FDA issues warning on chicken jerky treats
By Gina Spadafori
December 19, 2008
Following problems in Australia with (surprise!) Chinese imported treats, the FDA says:
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to caution consumers of a potential association between the development of illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky products also described as chicken tenders, strips or treats. FDA continues to receive complaints of dogs experiencing illness that their owners or veterinarians associate with consumption of chicken jerky products. The chicken jerky products are imported to the U.S. from China. FDA issued a cautionary warning to consumers in September 2007.
Australian news organizations report the University of Sydney is also investigating an association between illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky in Australia. At least one firm in Australia has recalled their chicken jerky product and the recall notification stated the chicken jerky product was manufactured in China.
I haven’t seen any labels mentioned. Should we get rid of ALL chicken treats from China? Or ALL chicken jerky treats? I wish the FDA would take pet issues more seriously.
Comment by essmom — December 20, 2008 @ 10:20 am
If it were me, I’d toss any treats with Chinese ingredients. And not replace them, ever.
As for getting serious about pet issues … no worries on that score: The FDA doesn’t care about human health, either.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 20, 2008 @ 11:13 am
New recall on Cocoa product sold to Big Lot and Shopko stores in US -
Dorsey Marketing Inc. Voluntarily Recalls Three G&J Gourmet Market Cocoa Products: 120126, 120129, 120144
Contact:
Tim Acheson
1-888-645-1053
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — December 19, 2008 — Dorsey Marketing Inc. (DMI) of Ville St. Laurent, Quebec, Canada, is voluntarily recalling the following three G&J Gourmet Market cocoa products because these products may contain melamine:
G&J Hot Cocoa Stuffer Item 120144 (UPC 061361201444). This hot cocoa product was sold in small green and blue boxes with a backer card, candy cane and marshmallows.
G&J His and Hers Hot Cocoa Set Item 120129 (UPC 489702201296). This cocoa product was sold with 2 ceramic mugs in a brown box.
G&J Cocoa item 120126, sold in 2 flavors: French Vanilla Cocoa and Double Chocolate Cocoa
G&J French Vanilla Cocoa (UPC 061361201260). This product was sold in a small green bag with a whisk attached.
G&J Double Chocolate Cocoa (UPC 061361201260). This product was sold in a small pink bag with a whisk attached.
No injuries have been reported and only a few samples have, in fact, been found to include melamine. However, DMI is proceeding with this recall in the interest of public health and the safety of American consumers.
The above recalled products were imported into the United States by DMI and distributed nationwide to retailer Big Lots during the weeks of September 22, 2008 and September 29, 2008 and to retailer Shopko during the week of October 10, 2008.
Consumers who purchased these products are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a refund. Consumers with questions may contact Tim Acheson of DMI Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM EST toll free at 1-888-645-1053 or email recall@dmi-global.com.
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmr.....12_08.html
Comment by Barb — December 20, 2008 @ 12:05 pm
How about duck treats from China? Our dog is on a restricted diet of duck and potato. We found some “chewies” he could have which are simply dried duck. Now, we are concerned about the safety of this product. - Nikkie~O:-)
Comment by Carol Worth — December 20, 2008 @ 12:47 pm
Carol, I found I was feeding the duck treats from China during the pet food recall. I stopped immediately. It was duck jerky, dehydrated breast meat. There are a few companies with USA duck jerky out there. I’ve switched over to dehydrated lungs because I can get them from the same place I order their meat, or I dehydrate my own poultry breast meat.
Comment by straybaby — December 20, 2008 @ 3:50 pm
Just because one carton of milk is spoiled in the grocer’s cooler, are you going to throw out all the other cartons? No.
Not all products from China are dangerous. My dogs (all four of them), have been eating Waggin’ Train chicken jerky for a few years, and have never had a problem. I was concerned last year after the FDA notice, but I did my own research and called the company directly and asked how they insure the safety of their chicken jerky. I was very impressed.
My dogs continue to enjoy their treats, and I hope they will for years to come.
I continue to be vigilant about everything I buy, but don’t condemn an entire nation just because one or two companies took shortcuts.
Leslie
Comment by Leslie — December 23, 2008 @ 6:30 am
Not all products from China are dangerous.
Comment by Leslie — December 23, 2008
Certainly not all products from China are dangerous. But between the country’s lack of interest in quality control — heck, they allowed the poisoning of their own infants — and our country’s lack of import standards or control, it’s not a chance I’m willing to take with any edible item.
Especially when there are plenty of other options.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 23, 2008 @ 7:01 am
Not all products from China are dangerous, but the wide range of things intended for internal consumption that have been found to contain either melamine or antifreeze because those poisons are cheaper than what they were substituted for, plus the toys (which dogs, cats, and young humans put in their mouths and chew on) which had lead, means that my pets and I will have nothing from China that we will put in our mouths.
It’s not worth the risk. It just really is not.
Comment by Lis — December 23, 2008 @ 9:35 am
I have read the FDA statement and like the one last year doesn’t really say much other than over feeding may be a cause ,I can’t eat 20 hot dogs (and beer) a day either I get sick .
I work with dogs , you can’t give them treats all day they are to rich , a couple a day , my dogs eat 2-3 jerky strips a day no issues at all , you have to think !!
Comment by Jake — December 23, 2008 @ 12:17 pm
PS Oh I read all the FDA garbage , they have said nothing has been found that is wrong with Jerky other than small dogs getting feed WAY to much
Comment by Jake — December 23, 2008 @ 12:19 pm
I find it very hard to trust a country that was the reason thousands of cats and dogs died—-and still dying as a result of the contamination—and then within two years (or even one year by some reports) the same exact contamination turns up in baby formula in their own country…and even may have been the source of the exact same contaminant of the 2004 Asian deaths from pet food…and now we have weekly updates as to where this melamine nightmare is now testing in our human food supply in the US…never regain my trust…NEVER!
Comment by Carol V — December 23, 2008 @ 1:32 pm
I believe the number of dogs that have died is about 80 or 90…still way to much, but we shouldn’t cloud the issue by saying “thousands of dogs have died”.
Let’s stick to the facts.
Comment by Leslie — December 24, 2008 @ 8:20 am
The pet-food recall, you mean? Those ARE the facts. The Veterinary Information Network — independent of corporate or government interests — polled its veterinarian members and confirmed our own anecdotal reporting by pet-owners that thousands of pets were killed by tainted pet-food ingredients.
Not to mention, the thousands of reports to the FDA never followed up on, and the reports of individual states like Oregon that, if extrapolated, also point to thousands of dead pets nationwide.
Frankly, it’s pretty much indisputable now that thousands of pets died.
More cats than dogs died, by the way. And are STILL dying, thanks to permanent kidney damage as a result of the melamine put into the food by rogue Chinese businesses that lowered the cost by putting plastic in place of protein.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 24, 2008 @ 8:38 am
Leslie, the number of dogs and cats dead as a result of the melamine-poisoned pet food is most definitely in the thousands—not 80 or 90.
Or are you counting only dogs dead as a result of the chicken jerky treats specifically? Are we not supposed to connect the jerky to the pet food to the baby formula to the toothpaste to the cough medicine?
Comment by Lis — December 24, 2008 @ 8:40 am
I guess I should have clarified that I meant the pet food recall contamination when I said thousands…and yes my kitty Smudge who passed just last week had a normal urinalysis on Feb 6th 2007 with “kidneys of a kitten” my vet said..only to have her creatinine over 12 on March 12th all because I fed her …
sorry for any confusion..
Comment by Carol V — December 24, 2008 @ 9:50 am
More melamine poisoning, reported in the L.A. Times.
It’ll be a cold freakin’ day in hell before I feed myself or any two- or four-legged family member anything from China. No matter the “reassurances” from the company involved.
This is isn’t a couple of bad apples. This is widespread corruption and greed, and a complete and utter disregard for the health of anyone eating this crap.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 24, 2008 @ 11:29 am
Just because one carton of milk is spoiled in the grocer’s cooler, are you going to throw out all the other cartons? No.
Comment by Leslie — December 23, 2008 @ 6:30
Err, “milk” might not be the best pick when trying to splain a point on China food…I think that most parents in China that unknowingly fed their babies mela-milk and then had their babies fall sick and in worse cases, die, would have gladly thrown out all the other cartons had they known what was about to happen to them.
Comment by Sandi K — December 24, 2008 @ 11:50 am
PS Oh I read all the FDA garbage , they have said nothing has been found that is wrong with Jerky other than small dogs getting feed WAY to much Comment by Jake — December 23, 2008 @ 12:19 pm
Hmmm, the FDA statement I just read posted above says this: “Blood tests may indicate kidney failure (increased urea nitrogen and creatinine). Urine tests may indicate Fanconi syndrome (increased glucose). Although most dogs appear to recover, some reports to the FDA have involved dogs that have died.”
Seems to me if its a simple matter of dogs being fed too many treats, we would be hearing of this same problem happening with beef jerky treats or something else like milk bones. I personally would have loved to have had some sort of FDA advisory warning us about potential problems with the cat food we fed our kitty that killed her in March 2007.
Comment by Sandi K — December 24, 2008 @ 11:57 am
Make sure you read the LA Times article Gina linked…especially the paragraphs after “Not on the checklist”…
Comment by Carol V — December 24, 2008 @ 12:07 pm
Not to mention this paragraph in the story:
“Last year, pet foods made with melamine-laced ingredients from China sickened or killed thousands of dogs and cats in the U.S. This year, infant formula tainted with the chemical has been linked to illness in 294,000 small children and six deaths in China, according to China’s Ministry of Health.”
I see no sign whatsoever that the government of China is doing anything to fix this problem. And our government will be of little more help until the new adminstration pushes all the heckuvajob cronies out of the FDA. (I hope!)
As I said,cold day in hell when I take a chance on feeding “Made In China.”
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 24, 2008 @ 12:13 pm
So this is interesting. In August of 2008, President Bush signed into law the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 which requires - among other things - that toys made for children under 12 are going to be required to carry tracking labels which “must contain information that will enable the ultimate purchaser to ascertain the manufacturer or private labeler, location and date of production of the product, and cohort information (including the batch, run number, or other identifying characteristic.)” (http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsi.....nformation)
So I like kids under 12 as much as the next person, but if we can have a law mandating that level of transparency for their toys, then why in heaven’s name can there not be a similar labeling transparency requirement (one without the loopholes that still exist in COOL) instituted for the food our pets - and for that matter, the food that ALL of us - purchase and eat?
Comment by The OTHER Pat — December 24, 2008 @ 5:09 pm
A few days ago I heard something on the news about Chicken Jerky treats from China causing some dogs to get sick. I immediately thought of my Cavalier’s favorite Chewy Louie Chicken Jerky treats (produced in China!) sold at Kroger Grocery Stores. I called their 800 number in California with my concerns. They said that yes, there had been some problems with chicken jerky in general but not one problem with their brand- Chewy Louie. She said that each shipment from China is tested for any harmful ingredients before packaging. Also the only ingredient in the chicken jerkey is chicken! I do think it’s safe for our dogs to eat this brand, otherwise this company (www.rebarninc.com) will be sued big time! Nevertheless, I will look for an American made chicken breast jerky for my beloved dog… to be on the safe side.
Comment by gsumner — December 30, 2008 @ 11:53 am
Gsumner, there’s melamine in the feed the chickens are being fed, so “the only ingredient in the chicken jerky is chicken” is no guarantee of safety.
And they’re not going to lose sleep over being sued, because the status of dogs as “just property” exactly like a chair or a footstool, severely limits the damages you could recover even if you won.
If it’s made in China, my pets aren’t eating it or chewing it. There’s nothing they can say that excuses the egregiously bad judgment of having any food or any dog toy or cat toy or small-child toy made in China.
Comment by Lis — December 30, 2008 @ 12:20 pm
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is doing a series on imported honey (and guess where most of that comes from and if there are problems).
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/.....oney30.asp
I’ve only purchased locally-produced honey for years as I’d heard about the problems (and when you’re in agriculture, you know beekeepers), but even if you don’t like honey, this series appears to be well-written.
Comment by Dorene — December 30, 2008 @ 5:13 pm
I second Lis’ comment. Nothing from China anymore for our guys either.
Now it looks like farmed fish might be contaminated because of melamine in the fish feed from China. Has anyone tracked this one down?
Comment by Susan Fox — December 30, 2008 @ 6:02 pm
We won’t feed anything from China.
If the chicken jerky from China costs so much less than the treats made in the US, you have to know that there are corners being cut somewhere. Especially if you live in the US. Shouldn’t the shipping alone make them at least the same price? Serious corners are being cut.
I also encourage people who do not want to feed anything made in China to contact their food companies and asked where ingredients are “sourced.” Unfortunately, treats and foods can contain ingredients from China (because they are cheaper) and still carry a “made in the US” label.
I’ve found that there are very few food companies that do not source ingredients from China.
Comment by Amy — December 31, 2008 @ 1:17 am
I read small article in Houston Chronicle not long ago about amount of melamine detected in fish imported from China is 80% over what FDA says is acceptable. Just a few days ago there was story on internet about how corruption contaminates all levels of Chinese society. The central government won’t crack down on it because the powers-that-be need to allow the corruption to continue because they fear the people will get out of their control. I try as hard as possible not to buy any food products for me or my pets from China. I hate it when an item says “distributed by,” rather than telling me where each ingredient originates. Although at this point in time, i believe there is mass corruption in American government and business.
Comment by cheriecat — December 31, 2008 @ 8:32 am
Preliminary Animal Health Notification
December 19, 2008
FDA Continues To Receive Complaints about Chicken Jerky Products for Dogs and Cautions Consumers
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to caution consumers of a potential association between the development of illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky products also described as chicken tenders, strips or treats. FDA continues to receive complaints of dogs experiencing illness that their owners or veterinarians associate with consumption of chicken jerky products. The chicken jerky products are imported to the U.S. from China. FDA issued a cautionary warning to consumers in September 2007.
Australian news organizations report the University of Sydney is also investigating an association between illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky in Australia. At least one firm in Australia has recalled their chicken jerky product and the recall notification stated the chicken jerky product was manufactured in China.
FDA believes the continued trend of consumer complaints coupled with the information obtained from Australia warrants an additional reminder and animal health notification.
Chicken jerky products should not be substituted for a balanced diet and are intended to be
used occasionally and in small quantities. Owners of small dogs must be especially careful to limit the amount of these products.
FDA, in addition to several veterinary diagnostic laboratories in the U.S, is working to determine why these products are associated with illness in dogs. To date, scientists have not been able to determine a definitive cause for the reported illnesses. FDA has conducted extensive chemical and microbial testing but has not identified any contaminant.
FDA is advising consumers who choose to feed their dogs chicken jerky products to watch their dogs closely for any or all of the following signs which may occur within hours to days of feeding the product: decreased appetite, although some may continue to consume the treats to the exclusion of other foods; decreased activity; vomiting; diarrhea, sometimes with blood; and increased water consumption and/or increased urination. If the dog shows any of these signs, stop feeding the chicken jerky product. Owners should consult their veterinarian if signs are severe or persist for more than 24 hours. Blood tests may indicate kidney failure (increased urea nitrogen and creatinine). Urine tests may indicate Fanconi syndrome (increased glucose). Although most dogs appear to recover, some reports to the FDA have involved dogs that have died.
The FDA continues to actively investigate the problem. Many of the illnesses reported may be the result of causes other than eating chicken jerky. Veterinarians and consumers alike should report cases of animal illness associated with pet foods to the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator http://www.fda.gov/opacom/back.....plain.html in their state.
Comment by Charles Rivers — January 6, 2009 @ 8:44 am
My wife has been feeding our dog Chewy Louie and he has been having more and more serious diahrea. I have tried to warn her that these treats may be the problem but she is hard headed and violent. I just looked at the package and it plainly says made in China. Over and over I have warned her about food and toys made in China, Mexico, and other third world countries. Because she always has to be right our dog is now seriously sick. As soon as she is asleep that Chineese crap is out of the house. Too bad the law puts my wife’s life above that of my best friend’s!!!
Comment by adam — January 19, 2009 @ 3:52 pm
Adam … you have a lot more issues than Chinese imports. Your dog needs a veterinarian, and you and your wife need counseling, at the very least.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — January 19, 2009 @ 4:05 pm
Holy cow.
Comment by Lori — January 19, 2009 @ 4:07 pm
I have been giving my three dogs duck breast jerky(purchased @ Costco)
imported from China by an American co. They get maybe two each afew times a week. So far they seem fine They are 3, 2, and 15 years, Should I get rid of these treats???
Comment by sue — April 16, 2009 @ 2:20 pm
sue, the fact is that we just don’t know. You could certainly send in samples of your treats to see if they are contaminated with melamine and/or cyanuric acid. But if it were me, I’d just not take the risk. We saw SO much contamination during the 2007 recalls, and the news reports since then have repeatedly shown us that the deliberate introduction of these contaminants into all KINDS of foodstuffs and ingredients by the Chinese has been and continues to be a widely-accepted practice (remember the contaminated baby formula?).
Many of us have simply chosen to play it as safe as we can, and not knowingly feed our pets with food or treats that come from China or with ingredients imported from there.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — April 16, 2009 @ 3:23 pm