Pet Food Alert !!!!!

[Lee Seidman]

PET FOOD ALERT - USA: ex CHINA, CHICKEN JERKY
*********************************************
A ProMED-mail post; http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious
Diseases
http://www.isid.org

Date: Fri 18 Nov 2011
Source: US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) News [edited]
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm280586...

FDA continues to caution dog owners about chicken jerky products
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is again cautioning consumers that
chicken jerky products for dogs (also sold as chicken tenders, strips, or
treats) may be associated with illness in dogs. In the last
12 months, FDA has seen an increase in the number of complaints it received
of
dog illnesses associated with consumption of chicken jerky products imported

from China. These complaints have been reported to FDA by dog owners and
veterinarians.

FDA issued a cautionary warning regarding chicken jerky products to
consumers in
September 2007 and a Preliminary Animal Health Notification in December of
2008.
After seeing the number of complaints received drop off during the latter
part
of 2009 and most of 2010, the FDA is once again seeing the number of
complaints
rise to the levels of concern that prompted release of our earlier warnings.

Chicken jerky products should not be substituted for a balanced diet and are

intended to be fed occasionally in small quantities.

FDA is advising consumers who choose to feed their dogs chicken jerky
products
to watch their dogs closely for any or all of the following signs that may
occur
within hours to days of feeding the products: decreased appetite; decreased
activity; vomiting; diarrhea, sometimes with blood; increased water
consumption
and/or increased urination. If the dog shows any of these signs, stop
feeding
the chicken jerky product. Owners should consult their veterinarian if signs
are
severe or persist for more than 24 hours. Blood tests may indicate kidney
failure (increased urea nitrogen and creatinine). Urine tests may indicate
Fanconi syndrome (increased glucose). Although most dogs appear to recover,
some
reports to the FDA have involved dogs that have died.

FDA, in addition to several animal health diagnostic laboratories in the US,
is
working to determine why these products are associated with illness in dogs.

FDA's Veterinary Laboratory Response Network (VLRN) is now available to
support
these animal health diagnostic laboratories. To date, scientists have not
been
able to determine a definitive cause for the reported illnesses. FDA
continues
extensive chemical and microbial testing but has not identified a
contaminant.

The FDA continues to actively investigate the problem and its origin. Many
of
the illnesses reported may be the result of causes other than eating chicken

jerky. Veterinarians and consumers alike should report cases of animal
illness
associated with pet foods to the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator in their

state or go to a href="http://www.fda.gov/petfoodcomplaints>">http://www.fda.gov/petfoodcomplaints>;.
--
Communicated by: ProMED-mail
<[e-mail]>

[This has been an ongoing issue for several years. Interestingly, it
is all imported products. There are products made in the USA that are
not causing a problem in pets. However, it is wise to remember that
treats are designed to be given periodically and are not to make up
the majority of the pet's diet.

FDA seems to have received verified information of at least 70 dogs
affected this year (2011), which is up from 54 last year. - Mod.TG]

[see also:

2008
----
Pet food alert - USA: (multistate) chicken jerky 20081231.4132

2007
----
Pet food alert - USA (multistate [phone].3152
Pet food alert - USA (multistate) 20070915.3067]

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[BG and Gavin]

Thanks for sharing this serious concern.  Good to see that a number of members care enough to post this info for all to see.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thanks. There's another discussion about this already posted, with some good alternative info:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/here-we-go-again

[Cindy M, Zachary & the Frenchies]

Admittedly I am quite uninformed about the laws regarding importing foods, human or pet foods. My dogs don't eat commercial pet food, and only small amounts of purchased treats, so I probably don't follow as closely as some, but these warnings seem to often come from the FDA, so the issue is clearly on the radar at the government level, there is clearly a pattern. Is there not a point where as a country we stop importing animal food products from China? I am not willing to say that China can not or does not make good products. But I don't think that they understand the value of companion animals in US culture, and I think that they have demonstrated that they do not practice appropriate dilligence in manufacturing animal food products. I just wonder if there is way to approach this at a much higher level than dilligent label reading. Many people are not on sites such as doodle kisses where they get these posts and bulletins.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

After the 2007 pet food recall debacle which was traced to melamine being substituted for gluten in products imported from China, two high-ranking Chinese officials were executed. Apparently even that wasn't enough to stop this.

Marion Nestle, who has a PhD in human nutrition, and who wrote the best-seller Food Politics about the ways in which our own food supply is affected by politics, researched the issue after the 2007 recalls and wrote a very informative book Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine. It's available in paperback; I got it at my local library. It's a slim volume, easy to read and not-at-all dry explanation of all of this. I think it's very important to read it even if you don't use commercial pet foods, because the pet food supply chain is closely linked to the human food supply chain.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Good info as usual I did not know about the executions.