Vets Suspect 5 Foods, Will Test Soon
From the Sacramento Bee article:
Local veterinarians who’ve tracked kidney ailments nationwide have tentatively identified five more foods, not at this point under any recall, that they plan to have tested as soon as possible.
The Veterinary Information Network, used by about 16,000 of the estimated 35,000 U.S. veterinarians, noticed the five foods kept recurring in vet-described disease reports, said Paul Pion, the Davis vet who co-founded the service. Pion said it would be premature to name the foods.
Emphasis ours. We should also note that we hold Dr. Pion in the highest regard and we hope that you will also trust him to do the right thing at the right time. We do.
Why is releasing this information important if there’s no confirmation? We want the FDA and others to take notice and tell us who else got the rice protein. Dr. Pion shouldn’t have to do this. It’s not his job. The supplier already told us the food went to more than Diamond. Someone already yelled “fire” in a crowded theatre.
April 18th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
No Grains whatsover…..Innova Evo. My dog loves the Evo Treats!
April 18th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Feel free to copy this letter or write one yourself to Senator Durbin concerning holding another hearing on the pet food recall/overhaul of the pet food industry.
It’s a bit rambling, but I think the points come through.
Dear Senator Durbin:
As a pet owner, I am calling on you again, sir.
Please conduct an investigation into this continuing and ever-widening PET FOOD RECALL HORROR. Now, RICE PROTEIN, which has been added to some pet food, is CONTAMINATED with MELAMINE. There are several other “proteins” on the market that are being added to pet foods, and I don’t think we should have to wait for, perhaps CORN PROTEIN or another kind of protein powder or protein concentrate, to be named as the next possible contaminant in products that need to be pulled from store shelves. The lives of pets are at stake.
When are we going to stop protecting the big corporations and think about safety first? Stop the production lines. Padlock the doors of the manufacturing plants. Force the brand name pet food companies to immediately disclose that their food might be tainted once they know an ingredient is suspect. This issue must be sorted out, and the public must not be kept in the dark.
The way the information about recalled products has dribbled out is reprehensible. Many lives could have been saved if there was a defined short deadline for reporting suspected toxic food and stiff six-figure DAILY FINES for each day the suspicion was not reported. Menu Foods claimed a “clerical error” when the recall expanded. Please investigate pressing criminal charges against this company for delaying announcing problems with the pet food and for not knowing where its gluten was shipped. Records and documents should be kept clearly and should be required to be produced on the spot when a problem is detected. Do we as consumers have to test individually each bag of food ourselves before feeding our pets? That’s how one recall was finally brought to light!
Only when daily six-figure fines are slapped on the importers, brand name companies or manufacturing plants for not testing their products for safety before they are used, will there ever be any small measure of assurance about the food we feed our pets, not to mention the human food supply. Many consumers now are very savvy about what they will or will not feed their pets. The entire pet food industry needs to be examined and revealed for what it is.
Real “Truth in Labeling” laws also have to be enacted. Allowing companies to have a six month “grace period” from the time they change their ingredients list to the time they must change their labels to reflect the changes is absolutely ridiculous and another disaster just waiting to happen.
During the April 12 Senate hearing, we heard that the pet food industry was basically on the “honor system” of policing itself because it was considered a “low risk” industry for contamination. Let me say that those days of the “honor system” have ended as of March 16, 2007, with the evidence of the many deaths and illnesses of pets in the U.S. and other countries (which are still being erroneously reported officially as 16 deaths). We need an accountability system for every step of the process in manufacturing foods with steep fines and jail sentences for violators.
With even more budgetary cuts to the FDA, how can the agency be expected to “police” the industries? The pet food recall nightmare should be a resonating “wake-up call” to reallocate more money and personnel to the FDA so they can try to do their jobs.
As soon as possible, please hold another hearing on the pet food recall issue. Thank you in advance for stepping up and showing a continued interest in this topic.
April 18th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
BJ,
If some big news organization like CNN, USA Today, filed a FOIA, I’ll bet the pressure would be on. At least much more than you are I could apply.
April 18th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
I will take parts of the letter and email Anderson Cooper 360. I emailed him before quite a few times, and I will again.
Also, please feel free to post my letter to other sites.
A lot of people are extremely strapped for time and would be glad to copy and paste something that’s already out there to send. There is a link to email Senator Durbin on www . howl911 . com’s home page, near the top.
Maybe someone could write a paragraph about “nutrition” in the pet food. I didn’t at all get into the “Guaranteed Analysis” or the inadequacy and misleading nature of the “feeding trials” issues.
April 18th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
JM: If the industry had ANY integrity, the pet food makers themselves would’ve announced by now and assured us that they are already in the process of testing. If the FDA was at ALL an effective organization, THEY would have revealed it by now.
Well I guess we know the answers to those 2 now, don’t we?
April 18th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
JM Leong Says: April 18th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Agree wholeheartedly! I keep wondering if the FDA CAN actually announce it legally without the company doing it first. Companies are supposed to announce problems in a timely fashion, but there’s no hard and fast rule. And since there’s no CDC for animals, this whole thing may be in some kind of legal gray zone.
My notes from the Q & A hearing:
Q - PF companies required to notify FDA WRT problem?
A - Sundlof - Yes
Q - What is the timeline for reporting?
A - Anytime they have a problem; we hope that as soon as they had a problem they would report to us, no set time for reporting
FDA site also has transcripts of all their press conferences now. I read the Ap 5 one. Somewhere in there I think there’s an answer about how far they can go, if they can really OUT these people. I don’t think they can do it without proof. And in fact VIN doing the testing may be an out of sight FDA operation to put pressure on the companies.
I don’t know how it works for peanut butter for example - how long a timeframe there was between recognizing the problem and the official FDA announcements. Somewhere in there I’m sure they notify the company first. I’ll have to go look and see if all the FDA withdrawals are actually initiated by the companies.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
Cathy- the FDA does not initiate recalls. They are all ‘voluntary’. I believe that at best, they can seize products, and stop distribution via an injunction, but they cannot require a company to do a recall without initiating legal action.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
JM Leong Says:
Maybe Wilber-Ellis is afraid that they’d get sued for revealing contractual information of their buyers?
Maybe ole Wilber should realize there are a lot more of us than the 4 he’s worried about!
April 18th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
[…] depressing) comments section on this post at Itchmo. There is also another post at Itchmo regarding more suspect foods that are not yet under any recall. In fact, Itchmo seems to be more on top of this mess than anyone […]
April 18th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Bonnie Says:
April 18th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Canidae has also updated their to include info on the latest recalled product:
http://www.canidae.com
I didnt see it. Does Canidae have a recall?
April 18th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
Solid Gold also states they are OK:
http://solidgoldhealth.com/news/
Teric - try doing a refresh. If you still don’t see it try F5 to refresh instead of the refresh button
April 18th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
I never though I would do this but I’m in the process of changing my cats to Eukanuba from Royal Canin (has wheat gluten in it & was afraid to start feeding the new bags I had). At least there are no glutens or rice proteins in it plus I feed canned. I was handling this recall pretty good until the Itchmo email today. I was almost in tears. I feel like I’m playing Russian roulette feeding my cats.
When are they going to tell us about the other companies, does anyone know?
April 18th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Cathy - I’ve been using Royal Canine Weight Control (prescription, dry) for years. I haven’t had any problems with it. Was scary though that the recall they had for Vitamin D was the canned version of the same.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
CATHY:
I would try Innova EVO Grain Free Cat food over Eukanuba. Also Back to Basics has a great site you should check out: Beowulfs.com. They will send free samples. And another site..samples on the way…thehonestkitchen.com.
raw, dehydrated, human grade food. Just add warm water!
April 18th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Jenny,
So they are recalling all canned food?
April 18th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Hi Teric, it was recalled a while ago. I had just bought about 6 cans of it for one of my cats two days before I read about it. But checked the dates and it was OK. I think the most recent date was Feb 2007 - mine were all close to the end of the year.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
In case anyone has questions about Blue Buffalo and Menadione - I received the following email from them:
Dear Jenny,
Due to the extrapolation of the human research data about the toxicity of vitamin K as a cancer drug, some consumers still worried about the potential harm to their pets, even though it has never been documented. BLUE elected to eliminate any worry from our loyal pet parents and removed Mendadione from our formulas as of Oct 06
Because of the holistic nature of our diets, we felt that the inclusion of while some vegetables, and the normal bacterial activity in the colon, was enough to supply the required vitamin K needs of the dog and cats.
Unfortunately we still have some old packaging inventory that is the process of being used up. This is standard industry practice and is allowed by both the FDA and AFFCO as high quality packaging materials are very expensive
It was listed on our site for a while, however, we were undergoing many changes to our website and that was on the list. It has since been updated.
Menadione had some unique metabolic activity besides blood clotting. Human researcher experimented with Menadione at high doses as an injectable treatment for some forms of cancer. Unfortunately, the side effects caused liver problems in some patients. So the FDA banned the use of Menadione in any form in humans. However, for the veterinary branch of the FDA (CVM) determined that the very low doses, required for vitamin supplementation orally, presented no risk to animals. As we speak, the use of Menadione as a vitamin K supplement is approved by both the FDA and AAFCO for animal use.
Samantha Wuhrer
The Blue Buffalo Company
April 18th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Teric, I found the web page with information about the Royal Canine recall:
http://www.michigan.gov/mda/0,.....1;,00.html
April 18th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
I am sticking to Serentgeti Dry and Merrick Wet. I don’t believe they have rice or wheat in either product.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Jenny,
This is all I see. No dates about what has been recalled. Can you provide a link?
Industry Can Recall
In light of the unfortunate current pet food recall by other respectable pet food manufacturers, our phone lines and emails are tied up with concerned customers. We want you, our valued customer, to feel secure with the continued use of our products. CANIDAE® Pet Foods in no way is affected by the recall, nor are any of our products produced in any of the recalled production facilities.
It appears from the latest news within our industry that all recalls are from Glutens imported from China, a protein source that is extracted from Wheat or Rice. The wheat or rice is not the issue, but the glutens extracted, stored, and then imported from China. Again, CANIDAE does not use Glutens in any form, and we do not import any ingredients from China or overseas.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Jenny- the FDA still allows downed cattle in dog food too. I’m not sure that they’ve banned euthanzied pets either. Why trust what they say is okay for pet food?
April 18th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
?? - Rhonda - was that addressed to me?
April 18th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Regarding info in your post from Blue:
“So the FDA banned the use of Menadione in any form in humans. However, for the veterinary branch of the FDA (CVM) determined that the very low doses, required for vitamin supplementation orally, presented no risk to animals. As we speak, the use of Menadione as a vitamin K supplement is approved by both the FDA and AAFCO for animal use.”
I just don’t trust the FDA (or most pet companies right now).
April 18th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Hi Teric - realized just now it was the Candidae link you wanted:
http://www.canidae.com/index.html
In light of the unfortunate current pet food recall by other respectable pet food manufacturers, our phone lines and emails are tied up with concerned customers. We want you, our valued customer, to feel secure with the continued use of our products. CANIDAE® Pet Foods in no way is affected by the recall, nor are any of our products produced in any of the recalled production facilities.
It appears from the latest news within our industry that all recalls are from Glutens imported from China, a protein source that is extracted from Wheat or Rice. The wheat or rice is not the issue, but the glutens extracted, stored, and then imported from China. Again, CANIDAE does not use Glutens in any form, and we do not import any ingredients from China or overseas.
CANIDAE Pet Foods also does not produce cuts and gravies, pouches, and does not contain corn, wheat or soybeans in any of our products or formulations, and all ingredients are of US origin, meaning proudly raised and grown in the USA.
Our heartfelt concerns go out to all those affected by the recall.
CANIDAE Pet Foods
It sure isn’t a 100 % thing for either Solid Gold or Candidae, but there are very few companies making actual statements. Most are hiding in the back ground.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
No - Rhonda - I don’t either. But I saw on one of these blogs people asking where the ingredient Menadione went to on the Blue list. So, just an fyi for people to judge on their own.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
None of these companies are telling us the whole truth. They all say, this one has been recalled but the rest are fine.
In other words.
Several have died from this type so dont use it. You can continue to use the rest of our products until a few more die from it. We will let you know when that happens.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
Everyone should be boycotting any company doing business with Menu Foods.
Second, you really should call the pet food company of interest and ask point blank if they use 4 D and rendered animal parts (95% of all companies do). They need to answer that question explicitely. Just because they state it comes from a human grade facility - that is NOT enough. Ask them if the ingredients include 4D and/or rendered animal parts. Ask about corn, rice, wheat etc… Until these questions are answered, don’t use the company. Honest Kitchen and Fromm’s are two company’s that explicitly use ingredients from the USA alone and do not use 4 D or rendered animals parts - this is what they have told me. They are the only companies that have been able to answer accordingly…
April 18th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
New Statement today From Natura’s Website:
“Rice Protein Used in Karma is 100% Safe - April 18, 2007
This is to confirm that the organic rice protein concentrate used in our Karma 95% organic formulation IS NOT PURCHASED FROM WILBUR-ELLIS, and Natura Pet Products is not one of the five pet food makers cited in the USA Today article. Natura guarantees that the organic rice protein concentrate used in Karma is not sourced from China and that it is 100% safe and absolutely free from melamine contamination.
Peter Atkins
President”
http://www.naturapet.com/about......asp?id=20
&
“No products manufactured by Natura Pet Products were implicated in the recent recalls, including the latest recall involving organic rice protein concentrate.”
http://www.naturapet.com/
April 18th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Teri. . . Canidae has no recall. They updated the info on their website ABOUT the recall with more indepth info about their ingredients and they are not involved.
BTW, I saw someone mention the Honest Kitchen. . . I been add some of that to my dogs food in the evenings and they really go crazy over it.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
To: Cathy & Rhonda,
That Natura is good stuff. But if you go with the EVO grain free, be sure to check the amount of protein and make sure 50% will work for you.
My vet advises that 50% protein should be OK for a healthy cat, but maybe not so good for a cat with subclinical kidney disease.
He recommends testing kidney values before going with the higher protein, just to be safe.
Kidney’s are like food, you don’t know what’s in there if you don’t test.
Natural has another 34% cat food (orange bag) too.
Hope this help.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
TERI,
My two dogs as well as my friend’s dog are on Canidae. They are doing fine. . . no problems at all. And on the phone the company assured me they use no wheat of any kind and no glutens or rice concentrate, just whole grain rice.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
the FDA knows, VIN knows, and so do the distributors and manufacturers but no one will tell the public. This is unconscionable and morally reprehensible. As consumers and US citizens we owe it to every pet who has become sick or died to put the people who are responsible for this debacle out of business permanently. Sue them, boycott their products, demand change, and vote the politicians protecting corporate interests at the expense of life out of office. I would like to know what those people are feeding their pets. You better believe it’s not the same thing we are being sold.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
NaturaPet is NOT good stuff. I have a bag of horrifically rancid food (within the best buy date). When I opened the food (bought it this Saturday) it had dead fleas and hair and the kibble was ashen white and stunk to high heaven. The customer service has been horrendous - not an apology, an offer to send a new bag, nor can I get my money back without giving them the bag. I told them that I wanted to keep the bag (as evidence since I plan on testing it), but I would give them all the info and product code number and send a sample, but they still refuse to give me my money back - $15.00 for only 4.4lbs. I’m livid and will never do business with NaturaPet again. All these companies are fine until their pet food gets “found out” - then they are @$$$$%###@$ sonsof %^%$$^
April 18th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Bonnie,
Thank you!!!!! I’ve been in a panic here thinking they had a recall and I couldnt find it.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
What do you all make of this? Just found this on the web.
http://www.greenpeace.org/inte.....engineered
Amsterdam, International — Greenpeace International released findings today that show illegal genetically engineered (GE) rice from China has contaminated food products in France, Germany and the UK. Greenpeace International has notified authorities that the illegal GE rice poses serious health risks and calls upon European governments to take immediate action to protect consumers.
Greenpeace offices and Friends of the Earth in the UK tested samples of rice products such as vermicelli, rice sticks and other processed foods. Five positive samples were found containing an illegal GE organism not approved anywhere in the world. However this could be the tip of the iceberg with rice products included in everything from baby food to yoghurt. (1)
April 18th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Rhonda,
Just wanted to remark about the honest kitchen. I feed it to my dogs and they absolutely love it! It’s quite different from other pet foods, but they’re one of the very few companies that is allowed to print “human grade” on its packaging. Plus, the company has been very helpful. I hope it works out for you!
April 18th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
The rice protein wasn’t released to Diamond (Natural Balance claims they only package there).
April 18th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
The illegal GE rice, genetically engineered to be resistant to insects, contains a protein or fused protein (Cry1Ac) that has reportedly induced allergic-like reactions in mice (2)
That is not the composition of Melamine (which is Nitrogen based, but the nitrogen is burnt off through the heating process).
April 18th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
Genetically engineered food is not in no way the same as food treated with, or doctored with, or tainted with, or contaminated with melamine.
I have a pet who died, and another who is ill, and I am a biochemist. I would feed myself and my pets genetically engineered food. I WILL NOT feed them poisoned food. There is a difference, and people with an anti-technology agenda are going to try very hard to make this an anti-GMO thing. IT IS NOT.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
I use Flint River Ranch. No wheat or corn gluten, no protein powders. I use their Lamb and millet formula
April 18th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
China’s state wheat auction sells 10.22 million tons.
Shanghai. March 20. 07 INTERFAX-CHINA - Wheat sold in China’s state wheat auctions amounted to 10.218 million tons following the 16th auction on March 15 in the provinces of Anhui and Henan, according to the National Grain & Oil Trade Center.
http://tinyurl.com/ys3z8z
April 18th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
The FDA has publically said there is an advantage to intentionally putting melamine into the gluten or the rice protein. If you mix melamine with low grade garbage like wheat chaff or rice hulls, you can then sell the stuff and have it pass off as high protein content food - because the melamine tests like super rich protein (it has a high nitrogen content). The reason the food is contaminated is because they are taking s-h-i-& and adding melamine and passing it off as wheat or rice gluten. they are ripping us off - and making s-h-i-$-l-o-a-d-s of money on c-r-a-&
April 18th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
I’m not content with boycotting Menu foods…I don’t want to buy any product - pet or human-grade - made by any company who sources anything from China. Where do I get *that* list?
April 18th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
The thing that makes me feel better about Solid Gold and Candidae is that they actually put a statement on their web page. The others send various emails, or say different things on phone calls but are not really willing to make a statement. My cats have been on Feledae only since Sunday but I feel OK at leaving them there for now based on what I’m hearing. They also still eat the Royal Canine for now at least - I plan on getting them off it completely at some time.
April 18th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
FDA can’t get their inspectors into China - China keeps denying their visas - why the hell is China allowed to continue to bring any of their shit into our country. We oughta ban all imports from China until strong oversight and regulations are in place. Now there is even talk that their wheat and rice may all be GE - which is just great….that might be what all this contamination is about after all, since scientists have been saying for awhile that there may be multiple contaminants and they can’t figure out what it is…scary.
April 18th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
DMC - you and me both! I think our only hope is that as a result of all of this we will be able to push for legislation for country of origin labeling. It has come up several times now - and I hope with Durbin’s hearings, and all of us writing out Senators (we are all writing aren’t we??) that it will become law. Both on pet food and on people food.
April 18th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
I do question the wisdom of altering proteins in a way that may not allow for
for the uniqueness of the consuming organism. While the protein itself may not be novel the reaction on a cellular level could possibly create a toxic reaction in relation to chemistry. The majority of people are not allergic to peanut butter yet there are requirements about labeling. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect the same type of warning until science has caught up with biology, rather than the other way around.
April 18th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Cool, I posted this in comments, but happy to see it’s getting more attention… thanks for posting it up high where it can be seen, Itchmo! Keep up the great work!!
April 18th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Has anyone else seen this?
http://webprod.wecon.com/WECOW.....events.htm
Wilbur-Ellis Collaborating with FDA on Rice Protein Investigation
As pet owners ourselves, the health and safety of pets is of the utmost concern to us. As such, we are continuing to work closely with the FDA in its investigation of melamine contamination of rice protein. Our goal is to ensure the safety and integrity of our products, as we have done for the past 86 years.
We are working with the FDA on two separate incidents:
Late Tuesday, Wilbur-Ellis learned that pet food distributed by Natural Balance tested positive for melamine. Natural Balance, which receives its pet food from one of our customers, a pet food manufacturer, said it suspects the melamine was in a rice protein concentrate that would have been supplied by the Wilbur-Ellis Feed Division. Fortunately, about the same time, we learned that our largest customer had tested its products and all came back negative for melamine.
Separately, Wilbur-Ellis reported an incident to the FDA on Sunday, April 15, after a single bag in a recent shipment of rice protein concentrate from China had tested positive for melamine. Unlike the normal clean white bags that the rest of the shipment was contained in, the aberrant bag was pink and had the word “melamine†stenciled on the side. The pink bag was immediately quarantined and the remainder of the shipment remains sealed in the warehouse until further testing is complete and we are confident the product is safe. Samples from the white bags in the first test came back negative for melamine.
We will continue to work closely with the FDA in its investigation to determine whether these are isolated incidents or part of a broader safety question. We will update this website as more information becomes available.
The FDA is the best source of information on recalled pet foods. We encourage you to visit the FDA website for additional information: www.fda.gov.
If you have any questions, please contact questions@wilburellis.com.
Webpage last modified: 4/18/2007 16:04.51
April 18th, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Has any one been to Dr Michael Fox’s site recently?