Pet food recall: The Monday morning news
By Gina Spadafori
April 23, 2007
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If you have a sick pet or a question on your pet’s health, call your veterinarian.
- If you want your say on food-safety reform, Sen. Durbin’s office wants to hear from you.
- 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.
With another Congressional hearing on Tuesday, and the two remaining companies that received the tainted rice protein powder yet to be revealed, the pet-food recall and the larger issues of food safety and international trade are sure to remain in the news this week.
Let’s start out with this piece from Advertising Age, which describes the quandry companies find themselves in when it comes to communicating with pet-owners:
Mars’ Royal Canin USA also recalled all of its dry pet food made with rice protein concentrate [April 20], the first time a U.S. unit of Mars, the last major manufacturer snared by the recall, had been affected. Previously, Royal Canin had recalled products made by contract manufacturer Menu Foods in Canada, and also reported having received tainted corn gluten in South Africa.
Mars earlier in the week had been running search ads on phrases such as “pet food recall” to reassure consumers that several of its brands — including Cesar, Whiskas and the recently launched Goodlife Recipe — hadn’t been recalled. Those ads were no longer running as of yesterday.
Update 1: The Philadelphia Inquirer looks at the legal ramifications of the recall. … The AP looks at the scope of foreign food imports and inspections:
The same food safety net that couldn’t catch poisoned pet food ingredients from China has a much bigger hole.
Billions of dollars’ worth of foreign ingredients that Americans eat in everything from salad dressing to ice cream get a pass from overwhelmed inspectors, despite a rising tide of imports from countries with spotty records, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal trade and food data.
Update 2: Popular “Dr. Dolittler” blogger Dr. Patty Khuly is the new pet-care columnist at the Miami Herald. She jumps right in, with a column on what to feed now.
We’ll add throughout the day. Did we miss something? Let us know.
Go to the latest blog post | Go to the PetConnection home page
BARBI TWINS SUE PET FOOD FIRMS
Busty pin-up twins SIA and SHANE BARBI have filed a class action lawsuit against pet food manufacturers Purina, Nutro and Del Monte alleging their products killed their beloved cat. The Barbi Twins claim their beloved pet Dearest died after eating contaminated pet food. And the former Playboy Playmates are asking for unspecified damages to cover veterinary bills, attorneys’ fees and other costs, including burial and disposal costs, according to TMZ.com. Menu Foods, another of the firms listed in the class action suit, recalled 60 million cans and pouches of pet food in March (07), after discovering a chemical in their food was found to have caused kidney damage in cats and dogs.
http://www.contactmusic.com/ne.....ms_1028837
Comment by Mike — April 23, 2007 @ 6:09 am
Strange. If I looked at mars site
http://www.mars.com/global/Wha.....etcare.htm
not a single word about the connection with Royal Canin.
Comment by Sue — April 23, 2007 @ 6:26 am
Can anyone with a more corporate mind than me answer this? As you may know Nutro recalled all of their 3 oz Max Cat food after that woman and her vet had some of it tested on 4-9 and it was found to have the poisons in it. We called Nutro to ask what specific use-by dates/flavors had been tested to date & were found to have the poison in it. We were trying to get answers in regard to our dead kitty. They wont tell you what batch dates tested positive and instead ask that you send your cans in for testing and then tell you it could take at least a month for results? If they know the dates, rather than give pet owners who have dead or sick pets answers, they give more of the run around again. I would think as a favor to the public after selling poison food, they would at least on their website give the specific dates, etc as they learn them from the testing they are doing…..is this more of a cover-up to protect their behinds or why would this be? I am fed up!
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 6:27 am
There are lots of patterns here, but the largest is the publicly held connection. Has anyone else noticed that every company seems to be owned by a corporation that answers to stockholders rather than their customers? That makes it very tempting to save a fraction of a penny prior to their next quarterly report. Something to consider when switching pet foods…
And I’m still amazed that Petsmart and Petco continue to allow their customers to feed the recalled food without warning. They will not ever give their discounts unless you present the frequent buyer’s card at the register. If you show up without a receipt, they can pull up all your previous purchases by your phone number. Yet, did they call anyone to alert them that they have recalled food at home? Nope. They wait until their customers need more and come back in to the store before they are alerted. How many pets could they have saved if they called to let them know?
I feel sorry for the the employees at those stores but I honestly don’t know how they sleep at night. Knowing that they sold so many millions of potentially deadly units of food and yet they are just sitting back waiting for their customers to come in for more. They have the means to use this information for marketing, yet protecting their customers pets doesn’t even rank high enough to consider?
Oh wait, aren’t they’re publicly traded too?
Comment by Deb — April 23, 2007 @ 6:33 am
Sandi, I wouldn’t part with the food you have unless it’s to send it to an independent lab. I read somewhere on here that one of the labs is testing at the cost of $100 in state, $200 out of state.
I understand what you are saying, why should the burden be on “us” when they are the one selling a tainted product. I don’t know but I would suggest that the scope of this thing is much larger than anyone can imagine and that the impact financially on the companies involved is going to resonate far into the future.
However, I’m more concerned with the financial impact of caring for the 2 of my 3 cats that now have renal failure because of negligence. I am really starting to wonder if they will even consider paying for the regular checkups my cats will need, including bloodwork. Somehow, I doubt it.
Sandi, did your kitty die before the recalls?
Comment by Sharon H — April 23, 2007 @ 6:35 am
I’m so sorry Sandy.
Have a look here:
http://tinyurl.com/3aqaj8
Comment by Sue — April 23, 2007 @ 6:41 am
This was posted on Itchmo:
FDA concedes failure
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....id=topnews
Some selected quotes from the article:
“Overwhelmed by huge growth in the number of food processors and imports, however, the agency took only limited steps to address the problems and relied on producers to police themselves, according to agency documents.”
“‘This administration does not like regulation, this administration does not like spending money, and it has a hostility toward government. The poisonous result is that a program like the FDA is going to suffer at every turn of the road,’ said Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the full House committee. Dingell is considering introducing legislation to boost the agency’s accountability, regulatory authority and budget.”
“William Hubbard, who retired as associate commissioner of the FDA in 2005 and founded the advocacy group Coalition for a Stronger FDA, said that when he joined the agency in the 1970s, its food safety arm claimed half its budget and personnel.
“Now it’s about a quarter . . . at a time in which the problems have grown, the size of the industry has grown and imports of food have skyrocketed,’ Hubbard said.”
Comment by Pat — April 23, 2007 @ 6:42 am
Coalition for a stronger FDA
sounds like we need to make this coalition even stronger.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 6:45 am
If anyone has a print subscription to adage you can also see a group of articles relating to the recall as it relates to marketing/advertising. I only have the free “see it for 7 days” bit, but the insight into the marketing/branding for pet products is enlightening to say the least. After reading all the posts here and hearing about the issues with iams dry food (specifically Allie) I started feeding my dogs boiled chicken and brown rice as of today. I’ve also sent an email to my contact list urging them to use your link to contact Senator Durbin’s office. Thank you for providing this forum!!!! If there is a way to help support you please let us know. I feel like the only honest information we get comes from the group here and at itchmo/howl911.
Comment by cam — April 23, 2007 @ 6:52 am
Sandi, Manufacturers generally keep samples of each lot produced. If you give them lot number that should be all that they need. Asking you to send the only evidence you have is very questionable.
BTW - If you live in California, I saw where the state has some fund that they are using to pay for testing. I can look that up again if it will help.
Comment by Peggy — April 23, 2007 @ 6:57 am
“Mars earlier in the week had been running search ads on phrases such as “pet food recall” to reassure consumers that several of its brands — including Cesar, Whiskas and the recently launched Goodlife Recipe — hadn’t been recalled. Those ads were no longer running as of yesterday.”
Hmmm….Wonder why not? Could it be that they’re not so sure that those brands are safe anymore?
Comment by Lisa C — April 23, 2007 @ 7:02 am
I’ve been suspicious of Good Life for months. My cats stopped eating & started puking one the 2nd bag — back in early Feb. I stopped using it. They’d just sniff & turn away.
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 7:04 am
Well, the meeting on Food Safety is Tuesday:
http://energycommerce.house.go.....dule.shtml
Comment by Pat — April 23, 2007 @ 7:06 am
More bags n cans are getting ready to be ripped off the shelves. And, they haven’t even started investigating corn gluten, per a recent statement.
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 7:06 am
Comment by Sharon H — April 23, 2007 @ 6:35 am
Yes Sharon she died 5 days before the recall. Thank you
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 7:06 am
I understand why everyone is mad at the FDA, but why are they taking the primary blame here? The companies who acquired and produced the tainted food are the ones to blame. Not the FDA, the Chinese or the poor pet parents who fed the food to their animals.
Comment by Sharon H — April 23, 2007 @ 7:06 am
Sandi, I’m terribly sorry :( Have you considered having the food tested?
Comment by Sharon H — April 23, 2007 @ 7:08 am
Oh, there’s PLENTY of blame to go around.
But it’s critical to recognize (in the formal, documented way that occurs at a legislative hearing) that the FDA is woefully underfunded to be able to do the job it’s charged with doing.
Hmmm . . . . could we take just a LEETLE bit of that money we’re spending on our continued occupation of Iraq . . . . . . . . . .
Comment by Pat — April 23, 2007 @ 7:08 am
Comment by Peggy — April 23, 2007 @ 6:57 am
Peggy, I agree, the whole thing is still very suspicious. Our UPC codes match theirs but there are lots of dates within those UPC codes, some dates going back further than the Nov/Dec date they imply….maybe thats why, maybe this goes back further than they are all trying to state…..well all I can say is I WILL be finding out one way or another and it wont be thru the pet food company….thank you for the info, its much appreciated.
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 7:11 am
This bothers me! I had been feeding Friskies, made by Purina, and Whiskas when this all started. We switch to just Whiskas until we heard about the corn gluten. So we switched to organic, until we heard about the rice so we switched back to Whiskas, but only the new perfectly fish pouches. What can I switch to now? What is left?
What can I feed my cats? They hated my cooking!!!
Comment by Peggy — April 23, 2007 @ 7:12 am
I keep hoping they’ll find that 363 tons of missing $100 bills sent to Iraq. Imagine how that could be spent!
We are asking for the government to regulate food safety MORE but the agencies involved are continually able to do LESS as they are winnowed down. This is exactly the type of problem that our government seems incapable of solving.
Comment by slt — April 23, 2007 @ 7:14 am
To the pet food manufacturers who say they DID NOT KNOW from where their suppliers or manufacturers got the tainted glutens:
It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW FROM WHERE YOUR OR INGREDIENTSYOUR SUPPLIERS OR THEIR SUPPLIERS’ SUPPLIERS BUY THEIR INGREDIENTS. If you want to put your brand name on it, you’d better know from where your ingredients are sourced, grown, and manufactured into a finished product. Let’s stop passing the buck and playing blind and victimized. You bought into a bulk buy of unknown ingredients with unknown consequences. It’s YOUR FAULT.
Companies that want to come along with us and divulge their sources, origins of production, etc. will be the ones to rise to the top. No, overseeing more control of the manufacturing process, which is very vague indeed, does not even begin to cut it for me. I want specificity in all regards.
Comment by petlover — April 23, 2007 @ 7:15 am
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 7:11 am
Sandi, between the lot numbers and the dates, they have to be able to determine the exact production run. If they can’t that is a real problem for them. I have studied about business and databases. They have to know, it is not up to you. Anything else and they are just trying to create a smokescreen.
Comment by Peggy — April 23, 2007 @ 7:17 am
Sorry, I hit the send button by mistake before being able to fully revise my message. I think you can get the point.
Comment by petlover — April 23, 2007 @ 7:17 am
Not sure if this one has been posted yet. Interesting article and comments, but I’m still fuming over people using the total number of deaths as 16.
http://tinyurl.com/3bp6q5
Comment by Mary — April 23, 2007 @ 7:19 am
Comment by petlover — April 23, 2007 @ 7:15 am
What you said! They have all this info in their company databases, they just have to run a search. Maybe we should offer to write the queries for them?? It is not hard! Any second year IT person could do it!!
Comment by Peggy — April 23, 2007 @ 7:21 am
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 6:27 am
Big Business isn’t in the business of watching out for the consumer. They aren’t in the business of making sure their products are safe. They are in the business of making money. As much of it as they can, as cheaply as they can.
Comment by Steve — April 23, 2007 @ 7:21 am
My email response from Blue Buffalo:
Dear Carole,
In some of our formulas, we do use rice protein concentrate. The rice protein concentrate that we use in some of our formulas is not normally an out-sourced ingredient and will not be an out-sourced ingredient in the future. This is the first and only time our manufacturing partner sourced rice protein from Wilbur-Ellis, and we had no knowledge that they had imported that ingredient from China.
Unfortunately, Spa Select Kitten formula (dry) was affected for one production run. This production code is “Best Used By Mar. 07 08 B.” This single production run was well contained and as a precautionary action, all three and seven pound bags of the kitten formula have been voluntarily recalled. All other Blue Buffalo products are safe for your pet’s consumption.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@bluebuffalocompany.com or our website http://www.bluebuff.com.
Thank you,
The Blue Buffalo Company
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 7:22 am
Peggy, try Triumph or California Natural. Go look at their websites, especially CN. They clearly state that they aren’t involved in this. I’m not recommending them for you, just check them out. I’m feeding my recovering kitties these foods and all are doing well.
BTW, my Dad checked every bag of cat and dog chow left in t he grocery this weekend. Not one kind doesn’t contain wheat or corn gluten, rice protein or any of the 10s of other things we’re watching out for.
Comment by Sharon H — April 23, 2007 @ 7:24 am
I have been using the Whiskas dry and wet food since the recall was issued. I have spoken with representatives from Whiskas on at least 10 separate occasions and each one of them have reassured me that their products are safe, that they have tested and retested them. Again, my cats have been eating both the dry and wet, not Good Life, just plain Whiskas and all of the symptoms that I was seeing when they were eating the Special Kitty have disappeared. All of them are healthy and all have had their kidney function checked. Additionally, they have all put on weight. Thankfully outside of the two cats that died as a result of the Special Kitty and my Poo who has been very sick, everyone seems to be doing just fine. Yes, I know that we can’t really trust corporate America right now, but I can’t afford to feed my cats the expensive foods and as we have seen, it’s just as easy for those foods to be contaminated as it the cheaper products.
Comment by Adrienne — April 23, 2007 @ 7:24 am
Peggy
I have been feeding by cat and dog a can of tuna (in water) instead of canned petfood part of the time because I too am afraid I will feed the wrong petfood.
Both my dog and cat love it.
Comment by Jeanette/Ohio — April 23, 2007 @ 7:27 am
I agree that the FDA is only partly to blame. However, it’s important for the FDA to be more effective in order to act as a deterrent. Companies need to know that they will probably get caught if they do anything like this. Greed will always be a motivator, so something needs to help keep it in check. Greater penalties for importing or distributing tainted ingredients, as well as for producing tainted food would also help.
Comment by Lisa C — April 23, 2007 @ 7:28 am
RE: I understand why everyone is mad at the FDA, but why are they taking the primary blame here? The companies who acquired and produced the tainted food are the ones to blame. Not the FDA, the Chinese or the poor pet parents who fed the food to their animals.
Comment by Sharon H — April 23, 2007 @ 7:06 am
——————
Don’t really know how to respond, other than — duh!!!!!!??????
HOW ABOUT NO INSPECTIONS OF IMPORTS????
HOW ABOUT DRAGGING THEIR BEHIND????
HOW ABOUT LYING & MISLEADING THE WORLD ABOUT THE NUMBER OF PET DEATHS????
errrrrrrrrrrr!
The manufacturing companies bought a bad bill of goods. I do not believe any of them KNEW the bought tainted food ingredients. And, as has been reported numerous times — who would have thought to test for melamine????
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 7:29 am
BLU BUFFALO EMAIL TO CONSUMERS ABOUT SPA SELECT KITTEN:
“This is the first and only time our manufacturing partner sourced rice protein from Wilbur-Ellis, and we had no knowledge that they had imported that ingredient from China.”
**************END OF QUOTE*****************
TO ALL PET FOOD BRANDS:
One purchase was QUITE ENOUGH.
KNOW YOUR ENTIRE SUPPLY CHAIN —
ALL THE WAY TO THE PLOT OF SOIL WHERE THE LITTLE PLANTED SHAFT OF WHEAT GREW…
and ALL THE WAY TO WHERE THAT LITTLE GRAIN OF RICE GREW UP IN THE PATTIE.
Companies who don’t take the time to know and want to leave decisions up to the supplier above them, and to the supplier’s supplier above them,
WILL NOT MAKE IT IN THIS, NOW CONSUMER-SAVVY ENVIRONMENT!
It’s time to step up or step back.
Comment by petlover — April 23, 2007 @ 7:32 am
Comment by Sharon H — April 23, 2007 @ 7:24 am
I will look at Triumph, hadn’t heard of them, Thanks.
We did try the California Natural, only one of them would eat it. The 17-year-old, he loved it! Besides I have a can of their Venison and Rice. I can’t bring my self to give it to them. Actually they didn’t like any of the organic foods that we tried.
Comment by Peggy — April 23, 2007 @ 7:33 am
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 7:29 am
“In the peanut butter case, an agency report shows that FDA inspectors checked into complaints about salmonella contamination in a ConAgra Foods factory in Georgia in 2005. But when company managers refused to provide documents the inspectors requested, the inspectors left and did not follow up.”
Comment by Steve — April 23, 2007 @ 7:35 am
I figured that the discussion of Iraq would somehow surface in all of this but really… for those of us who don’t believe that the “war is lost” as Senate Chair Reid pronounced in the midst of us having 150K American men and women over there, wouldn’t it be more productive to come up with solutions that don’t require throwing more tax dollars into the mix?
The major solution which doesn’t cost the taxpayer a dime, doesn’t depend upon some massive bureacracy like the FDA to become more massive, and doesn’t promote a further incestuous relationship between the food manufacturers and vets, is to simply STOP supporting them and STOP buying their products. Boycott them - all of them - the ones who have refused to acknowledge and be accountable for their actions.
If those who insist on throwing more tax dollars at it or raising Iraq funding as a solution, then why don’t we start with the $26 billion a year the illegal immigrants are costing us?
The solutions lie with us and our own pocketbooks. They’re called natural market forces.
Comment by Don — April 23, 2007 @ 7:35 am
Kat, since when are people not allowed to have an opinion?
Consider this: who made the food? It begins there.
To blame the FDA, like the Washington Post is doing, is pointless. As stated earlier, these companies answer to their shareholders, not their customers and certainly not the government. It’s time to change that.
Have you spoken to the FDA about any of this?
Comment by Sharon H — April 23, 2007 @ 7:35 am
Molly Ivins expanded on this topic in her book with Lou Dubose. She detailed how the Bush administration had gutted funding and personnel for food safety inspections at the behest of the the agribusiness and meat processing industries, and appointed industry insiders to the agencies responsible for policing them.
Comment by Steve — April 23, 2007 @ 7:37 am
And as for mentioning the above name, I don’t think this is the time to be concerned about if people are liberals or conservatives. We all share the same system and food chain.
Comment by Steve — April 23, 2007 @ 7:39 am
Sharon,I Took My Dogs Off Nutro,And Put Them On Califorina Natural, They love the food, since wed they have vomit bile which they have done for the last year ,no more red ears. I’M So happy i put them on cal.natural.
Comment by Marry Ann — April 23, 2007 @ 7:40 am
I was unable to contact Triumph. Last I checked thepetfoodlist was also unable to contact them. Seems suspicous.
Comment by Jenny — April 23, 2007 @ 7:44 am
Sandi,if You Give Them Jerks At NUTRO the food that caused your pets death Do You Think They Will Give You The true Test Results? they Are All Covering Their butts Now. I read The Univ.of Davis Is Testing The Food. I’m So Very Sorry About your Beloved Pet Passing Away.
Comment by Marry Ann — April 23, 2007 @ 7:45 am
And of course, while we’ve been frantically trying to save our pets the past 37 days.
Gasoline at $4 Coming to a Pump Near You, Unfazed by Rising Tab By Joe Carroll
April 23 (Bloomberg) — Whether it’s $50 to fill up your Prius or $130 for the Ford Expedition, $4-a-gallon gasoline is coming to a pump near you.
http://tinyurl.com/2hw5rp
Comment by Steve — April 23, 2007 @ 7:45 am
Comment by Adrienne — April 23, 2007 @ 7:24 am
Thank you. I agree we can not afford the expensive stuff, especially since mine won’t eat it, well except the oldster and he is senile anyway (Joke). It seems the higher end has a higher risk factor, more concerned with protein levels maybe? Don’t know. They do like Whiskas fish pouches. There is only wheat flour and tapioca starch to be suspicious of.
I’m just scared and tired of bad dreams. I dream that the cats are gagging and vomiting up plastic. There is death and blood and maniacal laughter in the background. Some may tell me to back off and to not read so much, but that is when it is worse. Being actively involved, and trying to find ways to help, stops the dreams.
Comment by Peggy — April 23, 2007 @ 7:45 am
I’m glad you found something that’s doing well for them, Marry Ann. At this point, all we have is each other for advice and recommendations. My vet actually gave me Hill’s and Purina kidney diet for my cats. No WAY was I feeding that to them. Still have the cans in the pile of food that I’m keeping from this mess.
I’m just making it my habit to check the sites of the foods I’m feeding my critters daily to make sure nothing has changed. My one kitty who was totally down with the poisoning and IV’d for 3 days at the vet is now tormenting the other cats again. And she’s discovered that we have a turtle in the house now (it’s been here for years). She’s scoping her out. She’s got some spunk back and that is just the most incredible feeling. (Don’t worry, the turtle is fine :) )
Comment by Sharon H — April 23, 2007 @ 7:45 am
Steve ,Will The Hearing By on C-SPAN TUES?
Comment by Marry Ann — April 23, 2007 @ 7:47 am
How can the FDA be expected to police the entire industry with the pittance of a budget it has to work with? Money to the FDA budget must be restored. WE’VE KNOWN FOR YEARS THAT MANUFACTURERS CAN NOT BE TRUSTED TO OPERATE ON THE “HONOR SYSTEM.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....id=topnews
*******Quote from the above-mentioned article**
William Hubbard, who retired as associate commissioner of the FDA in 2005 and founded the advocacy group Coalition for a Stronger FDA, said that when he joined the agency in the 1970s, its food safety arm claimed half its budget and personnel.
“Now it’s about a quarter . . . at a time in which the problems have grown, the size of the industry has grown and imports of food have skyrocketed,” Hubbard said.
Comment by petlover — April 23, 2007 @ 7:47 am
Comment by Marry Ann — April 23, 2007 @ 7:47 am
I don’t know. I’ve been neglecting all my personal responsibilities which are starting to pile up on me to stay on top of this thing as best I can the past 37 days and I’m kind of losing it now a bit with things moving so fast.
Comment by Steve — April 23, 2007 @ 7:57 am
How long does anyone think or how many tax dollars would it take for the major pet food manufacturers and their parent corporations to start policing themselves if all of a sudden their sales revenues plummeted by say 50, 60, 70%. The power to reign these companies in and hold them accountable for their gross negligence lies with us - the consumer, NOT some massive bureacratic government agency who just become more massively incompetent with more tax dollars.
WE are the solution - the free marketplace!
Comment by Don — April 23, 2007 @ 7:59 am
Steve,
Take a break for an hour or so and do some of the personal things that are piling up, and then come back here.
A change in environment and activity will only make you sharper to find even more of the great articles that you do.
Thank you, Steve, for helping us dig into this entire situation. You are a great resource.
Comment by petlover — April 23, 2007 @ 8:01 am
on c-span.org there’s nothing about the hearing
Comment by Marry Ann — April 23, 2007 @ 8:02 am
First of all I wanted to thank everyone connected with this site. This is the only place I can go for information I can trust.
My problem is I know my cat very likely ate tainted food in Dec. I did not keep cans. He went from a vital and healthy cat to almost dead quickly. He became lethargic, would not eat, had terrible bad breathe,lost lots of weight, drank water constantly, and began peeing on the bed and floor. All new behaviors over just two week.
This was before the recall of course and when my vet did blood work he told me my cat had diabetes and I have been giving him insulin shots for over three months now. He had to be hydrated at the time.
My questions are, does kidney damage cause elavated sugars? Could these toxins affected the pancreas as well as the kidneys? I get vague answers from my vet. When I took my pet back after the recall, he said the blood work showed kidneys not functioning that well, but normal for my cat’s age.
My biggest problem is my vet. The office was extremely condensending and tried to tell me the recall didnt go back to December. They became very hostile when I mentioned the internet. Of course they sold the food that was recalled in their office. They treated me like I was going to try and prove something so I could sue and get alot of money. Then charged me almost $90.
I have spent almost $500 treating my cat and he is far from back to normal though lots better. I am alone and older with partial diability and have gone in debt to pay for treatment. I can not afford to vet hop.
What I am asking is if anyone out there who has time to answer can tell me if there is possibly more damage that was done then just the kidneys and if anyone else has had an experience like mine.
One women in our town of Asheville, North Carolina wrote our local newspaper that though a local grocery store posted a list of recalls, still had the food on the shelf. She did not notice it was on list and her cat died. And yet she did not name the store.
My sympathy to all you for your losses.
Chrystine detwilerc@yahoo.com
Comment by chrystine — April 23, 2007 @ 8:02 am
Comment by Don — April 23, 2007 @ 7:59 am
I’m with you Don but I understand that for many people, home preparing food is just not what they signed up for when they got their pets. It’s not doable for many and they will buy whatever commercial food they can afford and that they hope is safe. I haven’t bought any processed food for weeks and no intention of doing so, at least for the time being. I have 8 dogs so maybe my ‘drop in the bucket’ will count for something along with the other ‘drops’ out there from those who are able to do it.
Comment by slt — April 23, 2007 @ 8:04 am
I had been researching this as NPN is feed supplement for cattle in the US. US Patents on alot of it, so the US & China use it.
I’m not surprised after all I’ve been reading. The US Dairy industry realized farmers got more money for milk and started testing for “natural” markers to get the nutrition back in line.
So, I’m not convinced the whole issue is one on Chinese imports, but the agriculture in the US. They KNEW this stuff was toxic on calves under 450 lbs. They kept saying “fertilizer” but those “fertilizer” patents say for feeds too.
http://www.ozarksfirst.com/con...../?cid=6753
“Melamine Found In Hog Feed
04/23/2007 08:05am
(Washington, DC) — The chemical responsible for the recent pet food recall may also be in the food livestock eat.
Federal health officials say melamine has been found in feed rations on a hog farm in California.
They believe it may also show up in other farms in the U.S.
Melamine has been found in imported wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate.
It’s believed to be what’s making pets fall ill and die.”
Comment by Ann — April 23, 2007 @ 8:07 am
Sharon — I believe you asked a question. Sure, everyone is entitled to their opinion — and voice it.. this is the United States. We are a free country. But, you asked a question. I stated my opinion — and, I was quite irritated by your statement. I’ve been in the other room sanding walls to cool off.
Our federal government — who our tax dollars support — are our employees — and, have failed us. Budget cuts throughout the years & not with just this administration — have left us vulnerable.
There was a “beef-up” to the food security because of concern of bioterrorism, after 9-11. They NY State lab & Cornell are the major players for detecting tainted people food. They work for the FDA in doing this.
It is OUR VERY OWN U.S. GOVERNMENT who ultimately should have screened & caught the melamine contamination. We should have had inspectors in the foreign plants, at minimum, for occasional inspection & quality control. They should have made certain that quality control is in place. The FDA is the regulatory entity that says who can & cannot export into our country. It is the FDA who should take a minimum of 90% of the blame.
Our federal government is allowing food products to come into our country from countries who have flagrant polution. China’s soil & water pollution are horrible. Half-a-million people got sick from food poisoning there — just last year. Our federal government continues to allow this.
Yes, the FDA should be the main player in the “blame game”.
But, as in all transactions, it is “buyer beware”. That is you, me & the whole world!
But, again, since our federal government, specifically the FDA, has such lax labelling laws, we don’t even know what we are buying. There are tighter controls when you go buy a house, ie: truth-in-lending. That falls under the FTC.
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 8:09 am
And, yes I have spoken to the FDA about this & written emails to them numerous times. Plus, contacted Sen. Durbin’s office 3 times. What have you done?
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 8:10 am
slt,
I don’t have the time for home-cooked meals either. But I have taken the time to do a little research - especially on The Dog Project. There is great information and I’ve switched over to Flint River Sr. Kibble Plus for my 12 and 14 year old Labs from Hill’s Science. I simply won’t buy Hill’s products anymore or for that matter, from any of the companies who have chose to place our pets at risk.
Comment by Don — April 23, 2007 @ 8:10 am
Here is a good article on the FDA import issues: http://tinyurl.com/yq6542
Comment by Peggy — April 23, 2007 @ 8:12 am
Unfortunately they still say “16 animal deaths”
Comment by Peggy — April 23, 2007 @ 8:14 am
Comment by Ann — April 23, 2007 @ 8:07 am
As I understood it, the melamine was in the feed because the hogs were fed recalled pet food. This isn’t a different situation from that one, is it?
Comment by slt — April 23, 2007 @ 8:16 am
JEANNETTE, Please do some online research about feeding your animals canned tuna for any length of time, there are some issues associated with it.
Comment by Angelique — April 23, 2007 @ 8:17 am
RE: “In the peanut butter case, an agency report shows that FDA inspectors checked into complaints about salmonella contamination in a ConAgra Foods factory in Georgia in 2005. But when company managers refused to provide documents the inspectors requested, the inspectors left and did not follow up.”
Comment by Steve — April 23, 2007 @ 7:35 am
——-
I think the law should be that if they cannot or will not allow inspectors in, or produce documents of where their products have gone, within 24 hrs — then “YOU ARE SHUTDOWN — IMMEDIATELY until you do.”
I think we should have regular semi-annual inspections + at minimum 2 impromptu inspections per year. That’s at minimum. That is a lot better than 30% over 3 yrs. Isn’t that the number Dumb-dorf said at the hearing??
Quite pitiful, Steve. Good story & good point!
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 8:17 am
re: Comment by Don — April 23, 2007 @ 8:10 am
My female cattle dog lived to 17.5 years on Flint River. Jay seems like he’s very serious about keeping their standards high.
Try using the wet/dry (just add warm water) as a topper with their kibble, my two spoiled young dogs love it-makes a nice warm treat.
Comment by Becky — April 23, 2007 @ 8:20 am
Kat,
It is highly doubtful that the FDA, even with twice their existing personnel, would have tested for a previously unknown toxin such a melammine in pet food, let alone human food. They just don’t do because it is not practical. That would be like testing for every naturally occurring or manmade toxin on earth known to us.
Toxicosis testing begans AFTER a toxin has been previously discovered in an intentionally or unintentionally contaminated food lot. Thus, it wouldn’t matter how many tax dollars we threw at a situtation such as this one - who knows what the next toxin is going to be.
Comment by Don — April 23, 2007 @ 8:22 am
Comment by chrystine — April 23, 2007 @ 8:02 am
Chrystine, I’m sorry, so very sorry. I wish I could help. There is just no information on Melamine. It was only tested on mice. This is one of the huge problems with this whole mess; nobody knows, they really just don’t have anything to go on. I think you should try to find a new vet, though. Mine realize that they have to treat the whole family, humans included. Maybe if you look in the poorer neighborhoods in your town you can find someone more interested in helping the animals rather than making money and protecting their you-know-what.
Comment by Peggy — April 23, 2007 @ 8:23 am
Thanks Becky,
My “girls” seem to really like the Flint River.
Comment by Don — April 23, 2007 @ 8:24 am
dUH, probably :)
I was thinking they really found it in hog feed (not from the pet food they used), which is basically what I was expecting to start showing up.
Like it is NPN in cattle feed - they aren’t supposed to feed it to calves under 450lbs or other stock because it is toxic. So, my bad I guess.
Comment by Ann — April 23, 2007 @ 8:24 am
Are 9 Lives, Whiskas, & Kibbles N Bits still OK? AND, HOPEFULLY…no one will EVER buy any of the pet foods that are on the recall list AGAIN! I TOO am appaled at the number of pet deaths still being reported as 16???!!! COME ON AMERICA…..WAKE UP….WE ARE NOT DUMB! We KNOW that there’s MANY, MANY, MORE!!!! To know just how stupid you people in the news media sound, that’d be like still saying only 1 soldier died in Iraq!!!!! DA!!!!
Comment by Kathy — April 23, 2007 @ 8:30 am
morningnewsbeat.com - scroll down to More Contamination Issues Fouin In California
Comment by elliott — April 23, 2007 @ 8:33 am
Stocker Cattle Forum: Dale Blasi - What Are The Implications Of The Pet Food Recall On The Cattle Industry? 4/23/2007 7:38:00 AM
Last month in my short article on what all natural beef means to producers, I raised the possibility that the ongoing Menu Company Pet Food recall will have far reaching implications on the entire food chain, including the beef industry.
Since March 16th, the recall net has expanded well beyond 100 name brands of dry and wet dog and cat food as a consequence of the presence of an industrial chemical (Melamine) found in wheat gluten and very recently, rice protein concentrate that was apparently imported from China.
The consequences of this extensive recall are largely unknown at this time. The FDA has estimated 16 pets have died but PetConnection, an internet pet website has reported that 3,907 pets have died as the result of pet food contaminated with melamine. However, extrapolation of data released last week from Banfield, one of the nation’s largest chains of veterinary hospitals suggest that upwards of 39,000 cats and dogs have been sickened or killed as a result of the tainted pet food. This public relations disaster will undoubtedly cost companies such as Procter & Gamble who own and market the pet food brands Iams and Eukanuba untold millions of dollars in litigation and compensation that arise from class action lawsuits as well as lost future sales as a result of brand value and equity being destroyed.
Legislators have conducted special hearings on the occurrence of this nationwide disaster and have questioned the safety of the food system, particularly imported food products for humans in general. Many believe this pet food recall has given some momentum for the argument in favor of full implementation of Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) in general.
What are the potential implications of this pet food recall on the beef industry? All beef alliances should take to heart the importance of exerting more active control and monitoring of their select suppliers from a brand value/equity and liability perspective. With that said, records and movement transactions will continue to become increasingly important for ensuring that cattle raised and fed a specific manner meet exact label requirements. Those cow calf and stocker producers who are meticulous with their record keeping and ability to follow strict program guidelines will be highly sought after by those beef alliances that market specific beef attributes to the consumer.
Of interest to the specific topic at hand is the scheduled release of ISO standard 22005 “Traceability for Food and Feed” in September, 2007. The specific details of this particular standard are sketchy at this time but it appears to support the argument that traceability in the human food supply chain is gaining increasing prominence in our culture.
http://tinyurl.com/yv4r94
Comment by Steve — April 23, 2007 @ 8:33 am
morningnewsbeat.com - scroll down to More Contamination Issues Found In California
Comment by elliott — April 23, 2007 @ 8:34 am
The AP is still reporting 16 animals deceased! That was in this morning’s article on the food inspection holes. How can they go on with these lies? When will they start telling people the truth about the thousands of animals killed by these bottom-line monsters who intentionally spiked our pet’s food to raise it’s “protein” content. Damn them all! And Damn the FDA and the AP for their complicity!
Comment by Doug Springs — April 23, 2007 @ 8:35 am
The FDA’s budget was cut back three years ago - gee I wonder what else happened three years ago?
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 8:45 am
STEVE: Stocker Cattle Forum: Dale Blasi - What Are The Implications Of The Pet Food Recall On The Cattle Industry? 4/23/2007 7:38:00 AM
Steve, what can I say? You are simply MARVELOUS! It’s obvious that the pet food recall will reach into MANY segments of the food/manufacturing sectors. We can see the rippling effect already with some pet food companies stepping up already, willing to divulge more information, seek domestic suppliers who deal only with domestic crops and products, and change their packaging to include many more details. I expect many more companies to follow suit as it is clear from sales reports that consumers have shifted in their buying trends. If they want our money, they’d better produce a worthy product and know where everything comes from.
We’re seeing a wave starting to form. Those companies that choose to sail on the wave will prosper and be the ones to whom consumers gravitate! Hopefully, this wave will turn into a tidal wave, leaving those companies that refuse to disclose information and continue to import ingredients from China, mere flotsam aimlessly adrift (with empty pockets, of course, and shareholders screaming at the door demanding their quarterly dividend checks).
Comment by petlover — April 23, 2007 @ 8:50 am
RE: Comment by Don — April 23, 2007 @ 8:22 am
The NY state lab & Cornell work specifically to detect all sorts of toxins, on a continued basis…at the FDA’s direction. I just read a few days ago about how many employees they have, the work load & the surprising number of foods that do not have what they’re supposed to have in them. I’ll look in my huge history to see if I can find that article.
Granted — they cannot check every thing. I was not insinuating they should be. Spot checking is the first thing to do with any manufacturer; then, when something is found, further testing is needed on more products.
Screening food products from a polluted country, with knows violations should have been mandatory. And, needs to be.
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 8:51 am
Well said petlover! I’m with you and Steve 100%
We can speed things up with a National Pet Food Boycott!
Comment by Don — April 23, 2007 @ 8:54 am
If you want to see who supports the Coalition for a Stronger FDA see this link:
http://fdacoalition.org/about.php
Big business - Oh My!
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 8:55 am
Don, I too believe we should boycott pet foods, at least those in the largest companies. Let their products rot on the shelves until we get some action from the press!
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 8:56 am
Everyone take a step back for a moment and think through what the ideal chain of events should have been. Upon receiving reports of ill animals, MenuFoods SHOULD have IMMEDIATELY notified FDA. At that point, FDA should have started doing the testing, identifying the contaminants, and tracing the supply chain(s) to identify who got what and when, at which time they should have started initiating additional recalls.
The affected companies should have complied, stopped production with affected ingredients, and recalled food off of store shelves. All that food should have immediately been pulled and sent back in, and while some of it would still have gotten out, the widely-circulated press releases that should have been issued would have helped to minimize the number of animals affected.
If you read through this scenario I just outlined and find every place the word “should” appears, it will help you think through the places blame needs to be assessed. I agree that you can’t test for every possible contaminant that might *possibly* be there. But - once detected - there was a chain of events that needed to happen and that did not.
MenuFoods shoulders a HUGE responsibility in keeping it to themselves in a CYA measure rather than reporting it. FDA shoulders a great deal of responsibility in their subsequent handling of things, but the recently highlighted articles point out the financial constraints they are expected to operate under. It’s up to our legislators to loosen the pursestrings in order to give them the money they need to carry out their charter.
And - of course - the other companies that continue their carefully doled out snippets of information in an effort to minimize the damage to their bottom line should all be held accountable. Unfortunately, the agency that is supposed to have the teeth to enforce that accountability hasn’t had the money to go to the dentist lately and now - I fear - finds themselves with only gums.
So when you find yourself confused over wondering “Who is really to blame?”, just take a step back and re-imagine this entire scenario if things had gone the way they SHOULD have rather than the way they DID (and still are).
Comment by Pat — April 23, 2007 @ 8:56 am
From the Coalition for a Stronger FDA:
Lawmakers failed to adequately fund this important agency charged with regulating 80 percent of the nation’s food supply. That underfunding has contributed to fewer food inspections.
William Hubbard, a former FDA official, reports the agency conducted about 35,000 food inspections annually in the early 1970s. Today it’s doing only about 6,000. While inspections have decreased, the U.S. food supply has grown larger and more dangerous pathogens have emerged, he said.
“We have a weaker regulatory system at a time when the problems were getting larger and worse,” according to Hubbard.
The Coalition for a Stronger FDA, an alliance of consumer, non-profit, patient and industry groups, is asking Congress to appropriate an additional $115 million for food safety in 2008, 10 times more than what the Bush administration’s proposed budget is requesting. Hubbard said this increased amount will be needed for five years to rebuild the food-inspection program.
According to the coalition, increases in the FDA budget haven’t kept pace with other federal agencies that help ensure the safety of Americans. It points to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which also works to protect public health, as an example.
In 1986, appropriations to the FDA equaled 97 percent of the budget for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 1996, that dropped to 39 percent of the CDC’s budget. By 2006, the FDA budget was 28 percent of the CDC’s.
Congress should increase funding to the FDA.
And not just for the sake of our food.
The FDA’s vast responsibilities include regulating microwave ovens, cosmetics, pet foods, drugs, medical devices and the nation’s blood supply.
Yet Americans and Congress fail to realize how important the agency is until a pacemaker malfunctions or a drug has negative side effects or a peanut-butter sandwich makes someone sick.
Then they start to understand the role of the FDA in helping keep Americans safe - and the importance of funding the agency.
Linda MA
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 8:59 am
Kat,
I would go a step further. Once contaminants are discovered in imported food shipments, an immediate ban would be imposed pending that supplier establishing and providing a U.S., independent analysis of any further shipments at THEIR EXPENSE not the taxpayers before it gets released.
Comment by Don — April 23, 2007 @ 8:59 am
Lets not forget that the contaminants might be put into the food here in America.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 9:03 am
FDA Funding
FDA funding has lagged behind appropriations for other public health agencies over the last two decades. For example:
In 1986, FDA’s budget was $416.7 million – or 97 percent of the CDC’s $429.4 million budget and 8 percent of NIH’s $5.1 billion budget.
In 1996, FDA’s budget was $865 million – or 39 percent of CDC’s $2.2 billion budget and 8 percent of NIH’s $10.2 billion budget.
In 2006, FDA’s budget was $1.5 billion – or 28 percent of CDC’s $5.2 billion budget and 5 percent of NIH’s $27.7 billion budget.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 9:06 am
And this at a time when new drugs are being introduced at an unprecedented rate and imports of foods and drugs are skyrocketing . . . .
Comment by Pat — April 23, 2007 @ 9:10 am
Chrystine, I found something that may help you. I found the link on Itchmo.com and it leads to here: http://tinyurl.com/2vdt4t
They have a lot of links there to places that will help people pay their vet bills. I hope you can find something.
I am cash strapped now with my own vet bills, but I’ll ask my family and friends to make donations. And I’ll help too, once my vet bills are paid up.
Comment by Peggy — April 23, 2007 @ 9:12 am
On the itchmo site - survey of deaths - dry dog food - there seems to be quite a few from IAMS but we aren’t hearing anything about it lately?
Wonder why? What about Beneful Purina from the doggy bling site? We aren’t hearing too much about that either.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 9:12 am
The 16 “official” deaths has been getting on my nerves for quite a while. Nothing like a little knife in your heart to keep the pain all fresh and on a daily basis.
We are going to try and change that with a mass mailing of postcards to a short list. We want to mail them on April 28 so we need to get the ball rolling.
If you are upset that your dead pet does not count, if 16 makes you see red, come over to the Itchmo forum, thread is called Pile O death.
http://64.79.216.38/~itchmo/forums/
You will have to register, which is free, but Gina pointed out last night that it would be easier to organise. Please spread the word to anyone you know who has a dead pet.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 23, 2007 @ 9:16 am
And now the drug companies want to give our pets Doggie Prozac -
Something is wrong in the hen house folks.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 9:17 am
I gotta disagree on the Prozac/Reconcile.
Prozac has been in use for years by veterinary behaviorists, and has helped a lot of pets, especially dogs, with some behavior problems that might have ended them in the shelter — or worse.
Veterinary behaviorists use these meds as PART of a behavior modification program. It’s not a magic pill approach, not at all.
Read some of Dr. Dodman’s books — he stresses exercise STRONGLY, proper handling, training and husbandry and the use of meds like Prozac as part of an entire program to keep a dog from heading to the shelter.
Modern life is tough on all of us, dogs included. If Prozac can help, I fail to see the harm. And if it can be given in a more dog-friendly way, more’s the better.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — April 23, 2007 @ 9:25 am
Linda, (8:59 a.m.)
Caution here, though. It will be important who is assigned to the FDA or CDC. An extrapolation from a survey on the pharmaceutical industry sounds terrifyingly familiar. It all goes back to monopoly corporations tied into government.
“…Interestingly, the survey did not ask consumers the following question: How many Americans do you think is acceptable for the drug companies to kill each year?
Because right now, that number is, conservatively, about 100,000 American citizens. More realistic estimates put it at double that number, or 200,000. I’ve often stated that pharmaceuticals kill more Americans each year than diet in the entire Vietnam War, and the number of Americans killed by acts of terrorism are dwarfed by the number killed by prescription drugs that the FDA and drug companies unquestionably knew were killing people. It’s not that these deaths were truly accidental… they were fully documented but ignored anyway by an industry that is now clearly a very real threat to the health and safety of the American people.
This is no exaggeration: The number of people killed by FDA-approved pharmaceuticals since 9/11 is equivalent to dropping a nuclear bomb on a major U.S. city. International terrorists could not even hope to cause the number of casualties in the United States that have been achieved by the drug companies working in conspiracy with the FDA.
If we don’t put limits on the influence and corruption of the drug companies by banning drug ads and demanding serious FDA reforms, the body count will only get worse. Consumers are finally waking up to this reality, and they’re increasingly demanding “get tough” solutions that would require the FDA to protect the people instead of protecting Big Pharma profits.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 23, 2007 @ 9:26 am
Nadine Long -
You are so right and that is one reason that I will not put any type of drug in my body unless only to save my life in an emergency -
case in point, my dog and I were playing and she jumped for a toy and her tooth went almost thru my hand - oh the pain, the swelling, the redness, finally I went to a MD emergency clinic (I had scrubbed it with a stiff brush and poured antiseptic ointment on it) - well the MD freaked and wanted to give me the usual to stop infections - I refused - it can heal itself. Well my hand did but the doctor kept calling me everyday to check on me.
Now, some people need to take antibiotics I know this, but we can cut back and be fine.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 9:33 am
I wanted to mention that when my Mercy was leaking urine and had her diagnosis of Liver Disease in November - the Vet said he was not caused by food.
I sat in the waiting room and dog after dog were having seizures - so many I could hardly believe it.
I wonder how many were told it wasn’t the food and given drugs and sent home.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 9:35 am
Chrystine,
I have the same question about the effects of the tainted food, my cat was fine up to the end of Feb, I bought a new batch of food on Feb 20th and he didn’t want to eat it, I thought he was being finicky. He then did eat a little of it, was throwing up and within 2 weeks my healthy cat was on deaths door, after $1700.00 and two different vets, they have found nothing, kidneys fine, liver fine, they are at a loss as to what is wrong with him, he REFUSES to eat any cat food. I have been hand feeding the best I can and he is hunting mice. He is hanging on, but I just can’t get enough food into him on any given day. I was feeding Friskies canned and Meow Mix dry. They are not recalled, but the timing and suddeness of him getting sick and the fact that he will not touch commercial food anymore, makes me wonder. I am now considering seeking a 3rd vet…money is very much an issue.
Comment by BW — April 23, 2007 @ 9:38 am
Comment by Deb re Petco/Petsmart
I did receive an email from Petsmart re the first Nutro recall notifying me that I had purchased some of the cans/pouches, which I was surprised by. I can’t remember the timing, but I had already figured it out although the pouches and cans were already long gone. My little dog had flat turned her nose up a the food - smart dog. Although when I requested a COMPLETE history of food purchased they refused, even though it can obviously be tracked through my membership card. They are requiring a notarized letter stating the purpose. I had purchased a large bag of Nutro dry and put it in a pet food holder - and no longer have the bag, as none of this was going on at the time. And, NO, I WON’T be shopping there anymore and wonder why I did in the first place.
As to my request to Petco for the purchase history I haven’t even gotten a response from them. Doubt that I will.
Has anyone tried to return anything that wasn’t in the original bag with their receipt? I can’t be the only one that puts the dog food in a container that seals to keep it fresher . . . that I of course purchased from PetSmart.
Comment by ashlee — April 23, 2007 @ 9:38 am
Here are a couple of links about the NY State Lab & Cornell. They screen for 20,000 foods annually.
About FERN: http://tinyurl.com/22nglc &
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_...../index.asp
NY State Ag: http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/FL/FLHome.html
Star-Gazette: http://tinyurl.com/2g89oh
Red Orbit: http://tinyurl.com/ynv2a9
The government designed a program to look for food that has been tainted with toxic chemicals, etc., after 9-11.
The government KNOWINGLY has allowed countries with poor pollution AND import violations to enter this country on a continued basis.
The very program that was designed to “save us” has let us down…from negligence.
And, we question whether they should be blamed?? Or, even to what extent? They are our government. We abide by their laws. We have an option to buy or not to buy any product we want. Unlike the way Russia used to be (and may still be) — if you want green beans — here’s the one can of green beans you can buy.
Yes, the pet food industry has failed. I believe they did buy the cheapest, highest protein source they found. China was a good gamble…especially price-wise, I’m sure. I even posted the workshop link that one of the “grain” states had last year in July 2006 about the pro’s & con’s of China’s imports.
I know I am ranting & venting — I AM OVERWHELMED, MAD & UPSET!! I’m glad we are being given this wonderful site to express ourselves freely & to learn from others, opinion-wise & news-wise.
Now, I’ve gotta get back to my other project: sanding walls. ugh!
I’m like Steve — let too many things go with all this recall BS — trying to stay on top of it. But, just think, when you get away from the computer to go shopping, etc — you can tell others all about what you’ve learned. Just about anyone I’ve spoken to don’t have a clue it’s so big. scary thought….
Also, about the list we should be taking with us to check for products still on the shelves — uh, has anyone looked at the FULL LIST? There are a total of ** 5572 products ** on that spreadsheet. There are 5576 lines filled, but some lines just have typed information about the recall list itself.
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 9:39 am
The point I was trying to make - is the way we are treating our dogs from the beginning.
Something is really wrong here and I think people look for quick and easy solutions in their busy lives.
I too have wrestled with this problem of anxiety and called out the pro from U.C.D. and put my dog on prozac, so I am not speaking from lack of experience.
I did solve her problem but not with the use of drugs.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 9:39 am
I had an interesting discussion this morning with a representative from Purina. I had filed a complaint before the recall over the death of one dog and illness of another that were eating a Purina product. During the conversation, the Purina representative told me that at this time she is making her own dog food. She said they have been assured that all their food is safe and they are working closely with the FDA BUT, she is still making her own pet food. That was pretty telling to me.
Comment by Sandy C — April 23, 2007 @ 9:40 am
I finally received a call back from Nutro. Lots of questions. When I asked if they were going to recall this week I was told that their products are safe, but ‘every once in a while a bad batch gets out’. Then, he told me that it’s possible that my pet food store did not store the product properly and mold grew. Great Nutro, blame your distributors. I’ve written a letter to my pet food store, a privately owned company with ~20 locations and let them know that if they continue to sell any of these brands, I will not shop there and will urge my friends and family to do the same. It’s a start.
Comment by Cathy — April 23, 2007 @ 9:43 am
Another thing people do is that try to soothe the dog and give it attention while it is in a panic, and they don’t train their dogs and take them for walks and spend time with them - oh, the gym is more important or long vacations or whatever.
One simply cannot give dogs attention when they are in a panic. It reinforces their fear. I can’t tell you the number of well-meaning vet techs who come out to coddle my drooling shaking dog when I tell them to “please don’t do that. Stop it. Leave her alone.”
And of course, vet techs know more than I do.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 9:45 am
I want to comment about the seizures. I have a 110 lb dog, Simon, who was having seizures while eating Beneful. I do not know if Beneful was the cause.
Simon & Maggie, my other dog were both eating either the Weight Control or the Regular formula, if the Weight Control was not available. They were on it for years. Then, in Feb., they decided they didn’t like it anymore. They started hacking & puking, so I changed to one bag of IAMS, just before the recall started.
Also, I started giving Simon electrolytes for the seizures. The vet said they normally don’t do anything for seizures unless there’s 6? or more per month. Simon was right at that number, but I didn’t want him on drugs, nor were they even discussed.
Putting him on the electrolytes & getting him off the Beneful has prevented him from having any more seizures, which I have witnessed.
I’ve read on other boards all across the internet about dogs having seizures & getting sick eating Beneful. I suspect that will be a product recalled soon.
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 9:51 am
Dr. Martin Goldstein on Oprah
This is to let you all know that apparently, holistic vet, Dr. Martin Goldstein -
author of The Nature of Animal Healing: The Definitive Holistic Medicine Guide to Caring for Your Dog and Cat is appearing on Oprah on
Wednesday (April 25th). Unsure exactly what he will be talking about but you can be sure it will touch on the recent pet food recalls. Set
your Tivo’s!
Comment by Mike — April 23, 2007 @ 9:51 am
Comment by Sandy C — April 23, 2007 @ 9:40 am
“the Purina representative told me that at this time she is making her own dog food”
Oh that’s great, that’s just great.
Glad I took the off the Friskies (which is Purina also) and Kitten Chow early on.
Comment by Peggy — April 23, 2007 @ 9:56 am
Will check in later. (Moving day is less than two weeks away.)
Comment by Nadine Long — April 23, 2007 @ 9:56 am
Kat, Beneful is the brand that I filed the complaint on. It killed one of my dog and caused the 2nd one to have seizures and vomit up bile. When I made the connection that it was the dog food, I immediately switched. This was in Feb before the recall. Once I took the 2nd dog off the Beneful, she stopped having seizures and stopped vomiting.
Comment by Sandy C — April 23, 2007 @ 9:56 am
Here’s an interesting link - Starting this week, South Miami veterinarian Dr. Patty Khuly will be writing the weekly pet column, Dr. Dolittler.
http://www.miamiherald.com/357/story/81162.html
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 9:56 am
Patty Khuly is discussing what to feed our pets now.
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 9:57 am
Sandy C: that is exacly my story. I called the FDA-Houston about it. They have reports about Beneful. That was nearly 3 weeks ago.
My 5 had been eating Special Kitty or Beneful for years. Then, in Feb that all changed. They either wouldn’t eat the food or puke it afterwards.
I quickly changed to IAMS & Good Life & Purina Natural. The cats started puking Good Life too. I still have some of it + ALL the treats they were getting back then.
They have not gotten a single store-bought treat since March. They get my home-made ones!
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 10:02 am
I have to wonder if this has to do with irradiation. China is a major food irradiator and I found a study that shows increased toxicty of melamine due to uv irradiation.
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.o.....oad?id=pdf.
The Chinese company JPY operates the three largest gamma irradiators in China. Its Shezhen facility is the largest, built in 1987 with 2.6 million curies of cobalt-60. The second-largest facility was built in Shanghai in 2003 and has 2 million curies. The third facility was built in Tianjin in 2005 with 0.7 million curies
http://tinyurl.com/2syj9hwww.c.....t=15542597
The oxidation of melamine under UV-irradiation in the presence of H[2]O[2] proceeds step by step leading to ammeline, ammelide, and finally to cyanuric acid.
The toxicity of the initial melamine solution seems to increase due to the intermediates generated in solution.
http://www.mercola.com/article.....angers.htm
Top 10 Reasons For Opposing Food Irradiation
In legalizing food irradiation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not determine a level of radiation to which food can be exposed and still be safe for human consumption, which federal law requires. I, II
In legalizing food irradiation, the FDA relied on laboratory research that did not meet modern scientific protocols, which federal law requires. I, IV
Research dating to the 1950s has revealed a wide range of problems in animals that ate irradiated food, including premature death, a rare form of cancer, reproductive dysfunction, chromosomal abnormalities, liver damage, low weight gain and vitamin deficiencies. V, VI, VII, VIII
Irradiation masks and encourages filthy conditions in slaughterhouses and food processing plants. Irradiation can kill most bacteria in food, but it does nothing to remove the feces, urine, pus and vomit that often contaminate beef, pork, chicken and other meat. Irradiation will not kill the pathogen that causes mad cow disease. IX, X
Irradiation destroys vitamins, essential fatty acids and other nutrients in food — sometimes significantly. The process destroys 80 percent of vitamin A in eggs, but the FDA nonetheless legalized irradiation of these products. XI, XII
Irradiation can change the flavor, odor and texture of food — sometimes disgustingly so. Pork can turn red; beef can smell like a wet dog; fruit and vegetables can become mushy; and eggs can lose their color, become runny and ruin recipes. XIII, XIV, XV
Irradiation disrupts the chemical composition of everything in its path — not just harmful bacteria, which the food industry often asserts. Scores of new chemicals called “radiolytic products” are formed by irradiation — chemicals that do not naturally occur in food and that the FDA has never studied for safety. XVI, XVII
The World Health Organization did not follow its own recommendation to study the toxicity of “radiolytic products” formed in high-dose irradiated food before proposing in November 2000 that the international irradiation dose limit — equal to 330 million chest x-rays — be removed. XVIII, XIX
Soon, some irradiation plants may use cesium-137, a highly radioactive waste material left over from the production of nuclear weapons. This material is dangerous and unstable. In 1988, a cesium-137 leak near Atlanta led to a $30 million, taxpayer-funded cleanup. XX
Because it increases the shelf life of food and is used in large, centralized facilities, irradiation encourages globalization and consolidation of the food production, distribution and retailing industries. These trends have already forced multitudes of family farmers and ranchers out of business, reduced the diversity of products in the marketplace, disrupted local economies in developing nations, and put American farmers and ranchers at a great economic disadvantage. XXI
Public Citizen
Comment by Angela Flynn — April 23, 2007 @ 10:05 am
Here we go — They’ve tracked the Cere’s quarantined hogs to processors & slaughterhouses:
http://www.fresnobee.com/384/story/43459.html
ISN’T BAR NONE BACON??
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 10:06 am
Gina,
I do agree with what you said about the Prozac helping the dogs not head for the shelter. But I just wish people would understand their dogs and not leave them alone and not walk them and then treat them so oddly that only makes them shiver and shake and so odd - where these poor dogs don’t live up to their potential as God’s proud creatures.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 10:06 am
Kat,
I was just shocked at the number of dogs having seizures in one waiting room, at a very large vet hospital out in the country where I take my dogs, and I sat there in amazement listening to these people tell their tales - cause I always ask. What’s wrong with your dog? And they say, I don’t know, was healthy a couple of days ago, now seizures.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 10:08 am
They haven’t accounted for all the hogs.
“Investigators have traced hogs that may have eaten poisoned pet food to at least four meat vendors in Northern California, state agriculture officials said.”
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 10:09 am
Kat, I live in Houston also.. Where did you buy the Beneful??? Mine came from Randalls in Clear Lake City. And if you have the bag, I would be interested in the product numbers on the back. In talking to other people that have had issues with Beneful two things keep showing up. The exp date Dec 2007 and there is an 8 digit number after that.. the last 4 digits in that number have been 1087. The representative told me that is a plant location but she didn’t tell me which plant.
Comment by Sandy C — April 23, 2007 @ 10:09 am
I just heard on TV that thousands of pounds of beef are being recalled in several western states & then it hit me. It was something Steve touched on earlier & something I had thought about when the hogs were fed contaminated pet food.
What about other livestock? What about the beef we eat? (How strange all this beef is recalled due to E Coli…..E Coli my foot….there’s something here they aren’t telling us.) What about milk?
I’m sorry but I think the CDC being told to watch out for increased cases of human renal failure is something that should make us all afraid, very afraid.
I also would like to know why many brands of dry food have not been recalled….I’ve been reading so much about people losing animals & it always seems to be the same four or five. I sure hope we get the results from those vets who are testing the five brands “whose names keep coming up” when people bring their sick animals to their vet. Why is it taking so long?
Comment by Jan — April 23, 2007 @ 10:10 am
Deb: I had a slightly different experience with PetSmart- though this was several weeks ago. A Cust Serv rep stated that if I had purchased recalled food they would send me a list. Only if nothing came up, would I have to send a notarized letter.
I still think this is stupid. Because if you sent an email a month ago, and you might have fed some of the newly recalled items, you’d have to send a new request.
Lucky me (not), a list of 60 cans of Nutro cat food came up. Really lucky me, both my cats are OK.
Comment by Andrea 2CatMom — April 23, 2007 @ 10:16 am
Go Kat! There’s the big picture and the little picture. You get the former…
Those walls should be sanded in no time!
I’m not going to paraphrase this article but anyone interested in how far reaching something like “the farm bill” is should put aside some time and read this from yesterday’s NYTimes Magazine (registration is free for many articles in the NYT):
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04.....f=magazine
Comment by Maureen — April 23, 2007 @ 10:17 am
A couple of comments-just my opinion.
One problem with the FDA is the “D” in it. Look at all the aggressive pharmaceutical company commercials on tv. I think those guys are every bit as bad as the food producers (if not worse) and lobby to get the FDA budget cut so they can use us all as test subjects for their new drugs.
Also, there is very little talk here about IAMS. I believe it caused seizures and cancer in several of my pets over the years. If you go to their website, they don’t even bother to list the ingredients there. I fear people are switching to them because they are staying under the radar so well. Stupid me - until all of this happened, I didn’t put the pieces together. I beg you not to trust them either.
Comment by Kathy — April 23, 2007 @ 10:20 am
I have fed my two dogs Nature’s Recipe, Dry and canned adult formula Lamb and Rice and Chicken and Rice for several years. After all the chaos started about the food recall, I, of course became concerned about any commercial food. Nature’s Recipe recently, about two or three weeks ago came out with a new dry food called Farm Stand Select. It is not breed or age specific and supposedly safe for all. It is Turkey and ground rice with dehydrated fruits and veggies. Does not list any of the glutens or vegetable proteins. After reading on one of the blogs that virtually all dehydrated fruits and vegetable in the U.S. now come from China, I became concerned about that. Also another concern is that since I bought the food three weeks ago at Pet Smart I have been unable to find a thing on Nature’s Reciepe or Del Monte’s website about the food. Or even Googling the internet produced zero.
So, this A.M. I called Del Monte (888-495-4837) and wonders! got a real person. I asked about why I couldn’t find anything on their Nature’s Recipe site or Del Monte’s about the food. She said probably because it was too new.
I also asked about where the dehydrated fruits and vegetables and rice came from…and specifically if they came from China. She told me to hold on and she would try to find out. She came back and said that the person that she needed to ask was at some other plant for a meeting. She took down all of my information and said that they would get back to me by mail or email as soon as possible. She was very courteous and seemed concerned also as she has started feeding her dogs the same food.
So, I guess we’ll see what develops. If anyone knows any more about Nature’s Recipe Farm Stand Select, would you please post the info.
I check this site several times and day and thank God for Petconection.com.
Comment by Saundra M. — April 23, 2007 @ 10:20 am
All this happened in Feb with the food & having 2 cats spayed/neutered. I thought maybe an infection was setting in. My female kitty, Juliet, shivered off & on over one weekend. No temp.
It has all been down hill since then, with the food. My pets are 100% healthy the vet says. They’ve had their Panel Test for BUN & Creatinine levels. I feel like we got grazed by the melamine bullet — and survived — at least I hope.
I’ve read that kidney failure can occur anywhere from 4 to 60 days.
One poor woman, in San Antonio, was on the news about 3-4 weeks ago. She had a little doggie who threw up a certain food (don’t know the name or I would say…I ain’t afraid-ha!), then 3 days later the dog was so sick she took him to the vet. She didn’t have the money for the medical treatments the vet wanted to do. Plus, the dog was too sick & they couldn’t even assure her the dog would survive. So, she took the dog home & 3 days later it died a painful death. The woman was screaming & crying on the news about her poor little doggie. Quite tragic…
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 10:21 am
The people at Purina are making their own dog food - and the FDA is investigating.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 10:25 am
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 10:21 am
Kat, not to cause undue alarm but did they have urinalysis done also? Our vet has said she has had cases where the BUN & Creatinine show find but the problem shows up in the urinalysis with the crystals showing…..and note that blood tests only show kidney problems if its advanced as far as I understand. So if there is slight problems, it may not show in the BUN & Crea but would show in the urinalysis….
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 10:31 am
Hey - I haven’t been able to keep up much over the weekend. Did I miss something, though. Is Diamond responsible for contaminating the hogs? There is a statement on the Chicken Soup web page:
http://chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
Comment by Jenny — April 23, 2007 @ 10:31 am
Thank you Gina for speaking up about Prozac for dogs!
Prozac has recently helped two of my female dogs with aggression issues with each other. They’ve been on 40 mg prozac for 3 months now and all is well so far. The aggression issues started AFTER they were seriously attacked by two loose vicious dogs while being walked on leash. There had no aggression before the attack, but then afterwards, they wanted to kill each other. It was a horrible ordeal. I love them both so very much but I was forced to consider re-homing one of them. My vet suggested Prozac. I thought she was joking at first. No joke! Just today I observed them face-licking each other. They’re back to being happy campers again!
From Nat. Geographic
“Puppy Prozac:” Can Animals Benefit From Behavioral Meds?
http://news.nationalgeographic.....rozac.html
Fluoxetine, generic for Prozac, increases the availability of serotonin, which has been found to exist in lower concentrations in the spinal fluid of dominant-aggressive dogs than in control nonaffected dogs. http://www.hilltopanimalhospit.....ession.htm
From Dr Mike Richards DVM
http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dd.....aggression
Veterinary method for clinically modifying the behavior of dogs exhibiting canine affective aggression behaviour
http://tinyurl.com/2qpl4uCase Study
http://dspace.library.cornell......3+Sosa.pdf
My vet said she’ll consider weaning them off Prozac sometime this summer in the hopes they’ll probably no longer need it. Fingers crossed.
Comment by Mike — April 23, 2007 @ 10:35 am
The lady at Purina is making her own dog food and the FDA is investigation Purina right now - sounds as if Purina is one of the companies….
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 10:40 am
Comment by Pat — April 23, 2007 @ 8:56 am
I would like to add that I think some of that blame goes to the individual pet food companies. Their name and phone #’s are on the cans which would be the first place a pet owner would call if they suspected a food problem. I would really like to see their phone records of complaints being called in back in Nov or Dec (or who knows even prior) and what if anything they did. Did the pet food companies notify FDA like they are legally required to do? How many calls were they getting? I suspect there was evidence of a problem that they either did not see because of their non-existent record-keeping systems or they chose to blow it off….
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 10:43 am
Oh good for Diamond - sold the rice protein concentrate to the hog farms before they even knew of a problem - right!
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 10:44 am
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 10:40 am
“The lady at Purina is making her own dog food and the FDA is investigation Purina right now - sounds as if Purina is one of the companies….”
Let’s not start a panic or rumors that spread like wildfire. It was not said that FDA was investigating Purina. It was said that Purina is working cosely with FDA. Even tho, I think it is highly likely that Purina is one of the 5, that was not verified in the conversation I had with them.
Comment by Sandy C — April 23, 2007 @ 10:48 am
Sandy C.
I’m not for a panic - how about due caution?
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 10:51 am
I just received an email from Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson:
Dear Ms. Lawson:
Thank you for contacting me regarding your concerns with animal cruelty. I appreciate hearing from you.
I believe animals should be treated humanely and not be subjected to cruel and unnecessary treatment. I support the Animal Welfare Act and believe we all share the responsibility of protecting both domestic animals and wildlife. Should any legislation dealing with this issue come before the Senate, I will consider it closely.
Thank you again for your correspondence, and please do not hesitate to contact me on any issue of importance to you.
Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison
———-
———-
I didn’t actually say anything about animal cruelty — other than a whole long line of things about the pet food recall. Copied & sent her the same email to Durbin.
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 10:52 am
Latest reports of problems with (Purina &) Beneful Food.
http://www.doggybling.com/newsarticle.php?id=1101
Comment by Mike — April 23, 2007 @ 10:54 am
Working closely with the FDA is one of those phrases one uses to “soften” the truth. Or am I off base with that?
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 10:54 am
Linda..
At this point, with due caution, I would not feed my animals ANY food that comes in a bag or can. I don’t care what brand or how safe they have been in the past, at this point, we don’t know what is safe and what isn’t. No more commercial food for my pets.
Comment by Sandy C — April 23, 2007 @ 10:56 am
Well it’s pretty cruel poisoning our pets with toxic waste….
Sounds like a form letter.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 10:56 am
I don’t know how much has been mentioned about the Utah company, but Nestle, Ralston Purina and Proctor and Gamble are all manufacturing companies in Utah.
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 10:57 am
I have my own reasons for thinking it is Purina and I won’t go into that here - but for certain one could say that even this woman who works for Purina doesn’t trust their food.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 10:58 am
We’re all Erin Brockovich’s now.
Comment by Steve — April 23, 2007 @ 11:00 am
I can’t remember what State are we looking for now for the remaining two? Is Utah one of them?
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:02 am
It’s in the Salon blog today. Sort of.
http://blogreport.salon.com//
Comment by Pat — April 23, 2007 @ 11:03 am
Oh - and you don’t have to subscribe to Salon. You can just click “Site Pass” and watch an ad.
Comment by Pat — April 23, 2007 @ 11:03 am
Purina products sure killed one of MY pets and yes I told the FDA, fat chance they will do anything about it but the FDA has the complaints.
Of course, the FDA can’t count so maybe it will take them a few years to get around to adding up the complaints.
Probably depends on how much money Purina is paying the FDA to look the other way long enough for the “uncounted” pets to die.
It is working real well for Purina too and the other poisoners too because how many times a day do you see the “16” official death toll?
It is a wonderfully effective cover-up so far.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 23, 2007 @ 11:05 am
Yes, it sounded like a form letter to me. And, yes, poisoning pet is cruelty. I just did not say cruelty in my letter to her. So, you are very probably right about the form letter.
I replied back with — just something short this time:
“Thank you Senator Hutchison for your quick & concerned reply!
The reason I wrote to you is because you are on the Senate Appropriations Committee, currently investigating the Pet Food Recall, correct?
Changes need to be made, yes, but the investigation is crucial. Pet owners are being lied to by the FDA, the food manufacturers & the import companies. There needs to be criminal charges filed against numerous people involved, for the delays & continued deceit.
Thank you again,
Katrinka Lawson”
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 11:06 am
I like your letter Kat.
Do we know what other two states we’re looking for? My memory is a little stunned with everything I’ve read lately.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:09 am
Yes, Utah is one of them - NY is the other.
Here are my thoughts on Purina…
While pretty much nothing would surprise me, I highly doubt that a company such as Purina would be ever post on their website that they don’t use rice protein concentrate when they do. This kind of stuff has to be run by legal before it ever gets put out to the public and Nestle would never open itself up to being sued and fined .
Second, Purina did add some info this morning to their disclaimer, re: corn gluten.
Recall FAQs
Updated FAQs – April 23, 2007
Does Purina use corn gluten meal from China?
No. Corn gluten meal used in Purina brand products comes from North American corn, with the vast majority being U.S. grown.
What is corn gluten meal?
Corn gluten meal is not whole corn, but the protein portion of the corn kernel that remains when the starch, bran and germ are removed.
Why is corn gluten meal used in pet food?
Corn gluten meal is a concentrated source of highly digestible essential amino acids, such as methionine. It is also a source of vitamins and minerals, all of which are important to overall pet health.
I don’t necessarily take this that there has been an established problem by the FDA. I think this says that companies are hearing what we are hearing and are trying to be proactive in getting the word out before it hits the fan.
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 11:11 am
The only other thing that I thought about is perhaps one of these companies was planning to use Rice Protein but had not started, which is why they can say they don’t use it.
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 11:13 am
Thank you. I went to the web site linked and my cookies wouldn’t let me see the pages after the ad.
The NB man’s voice haunts me - it’s all the same thing. He said over and over and finally, look lady, it is the same protein, doesn’t matter, rice, wheat…etc.
So these companies can play word games but the truth will come out eventually - and then they will claim innocence.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:16 am
The pet food companies are NOT being proactive, they are doing a spinfest to cover their butts.
Are the pet food companies running out pulling the poison off the shelves?
Are the pet food companies running TV ads telling pet owners the signs of illness to look for?
Are the pet food companies doing a darned thing to get that insulting 16 “official” deaths toll OFF THE NEWS EVERY DAY!!!???
No they are not.
Purina killed my pet and they are not gonna get away with it, no matter who they pay off in the FDA.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 23, 2007 @ 11:17 am
Oh Carole - maybe they bought it and didn’t use it. Good point.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:17 am
Just found this interesting news piece:
U.S. Equity News: Nutracea Announces Stabilized Rice Bran Production Agreement with Archer Daniels Midland Rice and Kraft Foods to Host Webcast of Annual Stockholders Meeting
Apr 17, 2007 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX News Network) —
City of Industry, CA - Consumer Goods industry alert provided by U.S. Equity News. NutraCea (OTC BB: NTRZ), a world leader in stabilized rice bran (SRB) research and technology, recently announced that they have entered into an agreement with ADM Rice Inc., an operating division of Archer Daniels Midland Company, whereby NutraCea will implement its proprietary rice stabilization technology into the ADM Rice facility located in Arbuckle, California to produce stabilized rice bran for distribution into the human, companion pet and equine feed markets.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 23, 2007 @ 11:18 am
Well it all is poisoned - the rice protein, the wheat gluten, and the corn gluten - so right now it really doesn’t matter - and I don’t trust any protein concentrate -
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:20 am
Proactive was used to describe how they probably see it. By putting out info about corn gluten in advance, to them this is proactive. By the very definition of the word it is proactive.
That’s all it meant!
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 11:21 am
Arbuckle is really close to me - we have tons of rice fields around us.
What in the world are they up to now?
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:21 am
I think we should start a group “Pet Food Victims Anonymous”. I know I am obsessed & addicted to information on this deadly fiasco!
I barely got our taxes done. Now, I have furniture & boxes out in the yard because we’re trying to finish up the room addition… but, I know the newest recalls are coming soon. I want to know NOW! We all do! How many tests to they have to do so they can tell us anything???
The little piggies were dx with melamine in their urine within 24-hrs, by CA Agri. Surely they can come up with some test results on the foods. It’s now been one week since the recall of Wilbur-Ellis.
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 11:22 am
I just want to say that if the FDA can’t keep up with inspections of food ingredients and vitamins from China and elsewhere then the government of the US has the responsibility to limit the imports to the number that can be inspected. How much is spent on Homeland Security? Yet sending poison ingredients to the US seems to be an easy way for someone to poison our food supply and the FDA and government in general just turn their heads. (I’m certainly not saying this was a terrorist act but it certainly shows how easily that could happen)
Which ever president decided on the Open trade agreement with China should have thought of the sanitary conditions of that country and realizied that without full inspections of food stuffs from there the US public would be in danger. Prehaps we should have trade with China that excludes imports of food and vitamins. It’s all about greed from both sides.
I hold the manufacturers of the pet food just as responsible. While the big companies that seem to hold the pet food lines under their umbrella should know more its a fact that they pay companies like Menu to make the food for them and expect Menu to know what they are putting into the food. Seems many have specific recipies and Menu is suppose to follow those. It is Menu’s responsibility first and foremost to do quality control on what they make. I guess I’m most bitter at Menu for knowing that there was a problem and going on to “poison” their test animals and allow the food to remain on the market to poison our pets for almost 30 days. It wouldn’t look good to the stockholders if they recalled you know!!!! Hopefully their greed will eventually end their monopoly on making wet pet food. (I’d like to see them shut down completely)
Comment by Maureen (Lilly and Lucy's mom) — April 23, 2007 @ 11:23 am
Oh Carole - maybe they bought it and didn’t use it. Good point.
If in fact this were true, they would not be obligated to reveal this or recall anything.
It’s a long shot but ya never know!
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 11:23 am
RE: Comment by Don — April 23, 2007 @ 8:59 am
That’s good Don! I’ll vote for that! :)
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 11:24 am
About the stabilized Rice Bran
http://www.nutracea.com/a_about.php
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:24 am
Melamine Found In Hog Feed
04/23/2007 08:05am
(Washington, DC) — The chemical responsible for the recent pet food recall may also be in the food livestock eat.
Federal health officials say melamine has been found in feed rations on a hog farm in California.
They believe it may also show up in other farms in the U.S.
Melamine has been found in imported wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate.
It’s believed to be what’s making pets fall ill and die.
The chemical is most often used in plastics and fertilizer.
There’s no evidence that pork products from the California hog farm have entered the food supply.
Even so, they’re still tracking the whereabouts of all the hogs.
More than 100 are known to have been slaughtered.
(Copyright 2007 by Newsroom Solutions/Regional News Service)
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 11:26 am
RE: DOGGIE PROZAC
As I recall, Dr. Nicholas Dodman advocates using all other means of eliminating the anxiety BEFORE using Prozac.
I agree. I’ve observed an alarming number of interactions between pet parent and dog where the pet parent reinforces bad behavior in the dog. Linda mentioned a good example with the vet tech soothing a whining dog. In dog-speak, this means, “OH boy - if I whine I’ll get more petting.”
Again - Drugs used for anxiety control are great as long as they are not the first line of treatment. They should only after CONSISTENT training [to the pet parent and the dog] and perhaps even after the pet’s parent, if in need, has taken anxiety-control medications himself. Why subject the dog to drugs if it’s the human who really needs them?
Comment by Lynn — April 23, 2007 @ 11:27 am
The reason my above statement comes to mind is because the only three manufacturing companies I can find in Utah all state that they do not use it in their food.
And neither one of these companies is stupid enough to make this statement on their public website if they knew it were false.
And no, it’s not the same as not listing ingredients and then changing your website. In this case, they are unequivocally stating something specific.
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 11:28 am
That’s true Carole.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:30 am
I leave it up to the pet food companies to make their own excuses. They are better at it than I am.
I don’t think there is any excuse.
It was never just a Menu Foods problem, never just a pet food problem, never just a wheat gluten problem, never just a rice problem.
And MY pets are still dead.
The surviving sick pets I still have?
Is the pet food company paying for the vet care, are they wiping up the vomit, are they watching the pain and suffering?
Or are they STILL spinning the 16 deaths lie?
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 23, 2007 @ 11:30 am
There is what is known as a retraction.
Something like, well we thought there was (or wasn’t xyz whatever) nuclear weapons…….
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:31 am
For the most part, pet food companies are a bunch of faceless heartless moneywhoremongering cowards. Now add the three Stoodges, The FDA, the FBI and Homeland Security, along with FEMA…what have I left anyone out?
The little shop of FDA horrors continues…..
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:34 am
I have been dogging Wilbur-Ellis with daily e-mails asking them to please make public the names of the 5 companies. Each day they reply saying they hope the situation will be resolved today by the FDA. Today’s e-mail says the same thing basically but adds in a phone number to call (877) 217-6993. It’s a recording and says Wilbur-Ellis is working closely with the FDA, they have released the names of their customers to the FDA, check the FDA website for the latest recall info, blah blah blah. You can leave a message if you want.
Comment by slt — April 23, 2007 @ 11:37 am
Here’s a post I just found on:
http://www.nextdaypets.com/dir.....213~4.aspx
“I changed over to Kirkland Muture Dog food and within 2 weeks of doing so my Dog had to be be put down from kidney failure, but my other Dog seems to be fine We are taken her to the vet to get blood work done to see if there is any problems with her tomorrow. after reading that some of the food that Diamond produced turned up one the list that is killing are pets has anyone else had problems with this product?”
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 11:38 am
Is everyone seeing the same thing I am? Have to keep moving the arrow at the bottom of the screen because the sentences run off the page? Makes it very difficult to read quickly.
Comment by VJ — April 23, 2007 @ 11:39 am
I’d like to leave a message for Wilbur Ellis ….and it wouldn’t be pretty.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:42 am
And none of this is going to matter when the first human dies.
That is what they are waiting for.
Once the first human dies , and the CDC has been looking for human kidney failure from this, all our pets will not matter.
That is what they are counting on, and why they are NOT counting our pets.
Who will give a hoot when the news is in a frenzy about some dead human?
As long as they can get away with 16 deaths being official for just a bit longer, then the cover up will work.
The kidney damaged and dying humans should be showing up soon. Then they tie all this up in court for , say, five years, get all huffy because the “larger issue of dead people” and how can you hysterical pets owners say a thing when PEOPLE are sick and dying, and meanwhile, documents disappear, evidence, gets lost, the ever popular “clerical errors” and voila!, they got away with it.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 23, 2007 @ 11:42 am
Corporations do not have a conscience - they care about public image and will spin it to work for their benefit until they need to change courses - it’s like navigating the rapids - and they will smile and say how much they love animals and continue with the profit taking.
It’s in their nature. It is who they are.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:44 am
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:24 am
Same toxic junk as our pet food. The stabilizer used for the pet food was melamine. I wonder what the NutraCea patent uses.
Back to packing…(I can’t help myself)
Comment by Nadine Long — April 23, 2007 @ 11:49 am
I wonder why a lot of the anger here is not resulting in action?
Could they be oh so innocently asking questions they asked 6 times in other parts of the blog? Just to redirect the discussion?
Could they be posting about grief that is perhaps,
not theirs to post about?
I know some are writing letters and joining the postcard drive and yet… not quite so many as show up here in a very striking pattern, some posters always show up the minute a “certain ” pet food is mentioned.
The pattern is being noticed and discussed.
Very interesting.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 23, 2007 @ 11:50 am
This is a very good article about the inspections and raw ingredients shipped here.
http://www.tiny.cc/Cb53c
Linda MS
(Nadine, can’t help but think you are blessed moving to the Redwoods - lucky you.)
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:50 am
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 23, 2007 @ 11:50 am
We discuss these things in my web development classes. What you are alluding to: It does happen.
The posting here is completely open: anyone can post that such and so is good food… … …
Comment by Peggy — April 23, 2007 @ 11:56 am
Chrystine: I’m very sorry to hear your situation. It is not unlike ours, by the time the recall hit we had thrown out the few cans and pouches of ‘treats’ we had. Our cat has very limited kidney function, but pancreas is fine. It sounds to me like your cat actually is diabetic, it is not uncommon. If the Kidney function is normal for the cats age then it seems unlikely your cat had the toxic food.
As to the Melamine issue, Melamine was tested extensively in Dogs in the 1950’s when it was becomming a common household ingredient for many plastics. Dogs were fed up to 10 times the melamine found in the toxic food for months with no notable side effects.
That is a problem with lab tests, the food and Melamine in the tests was ‘clean’ and strongly supports the belief that Melamine, on its own, is probably not actually toxic. Now that 3 other contaminants were found, and that one of THEM is probably toxic, we may find that (per a patent I think steve mentioned a while back) the Melanine served to increase the toxicity of the real poisen.
In some ways I understand the perspective of your Vet. Most people cruising the Internet do not find useful information, and what they find is more often unreliable.
What I do in this situation is ask the Vet to explain why, from the test results, one diagnosis is indicated over another. The vet should be able to explain calmly that certain test results show you have this problem, and if it was that other problem we would expect to see this number out of its normal range.
While we are farily technically inclined, our Vet was quite helpful in explaining why certain conclusions were reached, and why ourparticular treatment regimen was prescribed in response to the test results.
In your next visit, ask you Vet to help you understand the diagnosis, and why the results were ruled out.
In fact, the contaminated material entered the food supply in early December, and was not detected until late in February. Our cat was diagnosed with Kidney failure in the first week of February, six weeks before the recall…
Whatever the results, the real toxin affects the Kidneys hardest in most animals. It may well be your pets issues are unrelated to the contaminated food.
Comment by steve a — April 23, 2007 @ 11:57 am
E. Hamilton:
I wondered about that myself. I really did. But it is difficult to judge - I mean we are on the internet.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:57 am
Not to say anything about our moderators, here they are great; but they’re not psychic.
Bless them and their poor bunny.
Comment by Peggy — April 23, 2007 @ 11:59 am
Not having that problem Nadine.
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 12:00 pm
My Mercy is still alive otherwise I’d send in a post card and I hope I don’t need to - I hope she heals completely.
I hope I never need to send in a postcard too.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 12:01 pm
Here’s a response to an email from Royal Canin, USA:
When we were alerted to the potential problem with this supply of rice protein concentrate by our supplier we systematically tested every diet that had manufactured with that ingredient. Its our policy to no longer use any vegetable protein sourced from China.
Royal Canin USA, Inc
—> Sent this:
Greetings!
I would like to know YOUR source for the Rice Protein Concentrate.
Did you purchase from China?
Was it an inter-company transfer?
Did it come from Wilbur-Ellis, or another distributor?
Thank you for your consideration,
Kat Lawson
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 12:03 pm
ooops! I meant VJ:
Is everyone seeing the same thing I am? Have to keep moving the arrow at the bottom of the screen because the sentences run off the page? Makes it very difficult to read quickly.
Comment by VJ — April 23, 2007 @ 11:39 am
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 12:05 pm
I have noticed that if I get on a certain pet food’s case then I am attacked for being a uncivilized and without any morally redeeming qualities and how dare I say such things - only they who have dead pets are allowed the blah blah blah blah…..and how really horrid I am for such and such and lalalalalal……
Oh my, it’s so stinkingly obvious that it’s pathetic in a tragic way.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 12:05 pm
Thought postcards were going to cover deceased as well as sick pets?
Comment by VJ — April 23, 2007 @ 12:07 pm
although its not listed on the fda site it is on the company site. Sensible choice was recalled this morning.
Comment by Janet Meyers — April 23, 2007 @ 12:10 pm
Postcards are to state that the pet is DEAD.
The official death toll of 16 is very stupid and we know that.
Please go to the itchmo forum and there is a thread there, in misc section, called pile O death.
I do not think this is going to work because even with a DEDICATED thread people or trolls are posting stuff to bury it.
Probably the same who wail and post here just to take things to a scattered and unusable state.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 23, 2007 @ 12:14 pm
I’m seeing it too - it’s going off into infinity on the right side of the screen.
Comment by Sharon H — April 23, 2007 @ 12:14 pm
Then people should include snapshots of their deceased or ill pets in with their letters to the companies, legislature and congress. I enclosed a letter from my 9-year old daughter in mine. No answers yet but snail mail is slow.
Comment by Sharon H — April 23, 2007 @ 12:16 pm
Comment by Sharon H 12:14pm
Thanks Sharon. Thought I was the only one. Very difficult to read when one has to keep moving the arrow back and forth.
Comment by VJ — April 23, 2007 @ 12:22 pm
There is a thread on itchmo for ONE thing, get a postcard drive to FOCUS on ONE issue.
We cannot change the law this week.
We cannot get justice this week.
We cannot change the FDA this week.
We cannot tell people what food is good or bad.
What we CAN do, if everyone who claims to care will get to work, is change that awful annoying 16
“official” deaths thing.
THAT WE COULD DO AND DO IT THIS WEEK!
BUT ONLY if the thread does not get cluttered and ruined.
IT can be done, this ONE thing.
Of course , it would take focus for about 15 minutes from each person and it seems that focus is as hard to get as real numbers are from the FDA!
If your pet is sick and not dead, then you can certainly go to a pet memorial site, or another blog and direct the owners of the dead pets to itchmo and the correct thread..
Or if your pet is dead you could suggest an address to be added to the mailing list.
If the owners of petconnection could not FOCUS on one thing for 15 minutes, or fill out a postcard I doubt Senator Durbin, or us, or anyone would be here.
Almost everyone here has spent a lot more than 15 minutes reading and sorting through the crap mixed with good info.
So, my view is that if you cannot focus for 15 minutes and either get pet owners to THAT thread on itchmo, post yourself with something HELPFUL, find an address or media contact or do something to help, then it does not matter all that much and we should all just forget about it.
Our pets are dead, the “official” death toll of 16 will stand and too bad.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 23, 2007 @ 12:29 pm
Here is something. These chemists came up with a better way to test for melamine. They still use a mass spectrometer but this is supposed to be faster. Something about D.A.R.T. (Direct Analysis in Real Time) interface device.
http://www.spectroscopynow.com.....amp;page=1
I know its not much but at least it is a report of somebody trying to work on this problem.
Comment by Peggy — April 23, 2007 @ 12:29 pm
VJ,
I think the super wide scrolling oddity is due to a post:
Comment by Angela Flynn — April 23, 2007 @ 10:05 am
There’s a very long URL link contained therein that if perhaps Gina (or anyone else who has the top secret Admin powers here) could change to a tinyurl, would help return this page to normal.
I doubt Angela meant this to happen & I could be entirely off my rock for thinking this is the reason. But I’ve seen this type of thing happen on other blogs for this very reason. Angela, in case you’re reading this, I’m not meaning to point the finger at you. I’m just taking a guess and offering a possible solution!
Comment by Ally — April 23, 2007 @ 12:31 pm
E. Hamilton, I didn’t know about the post card thing until now. I have looked on Itchmo and can’t find the thread. Could you please tell me the title of it?
Comment by Sandy C — April 23, 2007 @ 12:35 pm
This gets scarier every day. We’ve been waiting for a week for the names of two more companies that may or may not be selling pet food with contaminated rice protein and may or may not recall, isn’t that right? Meanwhile I’m sitting on more new foods I had bought for my kitty, afraid to feed them. Mainly on dry Chicken Soup that was made by the Diamond plant in Meta, Mo.
A lot of us old crones on Social Security can’t afford to keep buying new “premium” foods and keep throwing them out, or buy stacks of cans and keep taking them back across town to return or exchange. Like most of you, I have a cupboard full of foods I can’t or am afraid to feed my baby. So she’s on Felidae canned, which I consider great stuff but she doesn’t like much, and assisted feeding with baby food mixtures.
No use asking why we’re not being told. Some companies have a lot of power, as reflected in the market shares I’ve seen posted here. Who has the most power to keep a lid on damaging information? P&G? Nestle/Purina? WHO??
Comment by Sharon G — April 23, 2007 @ 12:35 pm
Yes, the problem is super-long URLs. I fixed three of them.
Folks … use tinyurl.com to make ‘em shorter.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — April 23, 2007 @ 12:38 pm
By the way we have reasons for doing this in a postcard format. No SECURITY ISSUES to delay.
Everyone at petconnection has been wonderful and I asked for a thread or a sticky for this ONE single issue, this ONE thing last night.
Gina said it was better to do it at itchmo and she was right.
To everyone at petconnection, you have my complete and total respect for dealing with all this day and night for all these weeks.
Maybe there really ARE only 16 dead pets and we are all crazy hysterical pet owners and you have my sympathy for dealing with us.
What a pity that the pet food companies are gonna get away with it and waste all your work.
They don’t just poison pets- they know how to hire trolls, and plenty of them.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 23, 2007 @ 12:39 pm
itchmo forums, misc section, called pile o death,
yeah a lot of stuff gets buried here and on other blogs, the pet food companies have big shovels and no hesitation in using them.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 23, 2007 @ 12:41 pm
Gina - thank you for the url fix. Yikes, that was making the synapses between my eyes & brain behave oddly! Either that or I was having a Boo Radley moment or two….=:-O
For those asking for a link to the topic E.Hamilton began at Itchmo, try this:
http://64.79.216.38/~itchmo/fo.....opic=107.0
Comment by Ally — April 23, 2007 @ 12:45 pm
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 23, 2007 @ 12:29 pm
I really am convinced if it werent for the bloggers here, the few takes on AC360 wouldnt have happened, everyone got busy & sent e:mails so that did happen. Thanks for pointing out the postcard thing, I didnt even know about it. I will go over there right now and check it out!
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 12:53 pm
Wonder if the FDA is aware of this new development that reduces the length of time it takes to obtain food contamination test results. Bravo to the professor and his student!
Here’s an excerpt from the article with complete link below:
A professor and graduate student in University of the Pacific’s chemistry department have developed a new method for determining how to identify foreign substances in pet food. The breakthrough discovery allows scientists to determine whether pet food has been contaminated in a matter of minutes.
Professor O. David Sparkman, who has made recent appearances on spectroscopyNOW’s podcasts, and graduate student Teresa Vail used a mass spectrometer with the D.A.R.T. (Direct Analysis in Real Time) interface device to determine that a can of dog food that was recently recalled contained melamine, a chemical used in plastic furniture, cookware, and fertilizers. The chemical is at the heart of the nationwide recall of contaminated pet food that has caused numerous animal deaths.
http://www.spectroscopynow.com.....amp;page=1
Comment by Lorraine T — April 23, 2007 @ 12:57 pm
OK folks, for those of you who are feeding yourselves and your pets there is now a Beef Patties recall… happened today, can’t win.
Comment by Cynthia — April 23, 2007 @ 12:59 pm
I have FINALLY made something my cats like! And, I’m getting better at the dry kibble. Now, all I need is a 6 shelved oven & a 20’ counter top! It’s good stuff! yummm!
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 12:59 pm
I do believe that just using the dead pets is a good idea - to get the count right.
I can send my own with Mercy’s picture separately because I do believe she is a victim of this pet food poisoning - hers was SD.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 1:03 pm
Cynthia, are you referring to the FSIS recall from Friday or is this a different one?
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 1:04 pm
Here’s CJ Foods Recall info:
C.J. Foods Pet Food Recall Information
C. J. Foods today, April 19 2007, supported a voluntary recall of pet food made with rice protein concentrate previously thought to be unaffected by the melamine contamination.
The contamination was linked to a single bag of rice protein concentrate which was found to contain melamine, a substance not approved for use in food. The contamination was limited to a single product.
The rice protein concentrate in question was approved for use and provided by Wilbur-Ellis, a grain and food company. The contamination was discovered during special testing for melamine by C. J. Foods and Lortscher Agri Service, a supplier of raw materials. The contamination was limited to a single bag of rice protein concentrate and a single production run. Most affected bags of product did not reach retail shelves and those that did are now being recalled.
The company immediately notified the Food & Drug Administration and our client to initiate a voluntarily recall of the affected brand and to notify retailers and pet owners of the situation.
“This situation is especially disappointing given our 20 years of quality pet food production without incident,” said John Kuenzi, Chief Executive Officer. “We are taking this matter very seriously and have taken a number of steps to further ensure the safety and quality of our customers’ products moving forward.”
The steps include:
· No longer using protein sources from exotic locations.
· Implementing additional testing procedures to detect the presence of melamine or other contaminants
· Participating in a task force of industry and university experts to explore more stringent “source of origin” labeling.
If you have questions about this recall, please contact Jerry Krueger Vice President at 402-239-9589
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 1:08 pm
E. Hamilton:
I think the postcard mailing needs to be mentioned at least three times a day on at least three threads. Morning, evening, and late evening.
So many people log on, have a few moments, read and get off.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 1:08 pm
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 1:03 pm
Linda, did your pet die before the recall like out? So if I have food that is on the recall list, I can send a postcard too?
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 1:12 pm
I mean to say like “ours”…..
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 1:12 pm
At least for the next 18 months the FDA will be worthless. We all need to take it upon ourselves to contact pet food companies and demand to know where everything comes from, who and where it is manufactured and what safeguards are in place. I can and will make my own so any of them wanting my business will have to answer all my questions and in writing. The ones with proprietary information, double talk etc, can keep their product. I am willing to pay more but I expect a safe and wholesome product. Thank God this didn’t hit my kids but it could have. And I feel so badly for those with lost and ill kids.
Furthermore I will not buy anything from a company that does business with Menu, the other two nameless companies-playing Russian Roulette with our pets, or any company that imports and a single thing from China used in any of their stuff. The only way they will get the message is in the pocket book. Do your research then all of us need to call 10 people with pets and try to get them on the same program.
Comment by Robin — April 23, 2007 @ 1:13 pm
Carole, here’s the article (sorry Gina, I can’t access tinyurl)
http://www.cbs47.tv/news/local.....feabd41a3b
Comment by Cynthia — April 23, 2007 @ 1:14 pm
No Mercy didn’t die - she has liver disease and was leaking urine - $1,000 later and the vet couldn’t find the problem. I’m certain it was the Science Diet Dry Lamb and Rice dog food I was feeding her.
CJ Foods: Why didn’t they list the name of the pet food that was recalled on their web site? What scums.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 1:14 pm
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 11:50 am
Oh, Linda, I really do feel blessed! My husband took a position at half pay just so we could live there! A block from the ocean, too! Have been in touch with people who are hooking me up with local certified organic sources of all kinds. Many there are like-minded. Am really excited.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 23, 2007 @ 1:18 pm
I’m afraid to try any major brand of pet food. I just am.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 1:08 pm
Wonderful idea, thanks for offering to do that!
Then please post the link and the fact that we are asking for owners of DEAD pets only to send postcards.
Post it here post on any other blog or pet site will let you and post the link to itchmo forums please.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 23, 2007 @ 1:21 pm
Nadine, do you think there are trolls on the blog making up stories about their pets?
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 1:21 pm
Linda MS said:
I think the postcard mailing needs to be mentioned at least three times a day on at least three threads. Morning, evening, and late evening.
—
Everyone, attention!
PLEASE don’t spam the blog. PLEASE don’t spam the blog. PLEASE don’t spam the blog.
And by the way: DON’T SPAM THE BLOG.
Multiple posts will not be tolerated, no matter how high-minded a reason.
And a word about “trolls.” I don’t care if people are coming in here to post a defense of a company. All are welcome here, for whatever reason. The only thing we’ve asked of posters is that they remain civil to each other, keep the language clean and remain on point.
Now, we’ve pointed you to resources for advocacy and the development of grassroots and consumer campaigns. Please make use of them, and leave the blog for the collection, discussion and distribution of information.
We are a news site, not an advocacy group. We don’t intend for that to change.
Capisce?
Comment by Gina Spadafori — April 23, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
I will most gladly do it E. Hamilton and other places too as I do surf quite a bit trying to dig up news.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 1:23 pm
I don’t recognize any except there could have been some this morning. I don’t believe there are any regulars. If there are, I don’t see any doing much damage. We keep going regardless.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 23, 2007 @ 1:24 pm
Yup, same recall. Funny, several human food items had recalls last week and I never heard about any of them.
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 1:25 pm
Okay, well I guess that idea is gone in the bucket. That’s spam - posting about the postcards. I guess it is. Sorry then.
I keep forgetting this site is about news and newsworthy events.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 1:25 pm
That’s why people don’t know about it E. Hamilton is that they don’t go to the other threads and read and then we mentioned it here and they think it is a good idea.
Now, I guess I am going to have to come up with some “news” for this “news blog” but for the life of me, I don’t even know what is news anymore - evidently it is not our pets dying or our efforts to send postcards to get the count up.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 1:28 pm
I suppose it is spam if we refer them to the “itchmo” site too - sigh!
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 1:31 pm
***U.S. SAFETY STRAINED BY IMPORTS***
Great AP article just released at Forbes:
http://tinyurl.com/3dazn9
Comment by Nadine Long — April 23, 2007 @ 1:35 pm
Sorry—-“U.S. FOOD SAFETY STRAINED…”
Now back to my boxes.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 23, 2007 @ 1:37 pm
I KNEW/HOPED a Techy-Scientist would find a quick & easy method of detection. yippppeee!
I sent him a thank you email.
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 1:39 pm
Oh, boy!
http://www.hmbreview.com/artic.....story9.txt
Local hog ranch may have processed poisoned pigs
By Nick Casey [ nick@hmbreview.com ]
A Half Moon Bay ranch is among four vendors suspected of having processed hogs poisoned by an industrial chemical, the California Department of Food and Agriculture announced Sunday.
Bar None Ranches, which operates a slaughterhouse on Tunitas Creek Road, purchased 42 pigs that may have consumed melamine, an industrial chemical used for floor tiles, kitchenware and fire retardant fabrics. Officials do not believe the contamination poses a severe health risk to humans, but are warning that the meat should not be consumed.
The ranch declined to comment on the matter.
According to press release, the state agriculture authority believes that the hogs were purchased by Bar None and three other facilities from a vendor in Stanislaus County. Urine tests at the Stanislaus farm produced melamine-positive results on April 19.
“This is a chemical that does not belong in food,” CDFA spokesman Steve Lyle told the Review. “The ranches have been cooperative in providing their records on who they may have sold their meat to.”
Bar None, a “custom slaughterhouse,” is state-inspected and may only sell to individuals for personal use.
Lyle said that the department believes the melamine originated with rice protein concentrate used as pig feed. The feed, which originated in China, was then sold to Diamond Pet Foods, a pet food manufacturer in Lathrop.
People who have purchased pork from Bar None are encouraged to contact the CDFA at (916) 654-0504.
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 1:45 pm
Well I’m going to do some research and see if I can skunk up some news on our on-going little Shop of FDA Horrors …….
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 1:47 pm
http://www.wndu.com/home/headlines/7154696.html
MSU Studies Pet Food Recall
3:19 PM Apr 23, 2007
Pet owners across the country are on edge after last month’s massive pet food recall but now, Michigan State University hopes to offer some comfort.
A team of doctors is conducting a nationwide survey to find out how many animals have died or gotten sick because of the contaminated pet food.
The MSU study is designed specifically for pathologists and veterinarians who come across sick pets.
“There are animals that are unfortunately dying every day from kidney disease. And what we want to do is make sure when we’re trying to figure out what the toxin is that we’re only looking at the animal that died from this toxin and not the animal that may have died from anti-freeze poisoning,” says MSU veterinarian, Dr. Dalen Agnew
The online survey is scheduled to last at least a month and MSU hopes pet owners will find comfort in knowing the truth.
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 1:48 pm
You are right Linda MS - it stinks a plenty!
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 1:52 pm
E. Hamilton
I’m having trouble getting to second page of your Itchmo forum. Will try again later after clearing my cache.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 23, 2007 @ 1:52 pm
Ally I think you are right. I noticed the wide screen after I posted, but I thought it was just my screen. Sorry about that.
Comment by Angela Flynn — April 23, 2007 @ 1:56 pm
I just received my daily C-SPAN alert of upcoming C-SPAN cable programming. Tomorrow’s (Tues. 4/24) congressional hearing on food safety isn’t listed. You can write to them requesting that they add it to their schedule at:
viewer@c-span.org
Comment by Maureen — April 23, 2007 @ 1:56 pm
I was thinking about creating my own pet food brand and sell it locally, but not freeze dried, and then I can come on the blog and pitch sales of it - at least once a day - and that’s not spam I guess - and that is good news for me.
Trouble is I haven’t thought of a way to make it for less than $5.00 a pound - but hey what do I care, where there’s a will there’s a way.
More later….
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 2:00 pm
NEWS:
Common side effects of Prozac in dogs (from the vet manuals):
— vomiting
— diarrhea
— lethargy
— increased thirst
— appetite fluctuations
— incontinance
— tremor
This may be secondary to the increase in free serotonin in the blood stream and cerebrospinal fluid which causes death of serotonin receptors in the brain and other nerve damage side effects.
After periods of long administration, disorientation, diminished hearing and restlessness have been observed.
With some forms of dog Prozac, increase in seizure activity has been observed at roughly 4 times the level of other anti depressants.
Hopefully your vet is running a liver panel. In tests on dogs to get approval to test Prozac on humans, elevated liver enzymes, a precursor to permanent liver damage were recorded in some cases. It is known that Prozac is cleared through the liver and over time, inevitably has a toxic effect on it.
An interesting study was done in England on dogs with behavior problems. Some received just behavior modification and some received behavior modification and Prozac. The results on the dogs getting the Prozac were quicker, more profound but less lasting than on those who received just behavior modification. In fact, the restlessness, insomnia and other problems associated with the Prozac eventually overtook the benefits of behavior modification in some cases.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 2:08 pm
Linda MS,
I realize your frustration with this whole pet food recall, but is there any chance you could pull back on posts that are just venting about other issuess please? these threads are long enough and it breaks up the info stream. Thanks! :)
Comment by straybaby — April 23, 2007 @ 2:11 pm
Nadine - I actually like the FIRST (incorrect) post: ***U.S. SAFETY STRAINED BY IMPORTS***
That is correct - in my opinion!
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 2:11 pm
Re: CJ Foods
I get the impression yet cannot confirm that these manufacturers must have some kind of confidentiality clause with the companies they produce for.
That or they have some sort of agreement as to how these kinds of things are handled. C,J. is a good example - they post info but stop short of the company.
Either they expect folks to put 2 and 2 together or they simply can’t put the name out there. Menu Foods didn’t have much choice given all the brands they handle.
Or they don’t want retaliation on their manufacturing plant.
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 2:12 pm
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 1:48 pm
While Im glad that Michigan is taking a survey I dont think that all the animals will be counted. If they are only looking for exact specific cases of elevated BUN/Creatinine combined with Urinalysis showing poor protein concentration, they wont get it all. They need to include everyone who can prove they were feeding tainted food, and then gather the symptoms so they can start determining how this food fully affected pets. At some point some research has to start happening… this bullcrud of saying ‘oh your pet was eating tainted food but it had other problems too so that doesnt count’ has to STOP! The veterinary community is saying they dont know how all of these toxins truly affect pets so how can they say that a pet that was eating tainted food, wasnt affected? I think there needs to be more open-mindedness about the affects of this poison besides just the kidneys. I have read so many places of pets have neurological issues and seizures etc also. And what about thyroid, liver etc?
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 2:15 pm
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 2:11 pm
Think it was a dead giveaway for what I was really thinking? It is a good article.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 23, 2007 @ 2:18 pm
Nadine,
I had to read the 2 headlines a few times to see the difference . . . OOPS!
Comment by straybaby — April 23, 2007 @ 2:21 pm
Straybaby,
I will most happily not vent if others not vent too. Maybe just one sentence ones are enough, but it is difficult after CJ foods won’t list the names of their recall, seems some venting is warranted doesn’t it.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 2:21 pm
Has anyone seen this site? there’s some extremely disturbing things about rendering and the use of creosote soaked meat.
http://render-belfield.notlong.com
Comment by Gary — April 23, 2007 @ 2:22 pm
I was wondering if anyone notice anything unusual with the “coloring” of their wet food if it was on the recall list? I noticed that the color itself looks “old” compared to earlier batches, has anyone else noticed that at all?
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 2:29 pm
The lawsuits will beinteresting if they get to court. Plaintifs would like to minimize the libility by telling us they don’t believe our pets are worth much but it would make their corporate futures somewhat problematic. It would be like Ford trying to minimize the liability resulting from the Pinto fireballs having said your kids aren’t worth all that much. Doesn’t give the the authors of beautiful packaging artwork much future wiggle room does it?
Comment by Dave — April 23, 2007 @ 2:32 pm
Most of the news that is being posted can be seen with a quick look at Itchmo and doing a google search. Some of it I don’t post about because I figure we all have seen it, but I guess not because I see it here repeated several times. We can probably cut down on the lengthy threads too by figuring that others are also looking at these sites.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 2:33 pm
Comment by Gary — April 23, 2007 @ 2:22 pm
Thanks Gary for that link on creosote soaked meat. The chicken sandwich I was eating for lunch all of a sudden tasted rather strange.(-:
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 2:36 pm
Here’s the latest FDA Enforcement List — so you know what NOT to eat, drink, etc. & even which blood component to avoid…
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/.....01000.html
Here is peanut paste contaminated with metal fragments — 7 containers worth!
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/.....00998.html
Here’s the index page for the Enforcement Div:
http://www.fda.gov/po/enforcei.....force.html
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 2:36 pm
Comment by Gary — April 23, 2007 @ 2:22 pm
Pretty disgusting. There’s lots more info on rendering in these blogs further back.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 23, 2007 @ 2:37 pm
Comment by straybaby — April 23, 2007 @ 2:21 pm
Either headline works for me.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 23, 2007 @ 2:41 pm
Not sure if I should ask in this thread but does anyone have a link to a site for making dry kibble for CATS?
My little girlie is being very fussy with the regulr food I have made. Her brother is fine with it but she keeps going to her bowl where I used to give her the kibble.
Comment by mal — April 23, 2007 @ 2:43 pm
does anyone know what CJ Foods makes? I can’t figure out what’s been recalled.
Comment by Cynthia — April 23, 2007 @ 2:44 pm
Here are the FDA’s Warning Letters. I’ve been watching & waiting for ANY PET FOOD manufacturer to appear. But, I guess the reason they are not on this list is because this list is for INSPECTIONS!! And, we all know the FDA just doesn’t have the man/woman power to get that job done.
This is a bunch of bureaucratic nonesense!
It is nice to know they are sending out notices to violators. Only many are repeat violators & you know they are not checking every single cow before butchering… ahhhhhhh I hate that word. Plus, if we only knew the SOURCE of our foods, then we could stay away from violators — even in the U.S.
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 2:48 pm
I apologize for even suggesting that it would be a good idea to make comments about the post cards on several threads. I realize now how terrible of an idea that was and also for venting about what is happening to our pets.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 2:53 pm
Comment by mal:
mal you might look here, they are pretty food instensive.
http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/forums/
Comment by Gary — April 23, 2007 @ 2:56 pm
• Brands Include Bow Wow Breakfast, Chompions, Barkfast Squares, and Chewa-Bunga
• No products made by Menu Foods (never have used them)
• Manufacturer is CJ Foods
• All ingredients are from US suppliers
• No products contain wheat gluten
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 2:59 pm
Does anyone have any experience good or bad, with Natures Variety dog and cat food? Comes in canned and dry.
Thanks for everything that everyone is doing. You folks at per connection and itchmo and howl911 etc.etc. are THE BEST!!!!!
Comment by Peg — April 23, 2007 @ 2:59 pm
Another thought I had that I havent seen any vets talking about is what are the affects of feeding these toxins to a pet who is on medications? Wouldnt it be possible for those toxins to interact with the meds and cause addtional problems? Just a thought
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 3:02 pm
This rendering business is making me sick! I will never, ever feed that putrid poison again. Creosote is a carcinogenic poison, unbelievable.
In this age of greed, I wonder what other disgusting things they do in rendering?
The thing I worry about most is the viral cancers, undoubtedly, that’s in the vat too.
Comment by Gary — April 23, 2007 @ 3:02 pm
Thanks Gary!!
The pet food list is just what I needed!
Comment by Peg — April 23, 2007 @ 3:02 pm
ANGELIQUE
I don’t need to do research on feeding my pets tuna. I know it is not a permanent solution.
I was feeding my cat and dog special kitty wet food pouches and my dog ol’roy canned food. This was added to Pedigree dry for the dog. My cat eats Special Kitty dry (only because she has part of a bag left and it did not make her sick).
My dog was on Purina Beneful until I changed to Pedigree last fall (no problem, just decided to give her something different).
Special Kitty pouches recalled, ol’roy canned food recalled, ol’roy jerky treats recalled, pigs ears recalled, and now reports that Beneful is poisoning dogs. This morning I find that the Pedigree is made by Mars (Royal Canin corn gluten recall).
Sometimes when I go to feed them, I wonder how many times I can dodge the bullet. That’s when the tuna gets added to their dry food.
P.S. My dog is on Pedigree canned and dry. I have to buy dry cat food next week. I have no idea what brand to buy. I was going to buy Purina Cat Chow until I read this blog.
Comment by Jeanette/Ohio — April 23, 2007 @ 3:02 pm
CJ FOODS: ABOUT
CJ Foods has been producing a variety of extruded animal foods since the company’s beginning in 1985. Founders Chuck and Joyce Kuenzi began the business in Pawnee City, Nebraska and focused on manufacturing half-products—ingredients used in creating finished products. In 1988, Chuck and Joyce’s son John Kuenzi took over the business and two years later led the company in the switch from human to pet food.
Since the transition, CJ Foods has seen tremendous growth in the business’ relatively short history as the number of employees has increased from the initial 12 to nearly 100 today. The growth of personnel can be attributed to the physical growth of the plant itself. In 1995, a 13,000 sq. ft. expansion was completed and was followed by another 42,000 sq. ft. expansion in January 2000.
CJ Foods manufactures for nearly 30 different companies, creating more than 100 complete animal diets. The small community of Pawnee City has also benefited from the company’s success.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 3:03 pm
RE: Comment by Gary
Thank you for the link for cat food. I am also trying to find info on making dry kibble for my little girlie as she is the picky one and although she will eat tuna and a little of my mixed meat meals she keeps looking for the dry stuff. I don’t want to give her too much tuna due to the mercury levels in tuna.
Comment by mal — April 23, 2007 @ 3:08 pm
“does anyone know what CJ Foods makes? I can’t figure out what’s been recalled. “
CJ Foods makes Blue Buffalo.
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 3:10 pm
Linda MS: I don’t think you need to make ANY apologies. I would question anyone’s soul who came on here & made simple, heartless statements…”oh, by the way my dog died last night. Want to go shopping tomorrow?” I wouldn’t worry about it. You contribute a good deal on here — plus, I like your style! ha! :)
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 3:13 pm
The interesting thing about this is how varied the pet foods are that are used by my folks at work, and not one of them has had a problem.
They use Science Diet, Meow Mix, IAMS, Nutro, Purina Puppy Chow and one just switched from Authority to Blue Buffalo and noticed a good change in his dog in two days.
Seems sporadic, and when folks aren’t having any problems they don’t think much about the recall.
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 3:14 pm
Burns Pet Health, Inc. (verified by company VP 4/3/07)
All products are wheat and corn gluten free.
All food ingredients are from the USA.
Manufactured by CJ Foods in Pawnee City, NE
Burns Pet Health, Inc. is it’s own entity - not owned by another company.
Sister company is Land of Holistic Pets in the UK
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 3:14 pm
I do believe CJ makes Blue Buffalo….they had that recall of some kitten dry food earlier this week. Don’t quote me on that but this is what I think I heard somewhere.
Comment by Jan — April 23, 2007 @ 3:14 pm
Thank you Kat - ha!
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 3:16 pm
Sorry, didn’t refresh & notice that somebody posted that a few minutes earlier….oooops!
Comment by Jan — April 23, 2007 @ 3:17 pm
The statement on made on CJ Foods website is referring to the run of kitten food made for Blue Buffalo.
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 3:17 pm
The one good thing about the Blue Buffalo recall is that most of that food never made it to market because it was just made, so it was easy for them to recall it.
5,000 bags is a lot easier to find than 60 million cans.
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 3:20 pm
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 10:31 am :
Our vet has said she has had cases where the BUN & Creatinine show find but the problem shows up in the urinalysis with the crystals showing…..and note that blood tests only show kidney problems if its advanced as far as I understand. So if there is slight problems, it may not show in the BUN & Crea but would show in the urinalysis….
OH NO!!! I had my 3 non-symptomatic cats tested on 4/11 because they ate recalled Nutro. My vet did a CBC blood test & the results were fine. He did not recommend doing a urinalysis unless the BUN or Creatinine came back bad. But now I’m very worried again, and he’s closed for the day so I can’t call him until tomorrow.
Are there any vets or medical folks reading this that may be able to offer any more information on whether or not the BUN/Creatinine is enough to test, or whether the urinalyis is needed, to ensure the cats are OK? THANKS for any info you can provide!!!
Comment by catlover — April 23, 2007 @ 3:21 pm
The City of Bern will receive $750,000 of CDBG funds on behalf of C. J. Foods, Inc., a manufacturer of specialty animal foods and treats.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 3:23 pm
Addition to my above post at 3:21 pm - actually any comments are welcome, even from non-medical folks!!!
Comment by catlover — April 23, 2007 @ 3:23 pm
RE: comment by Carole @ 10:57am -
I see where you mentioned Nestle-Ralston/Purina & P&G both have mfg. facilities in Utah, so then this means it’s not just American Nutrition in Utah.
I am really hoping American Nutrition is not one of the companies, because I suspect they make alot of the canned food for the smaller, natural pet food co’s.
Comment by catlover — April 23, 2007 @ 3:26 pm
mal: Do you have a Vitamix or good food processor?
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 3:26 pm
CDBG = Community development block grant program
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 3:26 pm
I just got an email from Nutro discussing their use of rice protein & corn gluten. I know they use rice gluten in alot of their canned. Here is the email:
April 23, 2007
Dear Nutro Customers,
We know many of you have questions about the FDA’s latest reports that melamine was found in rice protein concentrate (also referred to as rice gluten). We want to address those concerns as well as provide you with information on our use of corn gluten, which we include in some of our pet foods as an ingredient in the form of corn gluten meal.
Our customers have also brought to our attention confusion that has been caused by the media in reporting the new recall of some Natural Balance pet foods. Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc. is not in any way affiliated with Nutro Products nor Nutro’s Natural Choice®, MAX® or Ultra™ brands.
I hope the following information is helpful in clearing up any confusion you may have.
Regarding Rice Protein Concentrate:
(1) Nutro uses rice protein concentrate in some of its products because it provides an important source of protein for pets, especially for those with digestive sensitivities and allergies.
(2) Independent laboratory tests have confirmed that the rice protein concentrate (also known as rice gluten) used in Nutro’s pet foods does not contain melamine.
(3) It has been reported that the Natural Balance recall is focused on products containing rice protein concentrate provided by Wilbur-Ellis Company. Nutro has NEVER purchased or used rice protein concentrate from Wilbur-Ellis Company in any of our pet foods.
Regarding Corn Gluten:
(1) Nutro uses corn gluten meal in some of its pet foods because it is a source of sulfur amino acids, which are important for skin and coat health. Corn gluten meal also helps as a natural urine acidifier that is important for both cats and dogs.
(2) All of the corn gluten meal that Nutro uses in its products is produced in the United States.
Nutro customers may check Nutro’s website (www.nutroproducts.com) or contact our Consumer Hotline — (800) 833-5330 — for further information about our products. We will continue to post updated information on our website and our customer service representatives are working diligently to respond to each and every call and email personally.
We understand that the pet food recall has caused continued confusion and frustration and we are doing everything we can to provide you with the information you need about our products. We will continue to keep you updated.
Sincerely,
Dave Kravis
President & CEO
Nutro Products
Comment by catlover — April 23, 2007 @ 3:31 pm
Comment by catlover
The only people I know that might be able to answer your question is here:
http://yahoofelineCRF.notlong.com
Comment by Gary — April 23, 2007 @ 3:32 pm
Thank you Gary, I will check it out.
Comment by catlover — April 23, 2007 @ 3:36 pm
From what I know about American Nutrition, they manufacture Atta Boy, Basic Plus, Vita Bone, Vita Snacks, Natural Harmony and Atta Cat.
The only problem with it being P&G or Nestle/Purina is that they both state they do not use rice protein in their products. So that rules them out…
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 3:38 pm
STEVE -
I think you were the one to bring this up, but if not maybe you recall the info.
Question - What is the current full value of Menu Foods Income Fund and the Value before the recall and the value one year previous?
If you don’t recall, then could you please point me in the direction to find the info?
Thanks,
Kathi
Comment by Kathi — April 23, 2007 @ 3:39 pm
STEVE
To clarify, I don’t mean individual share price, but the total value of all shares.
Comment by Kathi — April 23, 2007 @ 3:43 pm
Linda MS:
I deleted your post about evaluating dog foods, which has little to no relevance to the current situation. It’s from Nov. 2006, and I found the original story:
http://kdka.com/pets/local_story_312173434.html
Do us all a favor and if you think something’s important, provide an excerpt and a link for people to read the rest. Providing something at length with no context and no citation is not helpful.
Get helpful or take it elsewhere.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — April 23, 2007 @ 3:52 pm
Haven’t seen the recall listed on the blog for “today’s” recall of some Royal Canin Canada foods listed today by the VAMA on their website.
Comment by Amy — April 23, 2007 @ 3:54 pm
I have been very helpful in many areas of finding facts and information - I posted about the gourmet pet food because I thought it was helpful, so many people, including me, wrestle with what to buy - and even though it was not a new article I did think it was helpful. And you don’t agree - well okay, then delete what you don’t agree with and keep what you think I find that is helpful. Works for me.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 3:57 pm
re catlover Nutro email.
Gee, Dave, I feel so much better that you’re on top of this and keeping us so informed.
Where the heck were you a month ago when we needed answers? Sha-boom!
Comment by Kathi — April 23, 2007 @ 3:58 pm
P. S.
Hey, Dave. I saved all the evidence. I was not fooled by your offer to pay me for the remaining product that I stopped using.
We’re not the fools you think we are. Too little, too late. Bye-bye, Davey!
Comment by Kathi — April 23, 2007 @ 4:03 pm
I’m more than a little disappointed to find this from Sojo’s:
http://www.tobysnaturalpets.com/sojostake.htm
(begin quote)”A few years ago, 3,500 dogs died in Venezuela as a result of a bad ingredient in a major US pet food brand – and yet very few heard about it. In this current case 13 cats and 1 dog have died, and it’s the biggest story our industry has seen in decades. Not to downplay the current epidemic, which has effected countless animals. But one has to wonder if isolated incidents like this occur all the time and remain unreported either to the media or the FDA. If it weren’t for the vets who reported these cases, and the officials who connected the dots – its possible this contamination may have never come to light.” (end quote)
This after they told me their dehydrated fruits and vegetables come from China. I’m just not getting any really “warm fuzzies” from them here.
Comment by Pat — April 23, 2007 @ 4:05 pm
Carole,
I think you posted that P&G manuf. pet food in Utah? when I called today,re: Eukanuba,they told me their plants are in Ohio,Iowa and Nebraska. I don’t know if Iams and Euk are made in the same plant… I also in searching on the web see that they are building or have built a plant in North Carolina?
Think I will call them in the AM and reverify what they told me.
Meanwhile the pork tenderloin went back in the freezer…. and trying to decide what is safe to eat for dinner. Glad that the U of Mich is going to accumulate data - wish they had done it sooner…Here’s hoping CSpan can rearrange their schedule.
I keep waiting for the recalls…
I think it will be a vegetarian meal tonight with fresh veggies washed really,really well!
Katie
Comment by Katie — April 23, 2007 @ 4:06 pm
Apologies, I meant to say the recall for Royal Canin Canada is reported on the AVMA website. http://www.avma.org/ check “breaking news”
Comment by Amy — April 23, 2007 @ 4:07 pm
I’m so worried as I was feeding Royal Canin to my pets, cats and dogs. I’m so thankful to Pet Connection.
Comment by Susan V — April 23, 2007 @ 4:12 pm
P&G is registered as a manufacturing company in Utah - keep in mind that they manufacture a lot of stuff.
That’s where large companies can get confusing - they are global so they have office and plants everywhere.
Like Colgate Palmolive, who is based out of New York. They own Hills, yet Hills says they don’t use rice protein.
Comment by Carole — April 23, 2007 @ 4:12 pm
I tried to find information about CJ Foods and it seems to be a mystery for the most part. Even the company profiles are not available.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 4:15 pm
Here is ChinaDaily.com’s report on polluted land:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/c.....856803.htm
excerpts:
More than 10% of arable land polluted
By Li Fangchao (China Daily/Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-04-23 07:10
…About 12.3 million hectares, or more than 10 percent of China’s arable land, is contaminated by pollution and the situation is getting worse, the Ministry of Land and Resources said.
Arable land pollution, together with declining farm areas, posed a severe threat to the nation’s food production, the Xinhua News Agency quoted an official from the ministry as saying yesterday.
….The ministry acknowledged that heavy metals alone had contaminated 12 million tons of grain and caused losses of 20 billion yuan ($2.6 billion) each year, adding that polluted grain would ultimately be a health hazard, Xinhua reported….
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 4:19 pm
I’m confused. Maybe posting about the G. pet food is not a good topic on this blog. I don’t understand. When I read the article I even wondered myself why I thought I was doing my dogs a favor by buying such expensive foods. I found another one about the market of pet foods that was more current but that wasn’t approved either. I do believe I try to be helpful.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 4:19 pm
Robin, the FDA does not have to be “worthless” for the next 18 months. In fact, we need to INSIST that it not be. The current sitting Congress has it in their purvue to allocate more funds and legislate more authority to the FDA. Sen. Durbin made it very clear during the sub-committee hearing he recently chaired that the FDA has neither existing adequate recall authority, nor the legal authority or structure it needs in emergencies to act to protect our interests in a global economy. He has been a stellar, but lonely, proponant of changes in the FDA that would model it more like the CDC. This takes legislation in Washington.
Unfortunately, if you take a quick cruise around the websites of Senators and Representatives of both parties you will see that very few even have this issue on their radar screen. This is why persistant contact with our elected representatives is so important (even if they send back stupid off-topic form emails). In my opinion, if everyone who posts their anger and frustration to a pet blog would also place a phone call or write their Congresspeople it would be a huge help. I know many of you have already made those contacts, but I’ll bet many have not. Please do so today.
Comment by elizabeth R — April 23, 2007 @ 4:21 pm
Comment by catlover — April 23, 2007 @ 3:21 pm
Catlover, this is taken from AVMA’s website and its pretty clear on urinalysis being done as some pets are asymptomatic and their blood tests can appear normal. There is more on their website that can be helpful to your vet….
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 4:24 pm
CBS has a new article. They show at the bottom a link to Menu Foods for a complete list of recalled food. Well, that is quite wrong. Not all recalls are from Menu:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories.....6543.shtml
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 4:25 pm
Oh shoot, here’s the info I forgot to add:
Some of these pets are quite azotemic and ill whereas others may present only with polyuria and polydipsia, dilute urine and blood work which shows mild azotemia or no significant changes. Some pets that have consumed recalled food remain asymptomatic but in fact have significant changes on their blood work and/or urinalysis. Therefore, the best recommendation for pet owners remains to consult with a veterinarian if a pet has eaten the recalled food in all cases, but particularly if the pet is showing any illness including anorexia, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, polyuria, or polydipsia. Recommendations still include doing a general blood test (CBC, biochemistry panel) and urinalysis. Crystalluria is being found in many of these cases and veterinarians should request a urine review for crystal morphology from their diagnostic laboratory. These crystals have been described as round and yellow with radiant striations and appear similar to uric acid or urate crystals. Veterinarians should contact their diagnostic veterinary laboratory if they have further questions.
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 4:25 pm
I just sent them an email about the erroneous info.
Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 @ 4:29 pm
Comment by Pat — April 23, 2007 @ 4:05 pm
Oh, I think they really DID mean to downplay this disaster. There seems to be a lot of that going around. Some of it paid for and some of it just “honest” ignorant. Either way who needs em?
No reasonable pet professional would say something like that, so it makes it very handy to spot the total bozo ones when they make statements like that.
If a person stands too close to something so blatantly foolish like that does it actually drain the smarts out of a brain?
I often wonder if that is true, sort of a herd mentality thing, 6 smart people hang around , say, a pet food industry conference, and poof, their brains fall right out.
Thanks for letting us know.
I am gonna save that page right for a good laugh later. And maybe the family of the first human who dies from this poison will want to have their lawyer “chat” with tobysnaturals about that page.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 23, 2007 @ 4:29 pm
Has anyone had any problems feeding Z/D to their cat? I have lost 3 cats and they were eating this, canned and dry. thanks, magesticats@net-change.com Please let Me know,
Comment by Trudy Jackson — April 23, 2007 @ 4:29 pm
Thanks Sandi K, I am actually looking at that AVMA website (& others) right now. I need to call my vet in the morning.
I also just called the 24-hr Emergency Vet Clinic in my area, and they told me they have seen cats came in with no symptoms at all but either the blood OR the urine results comes back bad. She recommended getting them tested again in a couple of weeks. But I don’t want to wait that long.
Comment by catlover — April 23, 2007 @ 4:30 pm
Kat-
The CBS article was from April 12th. Life was different then, and recalls were pretty much Menu Foods-related.
Comment by Carol PW — April 23, 2007 @ 4:32 pm
I still don’t know why posting about the gourmet pet food market for pets isn’t okay? Everyone here is trying to figure out what to feed their pets, me included. And so are my friends, most of us are just frantic over it all.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 4:36 pm
Who makes Z/D?
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 23, 2007 @ 4:37 pm
Biuret:
A Safe, Practical Alternative to Urea.
Feed-grade biuret is an ADM exclusive.
It is a mixture of compounds including biuret and small amounts of triuret, cyanuric acid, and urea, and is formed by the controlled decomposition and subsequent processing of urea.
Ed note: Cyanuric acid? Hmmm…
Ed. note: Incidentally, ADM-ANI also sells a number of commodity products to the pet food industry (wheat, soy, vitamins, mixed tocopherals, and TVP—texturized vegetable protein—which, they say, is available in various sizes and colors and is widely used in canned products as a meat extender.
Especially interesting is ADM-ANI’s webpage on “byproducts.” One such byproduct is CORN GLUTEN FEED (not the same as corn gluten or corn gluten meal). Corn gluten feed (CGF) “is the portion of corn grain that remains after extraction of starch, gluten, and germ in the wet milling process. It is primarily bran, which is quite digestible in the rumen. Typically, corn gluten feed consists of about 2/3 corn bran and 1/3 corn steep liquor … Since corn gluten feed is high in phosphorus, it is important to provide a high-calcium mineral supplement to balance the Ca:P ratio. Supplementing diets with thiamine may be beneficial due to the increased tendency for polio-like symptoms in feedlot cattle fed high amounts of gluten.”
The “polio-like” symptoms obseved in cattle which are fed CGF include blindness, muscle tremors and weakness which are presumably the result of brain lesions caused by the excess sulfur in the CGF. CGF, disturbingly, is becoming a popular “meat extender” in pet food. A quick google for “corn gluten feed” found it listed among the ingredients for Purina’s Fit and Trim dry dog food, Pilgrim’s 21% and 22% dog foods, and several of the JOY Pet Food formulations. Needless to say, the aforementioned list is just a small example. The caveat, as always, is to read the packaging labels or, because pet food companies are allowed up to six months to amend their ingredient listings, call the pet food company in question and ask them directly if corn gluten feed is used in any of their foods. The Dog Food Project website has compiled a comprehensive list of other foods to avoid in pet food.
http://howl911.com/
Comment by Steve — April 23, 2007 @ 4:40 pm
I’m sorry. Hills makes the Z/D. Thanks, Trudy
Comment by Trudy Jackson — April 23, 2007 @ 4:53 pm
Carole,
Thankyou for the info. - think I will call them tomorrow and see if I can get more info. about what plant makes our dog food but it’s probably proprietary!
Sandi,
Thankyou for the info. on the urinalysis. Answered questions I had.
Again, thank you everyone for all the informative sites, the sharing of information and especially to Pet Connection for providing a place where this can all happen.
Katie
Comment by Katie — April 23, 2007 @ 5:01 pm
Lou Dobbs is reporting on the recall now, and past contaminations with peanut butter and spinach.
Comment by 6catmommy — April 23, 2007 @ 5:12 pm
Last night I was going over the comment by mal - April 22, 2007 @ 4:48 PM on “A Sunday, yes a Sunday” about Menu Foods - unusually high trading.
I’ve updated his original tinyurl to include April 20, 2007 history of trade page:
http://tinyurl.com/yu7z6e
I paged back through each previous month all the way back to Dec 2005. What struck me as odd were the unusually high spikes in volume trading happening at least once each month except for April, May and June 2006 which had flat trading. But July spiked up again.
The volume spikes which are huge compared to volume trading the rest of each month which are flat and really low seem really peculiar for such a low-priced stock that wouldn’t really be of interest to the average stock investor.
The share price only moved a few cents each month previous to the recall announcement.
I was just wondering who all these traders were and why such a high spike on only one or two days out of each month.
Just odd, that’s all.
Comment by Kathi — April 23, 2007 @ 5:22 pm
Linda MS:
Please continue to contribute, but before posting, ask whether you’ve said it before, and whether it significantly adds to the discussion.
[I never heard of this Postcard before, and don’t understand the reference to E. Hamilton, yet I’ve been following this story from day 1, since my 2.6-year-old cat Jenni is practically a child to me.]
And all: Please don’t quote entire articles or even large excerpts. I don’t know how many times I’ve scrolled through the hog farm stories!
I agree with some of the previous posters that we should not depend too much on the FDA, and that the ultimate responsibility goes to the pet food companies.
A recent article on a completely different product bears reading:
http://tinyurl.com/24aqek
It explains how good products lose in the marketplace, even a fair one without malice, due to differences in product knowledge between producers and consumers.
We need to close the gap between our product knowledge and theirs. If they refuse to provide information, we need to boycott them and move on to the next brand.
I’m afraid the congressional hearings and calls for tighter FDA monitoring will, once this is all over, lead to a complacent trust in whatever’s on the shelves, and thus continue the product knowledge gap.
Comment by leek — April 23, 2007 @ 5:32 pm
From Reuters:
WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - A second company likely imported rice protein from China that was contaminated with a chemical linked to a major pet food recall, two U.S. lawmakers said on Monday.
Rice protein tainted with the chemical melamine was used in pet foods from at least five manufacturers who obtained the protein from one supplier, U.S. officials have said. It also made its way into feed used at a California hog farm.
Now, another company is suspected of importing rice protein from China, Democratic Sens. Richard Durbin of Illinois and Maria Cantwell of Washington said in a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“We have learned that in addition to Wilbur-Ellis, a second United States company imported a shipment of rice protein from China that is also likely to be contaminated with melamine,” the senators wrote. “We request the FDA identify this second importer as well as those manufacturers to which it may have sold the contaminated product.”
An aide to Durbin said the senators found out about the second importer from industry sources.
Comment by Eva — April 23, 2007 @ 5:39 pm
Thanks Eva
I’m just going to *grumble* here because anything else I have to say is not for all ears/eyes . . . .
But I am glad to see Durbin is on top of it and asking for names!
Comment by straybaby — April 23, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
straybaby,
Yeah, my husband’s been the unhappy audience for most of my rants.
Comment by Eva — April 23, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
Catlover, I have a great vet and we’ve had lengthy discussions about testing the kitties. He said bloods can come back normal. He recommends a
urine “specific gravity” test AND
microalbuminaria test.
These are both specialized urine tests which can tell a lot more about kidney function than blood work.
Also, look up Antech Diagnostics. My vet uses them for most of his off site testing. They have pictures of the horrible crystals in the urine of dogs and cats.
Hope this helps a little.
Comment by Peg — April 23, 2007 @ 5:59 pm
Here we go again! Who is the company and who got the rice protein concentrate???? And what brand is poison now?!!!
Comment by 6catmommy — April 23, 2007 @ 6:00 pm
And who is going to come forward and spare our pets?
Comment by 6catmommy — April 23, 2007 @ 6:01 pm
RE: Comment by Kat — April 23, 2007 Do you have a Vitamix or good food
At this time I only have a blender, but if I can figure out a good way to make dry kibble I would be willing to invest in one.
What would be best?
Thank you for your reply
Comment by mal — April 23, 2007 @ 6:04 pm
Thanks very much for the info, Peg. The CBC was done by Antech so my vet already uses that lab. I feel really sick over the urinalysis, I didn’t think it was necessary.
I feel like this nightmare is never-ending. Not only do we have to carry around ever-growing lists of food not to feed, but apparently we also need to know which @#$% tests to be asking for! This is really getting to me. I never thought I would be coming back to this website every day for 6 weeks, when I first visited. I never dreamed it would drag on this long, with no end in sight.
Comment by catlover — April 23, 2007 @ 6:30 pm
re comment by Trudy Jackson 4:29
At the end of Feb., I brought home a case of canned z/d for my cats. I opened 3 cans out of the case and none of the cats would touch the stuff, after they had eaten it before. I never used the dry because I don’t like the fact that Hill’s puts ethoxyquin in some of their dry foods. Anyway, the 3 cans of z/d that I opened were put outside for the feral cats and they wouldn’t touch it.
I threw the case of food away because I just had a bad feeling about it. This was before the recall came out. I figured that if the ferals wouldn’t eat it and they were cold and hungry, something was wrong.
Comment by Peg — April 23, 2007 @ 6:31 pm
Catlover, I actually yelled at my vet about 4 weeks ago and told him to “get with the program”, because alot of people and their pets were going to need his help. I can still hear him saying how he was getting lots of “blocked” cats as far back as October and most of them could not be saved by surgery.
Comment by Peg — April 23, 2007 @ 6:36 pm
Comment by catlover — April 23, 2007 @ 4:30 pm
Anytime catlover, I just hope their tests come back OK!
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 6:52 pm
When will this nightmare stop?
Comment by Sara J. — April 23, 2007 @ 6:54 pm
Peg, Thank You for answering Me. That’s when I bought mine. The cat it was supposed to be for wouldn’t eat it, but the others did. So, I never thought about it, before the recall. now i’m wondering if that is what killed my cats. Thanks, Trudy
Comment by Trudy Jackson — April 23, 2007 @ 6:56 pm
Comment by 6catmommy — April 23, 2007 @ 6:00 pm
I agree cat mommy, and arent we still all short the names of 2 pet food companies some of the shipment of rice protein went to? So how long exactly does FDA give these companies to “voluntarily” recall their food?
Comment by Sandi K — April 23, 2007 @ 6:56 pm
Thanks again, Peg and Sandi.
I hope they name the rest of these companies soon. I thought for sure that if/when this hit the human food supply, this would make the headlines BIG time, immediately. But it still hasn’t happened.
Comment by catlover — April 23, 2007 @ 7:01 pm
catlover-
I thought the same thing obviously there is some very big money involved in this cover up
Is it possible they are afraid of the vulnerablity this presents to terrorists?
Comment by Brenda — April 23, 2007 @ 7:13 pm
Brenda, I have to agree, these are 2 of the reasons why this is being covered up. I think they are afraid that if they tell the truth, there will be widespread panic.
Comment by catlover — April 23, 2007 @ 7:28 pm
Well the panic is going to happen soon enough -and when people start dying then what? There won’t be panic? At least now they can prevent some from eating the poison.
Comment by Sara J. — April 23, 2007 @ 7:38 pm
TURN ON CNN NOW
Comment by michelle — April 23, 2007 @ 7:40 pm
Does anyone know the approx. time between a pet eating the bad food and the first symptoms? Is it days, weeks, months?
Comment by Falcon — April 24, 2007 @ 1:50 pm
Falcon
I have the recalled cat food. My cat started vomiting 3 days into this batch. She had a total of 7 half-eaten cans from this batch when the first recall was announced. I would imagine time would vary whether wet or dry and amount of gluten added to each product. So some animals might not show immediate symptoms.
Comment by Kathi — April 24, 2007 @ 2:02 pm
Thank you Steve, and everyone for your kind responses. chrystine
Comment by chrystine — April 24, 2007 @ 3:26 pm