# canned pet food recall



## senecaripple (Mar 17, 2007)

any cat and dog owners, beware of recalls of canned petfoods

Pet Deaths Prompt Recall of Pet Food

By ANDREW BRIDGES, Associated Press Writer 
Fri Mar 16, 6:33 PM ET



WASHINGTON - A major manufacturer of dog and cat food sold under Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger and other store brands recalled 60 million containers of wet pet food Friday after reports of kidney failure and deaths. 

An unknown number of cats and dogs suffered kidney failure and about 10 died after eating the affected pet food, Menu Foods said in announcing the North American recall. Product testing has not revealed a link explaining the reported cases of illness and death, the company said.

"At this juncture, we're not 100 percent sure what's happened," said Paul Henderson, the company's president and chief executive officer. However, the recalled products were made using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, since dropped for another source, spokeswoman Sarah Tuite said. Wheat gluten is a source of protein.

The recall covers the company's "cuts and gravy" style food, which consists of chunks of meat in gravy, sold in cans and small foil pouches between Dec. 3 and March 6 throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

The pet food was sold by stores operated by the Kroger Company, Safeway Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and PetSmart Inc., among others, Henderson said.

Menu Foods did not immediately provide a full list of brand names and lot numbers covered by the recall, saying they would be posted on its Web site — http://www.menufoods.com/recall — early Saturday. Consumers with questions can call (866) 463-6738.

The company said it manufacturers for 17 of the top 20 North American retailers. It is also a contract manufacturer for the top branded pet food companies, including Procter & Gamble Co.

P&G announced Friday the recall of specific 3 oz., 5.5 oz., 6 oz. and 13.2 oz. canned and 3 oz. and 5.3 oz. foil pouch cat and dog wet food products made by Menu Foods but sold under the Iams and Eukanuba brands. The recalled products bear the code dates of 6339 through 7073 followed by the plant code 4197, P&G said.

Menu Foods' three U.S. and one Canadian factory produce more than 1 billion containers of wet pet food a year. The recall covers pet food made at company plants in Emporia, Kan., and Pennsauken, N.J., Henderson said.

Henderson said the company received an undisclosed number of owner complaints of vomiting and kidney failure in dogs and cats after they had been fed its products. It has tested its products but not found a cause for the sickness.

"To date, the tests have not indicated any problems with the product," Henderson said.

The company alerted the Food and Drug Administration, which already has inspectors in one of the two plants, Henderson said. The FDA was working to nail down brand names covered by the recall, agency spokesman Mike Herndon said.

Menu Foods is majority owned by the Menu Foods Income Fund, based in Ontario, Canada.

Henderson said the recall would cost the company the Canadian equivalent of $26 million to $34 million.


----------



## Empath (Mar 18, 2007)

This is one of the most significant pet food recalls ever. It looks like Menu Foods makes the pet food for everyone else. They're recalling 48 brands of dog food, and 40 brands of cat food.

There has been 10 known deaths attributed to the tainted food, but that known number will undoubtedly climb as the source of the problem is recognized by vets and pet owners. There isn't even a good guess as to how many pets are now suffering kidney failure.


----------



## Empath (Mar 18, 2007)

Just in case anyone doesn't understand the gravity of the situation, the following pet food brands have a recall going on because pets eating it are dying and/or suffering kidney damage.

Recalled Dog Product Information
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708

1. Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
2. Authority
3. Award
4. Best Choice
5. Big Bet
6. Big Red
7. Bloom
8. Bruiser
9. Cadillac
10. Companion
11. Demoulas Market Basket
12. Eukanuba
13. Food Lion
14. Giant Companion
15. Great Choice
16. Hannaford
17. Hill Country Fare
18. Hy-Vee
19. Iams
20. Laura Lynn
21. Loving Meals
22. Meijers Main Choice
23. Mighty Dog Pouch
24. Mixables
25. Nutriplan
26. Nutro Max
27. Nutro Natural Choice
28. Nutro Ultra
29. Nutro
30. Ol'Roy Canada
31. Ol'Roy US
32. Paws
33. Pet Essentials
34. Pet Pride - Good n Meaty
35. Presidents Choice
36. Price Chopper
37. Priority
38. Publix
39. Roche Bros
40. Save-A-Lot
41. Schnucks
42. Shep Dog
43. Springsfield Prize
44. Sprout
45. Stater Bros
46. Total Pet
47. Western Family
48. White Rose
49. Winn Dixie
50. Your Pet

Recalled Cat Product Information
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708

1. Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
2. Authority
3. Best Choice
4. Companion
5. Compliments
6. Demoulas Market Basket
7. Eukanuba
8. Fine Feline Cat
9. Food Lion
10. Foodtown
11. Giant Companion
12. Hannaford
13. Hill Country Fare
14. Hy-Vee
15. Iams
16. Laura Lynn
17. Li'l Red
18. Loving Meals
19. Meijer's Main Choice
20. Nutriplan
21. Nutro Max Gourmet Classics
22. Nutro Natural Choice
23. Paws
24. Pet Pride
25. Presidents Choice
26. Price Chopper
27. Priority
28. Save-A-Lot
29. Schnucks
30. Science Diet Feline Savory Cuts Cans
31. Sophistacat
32. Special Kitty Canada
33. Special Kitty US
34. Springfield Prize
35. Sprout
36. Total Pet
37. Wegmans
38. Western Family
39. White Rose
40. Winn Dixie


----------



## Radio (Mar 18, 2007)

This is Horrible!!!!!!!!

I am so angry that I am going to refrain from making any more comments at this time.


----------



## TorchMan (Mar 18, 2007)

I'm lucky that the foods I buy for the cats aren't on the list. 

About three years ago, my dog died of kidney failure. We never could determine the reason for it. There weren't any recalls or anything, but the pet food never entered into my mind. It was expensive treatment. And a horrible death.


----------



## Illum (Mar 18, 2007)

senecaripple said:


> An unknown number of cats and dogs suffered kidney failure and a_*bout 10 died after eating the affected pet food,*_ Menu Foods said in announcing the North American recall....



I hear ya Radio 
it takes 10+ deaths of family pets before they declare an emergency?
that seems...


----------



## powernoodle (Mar 18, 2007)

10 deaths out of how many pets? Thousands, tens of thousands? We would need to know how many pets ate the food, and how many "normally" die of kidney failure from that population before we draw conclusions as to causality.

Now, let me add that my last cat died of kidney failure, and I cried like a goofball for 3 days, so I'm not unsympathetic. More data is needed, tho, and right now its lacking.

meow


----------



## senecaripple (Mar 18, 2007)

I bought some eukanuba senior dog food last year for my late chihuahua who passed away last september. are these canned foods part of the recall? I looked at the codes they dont seem to match. but cant really tell. 
I have science diet for my other dog.that I believe is not part of the recall.


----------



## Empath (Mar 18, 2007)

What kind of unmerited actions are you cautioning us against, PN? Are you advocating that we shouldn't heed a recall that the manufacturer is willing to loose an estimated 26 to 34 million on, and continue feeding our pets this suspected "poison" until we have clear-cut causality proof?

Senecarriple, the information on Eukanuba's part of the recall is on this Eukanuba page.

If what I've read is correct, the only foods involved are pouched or canned wet foods of the "cuts and gravy" form.


----------



## The_LED_Museum (Mar 18, 2007)

We heard about the recall yesterday morning; we have two kitty cats that eat Iams in both cans & pouches. So we bagged up all of the unused food (seven very full plastic shopping bags full), threw away the food I fed them just a short time earlier, and temporarily switched to Fancy Feast brand canned cat food.


----------



## senecaripple (Mar 18, 2007)

Empath said:


> What kind of unmerited actions are you cautioning us against, PN? Are you advocating that we shouldn't heed a recall that the manufacturer is willing to loose an estimated 26 to 34 million on, and continue feeding our pets this suspected "poison" until we have clear-cut causality proof?
> 
> Senecarriple, the information on Eukanuba's part of the recall is on this Eukanuba page.
> 
> If what I've read is correct, the only foods involved are pouched or canned wet foods of the "cuts and gravy" form.



i'm looking at the cans and pouches of eukanuba's i have. it appears i have them from the same factory in kansas, but these pouches and cans i posess predates the cans and pouches in question. 

my numbers begin with 5194 and the factory is 4197 the affected factory.
i'm not taking any chances with any of these brands, and i never meant not to heed the advice. i just wanted to doublecheck if the cans and pouches i had were affected. your website confirms that mine wasnt. and i was feeding them to my other dog last summer until she passed away last september. i never fed eukanuba to my current dog, as he is still a puppy.
these eukanuba are senior. 
i'm feeding him science diet canned food, which is not on the list.

sorry, but i'm not sure what "PN" means.


----------



## Empath (Mar 18, 2007)

senecaripple said:


> sorry, but i'm not sure what "PN" means.



PN means powernoodle. I was responding to his post. I could tell he was objecting to something, but I couldn't tell what, or why.


----------



## senecaripple (Mar 18, 2007)

Empath said:


> PN means powernoodle. I was responding to his post. I could tell he was objecting to something, but I couldn't tell what, or why.




oh, for a moment, i thought you were referring to me.
thanks for the eukanuba link. the cans i was feeding my dog was ok. but to be safe, i will not be feeding this to my puppy.


----------



## turbodog (Mar 19, 2007)

Sounds more like a reaction. A response would have included understand his post and proceeding from there.

I am guessing, since it's the same thing I thought of, that he is talking about how many cases justify the recall itself. As stated, they currently have no idea what the problem is. And if I might add a little anecdotal observation... I have seen dogs and cats eat some MIGHTY nasty spoiled, rotten, decomposing, etc "food" and trot around happily.




Empath said:


> PN means powernoodle. I was responding to his post. I could tell he was objecting to something, but I couldn't tell what, or why.


----------



## Glen C (Mar 19, 2007)

Senecaripple, Empath, thanks for bringing this to our attention, my dog eats Eukanaba and nothing has been mentioned here. What is even more worrying is that pensioners have been known to eat dog food, these symptons would probably go unnoticed and I doubt it is a std question 'have you had dog food recently?'


----------



## jch79 (Mar 19, 2007)

FWIW, I feed my cat Innova Evo canned cat food, made by Natura Pet Products - it's really good food. If you can't find that, I'd recommend Wellness brand too. They're both made with human-grade ingredients that are USDA inspected and approved (not the lower standards), and neither are affected by this recall!

john


----------



## senecaripple (Mar 19, 2007)

Glen C said:


> Senecaripple, Empath, thanks for bringing this to our attention, my dog eats Eukanaba and nothing has been mentioned here. What is even more worrying is that pensioners have been known to eat dog food, these symptons would probably go unnoticed and I doubt it is a std question 'have you had dog food recently?'



if its canned wet food you might want to check the link empath provided. if its the crunchy you are ok.
i am ok with the dog food, now i need to check on the cat food. science diet cat food is affected by this recall.


----------



## Flying Turtle (Mar 19, 2007)

My work involves toxin testing at an animal disease laboratory. I'm expecting a bunch of calls tomorrow about possible tests. The only thing I run into regularly that definitively causes kidney failure is ethylene glycol (antifreeze). I think it's very unlikely that this is the problem. There are also some mycotoxins, which are produced by certain molds sometimes found on grains, that may cause kidney problems with long-term exposure. This is a more likely cause, but one that would be more difficult to prove. I think powernoodle is right about not jumping to conclusions until there's been more study. 

Geoff


----------



## goldenlight (Mar 19, 2007)

Ten deaths have been reported. 

Given the 40+ brand names, and the people who simply don't know what happened to their pets, I's safe to assume the number of pet deaths is far, far higher. 

Remember, the spin doctors are doing damage control, and only reporting the absolute minimum number of deaths: cases where the food was PROVEN to have killed the poor pets. 

Likely the number of actual deaths is in the hundreds for certain, and possibly in the thousands. The recall is enormous is scope.

This has been all over the cat boards I read (this was taken from a Usenet posting):

'This 15-page PDF file lists every specific recalled food of each brand
including description, best by & production dates, product & UPC codes.

http://www.jmlamoreux.com/message/total.pdf

The information was collated by the owner of a CRF (Chronic renal failure) website'.

I'm sure glad I feed my cat dry food!

So the manufacturer saved a few cents, or one cent (or less?) per can of food, and look what has happened.

While I've never been a proponent of lawsuits, this screams out for a HUGE class action suit, with massive fines for the manufacturer, and the supplier of the bad ingredient(s). I hope it happens.


----------



## Empath (Mar 19, 2007)

turbodog said:


> Sounds more like a reaction.



A reaction instead of a response? Maybe so... I did seem to be sneezing and itching too.


----------



## chmsam (Mar 19, 2007)

Please don't get me wrong - I love my pet and know others lover theirs, too, but sometimes these things get way out of control. Let's check things carefully and not waste time and money by panicking or worse, miss products that should be handled in the recall either. 

These products are being recalled but be careful not to over-react. It sounds obvious but you probably don't have to throw out everything, just check carefully. There is an "FDA News" listing on the government web site with a link to Menu Foods site or you can just go to www.menufoods.com/recall and find the recall lists. They are under the section labelled, "Product Information."

The lists are sorted by cat food and dog food and then by brand. Check each brand you might have purchased. The recall list has UPC's for the products. Each package should have the UPC on it -- it's the number is by the barcode. If you find a match to the UPC number or to other product description, check the list for the date or other product information to be sure the pet food you have is either safe or should be returned as part of the recall. The recall list on Menu Foods site should tell you where on the pet food package to find the information you need to check.

Why do I mention this? I've been asked about it several times in the past two days and I have virtually nothing to do with pet foods. People just do not understand that there is apparently no dry pet foods in the recall or that only specific types of canned or pouch pet food concerned. Certainly check to be sure whether the products you have are safe or need to be returned, but don't feel that you have to throw out everything in the brands listed.


----------



## Ras_Thavas (Mar 19, 2007)

> It sounds obvious but you probably don't have to throw out everything, just check carefully.



Our cats eat dry food mostly, plus they have developed a taste for tuna.

I did have some pouch food from Iams, that was old, but came from the factory designated as 4197. I threw those pouches out without hesitation.


----------



## turbodog (Mar 20, 2007)

What I really find funny in all this is that the same mfg that makes wal-mart brand makes eukanuba (sp?) as well. Sort of opposite ends of the spectrum...


----------



## Empath (Mar 20, 2007)

Apparently the 10 "confirmed" deaths are only those that died from tests conducted by the manufacturer after receiving complaints.



> On a conference call with reporters, a Food and Drug Administration official said the confirmed deaths--nine cats and one dog who suffered renal failure--resulted from taste tests that the manufacturer, Menu Foods Income Fund, conducted after receiving complaints from consumers.



That's taken from this news article.

I've a feeling much more revealing articles are forthcoming.


In that case, the true number of pets that have died from the food is likely huge.


----------



## bridgman (Mar 20, 2007)

I was really PO'ed about this at first -- there was no information available at all regarding cause of death so far -- but as far as I can see there doesn't seem to be anything obviously wrong with the food.

The good news is that this isn't an obvious and stupid f***-up (yet).

The bad news is that new brands are probably going to be added to the list for a while in response to vet reports, so this will probably keep growing for another week or two. 

It wouldn't hurt to keep all your pets on a simple diet for a while. If they live on canned food, maybe mix that up with some dry food "just in case". My dogs live on an 80/20 mix of dry food and whatever we're having for dinner tonight [EDIT -- no onions, raisins etc...], so hopefully that will still be OK a week from now. Good luck to all pet owners out there.


----------



## Mudd Magnet (Mar 20, 2007)

turbodog said:


> What I really find funny in all this is that the same mfg that makes wal-mart brand makes eukanuba (sp?) as well. Sort of opposite ends of the spectrum...



lol that is what cought my eye too let's see 49 cent's from wall-mart or 1.49$ from iam's eukanuba ect :laughing: anyway's besides the funny you don't alway's get what you pay for, I am glad I don't feed my cat's or dog's canned wet food cat's and adult dog's are on wallmart's brand dry food and the puppy is on purina large breed puppy depending on his activity level we might keep him on purina or similar for life although the wallmart stuff kept my previous lapXgolden alive and well for near 15 year's and he was pretty active


----------



## Mednanu (Mar 20, 2007)

Thanks for posting this guys - I got the word out to all of my friends who have pets. Thanks again. I really appreciate the info.


----------



## Turbo DV8 (Mar 20, 2007)

The_LED_Museum said:


> We heard about the recall yesterday morning; we have two kitty cats that eat Iams in both cans & pouches. So we bagged up all of the unused food (seven very full plastic shopping bags full), threw away the food I fed them just a short time earlier, and temporarily switched to Fancy Feast brand canned cat food.


 
Not to scare, but there is no guarantee that Fancy Feast may not be added to the "tainted" list at some later time, as more reports roll in? Does this Menu Foods make any Fancy Feast wet product?

In any case, often it is quite upsetting to a cats intestinal tract to switch cold turkey over to a different type of wet cat food. I would suggest switching to a kibble - if even only temporarily while this pans out - which won't upset the cat's intestinal tract as much. The other upside to kibble is you don't have to worry about the recall expanding, and it's better for their teeth.


----------



## raggie33 (Mar 20, 2007)

stupid cat food.why dont they get this fixed.i have iams food to and. im not sure its dry food and i have some in pouches


----------



## Bright Scouter (Mar 20, 2007)

I did hear a news report this morning that the latest estimate is that 1 in 6 animals are affected. That was pretty much the wording. Now, what I would like to know is do they mean that 1 in 6 animals that ate these contaminated foods are having medical problems? Or was that just that 1 in 6 animals in North America use these brands of foods? Or something else? That is very vague, but very worrisome wording of the statement. 

And as for other brands being added later,,, I would think not. I would think that they have listed every brand that is produced by this manufacturer with those ingredients. 

Now, even though we feed our animals all dry food, is there a chance that the gluten is used in those also? I would hope they would let us know if that were the case.


And lastly,,, The wife talked this morning about how this would make a perfect test run of how to contaminate food in the US. Cereal, oatmeal, anything that takes an addative could be intentionally tampered with. I hate that thought.


----------



## greenlight (Mar 20, 2007)

Is anyone buying stock in petsmart? I see a lot of new pet food purchases.

On the other hand, all of my cats and dogs have died. I wonder how many died of food poisoning? None got autopsies, but they did die... 

I wonder if there are any food standards for pet food manufacturers; probably the use of brains is prohibited now.


----------



## James S (Mar 20, 2007)

I took the "1 in 6" animals affected to read that many eat menu foods products involved in the recall, not that many will be made sick. If they produce as much as they do and nobody noticed an epidemic of kidney failure then the actual amounts of contaminant or the actual number of affected cans is very low. The point is that they dont yet seem to know exactly what went wrong, or at least haven't released that information. If they were able to figure it out and narrow things down they would have released specific batch numbers to recall and not entire brands. 

So if you have something on the list, stop serving it to your pet and get something else. If your animal hasn't already been affected then it's not likely they will get sick after you stop feeding it to them.

Kidney failure in cats is hard to see though until it's very very bad. So keep an eye out for confusion, balance issues and that sort of thing. Stumbling around would be a bad bad sign.

My poor kitty is even now still recovering from kidney failure and will be getting subcutaneous fluids to encourage whats left of her kidneys to work right every couple of days for the rest of her life. This had nothing to do with the cat food recall as she never ate canned food, only dry and nothing on the list. Her problem was an internal abscess infection that got so bad it affected her kidneys. She had no symptoms until one day she walked out of the bedroom and couldn't walk a straight line. So watch out for that.

So even if your animal does get kidney failure now it doesn't mean it was from the food.

Stuff goes wrong at factories sometimes. These companies have a huge amount invested in their good name and reputation so they dont play fast and free with their regulations. Even plants for people food as we've seen quite a bit lately have big issues sometimes in spite of all the regulation and inspection.

THis could be a matter of a leaking refridgerant system somewhere in the plant that was leaking ethylene glycol. Many really big systems cool that to very low temperatures and them pump it around to where it's needed to cool something. Or I also think that Flying Turtle is looking for the most probably cause, a mycotoxin from fungus growing somewhere... I hope you'll post with more info if you hear anything from the inside!


----------



## WAVE_PARTICLE (Mar 20, 2007)

This issue has impacted Toronto, Canada as well...... 


http://www.thestar.com/News/article/193742


----------



## Empath (Mar 20, 2007)

raggie33 said:


> stupid cat food.why dont they get this fixed.i have iams food to and. im not sure its dry food and i have some in pouches



Raggie, it looks like a lot of the Iams pouches are affected.

Here's a list.


----------



## senecaripple (Mar 20, 2007)

I think science diet has recalled theirs for safety measures.


----------



## nikon (Mar 20, 2007)

greenlight said:


> Is anyone buying stock in petsmart? I see a lot of new pet food purchases.


I have some Petsmart stock. They're up 2.8% today.

I've been feeding my cats 9 LIVES and just found out that they're not involved in this mess.


----------



## ChocolateLab33 (Mar 20, 2007)

*I am sick over this too. My heart goes out to people who have lost a pet due to this whole mess. I home cook for my Chocolate Lab and my Miniature Pinscher eats food not affected by this recall. I hope they get to the root cause of this problem ASAP!!!*


----------



## Empath (Mar 20, 2007)

James S said:


> I took the "1 in 6" animals affected to read that many eat menu foods products involved in the recall, not that many will be made sick.



According to the FDA:



> Menu Foods began doing so-called palatability tests on 40 to 50 animals Feb. 27. Animals began showing signs of sickness and dying March 2, the FDA said.



The deaths that resulted from that group was 7. The 1 in 6 was based on that group of animals.


----------



## raggie33 (Mar 20, 2007)

Empath said:


> Raggie, it looks like a lot of the Iams pouches are affected.
> 
> Here's a list.


dang if thats not what i have i sure have something cclose but it looks like i have dates taht are safe but it was same factory.i couldnt even imagine loseing my cat.we have become good freinds


----------



## gadget_lover (Mar 20, 2007)

I have to suspect other brands too. My kitty ate fancy feast, almost exclusively. She died Feb 21 of renal failure. She went from very healthy to very sick in a matter of weeks. I did not realize how sick she was till it was too late.

The first clue should have been the weight loss. In her case she lost 4 pounds. Then there was the bad breath, not a normal event for her. She was passing urine, but according to the doctor it the kidneys were not filtering the toxins as they should.

If your cat is losing weight or behaving unuasually, see a vet, OK?

Daniel


----------



## Empath (Mar 20, 2007)

It took several weeks for the recall to be initiated, and so-called "manufacturers" don't likely want to show evidence to the world that they sell a relabeled product. So, I wouldn't be surprised that other brands are involved.

"Wheat gluten" isn't essential to dog and cat food, and is only a means of providing protein. Many, many prepared food doesn't contain wheat gluten.

If you need a food that you want to be sure isn't a part of the poisoned recipe, then check the ingredients and avoid any that has "wheat gluten" listed.


----------



## Turbo DV8 (Mar 20, 2007)

Bright Scouter said:


> I did hear a news report this morning... what I would like to know is do they mean that 1 in 6 animals that ate these contaminated foods are having medical problems? Or was that just that 1 in 6 animals in North America use these brands of foods?


 

The paper tonight quoted a Menu Foods study where they fed 40 to 50 dogs and cats the "suspect food", and of those that ate it, 1 in 6 died. That's a hella lot, and that's information coming from the one source that would like to downplay their roll. Menu Foods received the first complaints of renal failure on Feb. 20. Their testing was done on Feb. 27. The suspect food was sold from Dec. 3 through March 6, when the suspect wheat gluten was switched to that from another supplier. Why would Menu Foods wait from Feb.27, when they knew 1 in 6 animals died from eating their food, unitl just this weekend to issue a recall?


----------



## Radio (Mar 20, 2007)

Turbo DV8 said:


> The paper tonight quoted a Menu Foods study where they fed 40 to 50 dogs and cats the "suspect food", and of those that ate it, 1 in 6 died. That's a hella lot, and that's information coming from the one source that would like to downplay their roll. Menu Foods received the first complaints of renal failure on Feb. 20. Their testing was done on Feb. 27. The suspect food was sold from Dec. 3 through March 6, when the suspect wheat gluten was switched to that from another supplier. Why would Menu Foods wait from Feb.27, when they knew 1 in 6 animals died from eating their food, unitl just this weekend to issue a recall?



GREED


----------



## greenLED (Mar 20, 2007)

Empath said:


> Recalled Dog Product Information
> Recall Information 1-866-895-2708
> 
> 1. Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
> ...


Man, that's a huge list! How many brands of pet food are left? This is about pet food, but I have to wonder how much of a centralized human food distribution system we have in place, and how vulnerable we all may be to something like this. Wow.


----------



## Nomad (Mar 20, 2007)

I do notice that a lot of crappy store brands are on the list in addition to a smattering of "premium" brands. I stay away from the crappy store brand stuff. It may list similar ingredits, but so does fast food compared to real food. I'm really glad that what I feed my flat coated retriever and our two cats isn't on the list. I feed my dog Purina Beneful and she's put on enough weight to be healthy and her health has improved VASTLY since we adopted her as an underweight malnourished dog with horribly dull, dead, matted hair from the pound last September. 

Moral for me is that A) Iams and Eukanuba are highly overrated and B) I was right not to feed my pets crappy store brands.


----------



## gadget_lover (Mar 20, 2007)

Good point about the human food supply. It's checked more thoroughly, but still just random samples of 1 in thousands. It is a worry.

I don't know if they were being greedy, deceptive or just cautious. My vet did not connect my kitty's death with anything but (possibly) age. She was 13, but our cats frequently live to 18 - 20 years. 

Once it's determined that there might be tainted food, there is the problem of confirming exactly where it cam from and what batches need to be recalled.

What's bothering me is that they are not saying exactly what the contaminant was. A bacteria? A chemical? Is there an antidote?

I'm tempted to send them the bill for $3500 that was spent trying to save my kitty's life. I just don't know how to prove anything.

Daniel


----------



## chmsam (Mar 20, 2007)

OK, before someone sees a re-run of "Soylent Green" and completely loses it, let me suggest a few things.

It is not unusual for one company to make many different products and of widely varying levels of quality. GM and Ford do it with the production lines they own worldwide. Don't assume all products from one company are of the same level of quality, good or bad.

Don't assume all of the moist or canned pet foods are safe or unsafe. Check the recall lists at Menu Foods and keep checking for updates. Check the FDA News web site if you don't want to check Menu Foods' site.

Situations like this breed fear (almost to the point of panic) and rumors. Get information from reliable sources and educate yourself. This is a great forum but I would not trust my pets' health to it. If you have doubts or questions about the food you feed your pet(s) or their health, contact a professional -- your vet.

We probably won't know what caused the "contamination" (if that was actually the problem) for quite a while. Tests take time and time doesn't mean that there is necessarily a cover up (and I've already heard rumors like that). Let's just wait and see what the cause was and take care of our pets in the meanwhile. If needed (or not), there'll be plenty of time for blame later.


----------



## turbodog (Mar 20, 2007)

To those that cite greed as to the reason why the recall wasn't initiated sooner, ask yourself how you would act as an employee of menufoods. Would you want to lose your job, have the value of your company stock decline, and generally turn your HUMAN life upside down for what COULD be a false alarm? All of this bears investigation before any actions ar taken.

Heck, even in human drug trials they let a few die before they call it off.


----------



## senecaripple (Mar 21, 2007)

I abhor animal testing.


----------



## chmsam (Mar 21, 2007)

Testing pet food for flavor and nutrition on animals seems to be pretty logical unless there are going to be human volunteers ("Mmmm, that's good kibble..."). Animal cruelty in testing is one thing but testing pet food on animals doesn't seem to fall into that category.

Some of these arguements assume (rightfully or not) that the testing of pet food on animals was designed to include the death of the animals being used to sample those foods. That might just be a stretch. Now, if the animals were used to test for possible contamination and were allowed to suffer without veterinarians, that would be naughty.

As has been said a bazillion times before, we love our pets. However, I have been approached by quite a few people who seem to love their pets almost as much as they love jumping to conclusions. My advice to them has been to research the facts from a reliable source ("I read it in a blog on the internet -- it must be true!") and to use a little restraint and (un)common sense. And maybe wait until the facts are in to assign blame.


----------



## dfred (Mar 21, 2007)

Flying Turtle said:


> My work involves toxin testing at an animal disease laboratory. I'm expecting a bunch of calls tomorrow about possible tests. [...]
> Geoff



So, any additional thoughts now that several days have passed without a cause being found (or at least publicized)?

Would you have expected it would take this long? I have to think that both the FDA and many of the companies involved are throwing serious resources at this.

Regarding the "1 in 6" figure, serveral stories I read indicated that all but one of the deaths in the company tests were cats. This means the percentage of fatalities for cats eating the affected food may be worse. Then again, cats in the real world may get a mix of foods whereas cats in the company tests were likely only getting the poisonous food.

Surprisingly little hard information is available on this...


----------



## Flying Turtle (Mar 21, 2007)

Things have been strangely quiet about pet food problems at the lab. I really expected a bunch of calls from concerned owners and vets wondering if we could test for this and that. I've only fielded one call about antifreeze testing. Since this is a commercial feed problem, the state's food and drug lab will be where most of the testing will occur, if it comes down to that. I'm not surprised that they still are not sure what is going on. There are so many compounds that could cause problems. By now they've probably ruled out antifreeze and mycotoxins since these are pretty easy to test. Hopefully this will soon be resolved.

Geoff


----------



## jtr1962 (Mar 21, 2007)

My brother's cat Cleo died March 6 of something related to the bone marrow, possibly (probably) cancer. However, there was no gradual decline over weeks or longer as there usually is with animals who have cancer. She was pretty much OK perhaps a week before she died. First she stopped eating her regular cat food. My brother tried regular chicken pieces and she ate those at first, but later stopped eating those. When he brought her to an emergency clinic on March 4 she was dehydrated despite my brother giving her water in an eye dropper. She died on the morning of March 6. Since this tainted food recall came to light I've been researching if that could have been a cause. So far, she hadn't been fed any of the brands which were recalled _but_ there could have been others which somehow got tainted. She wasn't that old (only about 13) and otherwise in great health which is why I'm suspecting outside causes.

BTW, I'm taking this as badly as my brother which is why I haven't posted on these forums in a while.  Here are some Cleo pictures I uploaded to Photobucket a few days after she died in case anyone is interested.


----------



## Empath (Mar 22, 2007)

Dr. Jean Hofve, an active veterinarian in trying to keep everyone educated in particular about cats, and publisher of the periodical newsletter "Little Big Cat", has set up a special page to attempt to track all the changes daily, and to offer helpful advice.

That special site can be found at http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=petfoodrecallinformation


----------



## senecaripple (Mar 22, 2007)

jtr1962 said:


> My brother's cat Cleo died March 6 of something related to the bone marrow, possibly (probably) cancer. However, there was no gradual decline over weeks or longer as there usually is with animals who have cancer. She was pretty much OK perhaps a week before she died. First she stopped eating her regular cat food. My brother tried regular chicken pieces and she ate those at first, but later stopped eating those. When he brought her to an emergency clinic on March 4 she was dehydrated despite my brother giving her water in an eye dropper. She died on the morning of March 6. Since this tainted food recall came to light I've been researching if that could have been a cause. So far, she hadn't been fed any of the brands which were recalled _but_ there could have been others which somehow got tainted. She wasn't that old (only about 13) and otherwise in great health which is why I'm suspecting outside causes.
> 
> BTW, I'm taking this as badly as my brother which is why I haven't posted on these forums in a while.  Here are some Cleo pictures I uploaded to Photobucket a few days after she died in case anyone is interested.


really sorry to hear of your loss. my dog died last september and I still miss her dearly.
I picked up another dog very similar to her, but she can never be replaced.
somebody's going to pay dearly for all of these lost pets, and this will not be any frivolous suit.


----------



## senecaripple (Mar 22, 2007)

Empath said:


> Dr. Jean Hofve, an active veterinarian in trying to keep everyone educated in particular about cats, and publisher of the periodical newsletter "Little Big Cat", has set up a special page to attempt to track all the changes daily, and to offer helpful advice.
> 
> That special site can be found at http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=petfoodrecallinformation


just bookmarked this site, thanks


----------



## jtr1962 (Mar 22, 2007)

senecaripple said:


> really sorry to hear of your loss. my dog died last september and I still miss her dearly.
> I picked up another dog very similar to her, but she can never be replaced.
> somebody's going to pay dearly for all of these lost pets, and this will not be any frivolous suit.


Thanks for the condolences, and sorry about your dog. I'm really going to miss Cleo. It won't be the same seeing my brother and not having her there.

I'm sure there will be a lawsuit here but remember that no amount of money can replace these lost pets. I would trade $1 million to bring back Cleo or any of the other cats I've loved and lost in a heartbeat. I think any money received will be cold comfort to those who have lost an animal due to tainted food. If anything positive comes of this, it might be greater oversight of the pet food industry. We just take for granted that the food we buy our pets is safe but this proves otherwise. Maybe it's time to learn how to cook for our cats....


----------



## senecaripple (Mar 22, 2007)

you are right jtr, no amount of money can replace a lost pet, the monies can go to shelters and rescue organizations.
punitive damages that'll force these corporation greater quality control and less on the bottom line.


----------



## chmsam (Mar 22, 2007)

Egads! The number of stories in the papers and on radio & TV about "my pet died because of this!" However, very few necropsies to see what the real cause of death was. That would provide a lot of education about the true extent of this. We tend to forget that pets do unfortunately die of other causes, too. All pet deaths are tragic but finding real numbers of cases due to food contamination (or whatever) would be helpful more than assumptions. It's an extra expense at a time of loss, but would answer questions.

I strongly agree that penalties or settlements if the food was the cause should include money for spaying/neutering, adoption, and other humane services for cats and dogs. There are just way too many extra litters out there even in areas were services are available. That is an on going tragedy that always gets ignored. 

And just to state it again (and news reports are backing this up), vets are suggesting pet owners keep checking for updates at the FDA web site in case there are additional recalls and to find accurate details.


----------



## Empath (Mar 23, 2007)

From the start, we were told there were 10 animal deaths. We're now told the number is up to 16. How very disappointing the deception being practiced.

Menu Foods was aware of the problem at the end of February, and had the conclusive data on March 2. They then knew that death would result in 1 in 6 cases of animals eating their food. They then waited weeks before even notifying the the FDA and initiating a recall of the tainted food. Even now, the artificially report deflated numbers.

I've lost all respect for Menu Foods, and couldn't care less if they never sell another can of pet food.

For a more realistic picture of what is occurring, try The Pet Connection's database of personally reported pet deaths. Presently, their count is up to 1000, and is much more realistic of the enormous number of deaths that have and will result from a 1 in 6 death rate of a food that has been heavily sold for the last several months.

Since Menu Foods has fallen behind in maintaining an accurate accounting and listing of affected brands, here is a listing of foods that manufacturers claim is NOT a part of the recall. I just thought it might be helpful.


----------



## dfred (Mar 23, 2007)

The American Veterinary Medical Association has some good links here, including this page with some data collected by the The Animal Medical Center, the largest vet clinic in New York City.

I suppose I can understand the FDA not wanting to overstate anecdotal reports, but clearly the number of affected animals is larger than official communications have yet described.


----------



## Empath (Mar 23, 2007)

Rat Poison on wheat imported from China?

:scowl: :shakehead


----------



## Bright Scouter (Mar 23, 2007)

Yep, I just heard that on the news at lunch!


----------



## HarryN (Apr 10, 2007)

Hi Guys - it has been a while since I have done much posting, and I am afraid this is not really that happy of one. By now, most have heard of the animal food recall which has affected a "number" of animals - well, one of them is (was) ours.

It has been really challenging to deal with our 11 yr. old daughter loosing her cat, pal, etc. They were really bonded, and March 30 we had to put it to sleep. The vet we used is first class, and has full board certification in feline care - Cat Hospital, Cambell, CA. 

Basically, this particular contamination is a rat poison which destroys the kidneys. While the number of "certified" cases are still pretty small, mostly due to the carefull management of what it takes to be certified, I suspect from conversations with other pet owners that he problem is actually quite widespread. Obviously, some cases are going to be only partial failure, and with enough fluids, the animal will mostly recover.

Sorry for the rambling, hope it helps out some others. Take care. Harry


----------



## senecaripple (Apr 11, 2007)

so sorry to hear of your loss! it's even tougher on a child who is very attached. my condolences.
regards to you and the family


----------



## JediNight (Apr 11, 2007)

HarryN said:


> It has been really challenging to deal with our 11 yr. old daughter loosing her cat, pal, etc. They were really bonded, and March 30 we had to put it to sleep. The vet we used is first class, and has full board certification in feline care - Cat Hospital, Cambell, CA.


 
Thats a damn shame. If something would happen to my dog, I would probably
go nuts. Sorry to hear!!! 

JN


----------



## Turbo DV8 (Apr 11, 2007)

So sorry to hear about your loss. I have had to put two cats to sleep: one because of leukemia, the other a UTI on a 15 year old cat. I took the leukemia victim to the vet for euthanasia 20 years ago, but to this day I get moist-eyed when I remember how he did not budge the whole trip to the vet in a cardboard box, yet right before the injection, he managed to muster just enough strength to lift his head and look at me one last time. Jesus, and here I go again... It's never easy to put an animal to sleep, even if it is for humanity, and it will never be easy to remember. I do know how you and your kids feel. Anybody who believes the low-ball death figures being spewed out regarding this recall tragedy is a media or corporate dupe.


About three weeks ago I decided to try a different kibble because the vet says one of my newest cats has trouble digesting (Pew, pew, and more pew!) He suggested trying a different kibble. So I picked up a $25 bag of Hill's Science Diet Adult. I never opened it, as I still had a good deal of Kirkland's cat food left. At the time, although some of Hill's canned foods were recalled, there was no dry food included in the recall. A week later, the news informed that now a kibble, Hill's Science Diet MD, was being recalled for the same reason as the canned food. Hill's cranks out maybe half a dozen "different" types of cat kibble. How different can they all be, and how different can the ingredients be, I wondered. Although my Hill's "Adult" didn't have the same name as Hill's "MD", always a marketing skeptic, I checked the ingredients of the "Adult" food, and there was the wheat gluten!

Well, you can imagine now that dry food had made an entrance into the recall arena, I wasn't about to start feeding my four cats this stuff, only to perhaps find out weeks later that Hill's "Adult" had joined "MD" on the recall list! I took the unopened bag back to Pet Club and explained that although "Adult" was not on the recall list (yet?), it contained the same suspect ingredient, and I wasn't going to feed it to my cats just because it wasn't "yet" on the recall list. Even after talking to a manager, Pet Club would not take back the bag because I did not keep the receipt! I left the bag on the counter and told him to consider it a donation, and to feed it to his cats, and hope he slept well at night. No more Pet Club for me if they can't show a little leniency in such a dreadful situation. I mean, the bag was unopened! I checked the ingredients of the Kirkland cat kibble, which I have used for years, and not only is there no mention of any gluten of any type, there also is no corn and rice fillers as the #1 ingredient like I discovered there is in so many high priced "science" diets. I believe the Kirkland lists chicken, or chicken byproducts (chicken shrapnel?) as the #1 ingredient. So for now, I'll have to rename my sensitive cat Pepe LePew until this all blows over and I can try other brands again.


----------



## HarryN (Apr 12, 2007)

I thought some of the pet owners on the forum might like a quick update on this whole mess.

First - you might have noticed that the numbers of "official confirmed cases" is relatively low. There is a reason for that. In order to qualify for this, a cat / dog must 1) Be affected by something making them sick. 2) Pretty much be an indoor only animal, so there are no outside influences. 3) Have symptoms which pretty clearly match the criteria 4) Have a complete blood work test 5) Go on IV for at least 5 days 6) Have another blood work test which definitely shows no improvement to kidney function 7) Be put to sleep Have an autopsy with specific organ collection 9) Submit organs to FDA for testing 10) Submit suspected food to FDA for testing.

If you pass ALL of these criteria, and your animal specifically died from the proven cause, the food company will refund you for your vet bills - that's it. But, if you do not have a fully proven case - you are SOL.

The costs to complete all of these tests is around $ 1,500 in CA, which is more than most can bear, and we stopped about 1/2 way through the process to put our animal to sleep.

Certainly, the food companies are remarkably well protected from liability in this whole thing - at least so far.

A few other points
- Menu foods is not the only one affected. I am pretty confident that a fellow flashlight buddy lost his cat to Fancy Feast / gravy style. (one with wheat glueten.)
- Another friend of mine has 2 large dogs that are ill, but not enough to die. Just weakened.
- wikipedia.org has some links to sites that are collecting the "non confirmed" cases. The numbers are more like 3,000 cases, and that is just from people stumbling on to the site.

Last but not least, I am really struggling with a particularly concerning aspect of this whole situation, one that should make other people really nervous as well. At first, I made the assumption that this contamination was an accident, caused by inept people who are culturally inclined to not waste anything, so they swept up something from the floor.

Now, it looks like at least some contaminants were deliberately added to "deceive" the standardized food quality tests for free fatty acids and protein, which substantially alter the price value of the product. In other words, this has gone from accidental to intentional food contamination - of human grade food.

It might not surprise you that I am getting pretty PO'd about the whole idea of importing food products from China, esp. when they are food items that are in wide, abundant supply in North America.


----------



## gadget_lover (Apr 12, 2007)

As Harry said, it's almost impossible to prove your pet was killed by the poisoned food. My cat suffered sudden kidney failure in late Feb. After a lot of time at a critical care pet hospital the vet finally suggested she be put to sleep. The total cost for all the tests and care was close to $4,000.

While I could not afford the expense, we could not give up without trying. They did a lot of extra tests (Xrays and such) since there were no reports of the poisoning until a few days after she was put to sleep. They only did IV fluids for 4 days, but there was zero improvement.

While I'd like the money back, I'd settle for a testing program or something to ensure it would never happen again.

Daniel


----------



## Sarratt (Apr 14, 2007)

There are few harder things than ..... 

I cant even talk and its been years 

weeird huh ?


----------



## 02Scuba (Apr 14, 2007)

These are animals we are talking about. We should not intentionally mistreat them and for some individuals the animal may be the main source of that persons companionship. But they are still animals. we have a family cat. I like cats and have had one all my life as a pet. My kids, my wife and I adore that cat but if sacraficing that cat would mean a cure for the common cold he would be gone in a heart beat and I would not loose a wink of sleep over it. It's an animal


----------



## cerbie (Apr 14, 2007)

02Scuba said:


> These are animals we are talking about. We should not intentionally mistreat them and for some individuals the animal may be the main source of that persons companionship. But they are still animals. we have a family cat. I like cats and have had one all my life as a pet. My kids, my wife and I adore that cat but if sacraficing that cat would mean a cure for the common cold he would be gone in a heart beat and I would not loose a wink of sleep over it. It's an animal


All anyone got out of this was knowledge of a bad wheat supplier, 02Troll. No one gained anything.


----------



## gadget_lover (Apr 15, 2007)

It's funny, but after raising a cat for 15 years, petting it every day, being followed from room to room.... It's hard to relegate them to 'just an animal' status. My cat was so devoted that I could not sit down without her in my lap or on the chair next to me. It's sad to say, but I knew her better than my adult kids who now live in distant towns.

I understand the need for animal testing. Much of the science being performed now does not start with "If I combine these chemicals it will cure this disease". It starts with "I wonder what effect this chemical will have if I combine it in that way to that chemical". You can't create a computer model for that what is not understood, and it seems that many of our newest drugs work via mechanisms that are not understood.

But back on topic. We need to elevate pet food industry SAFETY to the same level as human food. I'm not advocating high quality beef and select grades of tuna, just safe and nutritious. Is that too much to ask?

Daniel


----------



## Turbo DV8 (Apr 15, 2007)

gadget_lover said:


> We need the pet food industry elevated to the same SAFETY level as human food.


 
What should give one pause is to consider whether or not the Chinese _human_ food export business to the US is held to any higher level of accountability than that of the _animal_ food supply. Wheat gluten sounds like a pretty generic, seemingly innocuous ingredient that could possibly be used as a constituent of some human foods. If so, does it all come over on in a big crate from the same fields and processing plants in the East, to be divvied up in the states, some being sent to Menu Foods for pet food, and other being sent to General Mills for use in human food stuffs? Who's in the ports protecting our imported food supply, whether for animals or humans? You certainly can't test for every conceivable toxin. Who's to say humans aren't right now eating products containing the same wheat gluten in question? Many, many more cats are dying from this than dogs because dogs are bigger, stronger, more massive, so they would have to eat much more to have the same toxicity. Humans are even much more massive, so if we eat this stuff, possibly the immediate consequence would be nothing. But who knows about later, when cumulative symptoms appear to which nobody can possibly prove a connection? Who knows?


----------



## Empath (Apr 15, 2007)

The tainted wheat gluten was shipped as human grade food.


----------



## Bob_G (Apr 18, 2007)

Melamine has now been found in another ingredient in a new food - rice protein concentrate in certain Natural Balance foods, both dry and wet.

_Pacoima, CA -- April 17, 2007 -- Natural Balance, Pacoima, CA, is issuing a voluntary nationwide recall for all of its Venison dog products and the dry Venison cat food only, regardless of date codes. The recalled products include Venison and Brown Rice canned and bagged dog foods, Venison and Brown Rice dog treats, and Venison and Green Pea dry cat food. Recent laboratory results show that the products contain melamine. We believe the source of the melamine is a rice protein concentrate. Natural Balance has confirmed this morning that some production batches of these products may contain melamine._

http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/naturalbalance04_07.html


----------



## Empath (Apr 24, 2007)

It looks like it's finding it's way into the human food chain.

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/17128965.htm


----------



## dfred (Apr 30, 2007)

It's looking very likely that the adulterants were intentionally added to inflate crude protein content in the exported foodstuffs.

The Wikipedia article on the contamination has become quite a clearing-house for info.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_pet_food_crisis


----------



## senecaripple (Apr 30, 2007)

menu foods CFO should be implicated for not notifying petowners earlier, only to sell half his securities first, then decides to recall the pet foods.
congress and the securities and exchange commission should investigate him for impropriety.


----------



## nikon (May 1, 2007)

It appears that melamine is used widely in food products in China, according to this NEW YORK TIMES article.....http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/business/worldbusiness/30food.html?_r=1&th=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&emc=th&adxnnlx=1177992769-AmVzcx1ZUC3ylasiUb2WaQ


----------



## senecaripple (May 1, 2007)

makes you wonder maybe there could be sabotage from terrorists to poison our food supply.
could it be possible that somebody could've slipped something in at the port or in the ship?


----------



## hank (May 1, 2007)

Read the NYT article posted in #80 above. It was business fraud, done all over China for years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/b...=th&adxnnlx=1177992769-AmVzcx1ZUC3ylasiUb2WaQ


----------



## HarryN (May 14, 2007)

My understanding is that FDA reps have been to China and visited the factories where at least "some" of the contaminated food was produced. this trip of course, was "after" a delay in getting visas from the Chinese govt.

Results
- Much of the wheat gluten exported from China is really just wheat flour with melamine and other illegal additives to fool the standardized tests. 
- The factories were taken apart / stripped of evidence prior to the FDA arriving

So
- Looks like a classic fraud case on a country wide level
- The companies that are importing gluten from China due to a "shortage of material" in the US can just use wheat flour, as that is what they are getting now - funny, I think the US and Canada have plenty of flour.
- Intentional posioning of the North American (and EU / Africa) food supply.

So, why in the heck are we still importing food from China ? One BSE cow from Canada shut off that country for years, and that was an accident. This is endemic, cultural, purposeful fraud.


----------



## hank (May 14, 2007)

I'd welcome any pointers you have to reports or published facts on the FDA visits.
There are lots of stories, but I haven't found anything I know is more than rumor.

Except this:
http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia9929.html

Partial excerpt:

As of April 26, 2007, FDA had collected approximately 750 samples
of wheat gluten and products made with wheat gluten and, of those
tested thus far, 330 were positive for melamine and/or melamine
related compounds. FDA had also collected approximately 85
samples of rice protein concentrate and products made with rice
protein concentrate and, of those tested thus far, 27 were
positive for melamine and/or melamine related compounds. FDA's
investigation has traced all of the positive samples as having
been imported from China.


Although FDA's investigation is ongoing, the Agency has learned
the following about the outbreak and its association with
contaminated vegetable proteins from China:

1. For the vegetable proteins and finished products that have been
found to be contaminated, it is unknown who the actual
manufacturers are, how many manufacturers there are, or where in
China they may be located.

The samples of vegetable proteins that have tested positive for
the presence of melamine and melamine analogs have, thus far, been
traced to two Chinese firms, Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology
Development Co. Ltd. and Binzhou Futian Biology Technology Co.
Ltd. Records relating to the importation of these products
indicate that these two firms had manufactured the ingredients in
question. There is strong evidence, however, that these firms are
not the actual manufacturers. Moreover, despite many weeks of
investigation, it is still unknown who the actual manufacturer or
manufacturers of the contaminated products imported from China
are.


----------



## HarryN (May 15, 2007)

Hi Hank

I appreciate the additional link you pointed out.

From your post, it is clear that 

1) The FDA has in fact identified that wheat gluten was in fact contaminated - they are dead sure of this.

2) It came from China, and at least 2 firms were involved, but likely others.

3) There are some investigational dead ends here.

I tend to read about this area pretty much every day, mostly on google news, which links to sites such as the NY Times, etc, so generally reputable papers. 

From my perspective, this event has personally cost me $ Thousands of direct cost. In addition, my family lost our family pet as a direct result of the purposeful contamination. I have a picture of my daughter holding her cat that will just rip you apart.

Others on this forum, some of which I know quite personally, are out even more $ Thousands than I am.

In a court of law, the burden of proof is on the "people" to proof that someone did something wrong.

In the case of food safety, especially after a tragedy like this, the burden of proof now lies with the food suppliers. Since the original suppliers were quite good at hiding the real contents of the "food" from reasonably sophisticated commercial buyers of the product, then the "proof of quality" becomes that much more intense.

From my perspective, there is NO PROOF that the food currently being imported from China is safe - NONE. 

It might also be useful to note that some medical professionals believe that 20 % of all pet food in the US is consumed by senior citizens to save $s.


----------



## LuxLuthor (May 15, 2007)

This whole thing is shocking and upsetting. I generally have given my dog "people food" or "Nature's Variety" brand who never put wheat in their food, and after doing a LOT OF RESEARCH on how crappy most dog food is. 

This is so typical of cheap, unregulated imports....not just China. They don't give a rat's *** about anything from the U.S. except our money and technology.


----------



## HarryN (Jun 20, 2007)

Just bumping this thread. I am curious if anyone has written to their representatives in Congress / Senate about food imports needing to be "certified by a US testing firm" prior to entry. 

Seems like a good idea to me. Obviously, we cannot rely on third world countries to do this for us.


----------



## chmsam (Jun 20, 2007)

While a good idea, that would raise costs to the point where most people would howl. An alternative is to search out pet food companies who insist on, and whose suppliers agree to, frequent visits and inspections.


----------



## HarryN (Aug 15, 2007)

Just a bit of an update.

We filed a claim with Purina for our basic costs (Carpet and vet bills - no, we did not even file for the value of the cat). Purina referred us to their third party firm which is handling the case.

Yesterday, they called my wife, and told her that the Purina canned cat food was made by Menu foods, and we should join the class action lawsuit there. I am not a lawyer, but this seems a bit strange to me - it is a Purina product, regardless of who they subcontracted the production out to - right ?

chmsam - The concept of inspections works in a culture which more or less wants to behave. It does not work in a business culture where fraud is a normal part of doing business. Firms which want to trick the system know full well that if you pass a few insepctions, you get a pass later for your "junk".

Nothing we do on paper will solve a problem like this - imported food items from places like China need full chemical / spectroscopic testing at our ports before entry. If they are not up to spec, they should be destroyed at senders cost - not returned. This is the only message people from all walks of life understand.

You really have to ask yourself - what are the Boards of Directors thinking about their own liability right now ? What is really a good idea for Mattel to make toys in China ? Did Menu foods really improve the value of their stock by purchasing wheat gluten from China ? Just how far with a pissed off customer (legally) go after Purina for lying / denial / destroying his personal property (the cat, vet bills, carpet)


----------



## richpalm (Aug 15, 2007)

China is our curse-so is Mexico. :scowl: Don't even get me started on corporate executives. They need to be hung publicly on streetlights.

I checked with my vet and I stick to more organic brands.

Best thing is to avoid store-brand pet _and_ human food like the plague.

Rich


----------



## HarryN (Sep 22, 2008)

In a most unfortunate extension of the practice of using melamine to make food products pass the "protein content" test, now many children are dying from adding melamine to milk.

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2371346.htm

My understanding is that melamine is commonly used in China (probably some other places as well) to hide that the baby food has very low protein levels, and that milk has been watered down. In some cases, the babies have starved to death. If that is not bad enough, since they are so small, the melamine destroys the kidneys. 

What is not being said yet, is that many of the children being diagnosed with "kidney stones" are really in kidney failure. Once they are taken off of IVs and dialysis, they will not make it.

I see it has now potentially spread to Japan in the form of imported cookies. Please everyone, check to see if you have any foods with milk products from China that might be affected.

What a horror story, and as a parent, just without words.


----------



## paulr (Sep 22, 2008)

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/22/china.tainted.milk/index.html


> The Chinese premier visited Beijing hospitals and a supermarket Sunday to show his concern for the crisis.
> 
> "What we need to do now is to ensure that nothing like this happens in the future, not only in dairy products, but in all foods," he said. "Manufacturers and owners of dairy companies should show more morality and social responsibility in these cases. They are heartless, so we have to create strict law and legislation. I'm sorry."



I wonder what he means by that.


----------



## HarryN (Sep 22, 2008)

It means you should be careful of what you eat.


----------



## paulr (Sep 22, 2008)

HarryN said:


> It means you should be careful of what you eat.



I think that he (the Chinese premier) is signalling that people found responsible for the contamination are going to be executed, like this guy:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6286698.stm


----------



## Turbo DV8 (Sep 23, 2008)

paulr said:


> I think that he (the Chinese premier) is signalling that people found responsible for the contamination are going to be executed, like this guy:
> 
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6286698.stm


 



> Zheng's sentence was seen as unusually harsh for such a senior figure, but the BBC's Dan Griffiths in Beijing says the government hopes the execution shows it is getting to grips with the crisis.


 


> Twenty-one other companies have now admitted they too were adding the industrial chemical melamine to their products to make them appear more protein rich than they actually were. And today authorities in Singapore said they'd found melamine in a third milk product imported from China, White Rabbit Creamy Candy - the culprit.


 
Getting to grips? That was July 2007. Pet food and toothpaste. Fourteen months later it's babies dying from the same exact chemical injected into baby food by twenty-two other Chinese companies. Yeah, their government's really "getting to grips" on the situation in the last fourteen months, alright.



> Wen Jiabao's appearance on state television was a high profile attempt to show that China is on top of the crisis.


 
Seems fairer to say China is at the bottom of it all, than on the "top of the crisis."


----------



## Turbo DV8 (Sep 23, 2008)

HarryN said:


> What is not being said yet, is that many of the children being diagnosed with "kidney stones" are really in kidney failure. Once they are taken off of IVs and dialysis, they will not make it.


 


> The health ministry has revealed that 13,000 children have had to go to hospital after drinking the milk.


 


> Most of the children are under two, their tiny bodies not able to cope with the chemical, producing painful kidney stones, that could eventually lead to kidney failure.


 
Kidney stones don't form quickly after drinking a glass of milk or a candy bar! Their kidneys are shot, period.


----------



## HarryN (Oct 3, 2008)

*Re: Chocolate Safety in the US*

Hi, I have been following this whole milk / milk products problem quite closely - perhaps because I enjoy eating. 

In any event, there are quite a few milk fat and milk fat powder products being recalled, especially, but not exclusively in Asia.

In the US, I have determined that Hersheys Chocolate Candy uses only US produced milk, so there is most likely no melamine in it.

As you might expect, Nestle has announced that it's products are also safe - everywhere in the world. Interestingly, this is in the face of Taiwan's gov't finding melamine in their chocolate and ordering it pulled from shelves. Normally, I might give Nestle the benefit of the doubt, as you would expect a large, brand name company to carefully control it's production.

I then figured out that Nestle is the parent company of Purina, the same company that denied both publically, and directlly to me, that there were any problems with their cat food for months. Finally, they admitted (privately) that they purchased their cat food from Menu foods. 

It is nice to know that such a great company first poisoned my cat, denied it, and now is trying to deny any chance that their candy is contaminated as well - even while others find the contamination. 

You can imagine that my viewpoint on this whole area is a bit biased, so I am not going to say they do or do not have a problem, but this week we returned our un-opened can of Nestle hot chocolate mix and purchased the Hershey brand. I have informed my kids to avoid Nestle's chocolate for a few months (but not Hershey's chocolate)

As I figure out which milk based foods are 100% free of Chinese milk, I will try to post it here.

Thanks


----------



## HarryN (May 24, 2009)

Hi, I thought it was time to update this thread.

Just to re-cap, this is the ongoing fiasco of how our friends in China mixed melamine into flour and sold it to the US and Canada as high protein "wheat glueten". 

This "enriched flour" was eventually sold to Menu Foods, who makes pet food for nearly every brand, including Nestle Purina's premium canned cat food, among many others. The end results was a large number of cats that died of kidney failure, but of course first, making a heck of a mess in their owner's homes, and substantial vet bills.

Most of the companies, including Nestle Purina played a large scale denial game, eventually pushing the problem back to Menu Foods, which ended up in a large scale, class action lawsuit.

So where are we now - I think the lawyers have been paid, but I certainly have not. Anyone else been paid yet ?


----------



## RA40 (May 24, 2009)

This suxx to hear.

Do these products indicate "made/from China" on them?

Thanks for the update.


----------



## HarryN (May 26, 2009)

RA40 said:


> This suxx to hear.
> 
> Do these products indicate "made/from China" on them?
> 
> Thanks for the update.



Hi - Thanks for the question. The products were made in Canada, with (some) ingredients from China, so it is not considered "made in China". You would be surprised to find out that this is more common than not. 

There have been attempts to require labels (especially food labels) to disclose the country of origin of the ingredients. China's lobby groups, and surprisingly US food producers have worked hard to block this kind of labeling.

You might remember a more recent and public "situation" where milk and milk products in China were "spiked" with melamine to increase the tested protein content, especially for dried milk products. The results were massive cases of young children ending up with kidney stones and destroyed kidneys from infanct formula.

As it turned out, a lot of milk powder is exported all over the place in all kinds of products, including chocolate. Once again, our friends at Nestle decided that melamine is not a problem, so they kept shipping and avoided most recalls. I think Taiwan actually pulled it from the shelves for them.

Only Hershey's came out and publicly stated that their chocolate only contains local ingredients and that it has NEVER contained anything from China. Testing confirmed that Hersheys was in fact safe from melamine.

As you can imagine, we only purchase Hersheys Chocolate now. My kids were a bit concerned about this rule (originally thinking were were banning candy) until I told them that in return to following this rule, they could buy even MORE chocolate. This made them happy.

It is quite a pain actually, as it is not so easy to find hot chocolate mix from Hersheys.


----------



## HarryN (Jul 9, 2010)

In an unfortunate update to this thread, I read today that some of the original contaminated dry milk powerder has shown up in China again. Some of it had been mixed into children's food products.

It sure would be nice if our friends at the pet food company would come clean on this deal. Nestle and Purina continue to be in denial, and the original supplier backed out of paying the claims at the last minute, dragging this on for years.

In the meantime, I continue to ban my kids from eating anything from Nestle. They make BP look like a saint.


----------



## HarryN (Mar 4, 2016)

I had assumed that a lot of these food related challenges would be gone by now, but it seems that they are not. Somehow, melamine contamination still continues to show up in the food supply.


----------



## NoNotAgain (Mar 4, 2016)

HarryN said:


> I had assumed that a lot of these food related challenges would be gone by now, but it seems that they are not. Somehow, melamine contamination still continues to show up in the food supply.


The laws are set up that a pet is property, not a living being, member of the family.

When the pet food companies purchase ingredients without independent analysis, people and companies that have no regards for life will continue to increase. The fast and dirty test for protein content can't differentiate melamine from real protein.

Prior to 9-11, a friend worked for a major airline. The airline loaded a live animal carrier in the non pressurized hold area and a persons dog was killed. The airline basically said, too bad, so sad, here's your money back and a few dollars for the loss.

The owner came back a night or two later, jumped the fence and proceeded to do over a million in damages to an airplane. He was arrested for the property damages, but the airline refused prosecution when he threatened to use his arrest as a public relations nightmare for the airline.


----------



## FRITZHID (Mar 4, 2016)

NoNotAgain said:


> The laws are set up that a pet is property, not a living being, member of the family.



Don't worry, some lawyer will remedy that soon enough. <rme>


----------



## Kestrel (Mar 4, 2016)

HarryN said:


> I had assumed that a lot of these food related challenges would be gone by now, but it seems that they are not. Somehow, melamine contamination still continues to show up in the food supply.


I haven't been following this for a while; has there been melamine contamination in food sources originating from other countries besides China?


----------



## NoNotAgain (Mar 4, 2016)

Kestrel said:


> I haven't been following this for a while; has there been melamine contamination in food sources originating from other countries besides China?



All of the melamine contamination incidents that I've read of, have all originated from China. Melamine is a by-product of plastics production. How or why someone thought to add it to meal being sold for the pet trade is beyond me.

Just like lead paint. Lead is used as the dryer in paints. It also adds vibrancy which is why it was originally added, in addition of causing paint to dry threw heavy sections.

Because of the massive growth in third world countries, the plant owners force the foremen and workers that fear for their jobs to cheat.

Every once and a while something big occurs and they get religion for a bit. China has very strict sentences for product tampering, it costs you your life.


----------



## HarryN (Mar 12, 2016)

NoNotAgain said:


> All of the melamine contamination incidents that I've read of, have all originated from China. Melamine is a by-product of plastics production. How or why someone thought to add it to meal being sold for the pet trade is beyond me.
> 
> Just like lead paint. Lead is used as the dryer in paints. It also adds vibrancy which is why it was originally added, in addition of causing paint to dry threw heavy sections.
> 
> ...



The reason that melamine ends up in the food supply makes perfect sense when the "business logic" is applied. Wheat gluten with a high protein content has a value that is highly dependent on its "tested protein content". The most common "test" for measuring this protein level cannot tell the difference between "high protein wheat gluten" and "flour enriched with melamine". Melamine powder is widely available as part of the sawdust from furniture making.

In other words, when Nestle buys "commodity, high protein wheat gluten, it doesn't really know (or try to verify) if it is really buying "gluten" or "flour and sawdust swept up from a furniture factory floor in China". This has been found multiple times in the food supply (there is no difference in the US between human grade and pet food, since both can be consumed by humans). The big problem, is that even in small quantities, it causes nearly complete renal failure, death in most pets, and emergency organ transplants in people.

I am guessing that Nestle has the largest problem with this, since they are one of the largest food suppliers in the world, and don't buy into the idea of any localization of food supply.


----------



## Tachead (Mar 12, 2016)

The government really should start regulating pet foods just like human food. All pet food should have to be fit for human consumption just like our food and regulated by Health Canada, the FDA, exc. Its sad that our governments dont care about the health and welfare of our animals. And, its sad that so many big companies sell garbage food and are just in it for the money.

This is why I dont buy garbage big box store pet food. Dogs shouldnt even eat half of the ingredients in these foods. Their full of fillers and preservatives and food colouring that are known carcinogens. Not to mention grain, soy, and a bunch of other things that dogs shouldnt even eat. Whole meat(not meat by products) should be the first ingredient on any good dog food. Its amazing how many dog owners dont even research what their dog should and shouldnt be eating, whats in their dog food, and where it is made(where the ingredients come from). 

My dogs are fed Origen by Champion Pet Foods. It is made in Canada, biologically appropriate for dogs, grain free, uses no bad colouring/preservatives/fillers, and all the ingredients and where they come from are listed. All ingredients come from Canadian farms and are regularly tested to be safe. It is a bit pricey but, my dogs only get the best. I dont think anyone should get a dog if they cant afford good food and take the time to know what a dog should be eating.


----------



## HarryN (Mar 16, 2016)

Tachead said:


> The government really should start regulating pet foods just like human food. All pet food should have to be fit for human consumption just like our food and regulated by Health Canada, the FDA, exc. Its sad that our governments dont care about the health and welfare of our animals. And, its sad that so many big companies sell garbage food and are just in it for the money.
> 
> This is why I dont buy garbage big box store pet food. Dogs shouldnt even eat half of the ingredients in these foods. Their full of fillers and preservatives and food colouring that are known carcinogens. Not to mention grain, soy, and a bunch of other things that dogs shouldnt even eat. Whole meat(not meat by products) should be the first ingredient on any good dog food. Its amazing how many dog owners dont even research what their dog should and shouldnt be eating, whats in their dog food, and where it is made(where the ingredients come from).
> 
> My dogs are fed Origen by Champion Pet Foods. It is made in Canada, biologically appropriate for dogs, grain free, uses no bad colouring/preservatives/fillers, and all the ingredients and where they come from are listed. All ingredients come from Canadian farms and are regularly tested to be safe. It is a bit pricey but, my dogs only get the best. I dont think anyone should get a dog if they cant afford good food and take the time to know what a dog should be eating.



The ingredients that were in this pet food (which contained the melamine) are in fact regulated exactly the same as human food. They used human food grade ingredients in the canned pet food that caused the problem. That is what really caused the big concern - this was tested, perfectly legal, commodity, food grade wheat gluten sold on the international market, which would pass any of the "conventional" food safety tests used in commodity food products.

You might remember that most chocolate candy contains milk and dry milk powder. There were some similar incidents with this in the far east, especially Taiwan and China. It was bad enough that Nestle was forced to recall some of their products in Taiwan, even though they claimed them to be safe. This is why I told my kids that they could have any candy they wanted, except Nestle.

Some similar cases of milk powder ended up in baby formula in China with really terrible results, many Chinese children with kidney failure. That is what caused the execution, when it impacted the local government's "face" in front of the people, not that it was in exported food.

Just an FYI, the pet food we purchased that killed our cat was a Purina / Nestle premium brand, but in fact, nearly all cat food sold in North America, including this one, is made by one company and sold with various recipe options and private labeled. 

The food safety approaches and testing rules are virtually identical in the US and Canada. Personally, I think Canada could make some real market inroads by holding their food industry to an even higher standard / premium offering / labeling, similar to the Canola oil concept, but there is a lot of pressure to keep this from happening.


----------



## Tachead (Mar 18, 2016)

HarryN said:


> The ingredients that were in this pet food (which contained the melamine) are in fact regulated exactly the same as human food. They used human food grade ingredients in the canned pet food that caused the problem. That is what really caused the big concern - this was tested, perfectly legal, commodity, food grade wheat gluten sold on the international market, which would pass any of the "conventional" food safety tests used in commodity food products.
> 
> You might remember that most chocolate candy contains milk and dry milk powder. There were some similar incidents with this in the far east, especially Taiwan and China. It was bad enough that Nestle was forced to recall some of their products in Taiwan, even though they claimed them to be safe. This is why I told my kids that they could have any candy they wanted, except Nestle.
> 
> ...



The point here is that you shouldnt be feeding your pets, or yourself for that matter, any of these highly processed ingredients and fillers. Wheat gluten shouldnt be given to dogs or cats. They also shouldnt be fed soy protein, brewers rice, soybean meal, corn gluten, flour, corn meal, any meat byproducts, exc. These are all fillers so companies can sell cheaper and increase profits. Whole, unprocessed ingredients is what you should be after. Whole meats should be the main ingredients along with unprocessed fruits, complex carbohydrates, exc. If you dont know what it is or it sounds like a chemical, then your animal, or again yourself, probably shouldnt be eating it. You cant get foods like this from most big stores/chains. Purina and the company that owns them make some of the worst pet food on the market, even their premium brands. If you want good pet food you have to look at smaller companies who make the food themselves and arent just in it for the money like these giant super companies. I am very sorry your pet died but, you made the mistake that many do and trusted a giant corporation that is just in it for the money. Next time, do some research first about what your animal should eat and find companies who only use domestically sourced ingredients and make the food themselves. Use the ingredient list as a guide and look for simple whole, unprocessed foods/ingredients and look for transparency about where the ingredients come from.


----------

