mia's mom
03-30-2007, 07:43 PM
Definitely feeding home cooked or raw for now just to be safe!:(
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-070330pet-food,1,6221484.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Pet food recall expands; cause remains mystery
By Jane Meredith Adams
Special to the Tribune
Published March 30, 2007, 8:20 PM CDT
OAKLAND -- The emotionally charged, nationwide pet food contamination problem took a new turn Friday when the federal Food and Drug Administration said it could not confirm that rat poison was to blame for the deaths of numerous cats and dogs. Instead, the agency pointed to the toxic chemical melamine, found in wheat gluten imported from China, as the possible culprit.
In an indication of the possible scope of the contamination, the agency said it has received 8,800 complaints from all 50 states related to pet deaths and illnesses and is investigating whether dry pet food may also have been contaminated.
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FDA finds chemical in recalled pet food (CNN)
Class action suits filed over pet food recall (CNN)
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A dog's life: What's it worth?
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Menu Foods, which initiated a recall of 60 million cans and pouches of wet food on March 16, said Friday that it has responded to more than 300,000 calls from pet owners and has offered to reimburse veterinary costs. Company officials on Friday would not provide updated numbers of pets sickened or killed by its contaminated product but said the recall would cost the company at least $26 million.
"Melamine is an ingredient that should not be in pet food at any level," said Dr. Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, at a Washington news conference. He said that melamine, which is used in the manufacture of plastics, is used in fertilizer in Asia.
Previously, only wet or moist pet food had been publicly identified as contaminated, but the FDA said Friday it has identified a company that manufactures both wet and dry pet food and had imported the contaminated wheat gluten, which is used as filler in pet food. The FDA declined to name the company. "We have investigators in the plant today to work with them and determine what, if any, finished products were made from that adulterated wheat gluten," said David Elder, director of the FDA's Office of Enforcement.
Later Friday, Hill's Pet Nutrition recalled its Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry cat food. The cat food included wheat gluten from the same supplier that Menu Foods used. The company said the recall did not involve any other Prescription Diet or Science Diet products.Sundlof said the FDA had received calls from pet owners who said their pets had died after eating dry food. Around the country, pet owners reeled at the thought that yet another type of pet food may be harmful to their animals. "I think you have to cook everything yourself," said Janice Traylor of Oakland, who lost her 22-year-old Siamese cat, J.T., on Feb. 17 after feeding her cat wet food that was found to be contaminated.
And Traylor is nursing her 8-year-old, tri-colored Shetland sheep dog, Storm, after the dog suffered severe kidney failure this month while on a diet of contaminated food. He lived, but she now gives him intravenous fluids once a day. He's not his frisky self, she said Friday, but when she called him and asked "Do you love your mommy?" he responded as usual, with a lick on her face.
In Chicago, Brian Leber, who said his 19-year-old cat, Max, suffered renal failure and died after eating contaminated Eukenuba pet food, said he is anxious for answers from the FDA about how such contamination in pet food manufacturing could have gone undetected. "It raises questions about how well protected is our food supply," he said.
"The government has got to do a better job of making sure the food supply is safe, not just for people but for pets," said Greer Haseman of Oak Park, Ill., who said her 4-year-old Sheltie, Roxy, suffered massive kidney failure and died after eating contaminated food. "This dog was part of my family."
Wheat gluten, which is used as a filler in pet food, is also used in some human foods, particularly as a meat substitute in macrobiotic diets, but the FDA said it was not aware that the contaminated gluten had been used for human food. "The agency has initiated a 100 percent review of and sampling of all wheat gluten imported from China to look for melamine," said Michael Rogers, director of the agency's division of field investigations.
Earlier this month, the New York State Food Laboratory and the State Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University identified aminopterin, which is used in rat poison, as the likely cause of the contaminated pet food, but Sundlof said Friday that FDA laboratories failed to replicate that finding.
The melamine connection was made by a pet food manufacturer who found the substance in its recalled products, said Sundlof. The FDA verified the findings and also identified melamine in the urine and one kidney of deceased cats that had been fed the recalled food.
Sundlof emphasized that the investigation was ongoing into whether melamine was responsible for the pet deaths. "I want to make it very clear at this point that we are not yet fully certain that melamine is the causative agent," he said.
While the investigation continues, thousands of pet owners logged onto petconnection.com to report a pet's death, while others blogged about their grief on petfoodrecall.blogspot.com and some posted videos of their beloved animals on youtube.com under titles such as "Iams killed my cat" and "Lil Fella, my little friend."
After renal failure took the life of her cat, Samantha, Gini Woodward of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, buried Samantha alongside empty packets of Special Kitty food, Samantha's favorite treat. Then she discovered that the lot numbers on her additional Special Kitty pouches matched those on the recall list. "The hardest thing to resolve after her death is the possibility that I poisoned her, inadvertently," said Woodward.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-070330pet-food,1,6221484.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Pet food recall expands; cause remains mystery
By Jane Meredith Adams
Special to the Tribune
Published March 30, 2007, 8:20 PM CDT
OAKLAND -- The emotionally charged, nationwide pet food contamination problem took a new turn Friday when the federal Food and Drug Administration said it could not confirm that rat poison was to blame for the deaths of numerous cats and dogs. Instead, the agency pointed to the toxic chemical melamine, found in wheat gluten imported from China, as the possible culprit.
In an indication of the possible scope of the contamination, the agency said it has received 8,800 complaints from all 50 states related to pet deaths and illnesses and is investigating whether dry pet food may also have been contaminated.
E-mail this story
Printable format
Search archives
RSS
Video
FDA finds chemical in recalled pet food (CNN)
Class action suits filed over pet food recall (CNN)
Stories
A dog's life: What's it worth?
March 30, 2007
PETA: FDA Should Expand Pet Food Recall
March 29, 2007
Menu Foods, which initiated a recall of 60 million cans and pouches of wet food on March 16, said Friday that it has responded to more than 300,000 calls from pet owners and has offered to reimburse veterinary costs. Company officials on Friday would not provide updated numbers of pets sickened or killed by its contaminated product but said the recall would cost the company at least $26 million.
"Melamine is an ingredient that should not be in pet food at any level," said Dr. Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, at a Washington news conference. He said that melamine, which is used in the manufacture of plastics, is used in fertilizer in Asia.
Previously, only wet or moist pet food had been publicly identified as contaminated, but the FDA said Friday it has identified a company that manufactures both wet and dry pet food and had imported the contaminated wheat gluten, which is used as filler in pet food. The FDA declined to name the company. "We have investigators in the plant today to work with them and determine what, if any, finished products were made from that adulterated wheat gluten," said David Elder, director of the FDA's Office of Enforcement.
Later Friday, Hill's Pet Nutrition recalled its Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry cat food. The cat food included wheat gluten from the same supplier that Menu Foods used. The company said the recall did not involve any other Prescription Diet or Science Diet products.Sundlof said the FDA had received calls from pet owners who said their pets had died after eating dry food. Around the country, pet owners reeled at the thought that yet another type of pet food may be harmful to their animals. "I think you have to cook everything yourself," said Janice Traylor of Oakland, who lost her 22-year-old Siamese cat, J.T., on Feb. 17 after feeding her cat wet food that was found to be contaminated.
And Traylor is nursing her 8-year-old, tri-colored Shetland sheep dog, Storm, after the dog suffered severe kidney failure this month while on a diet of contaminated food. He lived, but she now gives him intravenous fluids once a day. He's not his frisky self, she said Friday, but when she called him and asked "Do you love your mommy?" he responded as usual, with a lick on her face.
In Chicago, Brian Leber, who said his 19-year-old cat, Max, suffered renal failure and died after eating contaminated Eukenuba pet food, said he is anxious for answers from the FDA about how such contamination in pet food manufacturing could have gone undetected. "It raises questions about how well protected is our food supply," he said.
"The government has got to do a better job of making sure the food supply is safe, not just for people but for pets," said Greer Haseman of Oak Park, Ill., who said her 4-year-old Sheltie, Roxy, suffered massive kidney failure and died after eating contaminated food. "This dog was part of my family."
Wheat gluten, which is used as a filler in pet food, is also used in some human foods, particularly as a meat substitute in macrobiotic diets, but the FDA said it was not aware that the contaminated gluten had been used for human food. "The agency has initiated a 100 percent review of and sampling of all wheat gluten imported from China to look for melamine," said Michael Rogers, director of the agency's division of field investigations.
Earlier this month, the New York State Food Laboratory and the State Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University identified aminopterin, which is used in rat poison, as the likely cause of the contaminated pet food, but Sundlof said Friday that FDA laboratories failed to replicate that finding.
The melamine connection was made by a pet food manufacturer who found the substance in its recalled products, said Sundlof. The FDA verified the findings and also identified melamine in the urine and one kidney of deceased cats that had been fed the recalled food.
Sundlof emphasized that the investigation was ongoing into whether melamine was responsible for the pet deaths. "I want to make it very clear at this point that we are not yet fully certain that melamine is the causative agent," he said.
While the investigation continues, thousands of pet owners logged onto petconnection.com to report a pet's death, while others blogged about their grief on petfoodrecall.blogspot.com and some posted videos of their beloved animals on youtube.com under titles such as "Iams killed my cat" and "Lil Fella, my little friend."
After renal failure took the life of her cat, Samantha, Gini Woodward of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, buried Samantha alongside empty packets of Special Kitty food, Samantha's favorite treat. Then she discovered that the lot numbers on her additional Special Kitty pouches matched those on the recall list. "The hardest thing to resolve after her death is the possibility that I poisoned her, inadvertently," said Woodward.