PetConnection database and food recall blog: tracking pets affected by recalled foods

[link to www.petconnection.com]

Pet food recall: FDA news, and our latest numbers

* If you’re new to the site, please check out our general information page.
* If you have lost a pet, we encourage you to learn about pet-loss resources.

UPDATE: CNN is webcasting the media conference live.

With the concentration of the national media, layoffs at many newspapers and much more bad news on the ability of the media to report as widespread story such as this, it’s encouraging to note that some of the best reporting on the pet-food recall has come out of regional papers, notably the Portland Oregonion, and now, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The news in the T-R we have independently confirmed, and it’ll be interesting to see what the FDA says this morning.

We hear the FDA may issue a revised estimate of the numbers of pets make sick or killed. It has previously been widely reported the FDA has received 8,000 reports from consumers, with of course will go through their review process.

As of 6 a.m. PT, the PetConnection database: 2,447 deceased pets (1,327 cats and 1080 dogs). As always, remember these are self-reported numbers.

If you have a pet with a recall-related illness, let us remind you to:

* Call the FDA to report your information
* Call your veterinarian and ask him or her to report to your state veterinarian, also for the FDA
* Enter your pet in our database

[link to pittsburghlive.com]

Chemical used in plastics found in recalled pet food

By Karen Roebuck
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, March 30, 2007

U.S. Food and Drug Administration testing found a chemical commonly used in plastics, but no rat poison, in the recalled pet food that has killed and sickened cats and dogs nationwide, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review learned Thursday.

Testing by the FDA and at least one lab independent of the agency found melamine, a chemical used in plastics and household textiles, in samples of the recalled pet food and in one of its ingredients -- wheat gluten -- said an FDA official and another source close to the investigation. Neither wanted to be identified prior to the FDA's formal announcement this morning.

Whether melamine is the source of the animal illness is unclear, they said. The National Toxicology Program of the Department of Health and Human Services reports on its Web site, however, that melamine in rats caused loss of weight, marked reduction of food consumption and high mortality -- the same symptoms pet owners have witnessed in cats and dogs that ate the recalled food.

Because of a lack of scientific data, it is unclear what level of melamine would be harmful to cats and dogs, the sources said. An unknown number of cats and dogs nationwide have died or become ill with kidney failure.

Ontario, Canada-based Menu Foods recalled 60 million cans and pouches of "cuts and gravy" style cat and dog food it produced under 95 brand names after consumer complaints and seven animals died in the company's own tests.

New York state officials said March 23 their tests indicated the pet food was contaminated with aminopterin, which is used as rat poison in other countries and is found in chemotherapy drugs in the United States.

Neither the FDA nor the independent lab tests found aminopterin. The agency is expected to announce its findings at a news conference at 10 a.m. today but is not commenting on New York's findings or that lab's methodology.

The FDA has not determined how melamine got into the pet food. Melamine is used as a fertilizer in Asia and has several commercial and industrial uses.

The FDA has received 8,000 complaints regarding the recalled food and is testing hundreds of customer-submitted samples.

While Menu Foods has reported 16 deaths, Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, has said many more deaths are expected. The contamination appears to be more deadly to cats than dogs, he said.

The federal investigation is focusing on wheat gluten as the likely source of contamination, he said last week.

Symptoms of kidney failure include loss of appetite, lethargy, vomiting, excessive drinking and either excessive or no urination. Animals, however, do not show symptoms until about 70 percent of the kidney function is lost, veterinarians said.

Local veterinarians have said knowing what contaminated the pet food is crucial to treating pets.

Some local pet owners have asked vets to do blood and urine tests on their dogs and cats who had eaten the recalled brands but were not showing symptoms. The tests can cost $100 or more and generally will not detect the problem until the animal shows symptoms, vets said.

For more information, including a list of dog and cat foods being recalled, visit www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html.

Menu Foods has set up hot lines that pet owners can call for information: 866-463-6738 and 866-895-2708.

Karen Roebuck can be reached at [email protected] or (412) 320-7939.

[link to www.petconnection.com]

Pet food recall: FDA press conference report

In an FDA press conference this morning, a reporter asked the FDA’s Dr. Stephen Sundlof if people could be feeding unsafe food to their pets right now, because the FDA won’t reveal the name of a company - that makes dry “kibbled” food as well as “wet” pet food - that received wheat gluten from the same source Menu did.

The response? “It is possible, but I think we’ve been following every lead that we can. My sense is that we have gotten most of it under control.”

As soon as we have any information, he assured reporters at a press conference this morning, we’ll notify the public. Except for the name of the company, it seems.

How about the numbers? asked another attendee. You’re still saying only 15 confirmed deaths, but some reports are in the thousands. How do you explain the discrepancy?

Dr. Sundlof said FDA can’t confirm any cases beyond those first few in Menu’s test labs, even though they have received over 8800 additional reports, because “We have not had the luxury of confirming these reports.” They’ll work on that, he said, after they “make sure all the product is off the shelves.”

He pointed out that in human medicine, the job of defining what constitutes a confirmed case would fall to the Centers for Disease Control, not the FDA… and there is no CDC for animals.

Updated: Karen Roebuck of the Pittsburg Tribune-Review, who broke the story earlier this morning that melamine, not aminopterin, had been found in the tested foods, asked if any of the wheat gluten had found its way into the human food supply.

The response: “At this point we are not aware that any of that went into human food.” They do know the company that supplied the contaminated wheat gluten, and are tracking its shipments, but they aren’t disclosing the name of the company.

They are, however, doing “100 percent review and sampling of all wheat gluten from China.”

More to come.

If you have a pet with a recall-related illness, let us remind you to:

* Call the FDA to report your information
* Call your veterinarian and ask him or her to report to your state veterinarian, also for the FDA
* Enter your pet in our database

[link to www.petconnection.com]

Pet-food recall: More resources

* If you’re new to the site, please check out our general information page.
* If you have lost a pet, we encourage you to learn about pet-loss resources.

Christie will have more from the FDA media conference within minutes. In the meantime:

* The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center was right on the tainted food, and adds more in this release. [link to www.aspca.org]
* Itchmo offers more on what pet-food terms really mean.
* The Los Angeles Times reports on how the new lawsuits may change the rules of the game when pets are lost. [link to www.latimes.com]

If you have a pet with a recall-related illness, let us remind you to:

* Call the FDA to report your information
* Call your veterinarian and ask him or her to report to your state veterinarian, also for the FDA
* Enter your pet in our database

[link to www.latimes.com]

A dog's life: What's it worth?
Moves to raise the legal status of pets may lead to damage awards. But there are other issues.
By Molly Selvin and Abigail Goldman, Times Staff Writers
March 30, 2007

If you think of Rover and Fluffy as members of the family, you may figure you could collect damages for pain and suffering if they were to die as a result of wrongdoing.

The law in California and many other states sees things differently. It treats pets as personal property, just like cars and computers.

But that could be changing.

Lawsuits filed in the last week by owners of dogs and cats felled by contaminated pet food could press lawmakers and courts to upgrade pets' legal status. The food, produced by Menu Foods of Canada, is believed to be responsible for the deaths of dozens of dogs and cats nationwide.

"You'll see a lot of pressure on legislators to remove liability barriers, to not see these animals as property but as entities like humans," said Jon Katz, the author of several books on the changing relationship between dogs and people.

Some barriers have already been removed. Appellate court decisions in at least six states permit damages for emotional distress in some instances, said Alan Calnan, who teaches product liability law at Southwestern Law School.

Though California isn't among the six, Beverly Hills lawyer Kenneth Phillips says several pet-owner clients have collected for pain and suffering. In one case, he negotiated a settlement for a woman with muscular dystrophy who was distraught after her dog was attacked by another and died. And in a 2004 malpractice case in Orange County, a jury awarded owners of a rescue dog $30,000 for its unique emotional value, on top of $9,000 in vet bills.

What's more, the state of Rhode Island and several cities, including West Hollywood, Berkeley and San Francisco, have legally defined pet owners as "guardians" — in effect equating animals with children, which is how many people regard their pets.

"Brutus was very special. He was my companion; he was my best bud; he was with me 24 hours a day," San Clemente resident Catherine Golden, 46, said of her cat, who died of kidney failure after eating the tainted food. "All of our cats have always been members of the family. I don't have any children, so I love my cats seriously."

For all that, Katz warns that granting pets human-like legal status could create troublesome consequences for veterinarians, pet food and toy companies, shelter operators and perhaps even pet owners themselves. Higher damage awards for malpractice could lead to unnecessary testing and higher vet fees. And clothing animals with human-like status might eventually limit an owner's ability to decide to euthanize a suffering pet.

Historically, no matter how beloved the animal, state laws have allowed owners compensation solely for its replacement cost in the event of injury, death or theft. Those laws were rooted in the notion that some animals — like herding dogs, workhorses and cattle — had quantifiable economic value based on the work they did for farmers and ranchers.

In the cases against Menu Foods, "there's no question in the law" that pet owners will be entitled to damages to cover their vet bills, the cost of food they purchased and "funeral expenses," said Chicago attorney Jay Edelson, who last week filed a potential class-action lawsuit on behalf of a Chicago woman who had her cat euthanized after its kidneys failed. Los Angeles lawyer Michael Morrison anticipates the suit he filed Tuesday could include 1,000 or more pet owners.

Menu Foods has said it will pay vet bills for animals sickened by its products. Lawyers involved in the lawsuits — filed in California, Washington state, Illinois, Tennessee and Wisconsin — say they may seek pain and suffering damages for their clients too.

"We've heard story after story of adult men and women breaking down on the phone because their child's pet has passed away," Edelson said.

The notion that pet owners are entitled to damages for emotional distress reflects what Katz calls a seismic shift in humans' relationship to pets that has occurred in recent decades.

Half of North American pet owners responding to a 2004 survey said that if they were stranded on a desert island, they would pick a dog or cat, rather than a person, as their sole companion. Almost half said their pets were better listeners than spouses, family members or friends, the American Animal Hospital Assn. poll showed.

As far as Katz is concerned, those human-pet bonds can be too intense. He's troubled by people who consider their pets "fur children" or insist that losing a pet is similar to losing a child.

"As the father of a child and a dog lover, I know it's not the same thing," he said.

Bob Vetere, president of the American Pet Products Manufacturers Assn., a Greenwich, Conn.-based trade group, calls the pets-as-people trend "nonsense." Vetere, a dog owner himself, said, "That guardianship stuff drives me crazy because there's so much confusion that will result."

For Barry Baum, a West Los Angeles veterinarian, the worry is that the legal changes regarding animals' status could translate into higher malpractice insurance premiums. "More insidious," he added, "will be the need to practice more defensively." That may mean doing more tests on a pet and hiking the owner's bill.

Giving animals a human-like legal identity might lead to higher liability awards if, for instance, a dog chokes on a chew toy, an airline misroutes a cat or an animal dies in a car accident, said law instructor Calnan. He also worries that "parties who want to represent the rights of pets could step in and object to euthanasia."

Said Katz, "I don't think people have thought through the consequences here."

[email protected]

[email protected]

[link to www.petconnection.com]

Pet food recall: More updates from the press conference

* If you’re new to the site, please check out our general information page.
* If you have lost a pet, we encourage you to learn about pet-loss resources.

The news that dry food, made by an undisclosed pet food manufacturer, may also be contaminated with the substance causing kidney failure in pets, as well as troubling implications for the human food supply, overshadowed some of the medical news that came out of this morning’s FDA press conference. Investigators are onsite at the suspect plant, and the FDA promised to tell us anything they find out “as soon as possible”… a curious promise, since they currently know that the company purchased gluten from the same source as Menu did, and aren’t telling us what company it is, so as consumers we can make informed decisions.

The press conference led with the announcement, which we reported last night, that the Cornell School of Veterinary Medicine laboratory was not able to find aminopterin, the rat poison previously identified by a New York laboratory as being present in recalled pet foods, in samples it tested. They did, however, find melamine, supposedly used as a fertilizer in other countries, but primarily used in the US in construction materials.

They found melamine in the urine of affected test animals, as well as the kidney of one cat, all from the original group of dogs and cats fed the food in Menu’s test lab.

There is very little information available on the toxicity of melamine in dogs and cats, but the FDA’s Dr. Stephen Sundlof said, “Melamine is an ingredient that should not be present in pet food at any level.”

While researchers are still not calling melamine is the “smoking gun,” they have identified one telltale characteristic of animals who have been affected by the contaminant: A specific kind of crystal found in their urine and sometimes, in their kidneys.

The FDA is still only reporting 15 “confirmed” cases, those from Menu’s original test animals. Sundlof said that veterinary evidence needs to be collected before any other cases - and they’ve heard from over 8800 pet owners so far - can be confirmed. He said the FDA is sending consumers to the Menu website and fda.gov for information at this time.

More to come from Dr. Donald Smith, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University.

If you have a pet with a recall-related illness, let us remind you to:

* Call the FDA to report your information
* Call your veterinarian and ask him or her to report to your state veterinarian, also for the FDA
* Enter your pet in our database

[link to www.petconnection.com]

Pet food recall: Cornell vet school dean at FDA press conference

* If you’re new to the site, please check out our general information page.
* If you have lost a pet, we encourage you to learn about pet-loss resources.

Dr. Donald Smith, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University, spoke at the FDA press conference on the pet food recall this morning.

He made one very surprising statement, which almost got lost under all the other suprising statements made at the press conference, including that dry food may be involved, that the FDA was not in the process of confirming any additional deaths beyond the initial 15 from Menu’s test animals, and that researchers had not been able to find aminopterin, previously identified as the likely contaminant, in samples they had tested.

Dr. Smith stated that Cornell began testing for melamine in the samples because one of the affected companies - an unnamed pet food manufacturer that was affected by the recall - found melamine during its own testing, and told them about it. And when they started looking for it, they found it - in the food, in the supsect ingredient (wheat gluten), in the tissues of the affected animals, and in their urine.

They made this discovery on March 26 and 27, and reported it to the FDA on both of those days.

Dr. Smith showed photos of the distinctive crystals found in the urine and sometimes kidneys of affected animals, and said that there are also dramatic changes to the distal tubules - small tubes leading off the back of the kidneys - and few or no changes to the proximal (front) tubules. These changes were to the lining of the tubules, which were full of sloughed-off cells, and caused a loss of the structural integrity in the tubules. The spaces around the tubules were also full of inflammatory cells.

He repeated that he was not making a connection of these symptoms with melamine.

He also said that the good folks at Menu are feeling the pain of the affected pet owners.

If you have a pet with a recall-related illness, let us remind you to:

* Call the FDA to report your information
* Call your veterinarian and ask him or her to report to your state veterinarian, also for the FDA
* Enter your pet in our database

[link to www.petconnection.com]

Pet-food recall: Menu Foods drops another Friday news release

* If you’re new to the site, please check out our general information page.
* If you have lost a pet, we encourage you to learn about pet-loss resources.

Here’s the most recent news release from Menu Foods. You’re going to have to go read it yourself, because I honestly don’t think it’s good for my blood pressure to have to cut-and-paste it into this blog.

[link to www.menufoods.com]

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

Filed under: animals: pets, medical, news, 2007 food recall — Gina Spadafori @ 2:46 pm
Comments (21)

[link to www.petconnection.com]

Pet-food recall: Hill’s Pet Nutrition recalls Feline m/d dry diet

* If you’re new to the site, please check out our general information page.
* If you have lost a pet, we encourage you to learn about pet-loss resources.

Just posted to the Web site at Hill’s Pet Nutrition:

In accordance with its over-riding commitment to pet health and well-being, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. is voluntarily recalling Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food from the market. Hill’s is taking this precautionary action because during a two-month period in early 2007, wheat gluten for this product was provided by a company that also supplied wheat gluten to Menu Foods. U.S. Food and Drug Administration tests of wheat gluten samples from this period show the presence of a small amount of melamine. Prescription Diet m/d Feline Dry represents less than one half of one percent of all Hill’s products.

This is the only product Hill’s currently sells in the United States and Canada that contains wheat gluten from any supplier. No other Hill’s Prescription Diet® or Science Diet® products are affected by this voluntary recall. Hill’s Science Diet Savory Cuts Feline canned cat foods, manufactured by Menu Foods, were previously withdrawn from the market as a precaution. Together with this earlier withdrawal, less than 1% of all Hill’s products have been affected.

The voluntary recall of Hill’s Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food involves discontinuation of all retail sales and product retrieval from sellers. This recall does not include Prescription Diet m/d Feline canned food which contains no wheat gluten.

Consumers should stop using this product and return it for a refund. All Hill’s products carry a 100 percent guarantee, and consumers can receive a refund for recalled product.

The emphasis is Hill’s. Here’s the rest. [link to www.hillspet.com]

If you have a pet with a recall-related illness, let us remind you to:

* Call the FDA to report your information
* Call your veterinarian and ask him or her to report to your state veterinarian, also for the FDA
* Enter your pet in our database

thanks muse and everyone, excellent compilation of
important information for all, keep up good work

Thanks so much, kris! I too am grateful for all of the excellent sleuthing and thoughtful posting by so many during these past very trying two weeks :(.. :hf:

DO NOT cash that coupon. Save it. But Do NOT USE IT. Using it is the same as accepting a settlement. That is why your name is on it. All coupons are sent back to the manufacterer. If you accept their condolences and cash it, consider yourself reimbursed for your ills.

[link to www.petconnection.com]

Pet-food recall: Hills … is that it? Hello? FDA? Hello?

* If you’re new to the site, please check out our general information page.
* If you have lost a pet, we encourage you to learn about pet-loss resources.

I’m still having a hard time understanding this.

The FDA said this morning that there was a possibility the tainted ingredient could have gotten into a dry food product. But they wouldn’t/couldn’t tell us which one because the investigation was ongoing. Hills has now recalled a dry food product. Hello, FDA? Is that the only one? Or are you still looking at others you can’t tell us about? Could you at least tell us that?

Here’s what’s making my head hurt:

Can you imagine what would be going on now if the FDA had said there was a human product that could possibly sicken or kill, but that they had decided they couldn’t tell us which one? Would we accept their explanation that they thought they got all the problem food, and that we shouldn’t worry?

What am I missing here? Why can’t they come clean? Who are they working for? Silly me, I though it was us!

From the PetConnection database (5:30 p.m. PT): 2,603 deceased pets (1,449 cats and 1154 dogs). Remember: These are self-reported numbers.

If you have a pet with a recall-related illness, let us remind you to:

* Call the FDA to report your information
* Call your veterinarian and ask him or her to report to your state veterinarian, also for the FDA
* Enter your pet in our database

Final note: I’m beat. Christie’s a night owl and will probably clear any posts waiting for moderation and check for any updates. Otherwise … that’s it for tonight.

[link to www.petconnection.com]

Pet food recall: And now, Purina joins the recall

* If you’re new to the site, please check out our general information page.
* If you have lost a pet, we encourage you to learn about pet-loss resources.

From a little “Friday at midnight” press release drop from the folks at Purina:

Nestle Purina PetCare Company today announced it is voluntarily recalling all sizes and varieties of its ALPO(R) Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with specific date codes. The Company is taking this voluntary action after learning today that wheat gluten containing melamine, a substance not approved for use in food, was provided to Purina by the same company that also supplied Menu Foods. The contamination occurred in a limited production quantity at only one of Purina’s 17 pet food manufacturing facilities.

Earlier today the FDA announced the finding of melamine in products related to the March 16 Menu Foods recall, and advised Purina of the source of the contaminated supply. Purina then determined that it had received some quantity from the suspect supplier. The company proactively notified the FDA and immediately began this recall process.

Press release here. [link to sev.prnewswire.com]

Itchmo asks: [link to www.itchmo.com]

The FDA announcement stated that one other manufacturer received the same wheat gluten. After the Hills announcement, and now Purina, we would like to know who else is using this tainted wheat gluten. And for the love of our pets, pet food companies, please speak up now to save our pets’ lives. FDA, do you even know who is using this food?

What they said.

If you have a pet with a recall-related illness, let us remind you to:

* Call the FDA to report your information
* Call your veterinarian and ask him or her to report to your state veterinarian, also for the FDA
* Enter your pet in our database

[link to www.petconnection.com]

Pet food recall: Turn emotion into action

* If you’re new to the site, please check out our general information page. [link to www.petconnection.com]
* If you have lost a pet, we encourage you to learn about pet-loss resources. [link to www.petconnection.com]
* If you want to read all our recall-related blog posts, click here. [link to www.petconnection.com]

Friday afternoon “drop-and-run” media releases. Public agencies created to protect us that won’t provide names of companies suspected of getting tainted raw materials, even though they know them.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Obviously, my sympathy is with people who have sick pets, or who have lost pets, and with those veterinarians who have struggled to save these animals and provide good nutrition recommendations in an ever-changing landscape of bad news and more recalls.

But I also do feel sorry for those pet-food companies that are producing safe, top-quality products and being honest and open with the public. Most of these companies are not involved in product recalls, but people can simply no longer put food in a pet’s bowl and not wonder about it. And that’s sad, for us all.

What will change this? All of us.

With a couple of notable exceptions, our elected officials have been near-silent on this pet-food recall. It’s time to change that.

Online petitions are great, and I encourage you to seek them out. [link to www.itchmo.com]
Posting on Web logs, in e-mail groups and on online forums makes you feel as if you’ve done something, and that’s fine, we need that feeling now. But, I can tell you as a lifelong resident of the capital of the largest state, with many, many friends who work in or cover the state legislature,it’s personal contact that gets the attention of an elected official.

Don’t e-mail. As I’ve said before, they bat those away like gnats. Find your elected officials at EVERY LEVEL — here’s one online resource — [link to votesmart.org]
and write an old-fashioned letter with an envelope and mail it.

Then, follow with a phone call. If you can, meet in person. That’ll be difficult in the halls of Congress, but not that tough in most state Legislatures. Don’t rely on form letters. State your business, tell your story, make your request and thank them for their time. (And hey — don’t be rude to the staffers. They’re people like us, working for a living, trying to do their best!)

Depending on the elected official, he or she may not care about the loss of your pet, or not think that’s very important. So don’t forget to stress the economic loss as well. Tell them what it cost you to save your pet, or that you spent, even though you lost your pet. In many if not most families, a major veterinary emergency is a hard hit to the family budget.

What should we ask for? I’m of the Keep It Simple Sam school. The absolute first rule of business must be a complete Congressional investigation into how this event was handled, followed by a full and fully public report.

What else? How about:

1) New labeling requirements:

* Product labels should be required to list not only the company that’s marketing the food, but also the company that made it. With full addresses and 800 numbers.
* Product labels should be required to list the country of origin of the ingredients. It’s clear now that this information is every bit as important to a consumer trying to make an intelligent decision as the ingredients and nutritional analysis on those labels now.

2) A true, national system for getting information to veterinarians and collecting information from veterinarians. This is important not only for our animals, but for ourselves. It’s quite possible a problem in animals can signify a developing threat for humans. (Ever hear of bird flu?) Veterinarians are an essential link in our national security and public-health systems, and we’ve now seen how little respect they get in this role. (For more in this check out this post at vetcetera. [link to catmanager.wordpress.com]

You’re welcome to add more, but those are the two most critical issues I see that can help to prevent something like this from happening again, and improve the response if it does.

So go find out who represents you, tell every one of them that the situation as it exists now is not acceptable.

Don’t leave it to someone else. Write. Call. Visit. It will take us all to make change happen. Step up and claim your rights as a citizen to get your government to work for you.

I’ll be writing my letters this weekend. Will you?

Update: The ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center reminds people that at this point the dry food voluntary recall involves only one prescription product. [link to www.aspca.org]

Update No. 2: I stopped at a convenience store in Dixon, Calif., this morning to get a bottle of water. Saw a hand-written note on the pet-food shelf. Thousand words and all that.

Update No. 3: Kim has added the most recent recalls to her list of products and parent companies. [link to playingbig.blogspot.com]

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Technorati Tags: pet food recall, dogs, cats,veterinarian, veterinary
Filed under: animals: pets, medical, news, 2007 food recall — Gina Spadafori @ 9:58 am
Comments (129)

[link to www.aspca.org]

ASPCA Urges Caution as Dry Food is Voluntarily Added to Pet Food Recall

Advises Consumers Not to Panic—Not All Dry Foods Contain Wheat Gluten

ASPCA Media Contact

NEW YORK, March 31, 2007—Yesterday, news conferences held by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Menu Foods, Inc., confirmed suspicions by the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) that a contaminant other than aminopterin may be responsible for the illnesses and deaths of animals that ingested the recently-recalled contaminated foods.

The contaminant, melamine, which was found in wheat gluten in samples of the recalled lots, is used to make durable plastic household products; cleaning products; hard, stain-resistant laminates; flame-retardant foam, soundproofing and fertilizer.

To add to the fast-breaking developments, Hill’s Pet Nutrition voluntarily recalled its Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry cat food late on Friday—its only product containing wheat gluten—which it believes may have been contaminated by infected wheat gluten from the same supplier.

At this time, the ASPCA is uncertain as to whether other pet food manufacturers may also issue voluntary recalls, and advises pet parents to contact their pet food manufacturer directly. With the addition of this brand of dry pet food to the massive Menu Foods recall, the ASPCA today urged pet parents not to panic or take any sudden actions, such as refraining from feeding their pets dry food altogether.

“There are several dry cat and dog foods that do not include any wheat gluten in their formulas,” said Dr. Hansen, “and you can get that information from the label on your pet food or manufacturer. In general, the ASPCA recommends high quality, premium pet foods for most pets, since they are research-based formulas that include specific nutrients for your pet’s well-being.

“Foods that fall into these categories, and that do not contain wheat gluten in their formulas, are perfectly safe for consumption. Further, if your pet is used to eating a particular type of food, a sudden change in diet or diet type may upset its stomach. This may be especially problematic for pets with pre-existing illnesses.”

Because we do not yet have direct proof that melamine causes kidney failure in pets, the ASPCA encourages continued investigation. “Ironically, melamine itself has a relatively high safety margin,” said Dr. Hansen. “Studies have shown that at significant doses, it causes a pronounced diuretic effect in dogs and rats, as well as the development of crystals in their urine, but without evidence of kidney damage. Should doses exceed those in published studies, we may start seeing additional adverse effects in dogs.

“Cats, however, are a very sensitive species, and can react adversely to many chemicals and drugs even at lower doses. Because of their unique physiology, we suspect that they may also be more sensitive to the adverse effects of melamine. However, further investigation is required to prove this theory.”

The ASPCA recommends that as a precautionary measure, pet parents should immediately discontinue the use of the possibly-contaminated dry food, if they have not already done so. Further, the use of aggressive fluid therapy to treat pets for kidney failure, which has been directly linked to ingestion of the contaminated food, should continue. Any change in treatment should only be done under the direction of your veterinarian.

“It is imperative to stay in close contact with your veterinarian and follow their direction,” said Dr. Hansen. “In addition, if you have any suspicion that your pet is displaying signs other than those previously noted, and believe these are directly linked to ingestion of the contaminated food, you should notify the FDA immediately.”

Adverse effects or deaths of pets linked to eating the contaminated foods should be reported to the FDA. The FDA has also posted new information on the pet food recall and its regulation of pet foods. Additionally, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has a wealth of resources.

i find the position of the aspca to be a bit strange.
to advise people not to panic and not to stop feeding dry
food altogether sounds more like a commercial for
corporate interests. to say that dry food is safe
is to make an assumption that also helps corporations
and manufacturers more than people with animals in
their care. is it possible that the aspca may need
to consider the interests of their major donors and benefactors?

[link to www.petconnection.com]

Pet-food recall: Del Monte pulls products

* If you’re new to the site, please check out our general information page. [link to www.petconnection.com]
* If you have lost a pet, we encourage you to learn about pet-loss resources. [link to www.petconnection.com]
* If you want to read all our recall-related blog posts, click here. [link to www.petconnection.com]

What more can we say? Let’s go straight to the media release [link to home.businesswire.com]

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As a precautionary measure, Del Monte Pet Products is voluntarily recalling select product codes of its pet treat products sold under the Jerky Treats®, Gravy Train® Beef Sticks and Pounce Meaty Morsels® brands as well as select dog snack and wet dog food products sold under private label brands. A complete list of affected brands and products is below.

The Company took this voluntary recall action immediately after learning this morning from the FDA that wheat gluten supplied to Del Monte Pet Products from a specific manufacturing facility in China contained melamine. Melamine is a substance not approved for use in food. The FDA made this finding as part of its ongoing investigation into the recent pet food recall.

The adulteration occurred in a limited production quantity on select product codes of the brands below. This recall removes all Del Monte pet products with wheat gluten procured from this manufacturing facility from retail shelves.

No other Del Monte Pet Products treats, biscuits or wet dog food products are impacted by this recall, and no Del Monte dry cat food, dry dog food, wet cat food or pouched pet foods are subject to this voluntary recall. The affected products comprise less than one-tenth of one percent of Del Monte Pet Products’ annual pet food and pet treat production.

Del Monte Pet Products has proactively engaged and fully cooperated with the FDA since the start of its investigation. The adulterated ingredients were used in limited production over the last three months for those items identified by specific product codes. Del Monte Pet Products has not used wheat gluten from this manufacturing facility in China in any other pet products except those described below.

Consumers should discontinue feeding the products with the Product Codes detailed below to their pets.

Del Monte Pet Products are 100% guaranteed and all returned product will be refunded.

(Product list after the jump. Thanks to itchmo [link to www.itchmo.com]
and howl911 [link to www.howl911.com]
Special kudos to itchmo for another of his posts about Menu pulling pages off its Web site. ) [link to www.itchmo.com]

Go to the latest blog post | Go to the PetConnection home page (more…)
Filed under: animals: pets, medical, news, 2007 food recall — Gina Spadafori @ 7:23 pm
Comments (30)

I can understand your dubious take, kris, and perhaps they could be advising more caution than they are in terms of dry food and its inherent safety (or lack thereof).

However, I actually see the ASPCA as one of the few bright shining lights in this mess--as it was they who most notably urged the FDA, etc. to keep searching for source(s) of contamination as they did not believe the answers lay with the aminopterin finding. And now again with the melamine discovery, they are once more urging caution wrt assuming this matter has been concluded..as it is yet unknown whether the melamine present could have actually caused the deaths and injuries associated with the suspect foods.

MELAMINE AS A FERTISER IS TOTALLY NEW TO ME. FOUND THIS

QUOTE

Melamine Indus Grade (99.8% Min)
Model No.: 00
Product Origin: China
Payment Terms: L/C,T/T,CASH,D/P
Payment Remarks: We are flexible at terms of payment
Minimum Order: one 20'FCL
Inner Packing: In 25KG,500KG,1000KG bag
Melamine Indus Grade (99.8% Min) (China (Mainland))
Melamine Indus Grade (99.8% Min) (China (Mainland)) Melamine Indus Grade (99.8% Min)
View Larger Picture
Detailed Product Description

We now introduce us as an large trading company from China mainly dealing with fertilizer, chemicals including Melamine Indus Grade. Our Melamine are widely used in making MF resin, Glue, Moundling compounds, cements and other.

We regularly purchase Melamine from some large factories that have the production ability of 30000-50000MT/per year. Their production route vary from BASF to DSM to EUROTECNIC based on the machine imported from foreign country.

If there's any inquiry or requirement of samples, please feel free to let me know. We are pleased to forward our best service with least possible delay!

UNQUOTE

THIS REALLY REMINDS ME OF AGENT X IN THE TRYTOPHAN SCANDAL.

LOOKS MORE AND MORE LIKE SOMETHING IN THE GM WHEAT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING BUT HAS DEADLY RESULTS.


IF THIS WAS ADDED OR A CONTAMINANT, THE BRILLIANT TESTING AND DIAGNOSTIC KITS THEY HAVE WOULD HAVE FOUND IT. BUT IN THIS CASE THEY HAVE TO WORK BOTH WAYS, FIND THE STRANGERS AND FIND EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PETS. DONT FORGET MELAMINE CRYSTALS COULD BE THE RESULT OF TOXIN REACTION IN THE BOSY, MIXING IN THE KIDNEYS, FORMING CRSTALS THAT CLOSE THEM DOWN.

GL

YOU JUST WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS.

GOOGLE MELAMINE FERTILISER.

YOU WILL FIND LOADS OF LINKS BUT I HAVE NOT FOUND ONE RELATING TO THE USE OF MELAMINE AS A FERTILISER.

ITS ALL MANUFACTURING AND LOTS OF PLACES USE SIMILAR PROCESSES TO MAKE EITHER FRTILISER OR MELAMINE.

LOOKS TO ME LIKE SOME ONE AT FDA DID A SEARCH TO LINK MELAMINE TO SOMETHING THAT THEY COULD BLAME.

SEEMS THE LINK IS CRSTALS. THE SAME PROCESS IS USED TO MAKE EITHER MELAMINE CRSTALS FOR SPRAY APPLICATION OR FERTILSER CRSTALS FOR DISSOLVING IN WATER.

THE MESSO CRSTAL TECHNOLOGY PAPER WAS VERY INTERESTING.

GL

GL, I'm almost convinced it's GM related and that's why they're bouncing all over the place with these lame excuses. And it's probably not the wheat at all.



Purina pulled 13.2-ounce and 22-ounce cans of its Alpo Prime Cuts and Gravy wet dog food made at plant 1159 and bearing date codes from 7037 to 7053, the statement said.

* The tainted food may also carry an older label under the Alpo Prime Entrees name.*


[link to www.bloomberg.com]

I noticed that too.
When I was researching aminopterin, there was very little reference to it being used a rat poison, plenty as a drug.

Terrific posts, GL..and once again I think you are right on target. Melamine does *not* at all appear to be the "smoking gun"..strike two for the spinmeisters is my feeling..

From yesterday's ASPCA release:

[link to www.aspca.org]

In a news conference held today, the FDA announced that further laboratory testing identified the presence of melamine in food samples from the recalled lots. Melamine, which is not highly toxic in general, is used to make durable plastic household products; cleaning products; hard, stain-resistant laminates; flame-retardant foam and in soundproofing.

“Melamine at high doses causes a pronounced diuretic affect in dogs and rats, as well as the development of crystals in their urine,” said Dr. Steven Hansen, veterinary toxicologist and senior vice president with the ASPCA, who manages the ASPCA’s Midwest Office, including its Animal Poison Control Center (APCC). “The twist in the tale is that melamine itself has a very high safety margin, especially when compared with a toxin such as aminopterin.

“Cats, however, are a very sensitive species, and can react adversely to many chemicals and drugs,” continued Dr. Hansen. “Because of their unique physiology, we suspect that they may also be more sensitive to the adverse effects of melamine.

“Further, crystals in urine have been reported by veterinary diagnosticians and clinicians in some of the pets affected by the contaminated foods. However, the direct connection between melamine and renal failure, especially in cats, is not clear and requires additional investigation.”

I am with you and j. on this one, GL..as I too feel it is GM to blame..

(j...I hope you saw my post to you from earlier this evening..on the thread that was pinned yesterday :)..)

[link to www.petconnection.com]

Pet-food recall: Updating what we know

* If you’re new to the site, please check out our general information page. [link to www.petconnection.com]
* If you want to know what you can do, please read our call to action [link to www.petconnection.com]
* If you want to read all our recall-related blog posts, click here. [link to www.petconnection.com]

I’ve updated the information on the general information page, adding the new recalls, new numbers and links to more resources. [link to www.petconnection.com]

The most recent numbers from our Pet Connection database: (3/31 8:45 p.m. PT): 2,797 deceased pets (1,546 cats and 1,251 dogs). Remember, these are self-reported numbers, but there is now a widespread acknowledgement that hundreds if not thousands of pets have been made ill or killed by one of the recalled products.

Truth is, no one will ever really know how many there are.

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Technorati Tags: pet food recall, dogs, cats,veterinarian, veterinary
Filed under: animals: pets, medical, news, 2007 food recall — Gina Spadafori @ 10:11 pm
Comments (1)

I think so Muse...

Okay, j :)..I really wished I could have located that other pet loss book so I could share its title with you also (I will keep looking, however!)..

I hope you are feeling stronger with each passing day..I know how tough it can be, and how sometimes it can seem too much just to put one foot in front of the other..

That one, yes! Thank you so much.

A GENTLE REMINDER

RATS FED CORN THRIVED

RATS FED CORNFLAKE CARTONS SURVIVED

RATS FED CORNFLAKES DIED

AND THAT WAS BEFORE GM CORN.

GL

I guess in some way I could count myself fortunate that it happened when it did. At the time, I didn't know why he was dying, I just knew that he was, and there was no going back.

If it was post-recall and he was still alive, knowing what I know now (or don't know) about what's safe and what's not, I'd be a total basket case. I don't think either of us would have survived.

Post-recall would have been worse, I think.