Melamine found in corn gluten imported to Canada

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Melamine found in corn gluten imported to Canada

By Christie Keith

May 25, 2007

From CBC News in Canada:

Canada’s food watchdog said Friday it has intercepted one shipment of corn gluten imported from China that tested positive for melamine and cyanuric acid.

Up until now, only a shipment of corn gluten shipped to South Africa and used by Royal Canin SA in the manufacture of pet food, sold by Binzhou Futian Biology Technology Co. Ltd in Shandong, China, has been identified as being contaminated.

Full story here.

Update from Gina: Itchmo has posted a response from P&G regarding a laboratory report that found cyanuric acid in what was purported to be an Iams kibble. P&G says the lab tested a sample from an open, unmarked bag. Itchmo is trying to find a closed bag from the same lot for testing. Iams says they already did that:

[...W]e followed-up this rumor by testing retained samples of Iams Large Breed dry dog food from the very same product lot that was reported.

Based on expert analytical testing, we were not able to quantify either melamine or cyanuric acid in the retained product samples tested. Most important, we have no information from any pet owners of any health issues associated with feeding Iams Large Breed dry pet food; therefore, we have confirmed that there is no reason for concern about these chemicals in this dry dog food or any other dry Iams or Eukanuba product.

Read the entire letter.

Filed under: 2007 food recall,news — Christie Keith @ 3:15 pm

Comments (140)

140 Comments »

When will this end.

Comment by Jill — May 25, 2007 @ 3:18 pm
I also e-mailed the Candian Gov. food watchdog agency - I’d like to know just where this corn gluten was headed, wouldn’t you?

Comment by Linda — May 25, 2007 @ 3:27 pm
Jill. This is it. That’s the end. Phew. Boy am I glad that’s over.

Kidding.

Looking on the bright side, this means that maybe some new tracking on different products will take place. There might be even be some corn related recalls in the US. “Because of an abundance of caution.”

That is another nudge to get the food safety bills moving. Each new bit pushes that issue forward. I dread the day that a direct human food contamination is revealed, hopefully nobody will have to die. But then there will be a new round of news.

And Internationally this comes out during a time that China is trying to make nice in the US during their trade tour.

Comment by spocko — May 25, 2007 @ 3:36 pm
This news release is found in the consumer section under specific risks - animals and melamine:

http://tinyurl.com/2ze84k

The Canadian Government Food Watch Agency.

Comment by Linda — May 25, 2007 @ 3:41 pm
“Because of an abundance of caution.”

lol!~ thanks for the giggle!

Comment by straybaby — May 25, 2007 @ 3:42 pm
Sorry, actually it is under the Specific risks pet food recall and Melamine.

Comment by Linda — May 25, 2007 @ 3:43 pm
If ever there was a populist agenda that has serious clout and muscle. This is it. Obviously, nothing in food imports coming in from China can be trusted right now.

Any U.S. Corporations-Multi Nationals want to step up and tell Americans what your going to do to protect us from these toxics and poisons?

Comment by Steve — May 25, 2007 @ 3:48 pm
Oh no, have to start on my shooters early today.

I can’t believe this…..I wonder if we got any of that corn gluten, besides all the other flours, proteins & whatever else we have to worry about. Is it in our pet’s food or our food?

The list keeps growing & not only will we have nothing left to feed our little buddies, we will only have dirt left for us to eat…..or maybe worms…..ooooohhhhh, the tequila soaked ones are good. Or we will all have to grow our own veggies & forget the melameat, melapoultry, melafish, melapigs, melabread & melatwinkies.

Comment by JanC — May 25, 2007 @ 3:51 pm
Are they SURE its CORN GLUTEN and NOT wheat FLOUR???

You know what idiots everyone else is. Maybe the FDA should take a quick looksy, just in case!!!

Comment by Kat — May 25, 2007 @ 3:51 pm
bet the worms are organic!! :)

Comment by Kat — May 25, 2007 @ 3:53 pm
Mostly certainly can’t eat the fish in markets, or chickens, or hogs, or what? I used to be a good fisherman - don’t know where I’ll find the time to sit by the riverbank but it beats being poisoned.

Comment by Linda — May 25, 2007 @ 3:53 pm
if we’re lucky Kat, they’ll send it to the lab that actually took comparison images, did some mixing with cat urine, etc. and the Canadian Free Press will keep reporting.

I wonder if that lab has done any human urine mixing . . .

Comment by straybaby — May 25, 2007 @ 3:54 pm
There’s a LOT to stew-on over the long 3-day weekend! Ain’t bakin’ no corn bread!! That’s for sure!!

Comment by Kat — May 25, 2007 @ 3:55 pm
It’s in everything - corn gluten - but they don’t say where it was headed. I find that worrisome.

Comment by Linda — May 25, 2007 @ 3:56 pm
Even notice how the more these PFI guys spin and play games like this the angrier America gets?

Iams Says Our “Article Is False” Based On Their Testing

Iams is writing our readers to state that: “The article posted on Itchmo is false, and is unfortunately misleading consumers. As you know rumors of this nature can happen from time to time.”

http://www.itchmo.com/

Comment by Steve — May 25, 2007 @ 4:57 pm
Let me get this straight. Iams “just happened” to retain samples from this particular lot from a particular day from a particular week and from a particular month and from a particular year. What? do the have a museum where they keep bowls full of the stuff. And you are sure about your clerical prowess, aren’t you Iams?

Well, I would like to see tests run on samples over the last few years. I am sure you happen to keep those lots available also. It would be most interesting to many of us to see the ingredients and variations of your food for a long period. We have suspicions that there is a sick history in the evolution (so-called) of pet foods.

Comment by Jay — May 25, 2007 @ 4:58 pm
Responding to the Iams update “Most important, we have no information from any pet owners of any health issues associated with feeding Iams Large Breed dry pet food”, may I just say, here’s one.
http://www.itchmo.com/read/sev.....mment-1942

Comment by Kim — May 25, 2007 @ 4:59 pm
take a look at 21cfr573.220
Updated early 2006 allowing cyanuric acid in animal food.

Comment by elliott — May 25, 2007 @ 5:10 pm
I don’t even have words any more. So instead, based on Jan’s request ;-)

*pours shooters for everyone*

Comment by Kim — May 25, 2007 @ 5:10 pm
I hope it not in the US or my cat will have something to say.

Comment by Jill — May 25, 2007 @ 5:11 pm
even if they did have the sample, how did they get it to the lab so quick? or do they have the ability to test on site where they keep the samples? I know that companies I have worked for keep production samples, but only for so long. and depending on what it is. Iams would have quite a selection of food samples if they kept just 2 samples of every active production run for it’s shelf life . . .

Comment by straybaby — May 25, 2007 @ 5:13 pm
Why was the FDA focusing on Melamine and not
Cyanuric Acid in the cat food and dog food? They were both in the food.

Comment by Jill — May 25, 2007 @ 5:13 pm
Does anyone know approximately how long it takes pet food to get from production to store shelf? Or how far out do they set expiration dates after production?

The last bag of kibble I purchased had an expiration date of April 08. So that would give at least a year in the bag after production.

Comment by Donna — May 25, 2007 @ 5:18 pm
Comment by Jill — May 25, 2007 @ 5:13

it seems they sometimes checked for it and other times not. very inconsistent. i noticed it varied in the report also. it may be because they allow it in animal feed and they expect to see it?

Comment by straybaby — May 25, 2007 @ 5:19 pm
I thought both the Chinese who said bargain hunting americans brought this on themselves? And that ridiculous NYTimes reporter (nicholas something??) said it was the same american values that the chinese were exhibiting in sending this crap here?

So would they say the same is true for the Canadians, ie they brought this on themselves because they are too cheap to buy untainted corn gluten? Always looking for a bargain?

Better - would they now realize how utterly STUPID their statements were?

Comment by TC — May 25, 2007 @ 5:39 pm
Sorry for mistakes in last post - not much sleep last nite, and it is catching up with me.

Also - this means that the Chinese haven’t done a dang thing differently so far, huh? They must still be shipping tainted ingredients, in a business as usual fashion. To every country they have a trade agreement with. Including us.

Comment by TC — May 25, 2007 @ 5:42 pm
I guess this blog didn’t like the copy and paste I did of an email so I’ll just post a summary.

Emailed Bob’s Red Mill and asked the source of their wheat products. The reply said all of their wheat products, including Vital Wheat Gluten are sourced in the United States and Canada. They do not use any wheat gluten made in China.

Comment by newlurker — May 25, 2007 @ 5:45 pm
Oh too funny, Im now on a China mailing list!!

Just received this: http://www.cmachina.cn/eng/ind.....;Itemid=48

Comment by Sandi K — May 25, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
What happened to my last comment

Comment by Jill — May 25, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
Jill..it must be in the bit bucket along with my other long post that I don’t see here

Comment by newlurker — May 25, 2007 @ 5:49 pm
I’ll try one more time..reply from Bob’s Red Mill:

Thank you for your email. We do source all of our wheat products, and the majority of all our products, from the USA and Canada. The Vital Wheat Gluten that we carry we source entirely from the USA and Canada. I have attached a letter written by Bob Moore to this email that addresses the Vital Wheat Gluten situation. I have included below a list of the sources for our wheat products as well as some of the other products.

We do source our Mung Beans and Pumpkin Seeds from China, our Tapioca Flour and Arrowroot Starch from Thailand, our Quinoa Grain and Flour from Ecuador and our Coconut Flour from the Philippines. If there are any other products that are interested in knowing where we source them from, please feel free to email me with those products and I can than email you back with their sources. Thank you for your interest in Bob’s Red Mill Natural products and have a terrific day.

Oregon, Washington and Idaho

Soft White Wheat ( mostly Washington and Oregon (some))
Hard Red Wheat (not a lot)
Spelt (Washington)
Barley, Pearled and Hull-less(Washington)
Teff (Idaho)
Hazelnuts (Oregon)

US and Canada

Vital Wheat Gluten

Montana

Hard White Wheat
Hard Red Wheat

California

Rice Flour
Yellow Corn
Rice, Brown
Rice, White
Rice, Sweet
Rice, Wild
Beans
Almonds
Walnuts
Raisins

Canada

Oats
Flaxseeds

Jennifer-Customer Service
Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods
1-800-349-2173

Comment by newlurker — May 25, 2007 @ 5:51 pm
It takes awhile sometimes for comments to appear.

Comment by Linda — May 25, 2007 @ 5:52 pm
At this point, I’m not much surprised about news coming out of China. However, this story shows just how sick that society is. Inexcusable, inhuman and inhumane.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/chin.....89,00.html

Comment by stephen — May 25, 2007 @ 5:52 pm
Maybe we’ll find out soon where that corn gluten was headed. I called the News agency in Toronto but they said it was too new - and when they had more information they would report on it.

Fri afternoon - Canada does this too or is this an accident?

Comment by Linda — May 25, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
Do you think the same people just dismantled their ops at one location and set up shop someplace else and its business as usual?

Comment by Linda — May 25, 2007 @ 5:55 pm
Donna- different brands have different shelf life. A lot of stores won’t carry Timberwolf because of short life. I ordered Evangers dry dog pheasant & br rice. It was made on Mon 5/21/2007. I know because they called me about backorder. It expires on 10/2009. I’ve seen news reports showing Major co ‘s storing food for years in tractor trailers.

Comment by Leslie k — May 25, 2007 @ 5:58 pm
A short shelf life is good right?

Comment by Linda — May 25, 2007 @ 5:59 pm
This ends when we consumers stop buying Iams
and P&G products.. only then can it end?
these corportations don’t care what you say.
or what you think , only money matters, and only when they can’t get it will it end..
when they’r bankrupt, the only way to make food safe is to refuse to buy from companys that sell
garbage without concern for the animals or people? i hope people finally see it?? there’s NO other way.
you and i must say NO! laws won’t matter ‘cause they’l just find ways to avoid ‘em..
they buy vets, safety inspectors, politicans,
judges..
SAY NO TO CRIME ,REFUSE TO BUY P&G, AND ANY COMPANY FOUND SELLING CONTAMINATED FOOD..

Comment by johnypaycut — May 25, 2007 @ 6:32 pm
a question, i signed up for iams pet promise
a free 4lb bag of food.. (the birds love it!)
yes , they’l eat dry cat food? anyway it never arrived? some “promise”. anyone get a free bag of iams food??

Comment by johnypaycut — May 25, 2007 @ 6:35 pm
I told my mother about all this and she said that we should not be getting anything from China that has to do with food.

Comment by Jill — May 25, 2007 @ 6:49 pm
I can’t talk to anyone about this….they all think I’ve gone off the deep end.

None of my friends seem to care…..they just go on feeding the big names because they weren’t recalled…..it scares me to death. I can only pray their animals don’t get sick.

I have to keep checking these websites because I know this recall is not over & probably won’t be for a long time to come. I just want to keep my dog alive so I have to keep current on these recalls. I’m mostly home cooking for her but I do include a small amount of dry because she’s always had that crunchy stuff.

Comment by JanC — May 25, 2007 @ 6:53 pm
Duplicate post for reference to anyone interested in finding more local sources for food**************

Can’t remember anymore where I saw some posts from people who were trying to find more local product buying options. So will post the link I found here – it is about Community Supported Agriculture groups. You buy in, supposedly get produce and other things in return from local people. I haven’t explored it yet, but there are a few CSAs in my little town and I am going to call on them. Has an interactive map so you can look and see what is near where you live.

Link:
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Comment by TC — May 25, 2007 @ 7:04 pm
I’m picking up my first batch next saturday! i signed up for every other week, but may increase it. may also do a sep fruit only one with another farm. I’m getting a second freezer (my pets already have one, lol!~) so i will have extra space to store for winter. there’s also a small farmers market in the park where i walk my dog, so that will be for my weekly dairy needs :)

Comment by straybaby — May 25, 2007 @ 8:27 pm
straybaby - that is exciting to hear someone else is doing this!

Our local Farmer’s Market starts the first Sat in June (next week), and the CSA farm will have a booth there. Will see how they like to do it (weekly, every 2 weeks, etc). We live 28 miles from that town, and usually only go in once or twice a month. Can’t do weekly.

I have 2 chest freezers - you will love the extra capacity. And we have one more that is an upright, and I think it will get plugged in as well. So, one for the dogs, one for our meat and one for the summer produce we plan to buy/pick and package.

There is nothing more cool than having good tasting summer corn in the winter, and a weekly berry pie:)

Comment by TC — May 25, 2007 @ 8:57 pm
Linda- I thought the short shelf life was good too. Tried some & all the dogs & cats liked it but I won’t buy it anymore. It’s made at Chenango.

Comment by Leslie k — May 25, 2007 @ 9:26 pm
While we’re fighting to make our food safe, our frenemies in DC are weakening a bill.

House Subcommittee Today Approves Language Slipped into Farm Bill that Prevents States from Protecting their Citizens

Center for Food Safety Recognizes that Proposal Ties States’ Hands, Weakening Food Safety Protections at a Time When they Need to be Strengthened

Washington May 24, 2007 - Earlier today, the House Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry approved new language slipped into the 2007 Farm Bill that pre-empts any state prohibitions against any foods or agricultural goods that have been deregulated by the USDA. The passage appears to be aimed at several recently enacted state laws that restrict the planting of genetically engineered (GE) crops, but could also prohibit states from taking action when food contamination cases occur.

“Given the recent spate of food scares, it’s shocking to see this attempt to derail safeguards for our food and farms,” said Joseph Mendelson, Legal Director of the Center for Food Safety. “We need a Farm Bill that will promote stronger food safety standards, not one that attacks these vital state-level protections.”

Full article here.
http://tinyurl.com/2w5ts2

What is it, one step forward, two steps back?

Comment by kb — May 25, 2007 @ 10:06 pm
TC,

I’m very excited! The one thing I would have loved to bring to the east coast with me was my garden. I do have the big farmer’s market in Union Sq 3 subway stops away and the smaller one in my park, but somehow, the dedicated CSA feels a bit closer to my garden.

I have the chest freezer and I’m looking at an upright this time for more daily stuff (easier to dig through). I bought a new fridge about a year ago, and the freezer size was key. I love to cook and make my own TV dinners etc., so freezer space is always prime for me.

The CSA will be fun because I’ll be getting stuff I wouldn’t buy because I wasn’t sure what to do with it. So i bought a sustainable cookbook and now I get to play! And! I’ve gotten the pets to agree to share the chest freezer for storing my ice cream maker bowl if I share homemade yogurts with them ;)

Labels? I don’t need no stinkin’ labels!lol!~

Comment by straybaby — May 25, 2007 @ 10:33 pm
Being allergic to corn, I know for a fact that you will NEVER know all of the products that corn gluten was going to be used in.

Corn is not in the “required to label” category. (Top 8 Food Allergens according to corporate owned FAAN and FDA.) This means if you need to avoid it for any reason like allergy or contamination, the companies have no legal obligation to tell you anything - and Trade Secret law is on their side.

Science means nothing to these people. Nothing!

Companies have routinely lied to corn allergic individuals about possible cross-contamination for many years - and it has worsened with the centralization of food production into fewer and fewer agribusinesses. Monsanto and ADM come immediately to mind.

Big Agribusiness encourages monoculture. Monoculture is the practice of using the same plot of land to repeatedly grow the same crop - this means nutrients are constantly being depleted without any replenishment. How do they continue to grow stuff? Mostly by using fuel based fertilizers. The fuel-based stuff tends to be cheaper.

A lady I work with and I were discussing this and she, an ag major, and I theorized that perhaps the soil where these are being grown have been contaminated by this. She pointed out to me about “not just pets”, but the Chinese people who are setting up a famine in their own country.

I think I need to write a detailed blog entry about this this weekend to clarify my thinking on it. Too bad all the libraries are closed - I’ll have to rely on Google, PetConnections, etc.

Pax,

MLO

Comment by MLO — May 25, 2007 @ 10:35 pm
Comment by kb — May 25, 2007 @ 10:06 pm

kb, isn’t the farm bill still going through changes and then has to pass in it’s final form? don’t we still have the ability to raise a HUGE stink and get crap like this thrown out? I think they are voting on it in Sept, so maybe we can still stand strong and delete anything that screws us?

we NEED to keep on our local and state reps!!!!!

Comment by straybaby — May 25, 2007 @ 10:37 pm
A short shelf life sounds like fresher food to me. But I’ve noticed in my city, for years now, both of the large pet food chains, a feed store and a health foods store ALL selling expired date bags and/or cans of cat food. I’ve pointed it out to them every time in the past and said they need to get rid of it. Without exception every one of the managers said oh no, the companies assured them the food would be fine well past those dates, and they didn’t remove it. So I already had bad vibes about the stores themselves, but they were probably telling the truth. Even if so, they should have cared.

Comment by Sharon G — May 25, 2007 @ 10:39 pm
RE Comment by Jill — May 25, 2007 @ 5:13 pm

“Why was the FDA focusing on Melamine and not Cyanuric Acid in the cat food and dog food? They were both in the food.”

Because all the FDA scientists kept saying that cyanuric acid is a stabilizer and harmless.

Gee, those guys are “so smart.” Bernie [who’s left the blog for some time] had it all figured out long before they did. An he’s an ex-farmer.

Comment by Lynn — May 25, 2007 @ 10:49 pm
Here’s more about the woman in Chicago who ate the Pufferfish soup:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/.....;cset=true

The couple, whose names were not released, had prepared soup with the fish on the 10th or 11th of May, after which the wife became ill and was hospitalized, said Dr. Susan Gerber of the Chicago Department of Public Health.

“We received the report initially from the Poison Control Center and the hospital,” Gerber said. “In this case we were able to get the leftover food, and it was found to contain the toxin.”

The food was sent to the FDA for testing, where it was found to contain high levels of the neurotoxin. The toxin is often found on the skin, liver and ovaries of puffer fish, experts said.

“There are estimates that say in an entire fish there is enough poison to kill two dozen people,” said Philip Willink, a fish biologist at the Field Museum.

Plus, this one:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/.....;cset=true

The pufferfish poison “is really one of the most toxic things that you can find in food,” said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “It really illustrates the weakness in the U.S. program for overseeing imports.”

Comment by Kat — May 25, 2007 @ 10:55 pm
Is there an attorney in our midst? I want to know if the manufacturers carry product liability insurance. Anyone know?

Comment by Lynn — May 25, 2007 @ 11:42 pm
Sharon G- the “sell by” dates are there for a reason! I groom in a shop that sells a lot of high end pet foods and they are constantly checking those dates and returning it to the companies. Don’t let those stores lie to you!
The food may be fine but it is outdated. Oils/fats etc can go bad among other things, maybe even bugs? I make it a point to bring outdated items to the attention of stores, a Monk in the making LOL!

Comment by Val — May 25, 2007 @ 11:59 pm
I read in and article that melamine is harmless to animals. I have a question for everyone what happened to the lady that ate her dogs food to get her dog to eat and she got sick. What happened to her .

Comment by Jill — May 26, 2007 @ 12:05 am
Comment by straybaby — May 25, 2007 @ 10:37 pm
straybaby,
It’s way past my bedtime, I’ll follow up later with what the status is or if The Center for Food Safety will have a message to send. But I did find a website I think a lot of us will like.
http://www.ethicurean.com/

Comment by kb — May 26, 2007 @ 1:48 am
“[Judge] Hillman was unyielding.
“It seems to me that Menu Food is out to do whatever Menu Foods wants to do in a way that could adversely impact the rights of (possible members of the class action suit,” he said.”

http://www.usatoday.com/news/n.....ment_N.htm

800 Cases!?

“At the end of May a federal multi-district litigation panel will meet in Las Vegas to determine which court the more than 800 cases against Menu will be heard in. The panel is expected to announce a decision by mid summer.”

Comment by Ann H — May 26, 2007 @ 3:43 am
Thank you for the Bob’s Red Mill Product info, very much appreciated. I’m sure I’ve seen their products on our shelves in Canada, will watch more closely now.

Comment by DM — May 26, 2007 @ 4:55 am
‘At least 10 pets have died after eating from among 40 brands of food, including popular sellers like Iams and Science Diet, produced by Menu Foods.’

WTH???? 10? 40 brands? I think not!

What kind of reporting is this?

Comment by Tammy — May 26, 2007 @ 4:56 am
I located Bob’s Red Mill’s website. You can search by city/state or city/province to find a store carrying their line. http://www.bobsredmill.com I located at least 10 nearby chains carrying their product.

Comment by DM — May 26, 2007 @ 5:00 am
Leslie K at 9:26 on the 25th (last night) Timberwolf at Chenango - that’s wet right, not the dry? I thought that Chenango made wet. Timberwolfs web site says the dry is made on the east coast. Anyone know if the dry is made at Chenango?

Comment by Linda — May 26, 2007 @ 6:07 am
I don’t know about product liability - but I do know that intentional acts - like what I think Menu did - they knew - and blatant disregard for the welfare of others, insurance or no insurance, you can’t wiggle out of and the court gives relief to the injured party and in some cases you can get punitive damages.

Comment by Linda — May 26, 2007 @ 6:18 am
PS And you don’t even have to really know how harmful something is - but only that you should have known.

Comment by Linda — May 26, 2007 @ 6:19 am
Good Morning everyone!

A thought: What is the “dilution factor” for Puffer fish poison? There surely must be one!!

Maybe the good ol’ FDA would make one up for us.

Comment by Elaine — May 26, 2007 @ 6:29 am
Two other websites: one for U.S.A. organically grown grain, flour and I think even organic lamb from their farm? http://www.azurestandard.com .I buy their flours and grain to make bread and cereal.

For U.S.A. born, raised, slaughtered, no hormones aged meat.(beef, pork, bison, chickens, etc) http://www.ranchfoodsdirect.com They also sell the frozen meat for pet food. I called the company about the melamine tainted chickens and hogs, and they assured me their suppliers did not feed melamine tainted feed.

Comment by Elaine — May 26, 2007 @ 6:41 am
Another food choice before us . . .

http://www.ajc.com/search/cont.....0526a.html

Teflon-related chemical found in almost everyone’s blood, CDC says.

The chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid, is associated with the manufacture and use of Teflon and other moisture-resistant products. It is commonly known as PFOA.

Tim Begley, a research chemist at the Food and Drug Administration, reported in 2005 that PFOA and similar substances used in paper containers used for foods such as pizza and popcorn tend to migrate into food when the paper is heated.

Microwave popcorn bags release several hundred times as much of the chemicals as does cookware that has been coated with substances like Teflon, Begley reported.

In a follow-up study reported this month, Begley confirmed his earlier findings and produced data that raises questions about whether the FDA is underestimating the amount of the chemicals that get into food.

Deirdre Flynn, executive director of the Popcorn Institute, said “the (popcorn) industry has worked hard to produce a safe and quality product for consumers to enjoy.”

“FDA and the industry have always worked together to ensure continued safety,” she added.

Dan Turner, a spokesman for DuPont, which uses PFOA in the production of Teflon, said the company is convinced its products pose no threat to human health.

The panel did not offer advice on the levels of exposure that might cause cancer in humans but noted that in animal experiments, the chemical was associated with liver and pancreatic cancers.

Comment by Donna — May 26, 2007 @ 7:01 am
If anyone finds any foods that are “really” safe for us and our pets, let me know. :-)

Comment by Donna — May 26, 2007 @ 7:02 am
I had heard that it wasn’t good to use aluminum or teflon pans, so I stick with cast iron and stainless steel.
I think it was that the teflon released something when it was overheated.

Comment by Elaine — May 26, 2007 @ 7:08 am
Linda, I had switched to Timberwolf. . Timberwolf made a case # but hasn’t responded. Stupid me didn’t save the bags for the 1st two.
I gave my cats the last of the old bag (our 1st) and they ate that (5/22) they refuse the 2nd bag. I have a 3rd but won’t open it.

I gave them EVO (the ancestral diet for cats & kittens) today, and they ate it. I don’t know if this is the one with high phosphorus or not. Does anyone know?

Comment by Ann H — May 26, 2007 @ 7:16 am
Comment by johnypaycut — May 25, 2007 @ 6:35 pm

I too signed up for the free bag of Iams food (after reading that shelters are low on food) but never received my coupon (“yet”, I add hopefully).

Comment by slt — May 26, 2007 @ 7:20 am
“take a look at 21cfr573.220
Updated early 2006 allowing cyanuric acid in animal food.”

Comment by elliott — May 25, 2007 @ 5:10 pm

elliott, what are you referencing here?

Comment by slt — May 26, 2007 @ 7:22 am
EPA.GOV website is so not working. Anybody else? Message indicates they’re doing some work. Right -

Comment by shelly — May 26, 2007 @ 7:23 am
I’m still thinking about that puffer fish. I’m a great consumer of raw fish and the thought that a little piece of puffer fish could be in there? AIIIIIIEEE. I don’t know that there is a dilution factor, even the licensed Japanese chefs who are entitled to do it make mistakes sometimes. But I was interested to see that our local salmon farmers are putting articles in local papers assuring everyone that there are no gluten products in the fish foods. Hey, when it hits even the coastal bi-weekly paper, the idea is out there. At least salmon is pink and I know it isn’t puffer fish. I’ll make an exception to the only wild-caught fish rule for the salmon (until they find some other gross contaminant, given that I accept that I’m already probably full of PCBs).

Comment by Nancy Nielsen — May 26, 2007 @ 7:52 am
Ann H: Oh, that is a worry. I bought several large bags of Timberwolf for my dogs and all seemed to go fine, and it’s expensive, but I haven’t ordered anymore. Was going to and then saw the post?????

I stopped SD dry Lamb and Rice because my Dobie started leaking lots of urine on the bed and couch and her liver was inflamed or whatever they call it - my vet said she had liver disease. Well I then home cooked and everything cleared up and she gets retested next month.

I’m running out of options and the bad news just keeps coming.

Comment by Linda — May 26, 2007 @ 8:18 am
He’s referencing the CFR’s

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/.....73.220Code of

Federal Regulations]
[Title 21, Volume 6]
[Revised as of April 1, 2006]
[CITE: 21CFR573.220]

TITLE 21—FOOD AND DRUGS

CHAPTER I—FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

SUBCHAPTER E—ANIMAL DRUGS, FEEDS, AND RELATED PRODUCTS

PART 573 — FOOD ADDITIVES PERMITTED IN FEED AND DRINKING WATER OF ANIMALS

Subpart B—Food Additive Listing Sec. 573.220 Feed-grade biuret.

Percent
————————————————————————————————————
Biuret…………………………….. 55 minimum.
Urea………………………………. 15 maximum.
Cyanuric acid and triuret……………. 30 maximum.
Mineral oil………………………… 0.5 maximum.
Total nitrogen (equivalent to 218.75 pct 35 minimum.
crude protein).

Comment by Kat — May 26, 2007 @ 8:25 am
~FOR RUMINANTS !~ Which we all know

The food additive feed grade biuret may be safely used in ruminant feed in accordance with the following prescribed conditions:

(a) The food additive is the product resulting from the controlled pyrolysis of urea conforming to the following specifications:

(b) It is used in ruminant feeds as a source of nonprotein nitrogen.

Comment by Kat — May 26, 2007 @ 8:27 am
Linda, I know I was happy with Timberwolf and so were my cats, that’s why I got 2 more bags.
They ate the last of the 1st bag but they just won’t eat any of the new bag. Sigh. If only they told us who made it. Then maybe, just maybe, if there weren’t any recalls from that plant we could feel safer. I guess “safer” is relative :(

Comment by Ann H — May 26, 2007 @ 8:29 am
Comment by Linda — May 26, 2007 @ 6:07 am

Linda I think Chenango Valley Pet Foods is a dry food manufacturer - -

Chenango Valley has had issues before, sued before for mold in their product, etc

Comment by shelly — May 26, 2007 @ 8:58 am
“For a product to be called Made in USA, or claimed to be of domestic origin without qualifications or limits on the claim, the product must be “all or virtually all” made in the U.S. “All or virtually all” means that all significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. That is, the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content.”

“What To Do About Violations
Information about possible illegal activity helps law enforcement officials target companies whose practices warrant scrutiny. If you suspect noncompliance, contact the Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580; (202) 326-2996 or send an e-mail to MUSA@ftc.gov. (File a c complaint)

If you know about import or export fraud, call Customs’ toll-free Commercial Fraud Hotline, 1-800-ITS-FAKE. Examples of fraudulent practices involving imports include removing a required foreign origin label before the product is delivered to the ultimate purchaser (with or without the improper substitution of a Made in USA label) and failing to label a product with a required country of origin.

You also can contact your state Attorney General and your local Better Business Bureau to report a company.

Or you can refer your complaint to the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus by calling (212) 754-1320. NAD handles complaints about the truth and accuracy of national advertising. You can reach the Council of Better Business Bureaus on the web at adweb.com/adassoc17.html.

Finally, the Lanham Act gives any person (such as a competitor) who is damaged by a false designation of origin the right to sue the party making the false claim. Consult a lawyer to see if this private right of action is an appropriate course of action for you.

To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit http://www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261.The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.”

http://lethaldose.wordpress.co.....ommission/

Comment by shelly — May 26, 2007 @ 9:06 am
Shelly,

I didn’t know that. Thanks. I did switch dry foods but I don’t believe the dog’s coats look as good as when I fed them the Timberwolf.

Comment by Linda — May 26, 2007 @ 9:25 am
In March my 4 year-old Shih Tzu, Mandy, went in for routine dental and her blood work done prior to procedure indicated that she was in kidney failure. Two months later, 4 days on IV, one month on Baytril, and weekly sub-cu treatments, I’m thankful that I still have her. I’m home feeding now, her appetite is good, and she appears content, although we don’t know what the long term prognosis will be. Don’t know for sure if her illness was due to toxins in food or infection or chronic condition. Her canned food was never recalled and did not list wheat gluten but corn gluten meal as a component. I contacted food company and was assured that the corn products were not at risk, and although the product was never recalled, the food company sent me an application for reimbursement on vet expenses for illness due to recalled product (?). Since I’ve spent two months wondering if her food would be named in the next recall, I decided to send a can of food from the same case and lot to a laboratory for testing. Got the name of the laboratory through a link from someone posting on petconnection. Thank you.

Comment by Katie M. — May 26, 2007 @ 10:03 am
Katie, a 4 year old dog having renal failure is hardly usual. There are plenty of foods out there that bloggers are reporting as causing illness/death to their pets that are not part of the “current” recalled foods. I’d like to know what food you were feeding. You certainly did the right thing to send it off to a lab. Please share your results as well.

Comment by Nabiya — May 26, 2007 @ 10:10 am
I was using Hills Science Diet Adult Light canned. Don’t know if anyone else was feeding this and had problems.

Comment by Katie M. — May 26, 2007 @ 10:31 am
Linda & Ann H- My neighbor & I just tried Evangers dry dog. So far so good. The dogs all like it & seem to be doing well. Evangers makes their own. They have dog & cat cans[didn’t try them, I homecook wet] No dry cat yet but they are working on it. The price is about the same as Cal Natural & Innova. Shipping was high but our local feed store is going to order it in for us.If anyone knows another safe dry please let me know. The Evo was too high in protein for 1 of mine. Had the runs for 2 wks.Thought I’d try the Cal natural & reg Innova next. They are so used to dry I have to use a little of it. But am afraid not to mix brands. Gotta have that dilution factor ! It’s a shame about the TW; seemed like a good food.Wellness too. But they’re ANI.

Comment by Leslie k — May 26, 2007 @ 11:07 am
Comment by Leslie k — May 25, 2007 @ 5:58 pm

Storing in tractor trailers — in the heat . . .that’s great. No wonder our pets get sick.

I was asking about shelf life becuase when you think of the contamined pet food - when was it manufactured? You mention one brand has a shelf life of 2 years. If Brand X was manufactured 1-2 years ago with contaminated ingredients — the question then becomes how many shipments of contaminated ingredients were shipped from China before those productions and after. It opens up a whole new area of questions.

How long have we been feeding our pets contaminated food? How long have our pets been getting sick and we (or the vets) had no clue what was causing it? What about pet food produced after the products we are dealing with right now in the recall — where are they; are they contaminated; have they been tested?

And what about all the recalled pet food - no one has stated what the protocol is for destroying or other uses.

Several pet food companies are stating that “effectively immediately” they are testing the product. But, what about the product produced between now and when that contaminated food was produced.

Comment by Donna — May 26, 2007 @ 11:23 am
Donna some of the co’s are back testing.They save samples. That I know of-Kumpi,Wellnness,Cal Natural.Accutrace thinks the heat in storage is what changed the Vit e in my pur 1 dry. They can’t be sure.
I think this contamination has been going on for years. They just got greedier & upped the amount. I think thats why some pets got sick or died more quickly.They probably had more already in their systems.Of course that assumes it isn’t harmlessly flushed out ala FDA.

Comment by Leslie k — May 26, 2007 @ 11:33 am
“Of course that assumes it isn’t harmlessly flushed out ala FDA.”

but what about the theory that the animals died but we won’t because they eat the same thing all the time?

Comment by straybaby — May 26, 2007 @ 12:04 pm
Steve asked “Any U.S. Corporations-Multi Nationals want to step up and tell Americans what your going to do to protect us from these toxics and poisons?”

I live in Costa Rica, near the largest (US owned) banana plantation in the country and I can tell you one thing they’re doing, with the full blessing of the US government: manufacturing (in the US) pesticides which have been banned as unsafe for use in the US, then sending the pesticides abroad where they not only destroy the environment and poison workers, but are used to grow crops which are then imported into the US, completing the “circle of poison”.

Browse through the FDA’s import refusal reports at
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/ora_oasis_ref.html
and notice how many are based on banned pesticides . . . and think of the 99% of imports not even inspected by the FDA.

Just one more thing to worry about when you try to find food that’s safe for your pets and your family :-(

Comment by Ticocats — May 26, 2007 @ 12:14 pm
Comment by Ticocats — May 26, 2007 @ 12:14 pm

Ticocats, can you confirm if Gerber’s banana jarred baby foods use the bananas grown there? I believe Gerber’s has a processing plant in Costa Rica. One customer service rep I spoke to at Gerbers admitted to it, another one said they didn’t.

Comment by Nabiya — May 26, 2007 @ 12:44 pm
Interesting note from abroad a priori the killing of the pets (except in the laboratory that is):

Brands to Boycott

As mentioned above, the main culprits for cruel and unethical animal testing are the major international ‘pet’ food businesses.

IAMS / Eukanuba owned by Procter & Gamble
Hills Science Diet owned by Colgate Palmolive

The majority of pet food brands available in the UK are produced by two animal testing companies - “Nestlé Purina/Friskies” and “Pedigree, Masterfoods (Mars Inc).”

Nestlé Purina/Friskies: Alpo, Bonio, Felix, Go Cat, Gourmet, Omega Complete, Proplan, Spillers, Vital Balance, Winalot.

Pedigree, Masterfoods (Mars Inc): Bounce, Cesar, Chappie, Frolic, James Wellbeloved, Katkins, Kitekat, Pal, Pedigree Chum, Royal Canin, Sheba, Techni-cal (US & Canada), Whiskas. Pedigree also manufacture Thomas rabbit food and Trill bird food

Here is the site link:

http://www.uncaged.co.uk/petfood.htm

Link found at Itchmo

Comment by Jay — May 26, 2007 @ 12:56 pm
Leslie K.

Thanks. I just bought a rice cooker, as it gets too hot here to cook much in the kitchen in the summer. Won’t it be nice when this toxic pet food issue gets resolved - but I’m not holding my breath.

Comment by Linda — May 26, 2007 @ 12:57 pm
American Regulations on Chinese-Imported Food is Inevitable

Sing Tao Daily, Editorial, Translated by Eugenia Chien, Posted: May 27, 2007

http://tinyurl.com/ys37rw

“In the end, the improved food safety measures will be reflected in the price of goods – a scenario that neither American consumers nor Chinese exporters want to see. But America’s stricter regulation on Chinese food exports is inevitable. The question is how far and deep these regulations will go. The few profit-driver food exporters have ruined the Chinese food exporting industry. Now is the critical time to mend this wound.”

Comment by Gail B — May 26, 2007 @ 1:16 pm
Gail B. I would hope it’s “the few profit-driver food exporters” but I think it’s more propaganda coming out of China since the article is a Chinese news release. In fact, when it was translated by Eugenia Chien, it was probably bumped down from “hundreds out of thousands of” to “a few” to make us feel better.

Comment by Nabiya — May 26, 2007 @ 4:00 pm
Nabiya,

Yes, Gerber has a banana processing plant for baby food in Costa Rica. The fact sheet on the main Gerber web site mentions it briefly. Main info is here: http://www.gerberingredients.com/ A handful of the Gerber banana products made here are certified as organic.

Gerber at one point bought some of its bananas from a co-op of small organic farmers in the Talamanca moutains near here, which should be relatively protected from the heavy aerial spraying used in the lowlands.
http://www.panna.org/resources.....522.1.html

However, it seems that Gerber no longer buys from these organic growers: http://tinyurl.com/25hy63

A 2005 World Wildlife Fund paper about pesticide reduction efforts says this (I have no idea how much of this is just PR, or how much is just inaccurrate if Gerber has stopped buying from the Talamanca organic growers):

Gerber Products Company has a goal of no detectable pesticide
residue in its baby food. To this end, Gerber has implemented a comprehensive pesticide reduction program, beginning in the farm field and ending in baby food preparation. Major program elements include IPM (Integrated Pest Management) research, educating contract growers with respect to economic-based models of IPM and working with crop consultants and scouts, full pesticide use reporting, and extensive testing for residues. Improving IPM is a core research focus of Gerber, which supports research in 16 universities on nutrient and pest management strategies for fruit and vegetable production. The company requires its growers to
adhere to strict pest management practices that substantially reduce pesticide use, especially for pesticides that cannot be removed in processing. Gerber has sponsored and sometimes subsidized
new agricultural techniques, even if they are more expensive, and then diffuses the practices among its growers. Like Campbell Soup, another company that has successfully reduced pesticide use (and saved money while doing so), Gerber helps its growers shoulder the risk of testing new approaches. For example, it covers the difference in cost between a new practice and a conventional practice. Gerber also covers the loss of a crop that is part of a demonstration. However, it has never had any significant loss in yield or change in quality.
http://www.rosefdn.org/liroffreport.pdf

The main Gerber site has a search engine which I used with this (non)result:

Results for: pesticides
No results were found for your search.

I couldn’t find anything on the Gerber Ingredients site which mentions the pesticide issue which seems a bit strange if they really are going all-out to have no “detectable” pesticides in their products. And the main Gerber organics section just says: “Deep in the lush tropics, your baby’s bananas are growing naturally” — whatever that means.

BTW, Novartis recently agreed to sell Gerber to Nestle.

Hope this helps.

Comment by Ticocats — May 26, 2007 @ 4:36 pm
“Gerber Products Company has a goal of no detectable pesticide
residue in its baby food.”

WHAT?!!!!! man, that is scary! and to think i was feeding this to my cancer kitties on their bad days . . .

ah well, can’t change the past, but will change the now and future.

Comment by straybaby — May 26, 2007 @ 5:13 pm
Comment by newlurker — May 25, 2007 @ 5:51 pm

I got the same email! :) looks like they were ready for us! I’m emailing back to ask about some specific beans to make sure they all come from CA, but otherwise, have everything i need to know from them.

Comment by straybaby — May 26, 2007 @ 6:30 pm
5,000 of the worlds rarest animals found abandoned in an ark off the coast of China:

http://tinyurl.com/2m3taw

I will light candles and burn incense for their souls and pray these animals will never be forgotten. Another reason I will not buy goods from China and another reason we should not trade with China.

Comment by Linda — May 26, 2007 @ 8:51 pm
Evidently, we cannot trust the safety of food additives to the government - and this is new news?

http://news.independent.co.uk/.....586652.ece

Coca-Cola and Britvic’s Pepsi Max and Diet Pepsi all contain sodium benzoate. Their makers and the British Soft Drinks Association said they entrusted the safety of additives to the Government.

Comment by Linda — May 26, 2007 @ 9:00 pm
I think sodium benzoate is fairly common in most soft drinks.

They may entrust safety of these ingredients to the government, but the corporate chemists know exactly what they are dealing with.

Comment by Donna — May 26, 2007 @ 10:21 pm
Comment by Linda — May 26, 2007 @ 8:51 pm

Oh, my! What a sad, sad story! Bless their little souls…

Comment by Kat — May 26, 2007 @ 10:50 pm
This is the best photo I’ve found of a pangolin. Cute little thing! This one is an African Pangolin:

http://www.awf.org/content/wil.....l/pangolin

Here’s Traffic.org’s website about the pangolin:
http://www.traffic.org/dispatc.....golin.html

Comment by Kat — May 26, 2007 @ 10:56 pm
Here is an article on the China food trade from a Colorado paper.

http://www.greeleytrib.com/art.....5/-1/rss04

Now we’re supposed to be worried because we import so much shrimp, or the shrimp is sent over there to be processed and breaded, and U.S. can’t supply the shrimp we need in this country.

NO MORE SHRIMP for my family!

Comment by Elaine — May 27, 2007 @ 6:24 am
The problem with this causing - hysteria - is that is never stops. Yesterday my dog ate a little bit of a new bag of Hills z/d dog food I bought, and refused anymore. Showing evidence of stomach pain. Back to the Peptid AC tablets. Okay, this bag might be fine, but it might not. Previous bags might have been fine, but might not. This one might have “cross contamination” or not. The batch might have been tested, or not. I threw out the other brand I was using to switch to this on the advice of my vet. She was doing so well with it - great poops - good coat again - no pain. You have no idea what is going on, you can’t make an informed decision. . . After being hit with a very, very sick dog with symptoms of poisoning in January, you question everything you feed, every thing you do, you study every poop or the way they pee, have they stopped drinking, or are they drinking too much? And what if you can’t pay the credit cards off you put the vet bills on? I can’t take this much more.

Comment by Kristi — May 27, 2007 @ 8:24 am
Kristi,

Don’t throw ou the bags of food your dog won’t eat, as we don’t know WHAT may be recalled next, and the unused food may be needed for evidence.

I am lucky in that none of my dogs and cats got sick. It probably helps that I live in an area that has limited choices for pet food, and also some dog breeders I know are adamant that we shouldn’t give wet food to pets, only dry food.

I have always fed dry food, free choice, to my dogs and cats. They get an occasional bite of people food from my hubby, but That’s it.

I feel so much sympathy for those posting about their sick pets and dead pets, and the vet bills!

Comment by Elaine — May 27, 2007 @ 8:57 am
Besides evidence — you DON’T want to poison the birds & scavenger animals at the dumps.

Comment by Kat — May 27, 2007 @ 9:10 am
It is amzing the kind of stuff that China imports.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/ar.....42,00.html

Comment by Serijna — May 27, 2007 @ 9:27 am
Not to mention what they Export to us!

Comment by Elaine — May 27, 2007 @ 9:33 am
Comment by Serijna—from the article posted:

“The factory bosses in Lianjiao weren’t as friendly as their workers. We were repeatedly roughed up. In virtually every yard we visited the bosses pushed us out their doors, often threatening to call the police. They’re worried that if the world finds out about this festering town they’ll stop shipping their rubbish here.”

Are you kidding me? So what if the rest of the world finds out, like anything will change or anyone will stop this? They poor people are worrying over nothing.

Comment by Nabiya — May 27, 2007 @ 9:42 am
Poor Kristi, we still don’t know what to feed our pets and be sure it’s safe; nobody does for sure, it’s not just you.

What were you feeding your pup before the change to Hills? You said she was doing good on that. Why did your vet say to change foods? I would be very uncomfortable feeding Hills just like you are.

Have you tried California Natural? It’s made by Natura; they have tested all their foods for both Melamine and Cyanuric acid. THey have both canned and dry varieties. I use their Evo dry and the Innova canned as well as home cooked. You could also try home cooking some meals. The great folks here at Pet Connection Blogged about it here http://www.petconnection.com/b.....or-dinner/ and there are many great links in the comments.
Good luck, I hope this helps.

Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — May 27, 2007 @ 9:43 am
Kristi, I think it was Z/D that killed 3 of my cats. I called the FDA. Of course, they haven’t had it tested, but i would be careful with that.

Comment by Trudy Jackson — May 27, 2007 @ 9:49 am
I have a request for You all. I live in a very small town called Harrellsville, N.C. We do have a local paper, yeah. We have an opinion page where people can write in. I have written to them about spay and nueter and animal things. All I see lately are things that are so stupid. Like Paris hilton. who cares?? There has only been one small article about the pet food when it first happened. I would love to write about all this. first, We would have to start at the beginning and tell people what is going on. what is in the pet food, why, where it came from, what it means? And then go on to tell all about the people food. they might listen to that. I could do a small piece a week. I had a friend who went to work for this paper and they told Her- don’t write over 7th grade level or people won’t understand. I don’t really belive that, some would, we do have Drs. and lawyers here. So, probably high school level and everyone would read it and be able to figure it out. If You all could at least give Me a few lines to start off with, that would be great. I’ll keep checking back here and see if you will help Me. thanks, PS- You won’t believe how many people around here know nothing about this, thanks, Trudy

Comment by Trudy Jackson — May 27, 2007 @ 10:00 am
Those many dirty secrets that we have found out since the pet food recall.
Guess what comes around goes around.

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4986

Comment by Serijna — May 27, 2007 @ 10:14 am
Comment by Trudy Jackson.

The 7th grade level is not a bad rule to go by in a local paper.. Many high school graduates are at that level unfortunately .
The stories that will capture attention in your small paper , will be the ones that are personalized. In other words , find families in your vicinity that had a pet death or currently a sick pet due to the poisoned pet food. No need to use their full names.
Then you can add each time some food safety general information but keep it short and not long winded/complicated.
Based on what you have posted in the past, you are very capable to come up with your own story.

Comment by Serijna — May 27, 2007 @ 10:50 am
Serijna: Oh, I feel so bad for China. What obstacles they have to face as a developing country. Developing country: did all other first world countries have to go through these obstacles to industrialize? I don’t remember that in our US history books. You hit it on the head, dirty little secrets. Not any longer.

From your posted article:

“China is thirsting for resources to fuel its robust economic growth and views waste recycling as an alternative source of supply.”

So there it is. Well said. From the top government officials down to the dingy little farmers and factories, they all want it.

Comment by Nabiya — May 27, 2007 @ 10:53 am
Serijna, Thank you so much. and I have lost 3 cats, so i will mention that.

Comment by Trudy Jackson — May 27, 2007 @ 10:58 am
Comment by Nabiya,

Ever wondered what happened to our discarded computers etc.(E-waste). Right, they come back as nasty molecules in our imported food stuff from China and India. All legal , since the USA did not sign the Basel Convention agreement. Poetic justice? or total irresponsibility from the developed countries, keeping their eye on short term low cost/high profits. Would it be nice if a major net work follows the trail/life cycle of “for example” all those keyboards after expiration.
http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/.....waste.html

Comment by Serijna — May 27, 2007 @ 11:46 am
Trudy,

This is a letter to the editor I wrote awhile back, but the editor didn’t print it, even though she had written an editorial about the pet food the week before!

You are welcome to use any part of it you want, and I do realize that much of the info in it is outdated!

May 9, 2007

To the Editor

The news about the pet food recall is not just about pets dying, which is bad enough, but the fact that our food supply is in jeopardy.

The FDA/USDA is claiming in press conferences that our food supply is safe. Their own regulations prohibit distribution of food that has been contaminated and adulterated in any way, and yet they allowed 20,000,000 chickens to enter our food supply that had eaten feed tainted with melamine and other compounds, and have released who knows how many hogs for slaughter, and now fish is eating the same contaminated food, but not to worry!

The U.S. FDA website, has a posting for protocol for conducting what they call is the Protein Surveillance Assignment. (checking for melamine and related substances in food ingredients)

In the Safety section of this document, the personal protective equipment they are requiring for inspections for melamine and related compounds to prevent exposure is:

· a minimum of the half-face, face-sealing respirator (P100) with HEPA filter cartridge (wipe or rinse the respirator facepiece w/o filter cartridge before reuse)

· face sealing goggles (vented goggles will be protective) wipe or rinse before reuse

· disposable suit (remove and bag prior to entering vehicle)

· either disposable shoe covers or wipe/brush shoes prior to entering vehicle

· disposable gloves

It also states, “Pregnant women should not perform this assignment” and “chronic exposure may cause cancer or reproductive damage.”

FDA claim that the small concentrations aren’t harmful to people because of the “dilution factor” is just a lie. This document states “The contaminants have been found in concentrations of up to 20% in analyzed samples” no small, diluted amount, in my opinion.

Besides for this the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Assn) website recently posted a study done in 1966 that showed how toxic melamine is to sheep.

The FDA will not give out the names of the chicken farms that fed the tainted feed, nor the pork producers, nor will they answer straight questions from reporters if ANY of the positive samples they have gathered are from the human food supply. I choose not to eat the chickens or hogs or fish that have been fed the contaminated food, I don’t care how safe the FDA says it is.

FDA, USDA, and others held a press conference yesterday which can be accessed on the USDA website. Please check it out and notice how they evade answering specific questions from the reporters, and how many times they used the phrase “it is our belief”, or “I believe”.

Their press release re the fish eating melamine-contaminated food said the fish “probably” wouldn’t be harmful to humans! “Probably” doesn’t give me any confidence, does it you?

When it comes to the safety of our food supply we need concrete scientific facts and studies. They have said from the beginning they have no studies on the risk of melamine in humans, yet it causes cancer in rats and kills dogs and cats! And yet they “believe” there is no risk to humans?

Comment by Elaine — May 27, 2007 @ 11:53 am
I am going to list some of the ingredients that have been in the food that has slowly killed our pets,propylene glycol:chemical used in antifreeze and solvent in brake fluids.used as preservative and flavor enhancer,very sweet! bha:preservative & dangerous for kidneys!bht:used to retard spoilage & more toxic than bha!propyl gallate:chemical to retard spoilage-may cause liver damage!ethoxyquin-carcinogen: they used it to stablize rubber,(in the animal food as preservative!by-products:feet,beaks,peanut hulls,newspaper,sawdust,etc,anything as a filler!sodium nitrite:chemical preservative,source red coloring,people have died of overdoses!artifical coloring:can be harmful and cause toxicity.hats off to pedigree for saving the shelter animals,but look at the ingredients in their food!Do you know where some of the grease drained from the resturant fryers go? animals love the taste on their food,I could go on but it is depressing what they put in animal food! why do you think obesity is at a all time high in pets!(other than we overfeed)all the sugar,same w/diabetes,pancreatitis,kidney failure,hot spots,excess shedding,allergies! all from the crap in food.I have done research for the last 5 yrs for my natural pet food store,I immediately switched from grocery store food to natural food for my pets and have not had one problem since!I would love to figure out how to stop these grocery store brands from getting away with what they are doing do our pets.the skeptic customer that switched to good food,is forever greatful!the good food is not expensive because they require less a day! I love eaglepack, precise, merrick,they all have websites,if you are at a loss for what kind of food,visit their sites!

Comment by sharon j — May 27, 2007 @ 12:10 pm
Elaine and Sharon, what a great place to start. I will now start to write My article. If anything else comes to mind, don’t forget, I keep checking. Thank You so much, Trudy

Comment by Trudy Jackson — May 27, 2007 @ 12:23 pm
dogs should be fed twice aday,once in the morning and once at nite,feeding once aday or free feeding can cause digestive problems,
it puts unecessary stress on digestive tract if they tend to nibble all day,the digestive tract needs to rest inbetween meals.free fed dogs can become obese. as far as wet food a tablespoon (depending on their weight)mixed in w/their dry is agreat way to add variety of flavors and nutrients.also picky dry eaters will now love their meals. i have a 60# dog,she gets 1 cup (8oz)of dry @each meal w/a tablespoon of wet.I use the merrick wet so she gets plenty of flavors. as far as cats,they need the wet food w/dry for the x-tra moisture.it helps the kidneys plus hairballs.

Comment by sharon j — May 27, 2007 @ 12:43 pm
Trudy ~ as much STUFF that’s happened since 3-18 — to start from scratch would entail a 3 volume set!

Here’s a link to a lady who writes in a small town newspaper. I forgot who posted this first, but I’ve emailed her several times. She’s fun…

One article here: http://news.mywebpal.com/news_.....&on=1

Search on website produces these articles:
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_.....rchresults

Comment by Kat — May 27, 2007 @ 12:48 pm
We’re syndicated newspaper columnists, remember. This Web site and Web log is really a complementary effort to our “real job” — newspaper columns and books. Here’s our most recent on the pet-food scandal:

http://www.petconnection.com/column_recall.php

Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 27, 2007 @ 12:52 pm
RE: Sharon J “Do you know where some of the grease drained from the resturant fryers go?”

HOPEFULLY — BIODIESEL !! :)

Comment by Kat — May 27, 2007 @ 12:54 pm
Thank you Gina. I’m just trying to start at the beginning. I don’t know what we’d do without you all, trudy

Comment by Trudy Jackson — May 27, 2007 @ 2:52 pm
Comment by Serijna:

‘Those many dirty secrets that we have found out since the pet food recall.
Guess what comes around goes around.’

Guess we know who is really to blame for global warming…..oh excuse me I meant Climate Change.

Comment by Tammy — May 27, 2007 @ 2:56 pm
This problem again.

CDC warns about contact lens solution:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200.....iX..vMWM0F

Comment by Tammy — May 27, 2007 @ 3:10 pm
Iams “just happened” to retain samples from this particular lot from a particular day from a particular week and from a particular month and from a particular year?

Jay, actually a pet food guy told me they have *library* samples of ingredients. He said that he wouldn’t be surprised to find major pet food companies running tests on those samples for melamine. I don’t know if they keep samples of every lot of food - doubt it.

Making companies keep samples of ingredients should be routine and required.

Comment by CathyA — May 27, 2007 @ 3:46 pm
Monoculture is the practice of using the same plot of land to repeatedly grow the same crop

MLO: Monoculture means one kind of crop in a field. And most farmers (at least as far as corn, beans and wheat go) do rotate crops yearly to defeat the pests associated with that particular crop. I don’t think they do that with some hort crops like tomatoes or strawberries, but don’t know.

Comment by CathyA — May 27, 2007 @ 4:00 pm
Cathy - “He said that he wouldn’t be surprised to find major pet food companies running tests on those samples for melamine.”

It would be nice if they’d think outside the box a tad and test for CYA as well,at least.For me it doesn’t cut it that a product is simply melamine free in light of all we have learned about the various toxins.
I think saying it’s melamine free is to give a false sense of security and keep the product moving…just me being cynical maybe.
Ka-ching.

Lorna

Comment by Lorna — May 27, 2007 @ 4:10 pm
Re: Linda’s comment on the stuff in soda from yesterday - looks like it’ll have to be a summer of iced tea instead.

::sigh:: I did love a cold Diet Coke.

Comment by Kim — May 27, 2007 @ 5:57 pm
CathyA,
That used to be true. Unfortunately, industrial agriculture has changed that.

Pax,

MLO

Comment by MLO — May 27, 2007 @ 8:07 pm
Now we’re supposed to be worried because we import so much shrimp, or the shrimp is sent over there to be processed and breaded, and U.S. can’t supply the shrimp we need in this country.

NO MORE SHRIMP for my family!

Comment by Elaine — May 27, 2007 @ 6:24 am

What I really love about this article is:

The added cost of domestic processing means “stopping Chinese imports would have a very negative effect on our company and the U.S. seafood consumer,” Martin said

What would the negative effect be, no carcinogenic or other poisons in our food? Increased US jobs? I can live with that.
Or is it that the companies profits would drop and we would have to pay more? I can live with that, too. I’ll pay more for poison-free food. And any ethical company should accept less profits over poisoning their consumers. It’s hard to believe he is serious!!! Poison vs. Profits That’s a tough one. It’ll be a lot tougher for them when we all stop buying their garbage. Profits won’t be pretty then.

Comment by DMS — May 28, 2007 @ 11:07 am
All the oxygen in DC is being swallowed up by the Iraqi War and the Bush-Kennedy immigration bill, so food safety is being largely ignored by most of our fine pols. The war, unfortunately, will not go away for a while, but there should be a chance to make a bigger impact after the immigration bill either passes or dies.

Comment by expat — May 28, 2007 @ 11:19 am
I don’t think we should have to be expected to wait that long. This is really a more urgent situation than either of the other issues. Food affects us, the soldiers, the immigrants, the politicians. Nothing could be more basic than food besides air. I really do not understand why the American people and the politicians are not more concerned right now. This is most likey a global issue at this point. Maybe other nations will not be as distracted.

Comment by DMS — May 28, 2007 @ 2:28 pm
What was the very first sign You saw when Your dogs got sick? I know about My cats, but not the dogs. the very first thing? Thanks,

Comment by Trudy Jackson — May 29, 2007 @ 2:46 pm
Hi, Trudy. The first thing I noticed with my dog, Freedom, when she got sick is that she stopped eating. She wouldn’t eat anything…not even her favorite treats. I hope this helps.

Comment by Ann Jackson — May 29, 2007 @ 3:39 pm
Ann, thank you.

Comment by Trudy Jackson — May 29, 2007 @ 4:45 pm
Our Daughter’s bird go sick after eating treats from China. I’m having to bury the bird today.

Comment by Barb Stover — September 10, 2007 @ 7:25 am
Our Daughter’s bird got sick after eating ttreats from China. I have dug a grave and am having to bury it now.

Comment by Barb Stover — September 10, 2007 @ 7:43 am
Barb-
So sorry for your loss, we all know your sadness and anger. CALL THE FDA and report your pet’s death, and call the manufacturer also. Don’t hold your breath waiting for results, but make them document your loss, along with all of ours. Without facts, nothing will ever change.

Comment by michelle — September 10, 2007 @ 6:03 pm

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