** For a list of pet foods NOT on the recall list, see this post **
This is page 3 of comments on the pet food recall.
Return to the list of foods NOT on the recall list
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UPDATE: As many of you know this thread was closed to comments for a short time. It was closed due to extremely insulting, rude, and uncalled for attacks on each other. Unfortunately even after being asked privately not to behave in such a manner, the behavior continued leaving us no choice but to close the thread for a while. I’ve had numerous requests to open the thread back up, which I’m doing but I ask you all to please remember that we are all here because we love our pets. Attacking each other has no place here!
Not everyone will have the same opinions, facts or attitudes but that is no reason to bash each other. If you feel you can’t handle someone’s ignorance or arrogance, rather than lashing out in public, walk away from the computer. This is meant to be a supportive atmosphere for all. I ask you to remember this as you post your comments.
Thank you
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II just wanted to say thank you to everyone for all the great information. I agree with Neto and others who have stated that there seems to be no perfect food. At this point, I am trying to figure out what the most important criteria is to me for my pets, what food is available in my area, and go from there.
What bothers me even further though is that in my search for the best possible food I can come up with, I have discovered that many companies use animals to conduct laboratory experiments. I am amazed the way they profess to care so much about the nutrition for my pet and yet use animals for testing. Much to my surprise, one of the worst offenders on the list was a company that in the past I put my faith in.
For anyone that wants information on purchasing pet food that comes from a company that doesn’t use animals for testing, here is the web site.
http://www.iamscruelty.com/notTested.asp
Thanks to all the information on this site and others, I have learned a great deal the past few days. It is clear to me that like many other areas in life, we have no choice but to educate ourselves. If we don’t, we have no idea what lurks behind the long list of ingredients written so small that it practically takes a magnifying glass to read them. It shouldn’t be that way—our pets should have protection, but the reality is that we are all that they have to depend on.
Harriet, Thank you. That site has everything one needs to know about cat foods! (www.catinfo.org) A great review for everyone! It also gives some insight into cat psychology 😉
I learned a lot and there is more to learn every day, thanks to the bloggers. Look how far we have all come in the last few weeks! Yes, the ones who lost their lives have served in a way they will never know. Bless them! This is also such a historic turn for pet care. And you are all an amazing group of people dedicated to love and care of your pets!
Therese, I have been following this blog since it’s inception and I wish to thank you for recently restoring it, from the “soap box” it had become, to what I believe was it’s original intent as a forum for concerned pet parents to share information and to help and guide one another through this troubling crisis. Thank you so much for all the work you have been doing to keep us well informed of our pet food alternatives.
In answer everyone’s quest for the perfect wet or dry food, I really don’t think it exists. Even making your own food is not going to be perfect. It sadly seems as though it has a reached a point where it almost has become the lesser of “many” evils. I have elected to keep my cats on Wellness despite my ethical reservations regarding their use of Menu for the production of their canned food, the possiblity of cross contamination and whether or not I can be certain that the premium ingredients I am supposedly paying for are actually finding their way into that can of food or not. I have decided to trust that their food is still good and safe, maybe I’m a fool for doing so I don’t know. But, today I called them and asked them “please make me feel better about wanting to continue to use your products!” My cats have been on their wet and dry food for 5 yrs and they have been doing so well, I really don’t want to switch to anything else and I want to feel better about that decision. I spoke to someone by the name of Michael Shapiro for nearly 40 minutes. He answered all my questions and I feel as confident as I possibly can that as a company if they had any concerns about the quality of their food they would be doing something about it. So my vote for the “lesser of the many evils” out there is Wellness! Check out the ingredients on there website. The canned cat foods are grain free and there are several dry formulas but the main ingredient is usually a whole food like “deboned chicken” which I think is good.
just got this email update from PETA:
Alarmingly, it appears that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may not have discovered the real source of contamination in the recalled Menu Foods items that have caused illnesses and deaths in countless cats and dogs.
A mounting number of complaints about sick and dying animals who ate only dry food that did not contain wheat gluten strongly suggest that another ingredient is causing this crisis. Evidence from reputable laboratories indicates that an excessive amount of vitamin D in pet food—among other possibilities—may be to blame. Vitamin D overdoses produce symptoms similar to those seen in animals who recently have become sick or died after consuming only dry foods.
This week we have asked the FDA to refocus its investigations beyond wheat gluten and consider other possible contaminants. For the safety of all our beloved companion animals, we must not let the FDA sweep this issue under the rug—as the agency has done so often before with animal and human health issues. We need to ensure that all available pet food is 100 percent safe for dogs and cats.
PETA has also called on FDA commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach to resign over the agency’s mishandling of the pet food crisis. It is infuriating—and so very sad—that cherished animals are dying horrible deaths because of a callous and essentially unregulated pet food industry. By not exercising its mandate and siding with Menu Foods and companies like Iams, the FDA has forfeited the public trust—to the detriment of companion animals.
We will continue to pressure corporate and government officials to get to the real source of what is making animals sick and to ensure that all available pet foods are safe. I will update you as this situation evolves. Please also visit PETA.org, which is regularly updated with late-breaking and helpful information about this and other issues.
Thank you for your attention and your help.
Kind regards,
Ingrid E. Newkirk
President
Thanks anna for the news.
It is absolutely horrible, now what’s safe out there to feed??
Hi Everyone,
Please go back to the ‘Not on the Recall’ list. You’ll see that indeed Solid Gold dry is made by Diamond.
Also, I got my new shipment today of Evangers canned dog/cat food, and fed it to my kids tonight. The dogs ate it fine, and are all sleeping peacefully now. 2 of 3 cats loved theirs. One who hated the Felidae canned likes this one ( it was the pheasant formula that I fed them).
If I have any problems with this food…will post. But I don’t think I will.
Evangers is all produced in-house (both wet and dry), with human-grade ingredients from the USA, and does not test on animals.
Check out their website for ingredient listings. Plus you can order direct from them, and they ship pretty fast.
Gary,
To answer your question, I do not know exactly what is wrong with menadione. The information I posted was from another source, and if you will notice, I left a link to the source at the end of the quote. However, if menadione is a synthetic form of Vitamin K, then I would be concerned. Maybe I read it wrong, but I thought what I posted said that it was “not” mandated to be used in the fish-based foods for cats. I can’t tell you much about it, but I do think the more information we share, the better. I personally do not like Blue Bufflao’s defensive attack of the Howl911 website. I left the link below. You will find the topic if you scroll down a ways. These websites and blogs are here to discuss all types of pet food concerns and are not just exclusively about “recalls”. I find it offensive that Blue Buffalo thinks the public is so stupid they do not know the difference between a recall and other unrelated information on pet food hazards. I think they are way out of line with their threats, especially in this emotionally charged time, and could have handled this more compassionately, with an explanation as to what the substance is and why it isn’t harmful. See here:
http://www.howl911.com/
The only thing I know about menadione is that it promotes blood clotting. A vet once gave it to my friend’s dog when he got into rat poison and was bleeding internally. It stopped the bleeding. I’ve always heard that synthetic Vit K was very dangerous to take as a supplement, but who knows?
Neto,
I’m searching for the same thing that you are, and it’s impossible to find. I’m looking for an exceptional dry food, but only to supplement a good, safe wet food that I’m also still searching for. I don’t like “meal” either, because it’s a rendered product, which is basically a toxic soup containing horrible impurities, and as far as I know, the companies buy this material from outside rendering plants, or it’s produced by their manufacturer, so they have no real control over the product. However, I think I found one company that offers much of what you are looking for. Absolutely no meal or anything of that sort. Still, it’s not perfect…beef and fish dominate, and some other ingredients that I’m not sure about. Here is a link:
https://www.greatlife4pets.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=135
For more on Menu and other topics, the following website has some great information, but be forewarned!! OMG, you may find some of this very upsetting:
http://www.treshanley.com/cic/Foods.html
Did anyone read the Chem Nutra site that Homer posted, in depth? What is terrifying is that all those products are imported from China….Nutrients such as Taurine (used in cat food) and many other substances that are used in pet food, as well as human food. If we think the only thing in our pet’s food from China is the gluten, then think again.
http://www.chemnutra.com
2 comments on recent posts:
1. While my vet speaks very highly of Solid Gold, that was the food that made my cat so sick we felt the need to test for renal failure. Fortunately, all was well. My vet is ASSUMING that a fish allergy caused the reaction to Solid Gold. However, now that we know that SG is made by Diamond & Diamond may not be safe, I’d suggest being careful there.
2. One of the reasons I switched from Royal Canin when the recall started (& our old bag ran out) is because their is a class action law suit against them in Canada, ironically filed the first day of the recall alledging that excessive vitamin d in their food caused deaths.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/canadian-class-action-commenced-pet/story.aspx?guid=%7BA7677F3F-4675-4BD9-A93B-0C82D24C2723%7D
I haven’t been able to sleep all night, so I’ve done some research. It seems as though there are other dry pet foods that contain wheat gluten. The only recall on dry is still Science Diet. But read the ingredients on this food, and I’m sure there are many more:
http://www.amazon.com/Purina-ONE-Natural-Chicken-Formula/dp/B000IOIPVO/ref=sr_1_3/103-1354004-2675851?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1175774137&sr=8-3
How many of you would feel comfortable feeding your pet this food? And the wheat gluten is pretty high on the ingredient list too, which means it contains a fair amount. Incidentally, for any of you that want ingredient lists, Amazon is a great resource for this. They carry almost all pet foods, and have the ingredients listed.
I also found a very interesting thread on chemical compositions related to melamine.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389×549221#549315
This whole nightmare is starting to remind me of an episode of X Files, but tragically, this is really happening.
Sorry about that last link not working. The x in the numbers toward the end was somehow altered by this site when it posted. If you copy and paste the link into your browser and then change the x to a regular lower case one, it should work.
Just to clarify my post, I am not naming *the three* companies that bought from ChemNutra but came across the link included that names three major companies in which MenuFoods is one. ChemNutra still is not admitting who the other two are. But in finding out who some other big players are… we can always snoop around and perhaps someone will uncover their involvement???? In providing the link with the article that names *big players* it gives everyone a beginning point to look at what they are buying and where it is coming from . .. and then question *that* big player. 😉
For myself, I’m going with ProPac kitten dry food. Got an email from them and all their stuff is homegrown USA except for the lamb meal they import from Australia.
Oh.. and wheat gluten can come under several different names so it could be disguised and we wouldn’t recognize it. Also.. doesn’t wheat gluten fall under something that doesn’t even have to be named on an ingredient list???
Hoping everyone’s furbabies are safe……
Here’s a history of recalls from a website I found:
http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1
Pet Food Recalls
When things go really wrong and serious problems are discovered in pet food, the company usually works with the FDA to coordinate a recall of the affected products. While many recalls have been widely publicized, quite a few have not.
In 1995, Nature’s Recipe recalled almost a million pounds of dry dog and cat food after consumers complained that their pets were vomiting and losing their appetite. The problem was a fungus that produced vomitoxin contaminating the wheat.
In 1999, Doane Pet Care recalled more than a million bags of corn-based dry dog food contaminated with aflatoxin. Products included Ol’ Roy (Wal-Mart’s brand) and 53 other brands. This time, the toxin killed 25 dogs.
In 2000, Iams recalled 248,000 pounds of dry dog food distributed in 7 states due to excess DL-Methionine Amino Acid, a urinary acidifier.
In 2003, a recall was made by Petcurean “Go! Natural” pet food due to circumstantial association with some dogs suffering from liver disease; no cause was ever found.
In late 2005, a similar recall by Diamond Foods was announced; this time the moldy corn contained a particularly nasty fungal product called aflatoxin; 100 dogs died.
Also in 2005, 123,000 pounds of cat and dog treats were recalled due to Salmonella contamination.
In 2006, more than 5 million cans of Ol’ Roy, American Fare, and other dog foods distributed in the southeast were recalled by the manufacturer, Simmons Pet Food, because the cans’ enamel lining was flaking off into the food.
Also in 2006, Merrick Pet Care recalled almost 200,000 cans of “Wingalings” dog food when metal tags were found in some samples.
In the most deadly recall of 2006, 4 prescription canned dog and cat foods were recalled by Royal Canin (owned by Mars). The culprit was a serious overdose of Vitamin D that caused calcium deficiency and kidney disease.
In February 2007, the FDA issued a warning to consumers not to buy “Wild Kitty,” a frozen food containing raw meat. Routine testing by FDA had revealed Salmonella in the food. FDA specifically warned about the potential for illness in humans, not pets. There were no reports of illness or death of any pets, and the food was not recalled.
In March 2007, the most lethal pet food in history was the subject of the largest recall ever. Menu Foods recalled 95 brands including Iams, Eukanuba, Hill’s Science Diet, Purina Mighty Dog, and many store brands including Wal-Mart’s — 60 million individual cans and pouches. Thousands of pets became sick and an estimated 20% died from acute renal failure caused by the food. Cats were more frequently and more severely affected than dogs. The toxin was initially believed to be a pesticide, the rat poison “aminopterin” in one of the ingredients, but the investigation is ongoing.
I have endlessly read over all your comments and have found nothing on Iam’s dry mini chunks. I have 2 beautiful boxers who are currently in kidney failure. We’ve been battling for 5 days now with no avail. I decided to take them home and off the IV’s considering there was no improvement. The vet said my boy may last 12 hours. -We’re going on 36 now. He’s very ill, but until I see that he’s totally given up, I can’t either. My girl is doing a little better than he is. I took them in last night to get their blood levels checked and his were a little better and hers a little worse. What I think scares me the most at this point is that the vet put them on Iam’s k/d for kidney failure dogs. I see that they recalled the cat formula of this. What’s the difference? I’m worried that I continue to poison them. I cant do people food considering they are in such poor health and their kidneys couldn’t handle it. No one wants to believe that dry dog food is to blame but I have 2 dogs(not related) that eat the same food twice a day and got sick with kidney failure at the same time. You do the math!
Amy,
As a boxer mom myself, my heart goes out to you, and I pray for your furbabies. Did you ask the vet if there is any other prescription food other than Iams you could use? Or would baby food work for dogs (I don’t know, but I’d try anything just in case it is still making them sick).
To Amy,
Your comment just breaks my heart. You may want to get a second vet’s opinion. I think some affected animals required IV treatment for quite a while while their kidney’s recovered.
Don’t know the details of your situation, but I’ve found that some vets are more willing to work harder to save a sick animal.
Good luck. Hope your dogs recover.
Amy,
You and your babies are in our prayers. I agree with 5CatMom….can the vet use an IV to feed for now?
I am officially DONE with my Iams dry dog food. This is scary stuff.
We thank you for sharing your story. We hope that your beautiful Boxer babies recover and live a long, happy life. 🙂
To Amy,
Check out this website.
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_chronic_renal_failure.html
It mentions a food called Select Care by Innovative Veterinary Diets. I don’t know who makes this food or where you can buy it.
Maybe your vet can order it, or you could order some from Marvistavet.
For now, I’m staying away from all the big brands for my cats.
To Amy,
Sometimes, working with vets is like working with lawyers. So here’s another strategy for you.
Don’t ask them — tell them. For example, tell them to put your dogs on IV fluids and nutrition.
Some vets are way too conservative, or worried that they won’t be paid. You might offer to prepay your bill. Long story, but I’ve found that this works wonders.
Reading these comments is so scary. I will never buy Iams again.
Lori,
I’m scared too. But mostly, I’m just plain mad. We need to send lots of emails to all the pet food makers, ask lots of questions, and let them know a thing or two.
For example,
1. Who makes your dry and wet foods? We’ve heard that it’s Company XXX.
2. Has Company XXX ever been envolved in a recall or other notice from FDA?
3. How do you control the ingredients that Company XXX uses to make your foods?
4. Do either you or Company XXX test the ingredients before your batch is manufactured?
5. What tests are performed? By whom? Do you publish your test results? Can you provide copies of your test results?
6. Is your meal rendered from by-products? Please describe what is in your meal.
Here’s the deal: We want high quality foods that are made in your own USA facilities, using USA grown ingredients, no fillers, no junk, no unnecessary additives.
We want proper testing done on the ingredients before the batch is run. The testing should include tests for those substances that have caused past problems (excess Vitamin D, rat poison, melamine, etc.).
We want a company that has a real commitment to quality–one that doesn’t rely solely on weak FDA regulations.
We want a company that ensures that their quality assurance procedures are followed.
We want to be notified immediately if there is any chance that the food has been compromised.
We are willing to pay for top-quality foods. However, we will no longer pay for junk that is simply says “quality” on the label.
To Raven,
Thank you for your information about Merrick. After reading your post, I did some research online about Merrick, I belive the founder of Merrick is called Garth Merrick instead of Garret Merrick.
Found online that he also owned a company called Nutri-feeds Inc, which has a rendering plant, and as you said, the plant is very close to Merrick Pet Care.
I also found some info online, Garth Merrick disagree with the FDA for their prohibition of using downed cattle in animal feeds (including pet food).
I read about this information at the petfinder forum,
http://forums.petfinder.com/viewtopic.php?p=1352282
Apparently Garth Merrick wrote a letter to FDA to protest about the rule of prohibition of the use of dead / desease cattle.
Merric’s Letter to FDA could be found here
A copied the first half of the letter here for you all to read.
“ANPR’s proposed rule to prohibit SRM’s from all animal food including pet food and prohibiting materials from non ambulatory cattle and dead stock from all animal feed creates the below listed consequences of disposal of pounds that previously could be manufactured into animal feed. These numbers are for Texas, primarily, but since our service area includes parts of Oklahoma, New Mexico and Kansas, those areas will have consequences as well. SRM’s in cattle under 30 months of age have been estimated to be 20 pounds per head. In Texas there are four packing houses processing approximately 100,000 head per week times 20 pounds equals 2,000,000 times 52 weeks equals 104,000,000 of product that no one has discussed what to do with. Also, in Texas, there are approximately 18,000 head of cows over 30 months of age slaughtered weekly at four packing plants which have approximately 60 pounds per head of SRM material equals 1,080,000 per week equals 56,160,000 pounds per year. Our company services mostly Texas and parts of New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. Last year we processed 255,000 head of dead stock not counting calves with an average weight of 600 pounds per carcass. The total weight comes to 153,000.000 pounds that makes its way into feed ingredients. If you total these three categories, they total over 300,000,000 pounds that no one is discussing what to do with. If you cannot render it for feed to be fed to chickens, swine or pet food, then you have destroyed a system that currently works. We are the original recyclers. These numbers are only for Texas; when you consider the other lower 47 states, the consequences are inconceivable as to what the health hazards could be if these products are not processed the way they are currently being done. There is not a cost to local, state or federal agencies now, but if these proposed rules are adopted, then someone else will have to step in and I fear, they will not be as efficient or cost effective as what private industry is doing now. There are huge consequences to be reckoned with and these consequences have to do with an effective way to dispose of these billions of pounds which are currently processed in an environmentally friendly way.”
After reading this, i’d never never feed Merrick, this guy is only concered about being “efficient” and “cost effective”.
Sorry, I must have mistyped the html code so the merrick letter link did’t work, here it is.
Merrick’s Letter to FDA
News Flash 12:30PM 4/5/07
CNN has just announced that FDA has identified another company that also received the tainted wheat gluten. FDA refused (once again) to identify the company, but said that their products are made by Sunshine Mills.
Here you go:
2006 Sunshine Pet Treats, Inc. A Subsidiary of Sunshine Mills, Inc.
They make:
Pup Corn
Dr. Dental Chews
Crunchin’ Bones
Gymbone
http://www.sunshinepettreats.com/
THANKS CNN!!!!!!!!!
After losing one of our Bouviers to multisystem failure and our remaining boy havinb an elevated BUN–we switched to Evangers. When our girl died back in February before we know of this mess they were both eating Nutro Ultra dry moistened with a little IAMS loaf cans. None are on the recall list but it’s way too coincidental. Interestingly, the new product we were using was the Nutro Ultra dry.
Evangers has been great–they email & phone and have answered all my questions satisfactorily–we feel like we’ve found the best we can.
I’m going crazy looking for dry dog food. I switched to Solid Gold, but feel uneasy about it. Has anyone ever heard of “Vet’s Choice” Health Extention Dog Food?
I don’t see too much info about it.
Much appreciated.
anna
Does anyone have any recommendations for cat treats that are safe and don’t contain gluten? I bought some cranberry “treats” for my cats and they won’t even play with them, let alone eat them.
anna — have you looked into the Blue Buffalo line of foods yet? They seem to be okay and are on the list of foods not on the recall. I switched my cats to them.
http://www.bluebuff.com
I just sent the following email to both of my Senators & my Congressperson. I suggest that others do similar while this is in the media. You may want to be more tactful then I was… (-:
“I am furious that Bush’s FDA is allowed to cover up facts that could save our pet’s lives so that they can protect some company’s reputation that is selling poisoned food. PLEASE introduce a bill to force the FDA to immediately make public any & all information they have on any dangerously tainted food product, both to pets & humans.
This is just more Bush administration garbage, putting corporations before lives.”
Thanks Lori, will take a look.
Gef, good for you! Will do the same.
Just one person’s opinion but, at this point, I don’t trust anyone.
In addition to ChemNutra, the tainted gluten went to other companies that FDA won’t identify. Since there are a handful of contract manufacturing companies that make food for many companies, the problem may be very widespread. The FDA will likely continue to dole out information drip by drip as they don’t want us to be overly concerned.
I’m staying away from all the BRANDS, and only feeding the essentials. No treats, no nothing. The smaller scale “natural” companies may be safer, at least they think they are, but many of them also use the contract manufacturing companies.
I’ve talked with many companies this week, large and small, and they are very evasive. They just don’t seem to get it! Also, their arrogance is stunning! How dare we question their quality!
To further complicate things, the testing continues, and one BRAND company that I talked with suspects toxins other than melamine.
Geff is right! It’s time for everyone to contact their elected officials.
Hi, Everyone, Yes, let us notify our representatives, now! I gave mine a call (had to leave a message) but stated it was an emergency! I asked for a return call, then stated exactly what we want, here: immediate public access to potentially harmful pet foods, ingredients, company names and brands. I was upset-that’s ok-we need to flood their offices with our phone calls until something is done. Have your friends call, too. Thanks, Mary
Thank you so much to everyone who has posted about their legwork and research! It’s hard to know who you can trust at this point!!
Does anyone know anything about Lassie Dog Food?
Their dog food claims to be soy, wheat, corn and animal by-product free). But their dog treats seem to contain wheat and in fact were included in the latest recall from Sunshine Mills. Lassie is mfr.’d by Sunshine Mills. I’ve been calling them for hours (since reading the press release on Sunshine Mill’s website) but I can’t get through. The press release states that some of these voluntarily recalled dog treats contain 1% or less wheat gluten and thus may or may not be listed in the ingredients.
That last line scared the hell out of me! Does anyone have any information on Lassie’s Dog foods in specific? I don’t give my dogs their dog treats and now that they have been recalled, won’t give them to my dogs. But is their dog food safe??
Thanks in advance!!!
I wanted to post a warning on Solid Gold. As I mentioned above, my cat got sick almost immediately after trying it. I just heard from a friend who also tried it due to a recommendation I passed along from my vet. Her cat is currently showing 3 signs of possible Renal failure (constipation, mouth ulcers, & eating litter). And as Diamond does make some of their foods, I would personally suggest staying away from Solid Gold until we learn more.
BTW, here’s a link for what appears to be a pretty comprehensive list of possible signs of kidney poisoning:
http://www.felinecrf.com/what0.htm
Hi Nicole,
Here’s Lassie’s website:
http://www.lassie.com/naturalway/natural-way-flash.htm
Check them out and let us know what you think.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper show is about to run another piece on the recall.
Many thanks to CNN for staying on this story.
Nicole,
If you study Lassie’s label and their ingredients are acceptable, the next thing to determine is who makes their food? Do they make their own, or do they use one of the handful of contract manufacturers.
If they use a contract company to make their food, the quality of the food depends on how robust the quality assurance procedures are.
For example, robust quality assurance procedures require that manufacturing processes be lot number and batch number controlled. Otherwise, there’s no way to know which bag of raw ingredients went into which bag of dog food.
This may explain the FDA’s delay in identifying and recalling contaminated products. They simply don’t know whose products or which products the tainted gluten was used in.
5CatMom said:
“This may explain the FDA’s delay in identifying and recalling contaminated products. They simply don’t know whose products or which products the tainted gluten was used in.”
That is exactly why they need to just recall everything that contains wheat gluten!! It’s a no brainer. They can continue their investigation for as long as necessary, but get it off the market and out of people’s homes first, then deal with the details. Anything less is irresponsible. I think it all comes down to money….they do not want the companies to lose all that money if the food turns out to be okay, so in the mean time our pets are at risk. That is wrong. I also fear that undeclared wheat gluten is in many more pet foods. Who knows how many dry foods contain tiny amounts of it that have been left off of the ingredient label. Yes, they can get away with that. For a pet ingesting tiny amounts over a period of time, the effects would be cumulative and they would deteriorate more slowly.
For those of you interested in reading a lengthy article about pet food that is the most enlightening I have ever read, here is a link:
http://www.messybeast.com/cat-food-industry.htm
You will never look at pet food the same again. Do I believe the article is credible? Yes, absolutely.
What is most interesting about the article is that she takes a very objective point of view, yet the overall picture is still overwhemingly negative. It also gives insight into the US pet food industry from an outsider looking in, much as we do when we scrutinize other countries and their products or practices. She talks a lot about the practices in the US and how her country has banned dangerous things that America still uses, etc. Does that sound familiar? 🙂
Hi 5CatMom,
Thanks for responding, I appreciate it!! Lassie dog food is made by Sunshine Mills – the mfr. that is involved in the most recent (voluntary) recall concerning the tainted wheat gluten. From what I can tell Sunshine Mills does have a quality assurance process in place with lot/batch numbers. At this point, only Lassie’s dog treats seem to be a part of the recall as the company claims their dog food does not have wheat ingredients. Their dog treats do contain wheat and a small portion of the wheat gluten.
Maybe I’ve just lost faith or trust in company labels. From Lassie’s website, the ingredients list looks decent. But I am paranoid at this point and fearful of feeding my dogs food that may cause them any kind of harm. Thanks again for your help!!!
From Itchmo,
CNN is reporting that the FDA is looking into the possibility that melamine was used as additive to increase the protein content of wheat gluten.
The transcript of the news report is as follow:
JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The day would end with a provocative question: Was the pet food accidentally contaminated. Or was it deliberate?
But it began with another recall, this time, an Alabama company that makes dog biscuits. It received some of the suspect wheat gluten containing a chemical known as melamine, believed toxic to dogs and cats. The FDA said recall of the products manufactured by Sunshine Mills pet food company was delayed, because Sunshine apparently got its Chinese wheat gluten from a middleman distributor that had purchased the wheat gluten from another U.S. supplier, a company called ChemNutra.
DR. STEPHEN F. SUNDLOF, DIRECTOR, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION CENTER FOR VETERINARY MEDICINE: So, it was a little circuitous route, took us a little longer to trace that all down. But now we believe that we have accounted for all the wheat gluten that came from China, that shipment that is — that is high in melamine, that we have accounted for all of it that has come into this country. And — and, by the way, it all went into pet food.
JOHNS: Meaning it did not enter the human food supply chain.
How and where the melamine got into the wheat gluten is still a mystery. But the investigation took a new turn today, when the FDA told CNN it is looking whether there could have been a profit motive for deliberately introducing melamine into the wheat gluten. In other words, it might not have been an accident and may have been about money.
(on camera): That’s right. Until now, the assumption has been that this was an accidental contamination, because melamine is used in plastics and pesticides, and has no business in pet food. However, the chemical could potentially be used to raise protein levels in the gluten, which could increase the price or make it easier to sell.
SUNDLOF: That’s — that’s one of the theories that we have. In fact, that’s one of the ones that we are pursuing, because, as you indicated, adding something that would increase the protein content of the wheat gluten would make it more valuable. So, that’s — that’s a distinct possibility. But it’s — it’s only one theory at this time.
JOHNS (voice-over): All the companies, including the company in China, have denied adding melamine to the wheat gluten in the pet food.
The FDA also that the number of pet food complaints it’s received since the start of the scare is now at 12,000, the volume it would normally get over a two-year period.
In announcing the latest recall, Sunshine Mills said, no dog illnesses or deaths have been traced to its dog biscuits, which contain 1 percent or less of wheat gluten. Pet owners aren’t the only ones watching. Plans for hearings in the Senate have now firmed up.
SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: What’s happened over the last several weeks is unacceptable. What we have found is a threat to the lives of pets, dogs and cats, across America, a threat that should have been minimized and maybe even avoided.
JOHNS: When asked whether the worst is over, the FDA says it thinks so. The number of dead pets as a result of all this remains unclear. Officially, FDA only confirmed 16, though the real number is likely to be much higher.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Information about this story is changing every day. For the latest on which brands are being recalled, you can find a list on the FDA’s Web site. The address is http://www.FDA.gov. That’s http://www.FDA.gov — G-O-V.
Nicole,
Just curious, how were you able to find out about Sunshine’s quality assurance processes? I’ve been calling and emailing companies all week, and they are very defensive when that subject comes up?
Good for you.
Here’s an article on Royal Canin. Apparently they were sued in Canada due to excessive levels of Vitamin D.
http://www.thatsfit.com/2007/03/21/another-pet-food-manufacturer-comes-under-fire/
Hi folks,
Does anyone use Natura pet foods? How do you like it? I’m considering EVO for my cats.
Lots of info on their website:
http://www.naturapet.com/
Genetically Engineered Dog Food
The evidence is mounting that the recalled wheat was genetic wheat gone wrong. If you look up aminopterin it is used as a genetic marker to identify genetically engineered food.
Just look at the chart
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/core/ES_Targeting/Protocol_Pages/selection.html
And when the importer spoke about the recalled wheat they said that melamine was not mentioned in the wheats analysis. Why would a contaminant be in a normal food analysis? because the melamine was engendered within the wheat as a pesticide to protect it from insects. Melamine parent chemical cyromazine is a known pesticide.
Why is the FDA being so strange by saying that their may be other causes of the pet deaths. Don’t they know? Now China’s government says the wheat did NOT come from them. Are our pets being uses to test genetically engineered food? I hope not but the FDA is holding back answers.
Here is a good link about the wheat being Genetically Engineered.
http://tedeboy.tripod.com/drmichaelwfox/id74.html
Thank you Paul for that link. I have saved it for future reference.
Wouldn’t it be something to find out that the good ol’ USA had everything to do with this disaster, after all, and not China.
To tell you the truth, I would not be that surprised. The US government has gotton the ‘art of cover-ups’ down to a science.
In collecting cat food recipes I came across a few that use bonemeal. I searched to see where I could buy bonemeal – and discovered that it also is used as a fertilizer. I understand that different grades of bonemeal may be available, but I can see how easy it would be for something toxic to enter the food system.
On the South Beach diet, I try to eat unprocessed foods that exist naturally and don’t require a label of ingredients. I’m starting to feel the same is true for our pets. I just haven’t gotten to the point where I’m willing to grind up mice and birds…but my mind may change on that soon, with the more I read.
I’ve started my cats on Felidae dry and canned, and Merrick canned. I’m trying to switch them over to totally home cooked food eventually, but so far they don’t seem to like my cooking, lol.
Paul,
That makes sense to me. Quick, send your theory to FDA. It’s obvious they haven’t got a clue.
Also, whatever happened to that GM Starlink corn from the debacle some years ago?
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