04....._foo.shtml

“It’s not certain how many pets are at risk from the tainted food, although Pet Connection reports the number dead so far at more than 2,400. While the FDA is responsible for the safety and labeling of pet food, it acknowledges it rarely inspects processing plants. “There are limited resources,” said David Elder of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.

The FDA doesn’t do a very good job of inspecting human food processing plants, either. In fact, the pet food scare comes at a time the Bush administration is cutting back the FDA’s food inspection program.

One reason food safety regulation is so ineffective is that the duties are scattered among more than a dozen agencies. A bill filed in Congress would put that responsibility under one independent administrator, but it has little chance of becoming law because of opposition from the powerful food industry. So an estimated 76-million Americans will be sickened, 325,000 will be hospitalized and 5,000 will die this year from food-borne illness.”

Comment by Maureen — April 3, 2007 @ 9:46 am
All this reminds me of another food safety issue that arose a couple years ago. I am an avid Lake Michigan salmon fisherman. I conservative pal of mine has always declined to come along or even eat any of the fish we catch citing PCB and other contamination concerns of whild salmon that MAY be eating who knows what… He made quite a big deal about eating only the “best” farm raised salmon and frequently talked about some fru fru restarount in downtown Chicago that served only farm raised but wild species dishes.

That year a story came out reporting that these salmon farms were buying fish meal from some of the most contaminated places on earth like Shanghi and Viet Nam. As a result a series of private tests showed that almost without fail every farm raised salmon tested contained a rainbow of toxic chemicals at levels far and above anything ever found in wild stock.

A similar situation existed (and maybe still exists) with venison. Once again, farm raised deer (a non-domesticated species to begin with) appear to have been the source of Chonic Wasting Disease (CWD). Because deer are not domestic animals they do not have any natural protections derived from thousands of years of close herding as cattle do. When some of these caged animals escaped in south central Wisconsin the disease escaped with them and the DNR has been trying to contain and eradicate it ever since at a huge cost.

I often refer to all of this as the “Jurasic Park Syndrome”. We seem to think that we can act in some kind of Libertarian world driven exclusively by the markets but forget that markets are a uniquely human and recent manufacture and that rules of evolution and chemistry and biology existed long before and have not taken a holiday.

I think we need to unlearn much of what we think we know.

Comment by Bernard J. (Bernie) Starzewski — April 3, 2007 @ 9:48 am
Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 9:41 am

People have been spending higher money for basically the same formula that is in a less expensive package by a competing house brand right next to it. Produced by the same manufacturer. Menu Foods.

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 9:51 am
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpr.....038;coll=6
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
By Ted Roelofs
The Grand Rapids Press

A survey of state veterinarians suggests the effects of possibly tainted dog or cat food may be more deadly than some thought, with at least 38 suspected deaths of cats and dogs in Michigan.

“We were surprised,” said Karlene Belyea, executive director of the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association, which represents about 2,000 veterinarians in the state.

Of 144 responses to a survey about the scope of the outbreak, the survey found 100 cats and 35 dogs with kidney disease blamed on contaminated pet food, Belyea said Monday.

Comment by CathyA — April 3, 2007 @ 9:59 am
Good point Bernard - another reason to not buy China anything, but it happens when we don’t even know it or suspect it.

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 10:00 am
Steve,

I know. I guess we are going to become detectives before we put it in our pets mouths or even buy food for our table.

And also - companies do lie - and create illusion etc. etc. etc. We do our best and the rest is up to fate, or something else I suppose.

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 10:02 am
I previously asked some ?? about rendering facilities.

I have found that there are only 2 rendering facilities in Emporia. Both Menu Foods Emporia division and DelMonte Emporia division have had recalls. My previous ?? involved whether any extensive testing was done on the actual rendered product. It seems that all the testing is centering on the wheat gluten and as reports state the link between the melamine and the pet deaths is still questionable.

Does Menu Foods do their own rendering or do they purchase the rendered product from a separate facility?

If Menu Foods purchases from a separate facility, where do the other pet food manufacturers purchase their supplies from ( the same place?) ?

Has there been separate testing done JUST on the rendered product?

Why were test products from the Labs and from the FDA so different. Is it possible that samples given to the FDA were purposely “peppered” with melamine to throw the investigation off track? I remember comments previously that Menu Foods also produces plastics in the same plants as their pet foods.

I have been following this web site and any other I can find since the initial recall. I just have concerns that the true source of the tainted food may be something other than what is being centered on. It would not be unlikely that using a foreign imported ingredient as the culprit could be a way of deflecting the truth about the source of the contamination. My opinion only but the story has had so many twists in the last few weeks that nothing is impossible.

Comment by mal — April 3, 2007 @ 10:04 am
My cat JuJu was improving. She met me at the door last night, and was eating well yesterday. I fed her Royal Canaan for Persians 30 dry food yesterday.

This morning she is exhibiting the same symptoms as the she did 2 weeks ago, from the poisoning. I am so upset!!!

I called Royal Canaan, and they (big surprise) are denying that anything is wrong. Plus the rep was not listening to me at first…which bothered me even more. We have a very serious situation here…and for them not to listen makes my blood boil.

This food does not contain wheat or wheat gluten…but it does have corn gluten. If I remember correctly, the supplier from China also exported corn gluten?

Something is terribly wrong with the pet food as a whole…

Comment by Marcy — April 3, 2007 @ 10:07 am
As a whole I think it wise to avoid corn and wheat anything - gluten too -

I don’t trust what’s coming from China or other foreign countries.

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 10:08 am
And the truth comes out..

http://www.iht.com/articles/20.....s/pets.php

Tainted gluten HAS been found in plants used for the processing of human foods.

Was this why the FDA’s been so secretive?

Comment by Gwen — April 3, 2007 @ 10:09 am
Sorry to self-promote, but those curious to know even more about wheat gluten, might appreciate the information I posted a few days ago.

Comment by Catmanager — April 3, 2007 @ 10:10 am
Is anyone having a problem with the word wrap on this thread or is it my browser?

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 10:10 am
I wonder about Del Monte - they announced that it was probably in the human food chain. That is hedging isn’t it?

Look for plants that produce human and dog food -

Maybe others too - but some plants probably used this cheap stuff in all sorts of things. They had it - so use it.

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 10:14 am
Hate to become the cynic…. but with the human aspect this is where the spin turns — I predict that in a very short while the real numbers of pets effected will be all over the place and perhaps even exaggerated; the pet food companies will be touted as heroes and being the first line of defense; and household pets will be the innocent martyrs….and all those public officials no one’s heard from will be all over the place with “but for the grace of …” speeches….

Comment by GingerTom — April 3, 2007 @ 10:16 am
Me too Steve, the formattings gone crazy. I have to cut and paste into Notepad to read it without scrolling.

Comment by Gary — April 3, 2007 @ 10:16 am
Re: Bernard’s post
Comment by Bernard J. (Bernie) Starzewski — April 3, 2007 @ 9:48 am

We can learn a lot from this site. It never occurred to me that U.S. “farm raised” salmon could be contaminated due to imported, tainted, fish meal the salmon has been fed.

Again, I think if we focus on demanding investigation in this pet food crisis, it will inevitably lead up the food chain.

Comment by Maureen — April 3, 2007 @ 10:17 am
A local, very popular doctor said, soon, 1 in 4 people will have cancer. And he said that about 3 years ago. Where else can this come from except what we are eating?

I think we’re on the verge of stopping a worldwide calamity.

Comment by Gary — April 3, 2007 @ 10:24 am
I’m going to feed my pets better food, eat better myself - avoid additives and cross my fingers.

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 10:28 am
This was in USA today. Anyone know what it means by a marker?

“Melamine, which hasn’t been documented to be highly toxic, may be a marker for something else in the gluten, says Neal Bataller at the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.”

Something attaches to the melamine - or a chemical compound that becomes dangerous?

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 10:37 am
I would really like to commend all of you on the hard work that you are doing with this whole horrible situation. If it weren’t for you guys and this forum, I’m afraid I would be completely in the dark. Keep on doing what you are doing. I have written to every official that I can find in the state of Georgia as well as bombarding our local newspapers and TV stations to keep this story alive. I was interviewed yesterday by our local CBS affiliate as a follow-up to a story that I did 2 weeks ago. We have also had a story written about our situation in our local newspaper. I am amazed when I walk into stores such as WalMart and see this people just loading up their carts with cat and dog foods without even taking the time to look at the labels. I question every single one of them and tell them they all of the information that I know. I’m surprised I haven’t been booted out of WalMart already for disrupting their customers. At this point, I don’t care. I am telling anyone that will listen to take this seriously.

Anyway, kudos to all of you. PooPoo is still on the mend and hopefully will come home on Thursday after almost a 20-day hospitalization. The kittens that I mentioned the other day that were born are thriving and appear to be extremely healthy. Thank God for that.

Comment by Adrienne — April 3, 2007 @ 10:38 am
Our cat died after eating Hill’s Prescription dry c/d which contains corn gluten. Please avoid feeding anything with corn or soy gluten. I bought Dr. Pitcairn’s book in which he recommends raw feeding but also gives some recipes that are cooked. It is a great resource for owners of both dogs and cats.

Comment by Janice — April 3, 2007 @ 10:39 am
I think that the FDA has tested cats and dogs with this Melamine element and none have gotten sick - or died - what do you guys think about this?

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 10:41 am
P&G Suspends Some Menu Foods Production

Menu Foods may have restarted their Kansas plant, but you won’t see Iams or Eukanuba being made from that plant (just yet). “Our production remains suspended,” says the release. It does not say whether their Menu Foods relationship has been severed. And it’s entirely possible that other Menu Food plants could be making P&G products. We would like to see them sever the relationship entirely.

P&G also started a massive ad campaign in 59 major newspapers to do some damage control. Note that in the release, the “task force” set up by P&G congratulates the company for a job well done. How transparent.

http://www.itchmo.com/read/pg-.....n_20070403

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 10:41 am
FDA is still refusing to name the U.S. importer/supplier who, including manufacturers, is ultimately responsible for what may turn out to be a case of criminal negligence.

Comment by Sandro — April 3, 2007 @ 10:42 am
Evy, a big thanks to you and your nutritionist, Mark, for challenging the Dog Food Projects comments on menadione. As a cat parent I’m aware that menadione has been present in most cat foods (wet and dry) for years with no ill side effects. These times are devasting enough for all of us. Why create a panic when there’s no need to. We have enough real panic to deal with.

Comment by Joyce — April 3, 2007 @ 10:45 am
It is not a melamine problem - its something else: And they know it too!

Melamine, which hasn’t been documented to be highly toxic, may be a marker for something else in the gluten, says Neal Bataller at the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.

Now what - some new killing agent virus/mold/junk?

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 10:46 am
Off Topic: Technical

If anyone else is having a text wrap problem with this page? IE seems to be okay but for Firefox browsers it’s next to impossible to read these without constant left and right scrolling. Gina?

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 10:47 am
http://www.dailykos.com/storyo.....12836/8000

This is a great posting on the political blog dailykos.com. The heading is “The Tainted Wheat Coverup at FDA, Guised as a “Pet Food Recall”

Hope many here take the time to read the posting linked above, but if you don’t have time, here is one gem about human foods that contain wheat gluten:

“Besides being used in many baked goods to add texture, and obviously bread, it’s in iced tea mix, vanilla powder, cereals like honey bunches of oats, some ketchups, canned soups, beef jerkey, BBQ spice rubs, lunchmeat, processed cheese, flavored yogurts, sauces, gravies, some artificial sweeteners, flavored tofu, candy bars, it’s injected into your thanksgiving turkey, it’s in manufactured salad dressing, TV dinners, butter sauces at restaurants, many canned spaghetti sauces, meatloaf fillers, au jus sauce on prime rib, etc.”

Comment by Maureen — April 3, 2007 @ 10:47 am
It’s everywhere!

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 10:49 am
Thanks Maureen for your link. I had no idea that all those products contained wheat gluten. That is just downright scary.

Comment by Adrienne — April 3, 2007 @ 10:53 am
If I remember my chemistry correctly, a “marker” is a non reactive agent used to carry a reactive agent. My thought is that the melamine was used to contain the aminopterin (the rat poison) for a slow or “timed release”. There are some pesticides out there that have molecular formulas that mimic those of melamine. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a myriad of poisons contained within the melamine for use by the Chinese.

Maybe we could ask Bill O’ Reilly to help us “folks”.

News media here in NY is not saying squat. No apologizes or massive P&G campaign in my huge newspapers…..

Comment by Peg — April 3, 2007 @ 10:54 am
Pet food prices are already inflated

Menu Foods, for one, having to pay out distributions to make their stockholders happy, had to go out and find cheap raw materials from China. Who knows what other cheap raw materials they bought besides Melamine and Amnopterin…maybe even “meat meal” or “meat by-products” gleaned from sick and rapid dogs, birds, cattle, roadkill, that are nourished by poisoned feed. The supplier from China indicated that they only began supplying the wheat gluten since early 2006. What other products have they supplied?

Obviously, although raw materials prices increased some, they raised private-label prices mainly to make up for their losses from prior two years. Because their competitor raised prices, they did too—-just for the heck of it.

Menu Foods Income Fund annual report states that:

(…)
In January 2006, following a price increase announced by a leading national brand
manufacturer, Menu announced a price increase
on its canned products sold to its private-label customers in the United States. During the second quarter of 2006, Menu again followed a leading national brand manufacturer and announced a price increase, this time on pouch products sold to its United States private-label customers. The first price increase was effective
during the second quarter of 2006, while the second was fully effective during the third quarter of 2006. While costs have continued to rise since these price increases were first initiated, these price increases should none-the-less enable Menu to recover much of the margin erosion
experienced over the past two years on the sale of cans and pouches to United States privatelabel
customers.

Spelled out—-the private label customers suffered their prior two year loss for them.
It has nothing to do with the higher quality of pet food that we think we are buying.

The majority of Menu’s production and assets are in the U.S. It’s about mere economics: cash flow, hedge, depressed gross margin, unhappy stockholders because they’re not going to get enough money this year. So, buy the plastic junk guys…nobody will know anyway.

People, do you really believe that they or their stockholders really care about our pets? And what were they doing while night after night we were sleeping on our living room floors next to our dying companion dogs and cats?

Here:

(…)
In the present economic climate, the most significant risks and uncertainties facing the Fund
and its ability to re-establish distributions at historic levels, result from the continued strength
of the Canadian dollar relative to the United States dollar, and from the ongoing inability to
pass input cost increases on to private-label customers in a timely manner. Since a majority of
the Fund’s operations and assets are in the United States, a “natural” business hedge exists.
However, while it is possible to hedge Distributable Cash flow against future fluctuations in the
currency (as has been done in the past), it is not possible to hedge business operations, so a
continuation of a strong Canadian dollar will have a negative impact on the relative
contribution of the Fund’s United States denominated business. Similarly, if the Fund must
continue to absorb increased raw material and other costs without the benefit of a timely price
increase to its private-label customers, gross margin will remain depressed and profitability and
the Fund’s ability to pay distributions will be curtailed. Given the nature of the industry, price
increases are largely beyond Menu’s control.

All of this gives new meaning to the phrase: “It a dog eat dog world.”

Comment by Nadine Long — April 3, 2007 @ 10:54 am
Thank you Peg. I thought as much.

Comment by Linda — April 3, 2007 @ 10:56 am
LET THE BUY BEWARE

Procter and “Gamble”.

http://money.cnn.com/news/news.....RTUNE5.htm

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 10:59 am
Steve, What are “resources and generic contact forms” you are looking for?

Comment by Lois Kimball — April 3, 2007 @ 11:00 am
See what they are doing they are slowly pumping their stock back up.

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=TSE:MEW.UN

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 11:02 am
Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 10:59 am

“Suspended production” does not mean P&G cancelled their contract with Menu Foods.

Will they announce in big ads when they resume production with them?

Comment by Nadine Long — April 3, 2007 @ 11:02 am
Technical issue: We know about the Firefox browser issue. I’m meeting with the Blac Dog tech guys today and it’s on our agenda.

Honestly, though, they’ve been rather busy keeping the site up with all the traffic! And I believe they have mentioned a time or two that they DO have other clients. :)

Comment by Gina Spadafori — April 3, 2007 @ 11:04 am
If it is found that this tainted wheat gluten (or whatever it really ends up being) made it into the human food chain the pet food problem is going to all but dissappear. We cannot allow that to happen! I admit it is very scary to think I may have been feeding my children poison for months and not have known it, however my kitty deserves the same dedication as my children. Animals and children are not able to make their own food choices, we make their choices for them. How are we to make informed decisions if we have no idea where ingredients come from, who got them, what they may be in, etc? I am just as worried about feeding my kids as I am my cat now. My hubby thought I was nuts before (making him trek all over town in search of a good pet food), wait till we have to buy groceries!

Comment by Amy Boda — April 3, 2007 @ 11:05 am
Comment by Lois Kimball — April 3, 2007 @ 11:00 am

Petitions to Congress on this issue and other items of this nature. I think we are way ahead this and were not going to find much at this stage.

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 11:06 am
Comment by Nadine Long — April 3, 2007 @ 11:02 am

P&G is the first big one going on the offense over the next few days. (Deep Pockets)

Like I said. Let The Buyer Beware It’s A Jungle Out There.

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 11:08 am
I went to my local government office and provided them with my comments and concerns, articles and website links…they were interested and noted they have not heard from others as of yet…they have agreed to look into it more so i am happy about that and will be following up….i encourage everyone to do the same wherever you may be…

Found this article interesting…if we must import, why do we not, at the very least, choose that which meets the “green” standard….could we really be buying the crap that they dont trust themselves…
http://www.iht.com/articles/20.....sxfood.php

Just found this info also…seems xuzhou anying posted items for trade on march 26 via this site…note there are 2 items listed, one is wheat gluten, other is esb protein powder “the latest product…researched and developed by xuzhou anying…”
http://www.vietnamchinalink.co.....lture.html

omg dont even know where to start with this….

Comment by LAS — April 3, 2007 @ 11:08 am
Comment by Gina Spadafori — April 3, 2007 @ 11:04 am

No problem Gina. Thank you.

Comment by Steve — April 3, 2007 @ 11:11 am
Thank you to Mark Urbanosky of Kumpi Foods. I appreciate your taking the time to confirms what I already knew about the benefits of Vitamin K for both cats and dogs.

Comment by Peg — April 3, 2007 @ 11:13 am
Not too cool…..

http://www.ams.usda.gov/cool/
Country of Origin Labeling (COOL)
On May 13, 2002, President Bush signed into law the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, more commonly known as the 2002 Farm Bill. One of its many initiatives requires country of origin labeling for beef, lamb, pork, fish, perishable agricultural commodities and peanuts. On January 27, 2004, President Bush signed Public Law 108-199 which delays the implementation of mandatory COOL for all covered commodities except wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish until September 30, 2006. On November 10, 2005, President Bush signed Public Law 109-97, which delays the implementation for all covered commodities except wild and farm-raised and shellfish until September 30, 2008. As described in the legislation, program implementation is the responsibility of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.

Comment by CathyA — April 3, 2007 @ 11:39 am
What is your state doing? Mine has a link to the general FDA recall site - that’s it. A vet hospital employee told me they’re getting faxes from the state capitol (FL), but she didn’t know what was in them.

List of head vets for each state (do not know if it is up to date)
http://www.dec.state.ak.us/eh/vet/vetlist.htm

Links to state veterinary medical associations:
http://www.aahanet.org/About_aaha/About_Links.html

Comment by CathyA — April 3, 2007 @ 11:45 am
Gina said: I hope Mr. Cooper doesn’t go with the 16 dead figure from the FDA. Perhaps readers can point him to the stories from the L.A. Times, U.S. Today, the Portland Oregonian … and our self-reported figures here as well?

Everyone - go to the link below to send an email to Anderson Cooper 360 - thank them for covering this tonight, and ask them to make sure to give the ‘real’ numbers, as Gina says. It’ll just take a second, they read EVERY email, and we’ve got the best chance of getting this fully covered.

http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.ac.html?10

Comment by Kim — April 3, 2007 @ 12:34 pm
Has anyone posted a link to this webpage information on commerical pet food?

Comment by Marcy — April 3, 2007 @ 2:20 pm
Oops! That didn’t work…will try again.

http://www.sagekeep.com/petfood.htm

Comment by Marcy — April 3, 2007 @ 2:21 pm
Associated Press Release:

None of the contaminated wheat gluten that led to the U.S. recall of pet food went to manufacturers of food for humans, the ingredient’s importer said Tuesday.

The Chinese wheat gluten imported by ChemNutra Inc. all went to companies that make pet foods, Stephen Miller, chief executive officer of the Las Vegas company, told The Associated Press.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/.....e=politics

Looks like they have found a way to end the “controversy”. The pet food industry returns to “normal” and people will forget because it does not involve their safety anymore.

Very sad..still no concrete answers as to what REALLY killed our pets.

Comment by mal — April 3, 2007 @ 2:42 pm
I just contacted my state FDA rep…that I filed a formal complaint with last week, on Fancy Feast. I advised him of the problem I had today with Royal Canin Persian 30 dry food making my cat ill again. It has corn gluten in it.

He took down all the information, and told me not to give the food to her again (like I would..haha…not funny).

I also called the company back, as I called them this morning, and they told me that I had to take the product back to the store where purchased, to get a refund. I looked on the bag again, and it says:

“If you are not satisfied with Feline Nutrition PERSIAN 30, we will replace the product or refund your money. Simply contact us at 1-800-592-6687 (USA) or 1-800-527-2783 (CANADA) for details. Please keep the unused product and your purchase receipt for swift completion of your replacement or refund.”

When I brought this to the attention of the customer service rep…she didn’t even know that was on the bag. She said that it means that I have to take it to the store to get a swift refund. Why don’t they say that on the package??? Hmmm…

More pet food industry double talk, if you ask me.

Meanwhile my JuJu is sick again from their stupid food.

Comment by Marcy — April 3, 2007 @ 4:15 pm
How’s this for scary, from CathyA’s post (April 3, 2007 @ 9:59 am):

The facts: Michigan is reporting 38 suspected deaths. That is from 144 responses to their survey of 2000 Vets.

The rest of my post is all EXTRAPOLATION, not FACT:

Let’s estimate that each “response” represents 3 Vets who work at the same clinic. That means the 144 responses represent 432 (21.6%) of the 2000 Vets. That means that if all of the 2000 Vets in Michigan have similar numbers of deaths… then it extrapolates to 175 deaths in Michigan. The 2005 census shows Michigan has 3.4% of the US population. If the extrapolated number of deaths in Michigan represent 3.4% of the nationwide deaths… that extrapolates to 5,147 deaths nationwide.

I repeat, these are all extrapolations, not factual numbers.

Comment by Sarah — April 3, 2007 @ 4:29 pm
BTW, I’m not sure where emails to CNN’s Anderson Cooper would go, but due to the shooting at CNN’s internet site (CNN.com) earlier today, they may or may not be reading emails before the show.

Comment by Sarah — April 3, 2007 @ 4:31 pm
Sarah, there’s one big factor that needs to be folded in - distribution location and numbers. Most large companies have plants that serve the W and plants that serve the E so they don’t have to ship clear across the country. From what I understand the Kansas plant got more of the wheat gluten, so numbers aren’t likely to be even across the US. If you had shipping patterns and volume of product shipped, this would more accurately reflect the true number.

Comment by CathyA — April 3, 2007 @ 5:21 pm
Kucinich demands answers from FDA about pet food recall

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today (April 2) sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking pointed questions about the pet food recall that has now affected 60 million cans of food and at least four pet food manufacturers.

“Millions of American families have a right to be assured that everything possible is being done to protect the health of their beloved family pets and to determine how in the world the pet food supply could have been contaminated,” Kucinich said in a statement released to RAW STORY today. “We must also find out when the FDA officials first learned that our nation’s pets were in danger of being poisoned by their own pet food.”

The letter demands information about how the FDA learned of the tainted food and what action was taken.

According to the official FDA count, so far 16 animals have died as a result of eating tainted pet food, though the FDA says they have fielded more than 8,000 complaints. Independent sources, however, have reported much higher pet death numbers.

“PetConnection.com, a Web site that is tracking the recall, has allegedly received as many as 2,900 reports of pet deaths from food-related kidney failure,” reports the Post Chronicle.

The FDA has halted shipments from Chinese wheat gluten importer Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. Ltd. in connection with the tainted pet food.

Geng Xiujuan, the company’s sales manager, told reporters that the wheat was purchased from other manufacturers in China and they might not be the only distributor to the US.

“There are many other exporters and I don’t see why they would just blame us,” she said.

According to experts, tainted food from China is not an uncommon occurrence.

“Frankly, I was not surprised to read about the wheat gluten poisoning incident,” Roger Barlow, executive vice president of Catfish Farmers of America told the Toronto Daily News. “We know that Chinese fish farmers routinely use a variety of chemicals and antibiotics banned in the U.S. for use in or around human food, and that residues of these substances remain in the fish after harvest.”

Imports of catfish from China are up 1,055% in 2007, and there is growing concern over how much might be reaching American mouths. The FDA currently only examines 1.3% of all food imported into the United States, according to the Associated Press.

The nationwide recall expanded on Monday, as manufacturer Eight in One, Inc. recalled pet treats for dogs, cats, and ferrets that may have been infected with salmonella. The bacteria could infect humans if handled, reports the AP.

A copy of Kucinich’s letter is below:

April 2, 2007

Stephen F. Sundlof, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Director
Food and Drug Administration
Center for Veterinary Medicine

Dear Director Sundlof:

On March 16, 2007 Menu Foods Income Fund instated a recall of “cuts and gravy” style cat and dog food distributed throughout the United States (U.S.). The recall includes a reported sixty million pet food products produced by Menu Foods between December 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007. Press reports indicate that companion animals have died as a result of eating the recalled pet food.

On March 23, 2007 the New York State Department of Agriculture reported that the toxins aminopterin and melamine had been found in samples of the recalled pet food. On Friday March 30, 2007, Paul Henderson, President and CEO of Menu Foods Income Fund stated in a press conference that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had confirmed the presence of the compound Melamine, a chemical used in the manufacturing of plastics, in pet food products recalled by the company on March 16, 2007.

The Subcommittee on Domestic Policy of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has broad oversight jurisdiction covering many agencies including the FDA. So that I may have a more comprehensive understanding of the circumstances at hand, please provide me with answers to the following questions:

When was the FDA first aware of a potential problem regarding Menu Foods products?
When was the FDA given confirmation that Menu Foods had produced tainted pet food?
Who notified the FDA about the tainted food?
How did the FDA initially respond to the notification?

(For questions 1 through 4 please provide all internal records documenting these incidents and the actions taken by the FDA including emails, phone calls, memorandums, etc.).

Does the FDA have a preexisting protocol designed to deal with a crisis such as this? If so, what does the protocol entail?
When did the FDA begin testing of the tainted pet food and what tests have been performed on the tainted pet food?
What are the results of the testing? Include all data and findings collected from these tests.
Can the FDA be sure that the tainted pet food does not contain the presence of aminopterin? If so, how?
Does the FDA dispute the New York State Department of Agriculture’s finding that the tainted pet food contains aminopterin in addition to melamine?
Is the FDA continuing to test the tainted pet food for additional toxins?
To your knowledge which other state or federal agencies have tested the tainted pet food?
Has the FDA concluded that melamine is the only toxin contained in the tainted pet food?
Which ingredients used in the manufacturing of the tainted pet food have been found to be contaminated?
What further testing does the FDA feel is necessary to ensure that the tainted food has been thoroughly inspected and all harmful substances identified?
Is the FDA concerned that additional Menu Foods products may be contaminated? If so, which products are of concern?
How many companion animals have died due to the tainted food?
How many companion animals have become ill due to the tainted food?
What are the criteria for determining if a companion animal’s illness or death is related to consumption of the tainted food?
When were the last inspections of the four Menu Foods manufacturing facilities? Please provide inspections reports for inspections conducted in the last two years.
Which Menu Foods factories does the FDA believe are responsible for the production of the tainted pet food? Have those facilities been inspected since the implementation of the recall? Please provide any existing inspection reports.
Additionally, I request your assistance in determining how toxins such as aminopterin and melamine would enter a pet food manufacturing facility and penetrate the pet food products being manufactured therein. Aminopterin is not approved for use in the U.S. as a rat poison, therefore what legal method(s) exist for obtaining the toxin and for what purpose(s)? How much aminopterin would be needed to taint the amount of pet food involved in the recall? Please answer the same questions regarding melamine.

Have there been any previous instances of tainted pet food sold in U.S. markets? Please explain the circumstances and provide documentation as applicable.

I understand that the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is responsible for ensuring the safety of the pet food sold in the United States. Obviously CVM did not approve aminopterin or melamine for use in pet food. Nevertheless, your agency is responsible for guaranteeing that the ingredients in pet foods are safe and provide appropriate function. Therefore, I look forward to your prompt response. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me or Jaron Bourke, Staff Director of the Subcommittee.

Sincerely,

Dennis J. Kucinich
Chairman
Subcommittee on Domestic Policy
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/....._0402.html

The Raw Story
http://rawstory.com

Comment by Marcia — April 4, 2007 @ 2:13 am
I don’t understand why anyone would defend the use of Menadione in pet food and supplements, unless they had something to gain. It has not been proven safe for dogs, and there is no reason at all to use it when there are natural sources of vitamin K available. Of course it all makes sense if you factor in pet companies trying to cut their costs.

Comment by Laura — August 2, 2007 @ 3:43 am
Pages 157-161… http://www.food.gov.uk/multime.....in2003.pdf

Comment by Laura — August 2, 2007 @ 3:49 am

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