FDA Warns Staff On Major Melamine Health Risks
Itchmo has learned that the FDA has issued a surveillance order for Chinese vegetable proteins on May 1 — including corn gluten and wheat products — based on melamine contamination.
Despite repeated FDA statements saying that there is no risk to human health from contaminated pigs and chickens, the FDA surveillance order indicates otherwise. It states: Pregnant women should not perform this assignment. (Emphasis ours)
Melamine and additional related contaminants have been found in concentrations of up to 20% in analyzed samples. The MSDS for pure melamine is attached as Attachment B and includes warnings “to avoid breathing dust, avoid contact with eyes, skin and clothing”. Chronic exposure may cause cancer or reproductive damage.
Clearly, the FDA is concerned with the safety of their own staff’s exposure to melamine-tainted foods. Despite this warning, the FDA told the press and us yesterday that animals that ate tainted foods were safe for human consumption.
This PDF document contains the basis for FDA’s warning to it’s staff.
In fact, the Chinese factory that produced melamine-tainted wheat products was long associated with toxic symptoms. (Reg. required)
May 10th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Oh, I did want to mention one more thing. In regards to the FDA. Why would we think that they would help us with pet food when they will approve drugs that the Pharmaceutical Cos. put out, without testing to the very utmost ? My healthy adult son was given CIPRO for an infection.
Within 2 days he could hardly walk. He is very resourceful in researching stuff. Went to his dr. to c/o the symptoms. Presented the doc with scads of information about this drug and the terrible side effects and I mean
TERRIBLE! Right down to dying. Doc wouldn’t listen. Didn’t know all of the side efffects himself. Well the short of the story is, my son is now in a wheel chair with severe neurological damage. He went everywhere to all kinds of drs. Tried many things. Nothing has helped, obviously. When he tried to get an attny. to take his case he was told he’d be fighting the FDA and to forget it.
So again, why hope for their help for our pets? By the way, the FDA about a yr. ago or so, gave permission to the Pharm. Co. to continue testing this drug to now be used on CHILDREN.!!!!!!!
FYI — If your dr. wants to prescribe CIPRO FOR YOU DON’T DO IT. TELL HIM YOU’RE ALLERGIC TO IT. BUT DON’T TAKE IT. AKA as Ciproxin, Ciproflaxin, and Fluoroquinolone.
May 10th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Barbara Says:
May 10th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
“It’s ETHYLENEDIAMINE DIHYDRIODE which is ETHYLENE GLYCOL & called PROPYLENE GLYCOL. Additive for anti-freeze. I threw mine out.”
Barbara, can you please let me know your source for this information. While the substances are chemically related (”Eth” meaning that there are 2 carbon molecules) I don’t think that Dihydriodide is the same as glycol (but I could be wrong, I’m still in introductory chemistry) This substance is commonly used to supplement iodine from what I could find and is included in the “Balance IT” products I’ve seen mentioned here (Balance it also includes menadione sodium bisulfite complex)
May 10th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Thanks Genny. Where do you get Feliway?
May 10th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Judy N,
I’m sorry your son’s life was destroyed by Cipro. My mom faced severe life endangering infections following a cancer surgery (she was in ICU and Isolation for 4 months) and Cipro was the only thing that saved her life.
Baytril is the veterinary equivalent to Cipro.
May 10th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
TO 4lgdfriend, maybe we should start another site just for that!!! I’m a Republican ( PLEASE PEOPLE DON’T POUNCE ON ME) LOL. I wrote Bushey a scathing letter today. I know he doesn’t give a rats rear, but I felt better for sending it. Speaking of rats, we had a pet rat who was healthy, fed lots of fresh veggies etc., and I started feeding him the hard pellets because the rat food had too many sunflower seeds which gave him skin sores, and I got lazy about picking the seeds out. Anyway, within 2 weeks of starting the new food, he had to be put down due to 2 large tumors. This was a healthy little guy until I switched foods. Could be coincidence but I feel bad anyway. So that’s a rat and rabbit in 2 months. I HATE THIS, I HATE THIS, I HATE THIS!!!!!
May 10th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Judy N,
I bought mine from PetSmart but they have a wesite also:
feliway.com
I first used it on my cat for behavioral problems. I rescued him at 11 days old when his mom abandoned him under my house. I think he’d been there for four days when I finally heard him screaming for his life. He was just barely, barely warm when I was able to retrieve him. As he got older, he gave my elderly cat hell. I think because he’d not been socialized by the mom and litter mates. I found out about Feliway in my search of what to do with my Bin Laden terrorist kitty. It really helped in having a more peaceful household.
May 10th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
redmal,
I read it a forum. I’m no chemist. Just relayed info. Maybe it was wrong. Sorry.
May 10th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
An excellent grain free dry dog food is Solid Gold Barking at the Moon (http://www.solidgoldnorthwest.com/products/pro_dry/pro_barking.html)
For canned I use Evangers 100% meat varieties. Ingredients are mean and juice only. They also have canned cat food and they process and manufacture their OWN food.(http://www.evangersdogfood.com/dog/)
For dry cat, Nature’s Variety Raw Instinct Grain Free Dry is an excellent choice. (http://www.waggintails.com/store/DisplayProduct.php?sku=NVCK-003)
May 10th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Redmal,
Thanks. I am so glad Cipro worked for your Mom. I hope she is healthy and well. Granted, it does work for some and I know it is a very powerful antibiotic. Patients need to know of the risks and side effects etc they may be faced with but drs. aren’t always as educated about some things as we’d like them to be. Just a FYI.
It’s sort of like the pet food, some animals are ok even tho they have eaten the tainted food. But it’s good to know what can happen if that is the way some owners desire to go.
Sorry All, didn’t mean to get on my soapbox. I guess my point was that I don’t feel the FDA gives a hoot about us or our animals. Underfunded, understaffed or not. So what if some die from this, others are ok. Guess that’s how I feel they are.
May 10th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
redmal,
When you put it like that, it sounds safe. Is this normal to do this?
May 10th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Judy N
Sorry to hear about your cat darn FF I hate those SOBs I swear. The 1160 is the same plant my poison came form how convienent. I know they are never going to come clean it makes me so mad. I wish I could take the 20 cans of the=is FF Elegant Medleys and make those f&*^%$RS eat ever can. SOrry Really geting mad now my cats were made sick March 23rd I reported 3 times to PURINA and have a case number also reported to FDA sent vet records and everything. What a waste of time who am I and my 2 little helpless cats agains a greed company. Now all these are cats are being made sick because they do not care.
May 10th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
I am not feeding dog food any more , all my animals are eating raw food, hopefully the chickens they get are safe , I wonder
OTOH, this country is poisoning its people
May 10th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
ya ya everything people say here is important. Reading your story I was thinking my cats lost a lot of hair but no scratching when - Bingo. I forgot about the biting.
Last summer my Himi escaped. We found her that day but soon she got scabs and hair loss. It spread to the other two. Maybe scabies or fungus. I was at $350 for exam, antibiotics and antiinflammatories so I couldn’t afford cultures.
The vet reluctantly gave me shampoo without testing. ( I already owed a friend $1000 for prior vet bills). Many angry cat shampoo sessions and the scabs healed but the hair loss continued.
My Himi had had ratty hair for several years. No show cat but she was getting so pathetic I kept thinking the skin problem wasn’t cured and I cant afford the vet. Or is she just going from old age? She had a tail like a piece of lank rope
Meanwhile all cats were shedding chunks of hair. They looked terrible.
The big male would bite his back and dash around the house. No scabs but was the hair loss was huge. He was crabby and wanted to go outside. He sits by the porch. Guilt.
He bit his back when he had a urinary blockage a few years before. Was it that or fleas? Yet my cats had never had a big flea problem even though I took them outside on leash. And he was able to use the litter box.
Just before the recall my babies almost conked on IAMS. Horrible massive vomiting. Weight loss. Didn’t want to eat. (I went from FF to IAMS to Natural balance to others all bad)
Since I stopped the poison and went homemade, table scraps, and fast food my big guy has stopped biting his back.
He still sits outside so it wasn’t fleas. Recently I combed my cats and their fur is so different. Zero tangles in the Himi. Her tail is becoming fluffy. She is becoming quite pretty. My tortie is getting a furry ruff above her paws and her tail is fuller too.
I think they have been eating poison for at least several years.
Can anyone date when Chinese imports first started being added to pet food? That is a crucial piece of evidence. Not this one batch at Menu. When did Chinese grain first get allowed into the US?
May 10th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
e wem,
There you are! Earlier you suggest emu oil for uninary crystals, member? I ordered from that company and they arrived yesterday. Do you have a suggestion for administering this to cats? We just finished the round of liquid antibiotics and I hate to stress him any more trying to give the oil. Do you think it would work if I squirted over his food?
Sorry about OT, just trying to catch you while I see you here.
Thanks so much!
May 10th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
E WEM
Is emu oil good for cats with struvites crystals?
May 10th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Lorie,
Where did e wem go? Hopefully she’ll be back and enlighten us.
I’ll relay what she told me…..A week or so ago on one of these itchmo blogs she suggested it for crystals. Said she’d been giving to her cat for about 2 years, I think, and has not had a reoccurance since then. She used it for herself and decided to try it on her cats.
May 10th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
I said “she’ll”….but could be “he’ll”.
May 10th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
I was just reading in the excellent book Betrayal of Trust by Laurie Garrett that years ago the U.S. did not allow very much food to be imported but the tremendous increase in food from other countries is as the result of NAFTA–the free trade agreement. Everytime I read about this terrible pet food contamination I keep thinking of how we would all welcome companies who manufacture in the U.S. from ingredients from the U.S. Manufacturing jobs are disappearing in this country. I live in Michigan & it is especially bad here. I am sure we would all support these companies & they could use the fact that they are 100% American made would be a great advertising point!
May 10th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
I’m not saying whether ETHYLENEDIAMINE DIHYDRIODE is a desirable element in a supplement or food, or not, just that it is included in some of the supplements and food items which seem to be considered OK. Just wanted to say that even though many of these substances have similar names or are similar components, that doesn’t mean they are all diabolical. Of course some are. Chemical names can be confusing, just changing one atom can change something innocuous into something deleterious, so…
For iodine, I feed a little bit of dried kelp, and fed home cooked for my dog for a few years now. It may be that kelp (or other sources of iodine) do not hold up well in the manufacturing process, so more refined components have to be added.(?) I don’t really know, I haven’t found much info on this particular substance other than it is included in many feed items and/or supplements.
(Judy - I agree, it is disgraceful when a doctor wouldn’t disclose potential problems, and downright terrible, to not acknowledge when something is causing terrible problems for a patient)
May 10th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Mandy — I am using Innova Evo. It has no grains and is coated with dried raw meat. It costs more than the old Pro-Plan, but the cats eat half as much!! They both like it a lot.
May 10th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
Hey Everybody,
If you think you have been exposed to this melamine and other coal derivatives, go see a homeopath about detoxification. Gemmotherapy products serve wide purposes.
I am using the Common Juniper along with other products for myself and my cats. By the time a conventional Doctor decides to test for specific toxins and treat them, it might be too late. Common Juniper does not interact with medications. :>D
May 10th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
e wem — please go to petwhisperer.com and read about Gemmotherapy. you can give the cats the common juniper 1-5 drops a day in their water. If you have a specific question for Dr. Blake he or staff will write you back. I really feel for you, because i, like you could not afford to take Purr-Purr to the vet.
May 10th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
Phylllis,
I haven’t been able to get into the site you put up.
May 11th, 2007 at 3:35 am
I have been thinking VERY hard about my kitties health problems as of late.
Whiskers: Had to get her teeth cleaned for the first time in her life after a life time on Purina One and Cat Chow dry. She sheds a lot, and I don’t think her coat is very shiny. She also seems to throw up a lot after she eats, but after checking it, it does NOT always have hair balls in it. Since she’s eleven years old, I blamed it on her age.
Smokey: Also eats Purina One and Cat Chow dry. Doesn’t shed much, but he has a different kind of cat. However he also is not very shiny, and his eyes water a great deal. The vet gave him eye drops. He is only two years old.
Can it be the food? I don’t know. But after hearing about Purina’s two recalls, all of the complaints of people that said their cats got sick after eating other Purina products that were NOT recalled, and finding out that they buy from China, AND finding out that they were not properly talking or giving info to people who made complaints, I don’t think I can ever trust them again. I feel like they completely ruined my trust in them.
Thank you all so much for your advice on different cat foods to try out. I am researching as many of them as I can. I don’t want anything to do with any products that buy from China EVER again!
Can
May 11th, 2007 at 4:11 am
[…] warns their own staff about cancer risk when inspecting melamine-tainted foods. Meanwhile, public is assured melamine-tainted foods are […]
May 11th, 2007 at 7:06 am
Not sure but “ethylenediamine dihydriode” may be ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA). EDTA is a common chelator used as a food preservative.
The pregnancy warning is routine.
May 11th, 2007 at 7:33 am
Ok, I have been hesitant to post about Purina here, but here goes.
This story is mostly about Makenzie, but includes Buster, Thai & Little Foot
She was beautiful. No, I mean beautiful - inside and out. She was almost, “human-esque”! Unfortunately, we had to put her to rest on March 7th of this year due to acute renal failure. Since the moment we brought her into our home until she left us, her staple was Purina®.
Beginning in the summer of 2006, Makenzie became very finicky with the usual Purina One® dry food I normally purchased, not touching the bowl at all, just sniffing it. Needless to say, I began to alternate the varieties, purchasing Purina One® chicken and rice, beef and rice, lamb and rice, or turkey and rice to get her to eat something. When this did not work, I bought a bag of Ol’Roy Dinner Rounds (yuk, I know) and added a handful into her bowl each morning. She readily ate these, but only until December 2006, and then, she began to sniff them and walk away from her bowl, again. So, I began saving the leftovers, and adding them to the Purina®, which she ate.
In January 2007, I bought a bag of Purina Beneful® from Wal-Mart® and fed that to our pets – this household had three, 2 dogs and one cat – and all were brought up on Purina® dog food, yes, even the cat! On Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Makenzie (all of a sudden) became lame in her hindquarter. I thought she had slipped on the ice, as we had a terrible ice storm on this day and the pen was in dastardly condition for the dogs. When I saw her limping, I iced her down and kept her away from our other dog, as he is kind of frisky with her. The next day she seemed a little better, but by Saturday, her hindquarter was noticeably swollen and my kids rushed her to the local animal hospital and she was diagnosed with a possible torn cruciate. They sent her home with an anti-inflammatory, Rimadyl, and sedentary and follow-up instructions.
We were informed that following Tuesday that the X-rays had been read, and that Makenzie had Cancer. We were mortified! How could this be, we thought, as there were no signs or symptoms, she had never been sick a day in her life. Oh sure, she had the usual puppy worms, and once she had a broken leg, but that was an accident on my daughter’s part, but Cancer, absolutely NOT, no signs, at all. Within four days of the doctor’s call, Makenzie was urinating blood, on antibiotics, not eating anymore and beginning to drink more and more water. At this time, unfortunately, I did not have any idea about the food contamination, and the hospital did not mention it to my kids and our vet did not mention it to me. Nor, did either entity bother to ask what food Makenzie normally ate, which one would think, given the circumstances, would be THE number ONE question asked at any hospital or vet. Not that it would have mattered anyway, because Purina is not recalling any of its food, it has only “withdrawn†suspect and selective foods.
By the end of the second week, Makenzie’s life as she knew, and as we knew it, was withering. She couldn’t run to the door anymore and greet any of us, or our friends - the people she loved. She couldn’t get up and walk around. Heck, she couldn’t even get up and go out to go to the bathroom without falling down in complete exhaustion every time she came in, and my heart broke when she put her head on my lap and looked up at me with those beautiful brown eyes as if to ask me, “What is wrong with me, Mommy?â€
When she began to cough, I knew the time had come about, but try telling that to your kids, especially if they are in denial. I knew her system was shutting down and I knew what happened anatomically. Whether human or animal, it doesn’t matter, renal shutdown is renal shutdown. Makenzie knew, too, and she tried to run towards the wooded area, the stoic one that she was, but hobbling on three legs did not get her very far, and when she could no longer urinate, denial had to go (no pun intended).
It was my son, who had been in denial this whole time with respect to Makenzie’s condition. On March 6th he came home and tried to coax Makenzie into his room from the living room. Normally, she would follow, wagging her tail, beaming! However, this time, she just followed him with her eyes, happy to see him, but unable to follow him and he knew, as he walked to his room, crying his heart out, that it was time to let his companion go.
We had three weeks to spend time with, continue to love and to prepare ourselves for the death of a member of our family. However, if you ask me, it was one week too long. As I said, Makenzie knew long before we called our vet just how very bad off she was, but denial and love is painful and the heart is fragile, especially when one is loved so very much.
Surely, my heart goes out to each and every family and individual whose family member has fallen ill, or has passed due to this pet food fiasco. I know there is no consolation, monetary value, or substitution for any companion lost. There is only an emptiness that is felt.
In addition, I fed my cat, Buster, wet Beneful Beef Stew® which contained wheat gluten along with Pounce® Crunchy Catnip Flavor Treats, which contain corn gluten meal. Three days later, lo and behold, he began to exhibit these symptoms: bloody urine, initial lack of water consumption and straining to urinate, with low urine output. Wow, these seemed familiar! Needless to say, Buster was brought to the vet and his urine diagnosed, the bottom line - crystals.
I put a call into the FDA and they returned it! I informed them of Purina®, Beneful®, Pounce®, Ol’Roy® Makenzie, my cat’s diagnosis of crystals, that day’s event of my dog straining to urinate, my vet putting him on antibiotics and the $1,500 in accrued bills, not counting the subsequent ones, of course. But, I see to this date, there still is no recall by Purina®, only the initial “withdrawalsâ€.
I also put a call into Purina®, but have not received a return phone call and don’t really expect to. I absolutely refuse to buy ANY Purina® products, and immediately removed my pets from the Purina Healthy Weight Formula® I was feeding them. I am now feeding them Timberwolf Organics®. I have also decided I will not support any subsidiary Nestle’/Purina® companies either, therefore, I do not buy products manufactured under the labels: Nestle’®, DelMonte®, Contadina®, etc., etc., etc.
Reading your stories, my personal suspicion is Chinese contamination of protein products could very well date back to 1998 or 1999. We were using Purina ProPlan® at this time, and had a sweet ferret named, Thai. Thai use to run around the house when the cats and dogs were out, and on his little excursions he would sneak pieces of kibble back to his cage, despite the fact that he had his own food, veggies and supplements. He liked the ProPlan® so much, I started to feed it to him regularly. Within a year of feeding him Purina® food, Thai started to lose his footing, loose weight, shed his coat, become lethargic, bleed internally and through his nostrils and develop stomach tumors. Yes, we had to call our vet, as we could not allow Thai to suffer like this – it was wrenching to watch a healthy pet disintegrate before one’s eyes, just like today’s pets. Our other cat, Little Foot, a Siamese-mix, passed on December 25, 2005, from the same melamine-tainted food symptoms (loss of weight, lethargic, loss of appetite, etc.) - yes, he was brought up on the same food.
Unfortunately, as a caregiver, my pets trusted me. As a pet food manufacturer, Purina®, I trusted YOU and YOU let me down. But not only did you let me down, you let ALL of America and American PETS, down. Step up to the plate, talk to us openly and HONESTLY. Tell us the TRUTH and stop skirting the issue - that is all we want.
May 11th, 2007 at 8:34 am
Ok….I am officially LIVID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just received a phone call from Nutro Foods. I had sent them a link to a forum I have been participating in where there are hundreds of posts from people who have sick or dead pets associated with Nutro dry foods by e mail and my only comment to them was to ask them if they thought these were all coincidences. Their representative just called me to tell me that yes, indeed that is EXACTLY what they think these stories here are. Their food is safe and they test and they can tell me matter of factly that there food has NOT caused these problems.
I asked him if he was reading the same stories I am reading. He said those symptoms have been mostly described as diarrhea and could be caused by many things. I said “everyone’s animals get sick at the same time with the same symptoms eating the same food and you think that is a coincidence? And all of this happening at the same time other pet food companies are recalling their products due to the SAME symptoms in pets? His answer…..YES! I told him that I hoped that when it all comes out in the end that he is right….but I certainly don’t think so. In this time when no one knows who to believe I think it is irresponsible at best to make such statements. I also told him that if indeed his company is aware of problems and they are hiding them or covering them up that I believe that is simply UNCONSCIONABLE and if he is aware and is still standing in defense of them I don’t know how he sleeps at night.
My God I don’t know when the last time was that I have ever been so damn mad!!!!
I’m with you Donna…..for pete’s sake….we just want them to be honest.
May 11th, 2007 at 9:14 am
Donna & Erin,
I am with you on all counts. I just want these companies to come forward, My 2 cats both were made ill by Purina within 24 hours of each other both would not eat, lots of liplicking, not drinking, hardly urinating, the littlest one was also gagging, drooling, troulbe using hind legs and projectile vomiting. Purina told me it was my cats age not their products my cats are 7 and 8 years young. and they both decided to show their age and the exact same issues in one weekend. What crap. The girl was like are you calling for vet reimbursement, and I said NO I JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THERE IS A PROBLEM SO THIS DOESN”T HAPPEN TO ANYONE ELSE. And I swear God as my witness I meant that I just want them to tell the truth so no one else 2 or 4 legged has to suffer because of their GREED.
May 11th, 2007 at 9:37 am
They just don’t seem to “get” it. The rep that I talked to said they would be glad to reiumburse me for my bag of dog food. How insulting is that???? To think that this is about the cost of a $30 dollar bag of food…..
Honestly, at this point I really hope that some of these companies don’t survive this mess. I was a loyal and faithful customer for years, but I can tell you that I wouldn’t feed their product again if it was given to me free. Not because they are a company that got caught up in this mess….but because they are a company that refuses to acknowledge that they ARE caught up in this mess.
May 11th, 2007 at 9:53 am
Erin,
That is the part these comapnies are not getting I would have more respect for these companies if they would just be honest, and not hide behind there power like a bunch of cowards. I also was a faithful customer to the company that burned me for over 7 years and I will not ever trust or buy any of their products to feed my babies ever again. If they would of come forward and told the truth when this all started I might of given them another chance. I reported my issues way back in March. Even if they would come forward now it is too much too little too late for me to ever use them again.
May 11th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Can we blame some breeders now with the pet food recall. I swear…no luck with my german shepherds. You would think they would live longer than 9 years. We feed canidae, have been for several years. Still–bloat, PF, allergies…………..ahhhhhhhhhhhh. I did add the wet food that was on the recall list. Bad goat mom. :o( Anyone have any GSD that live longer than 9 years old????????????????
thanks.
May 11th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Yes, my big, lovable 32 year old goofball horse is 32…still wants to chase a cow, run me over, play with goats, tease the minis….all on his Equine Senior, made by Purina. Can’t change now. My goats eat goat chow, made by Purina, my young gelding eats Equine Jr., made by Purina. My Sister’s dogs eat Purina One–all are fine. My friend’s cats eat FF–all are fine. My other friend feeds her dogs kibble & Bits mixed with Ole Roy wet–her dogs are 14 years old, going strong.
I friggin feed my GSD’s canidae, pay prime money for canned and what’s on the recall list, the wet. who has mega vet bills? Me. So much for trying to give your dog the best food possible. My one young shep’s kidneys were slightly elevated, urine tests came back fine. Just waiting now..she seems ok..very active…but drinks alot..but that is just her. Everytime she drinks I go in panic mode. (just had to vent)
Thanks.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Erin and Lori,
How I share your sentiments, as I sit here shaking my head in disgust at your most recent episode, Erin. Unfortunately, to admit anything regarding their dog food (to you or others), is to admit GUILT. Unfortunately, like ChemNutra and any large corporation caught in the net of this debacle, Nutro may have hired a firm to handle their crisis management and teach them protocol for damage control. The Consumer Technician was probably “fed” that line by Nutro.
Let’s face the fact, the bottom line for the food manufacturers is money and they make MILLIONS, I have seen their financials, as I have done the research. Up and until any of them admit anything to the American consumers, ie, contamination of imported “PROTEINS” in the foods, the only recourse available is to BOYCOTT ALL MANUFACTURERS involved. Yes, I am absolutely convinced this is the only way they will understand that the American people mean business, and that the American pets are more than just pets, they are LOVED as FAMILY MEMBERS. These companies NEED to see it this way and if they don’t, tough noogies (for lack of a better word) for them. American’s simply won’t buy their food.
Oh, sure they can change their labels and pass the cost onto the consumer, but that is going to take time, and who is to say they will tell the truth? Or, they might come out with new “Natural” lines of food, telling you that these are “organic” or contain “no artificial ingredients”. Perhaps they will make statements such as, “we know how much you love your pet” and “these products are safe for your family member to eat”. Why? Because they have visited the various pet sites and forums and have seen what has been said about their products and what the American opinion is about them as a manufacturer.
However, until any of the silent manufacturers or those in denial buck up and tell us why they didn’t come forth in the first place and skirted the issue, I surely cannot trust the lot of them. And, until all of them come forth and tell us …
1. Where the products come from
2. Where they are manufactured and
3. What ingredients are really in the food
I cannot seeing any American trusting or purchasing their foods again.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
You know, what harm would there be in just saying that they don’t know? In just saying that they are as in the dark as we are but that they do care and they are working to get to the bottom of things? At least that is an answer that I could accept. But to state so matter of factly that they are in no way involved and there isn’t even a possibility that their food could be contaminated in some way is just ludicrous.
As pet parents we have a responsibility to make good, informed decisions regarding the animals in our care who can not make those decisions for themselves. How on earth can we do that if we can’t even get the information to be make an informed decision? I have made conscious efforts to go over all of the information available to me and make the best decisions…not just since this whole pet food fiasco….but from the moment I assumed the responsibility of being a pet owner. I take that responsibility very seriously and I feel like I failed them miserably.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
We all have been totally betrayed by these companies and I swear before I found ITCHMO I thought I was the only one, not one of my firiends with animals has been affect besides me. What are the chances of that.Well, one guy said his cat was acting a little off think it was the FF and just switched to another brand no vet visit or anything. Most of my friend s who have dogs though use dry *SIGH* no point to this post I guess just venting my frustrations
May 11th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
These are all heart breaking stories. Why has this been done to all of us? I really can’t take this. I’m afraid to feed my pets.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Hi Barb,
I am doing the pet manufacturing list in the forum and checked Canidae’s site: It still states it is not part of the recall. Could you direct me to the information you found, if any, please. I searched the FDA site and could not find Canidae, but I don’t want to mislead anyone with false information on the list.
Thanks so much,
Donna
P.S. I would like to thank everyone who mentioned pet food manufacturers who incorporated ONLY US products into their foods and who mentioned holistic and purely organic foods. The leads will be added to the Pet Manufacturers Brand/Recall/US Site Product List in the Forum
May 11th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Hi Donna,
Let me find the email Canidae sent me a few days ago.
Thanks.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
I can’t find this now, but someone wrote about Innova having the first ing, as turkey and it should not be first. Isn’t it better to feed them this for now instead of food that we are not sure of? I don’t know. I’m trying to figure it out. Any input?
May 11th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Am I reading this right is barb saying Canidae wet dog food is on the recall list????????????
Also great to know some people are having luck with PURINA i sure didn’t i am convinced it is luck of the draw there is abad batch of all brands you just have to buy on a day you are feeling lucky like playing the lottery
May 11th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Erin,
I felt guilty, too, and I still cry every time I look at Makenzie
http://www.itchmo.com/read/rec.....3_20070430
if you scroll down to the pictures, she is sitting on the chair and Little Foot is underneath.
However, I realized that as a caregiver, just as a mother, I did the best job I am capable of doing. I did not let Makenzie down, no more than you let your baby down. WE were let down and OUR babies were let down. Please try to remember that and take the blame off yourself and put it where it belongs, on the manufacturer of the pet food you fed your baby, Nutro.
The truth will come out in the long run, so try to be of good cheer. (Where is Fox Muldar, anyways - we need him!)
Did you see this post? http://itchmoforums.com/index.php?topic=448.0
May 11th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
barbara,
I read that post they said their was something in turkey that isn’t good to feed a dog on the regular basis so turky being listed as the main ingredient wasn’t a wise choice to feed your dog. Try googling why turkey is not good for main part of dogs diet
May 11th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Lori,
I just started a poll in the forum re Purina, you might want to take a look and maybe read the posts re people not having such good luck with Purina.
Donna
May 11th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Canidae wet is NOT on the recalled list. They better not be. :o)
May 11th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Thanks, Barb!
May 11th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Just one Quick thing here before I forget it Again.
Regarding the FDA warning their Own Pregnant employees to, Not be involved in this ‘inspection’ etc. being= ROUTINE.
Yes that’s is Correct and Routine. BUT that is Also so the employees, if they come in contact with something ‘BAD’, can’t come back and SUE the FDA; if something is found wrong with the Baby.
Also a *Pro-active* regulation. For those they work with and in Close proxcimity[sp].
The: “Cover yer Butt Clause”.
Now don’t you think the FDA OWES the female PUBLIC the SAME Safety “opportunity”, to Protect themselves from such?
Being Re-active for: the Public.
The: “to hell with those we don’t Know, Clause”
I’ve got a Grand idea! Why not WE All take over and RUN the FDA! We’d be a Heck of a Force and HONESTY with QUALITY work!
Nah, we’d shut down toooooo many companies right?! :-P
Put ourselves right out of Business! LOL
HaHaHa!
May 11th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
LoriVA,
Thank you.
May 11th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
wrong picture link
http://www.itchmo.com/read/itc.....7_20070430
May 11th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
ERIN: first thank you for that link. I did go and read it. I then call my FDA rep. He said that they have no info on problems with Nutro. BUT he asked me to call Nutro and tell them and to let him know what they said. He is also checking with ’supervising director’ about if it would be helpful for me to file a complaint. FDA apparentlly cannot contact Nutro and ask them willy nilly. I called Nutro they have had a couple calls but it was put down to sudden food change for those. With mine she took my name and phone number and info and recommended I stay with the Lassie since they seem to be doing better on it. Hmmm. She said they are still doing a lot of testing. Although I did not get a definitive answer I am very surprised I did not get the ‘canned’ one either.