Pet Food Recall | Archived News


INFORMATION PORTAL FOR PET FOOD RECALLS & RELATED NEWS
HOWL 911's PET FOOD PORTAL
MENU FOODS • NESTLE PURINA • HILL'S • DEL MONTE • NATIONAL BRANDS • PRIVATE LABELS
Website created March 17, 2007		Last update: April 27, 2007

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FDA PROBING "THOUSANDS" OF HOGS FOR TAINTED FEED 04/24/07

Missouri poultry farm also may have tainted food - Reuter s ►

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday that "thousands" of U.S. hogs might be affected by the agency's investigation of livestock feed contaminated with melamine.

"I don't have the numbers on that right now but it potentially affects thousands of hogs," Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, told reporters. "Some of the hog operations were fairly sizable."

Livestock feed that may have been contaminated with ingredients imported from China was sent to hog farms in North and South Carolina, California, New York, Utah and "possibly" Ohio, he said.

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WHAT'S TO BECOME OF ALL THE RECALLED PET FOOD? 04/24/07

Thanks to Gail for this tip: Many consumers are wondering what will happen to all the millions of bags, pouches and cans of recalled dog and cat food. Gail pointed us to a somewhat buried sentence in an earlier news report about the California hogs which were fed melamine-laced feed:

The contaminated feed was bought April 3 and 13 as salvage pet food from Diamond Pet Foods Inc., which received contaminated rice protein concentrate used in some recalled Natural Balance pet food

The FDA allows the sale of salvage and distressed pet food to be sold as animal feed--the only restriction being that it cannot be fed to ruminants (cattle, sheep). This Pet Food Institute brochure defines salvage and distressed foods as follows:

Salvage pet food is defined as product that is still under control of the original manufacturer and will not be offered for sale at retail. Examples include start-up and over-run product, unpelleted pet food, pet food fines, and other products not suitable for packaging for retail sale.

Distressed pet food is defined as product in distribution or at retail that is no longer available for retail sale. Examples include product in dented cans, torn bags, or product that is past its sell-by date. These products are also referred to in distribution channels as "unsalables".

Considering the broadness of the above definitions, it forces one to wonder if "unsalables" or "other products not suitable for packaging for retail sale" could also include recalled pet foods. And even if it doesn't, does not such a practice present a big gaping hole through which the human food chain could be easily contaminated? This is yet another reason why everyone, not just pet guardians, should be concerned about the current pet food scandal. The FDA's allowance and laxity regarding the sale of salvage and distressed pet foods for use as non-ruminant livestock feed exemplifies the direct connection between our pets' food and the human food supply.

NORTH CAROLINA HOGS FED MELAMINE-LACED FEED 04/24/07

First in California, now in North Carolina. Is there no end in sight for this nightmare? And here's yet another instance of a government agency--which presumably works for us taxpayers--refusing to identify the hog farm in question.

Hogs at a western North Carolina farm have tested positive for melamine, the industrial chemical blamed for killing and sickening dogs and cats that ate it in their food.

North Carolina Department of Agriculture officials said that none of the hogs that ate the tainted food have entered the food chain for human consumption. The department has quarantined the farm, which has about 1,400 hogs, until it the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can advise what to do next.

N.C. officials said the pigs' food came from a proccessing plant in South Carolina. That food contained a rice protein concentrate from San Francisco-based Wilbur-Ellis Co., one of three pet food makers that recalled products last week that were tainted with rice protein concentrate imported from China.

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AMERICANS ELIGIBLE TO SUE MENU FOODS IN CANADA 04/24/07

Karen sent us an email to urge pet parents affected by the Menu Foods recall to consider filing their lawsuits in the Canadian courts:

On April 24, 2007, Karen wrote: If Americans sue Menu Foods in its headquartered Canadian province of Ontario they may get damages for emotional trauma. While most US states only view pets as property Ontario law recognizes them as valuable companions. If people go to our site at Petitionz.org there is a link to the lawyer’s site with detailed information about the class action lawsuit.

CSPI URGES FDA TO BAN GRAIN IMPORTS FROM CHINA 04/24/07

WASHINGTON—The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should ban imports of wheat gluten, rice protein, and other grain products from China until the agency can certify that the products are free of chemical or microbial contamination, urged the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). In a letter to FDA commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach, CSPI recommended that FDA should also evaluate whether a ban is needed for other foods or ingredients coming from China—the source of the contaminated gluten linked to the largest-ever recall of pet food.

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APRIL 24th CONGRESSIONAL HEARING: LIVE BLOG NOTES 04/24/07

Petconnection's Christie Keith has posted her extensive notes of today's House of Representatives' congressional hearing ("Diminished Capacity: Can the FDA Assure the Safety and Security of the Nation’s Food Supply"). You can read the notes from Christie's live blog session HERE ►

DURBIN, CANTWELL URGE FDA TO IDENTIFY RPC SUPPLIERS 04/24/07

[WASHINGTON, DC] -- U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) today sent a letter to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner, Andrew von Eschenbach asking him to identify the companies that were recipients of the contaminated rice protein shipments from China and to request that the FDA identify and inspect all suspect pet food ingredients imported by the U.S. from China and other countries.

Recent reports indicate that in addition to the contaminated wheat gluten found during the first wave of pet food recalls, contaminated shipments of rice protein and corn gluten have been used for pet food and could have entered the human food supply. On April 2nd, a Chinese company, Binzhou-Futian, sold rice protein to Wilbur-Ellis and a second unknown importer. Wilbur-Ellis has said that the shipment was distributed to five pet food manufacturers. Three of those manufacturers have revealed themselves and recalled food, the other two have not.

Given the strong possibility that these two pet food manufacturers also received contaminated rice protein and that they have failed to implement voluntary recalls, Durbin and Cantwell today asked FDA to release the names of these manufacturers and require them to trace and recall any pet food made with the potentially contaminated rice protein. The Senators have also asked that the name of the second importer be released.

FULL PRESS RELEASE ►

CHINA (FINALLY) ALLOWS U.S. FOOD INSPECTORS ENTRY 04/24/07

BEIJING: China on Monday gave American regulators permission to enter the country to investigate whether Chinese suppliers exported contaminated pet food ingredients to the United States earlier this year, leading to one of the largest pet food recalls in American history.

Representatives of the United States Food and Drug Administration had been blocked from entering China, despite growing evidence that the tainted pet food that killed at least 16 cats and dogs and sickened thousands of other animals in the United States originated with Chinese exporters of wheat gluten and other animal feed ingredients.

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SENATORS RAISE NEW CONCERNS IN PET FOOD SCARE 04/23/07

Senators suspect another company of importing melamine-laced rice protein from China:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A second company likely imported rice protein from China that was contaminated with a chemical linked to a major pet food recall, two U.S. senators said on Monday.

Now, another company is suspected of importing rice protein from China, Democratic Sens. Richard Durbin of Illinois and Maria Cantwell of Washington said in a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"We have learned that in addition to Wilbur-Ellis, a second United States company imported a shipment of rice protein from China that is also likely to be contaminated with melamine," the senators wrote. "We request the FDA identify this second importer as well as those manufacturers to which it may have sold the contaminated product."

An aide to Durbin said the senators found out about the second importer from industry sources.

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U.S. FOOD SAFETY STRAINED BY IMPORTS 04/23/07

On the eve of a second congressional oversight hearing, the AP reports the following:

LOS ANGELES - The same food safety net that couldn't catch poisoned pet food ingredients from China has a much bigger hole.

... Billions of dollars' worth of foreign ingredients that Americans eat in everything from salad dressing to ice cream get a pass from overwhelmed inspectors, despite a rising tide of imports from countries with spotty records, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal trade and food data.

...When U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors at ports and border checkpoints look, they find shipments that are filthy or otherwise contaminated. They rarely bother, however, in part because ingredients aren't a priority.

... U.S. food makers prospecting for bargains more than doubled their business with low-cost countries such as Mexico, China and India. Those nations also have the most shipments fail the limited number of checks the FDA makes.

... That leaves quality control, by and large, to American buyers and their suppliers. If they don't do it, they run the risk of health problems that can devastate a brand and generate huge lawsuits.

... But except in rare cases, companies don't have to prove that a shipment of ingredients is safe — no tests must show that it's pesticide-free, for example — and the FDA rarely checks whether overseas processing conditions are up to par. That contrasts with meat imports regulated by the Department of Agriculture, which must be processed under conditions equivalent to those here.

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With the foregoing information in mind, an email Howl 911 received recently from Castor & Pollux offers little assurance that the pet food ingredients they use are safe, not when one considers the countries-of-origin of said ingredients:

The Organic Rice Protein Concentrate in our Organix Organic Turkey, Brown Rice and Chicken Canned Feline Formula is from our certified organic supplier in Pakistan.

The Rice Protein Concentrate in Natural Ultramix Puppy Formula, Natural Ultramix Kitten Formula, Natural Ultramix Weight Management Formula and Natural Ultramix Indoor Feline Formula is from our supplier in China; this is not the same supplier that is associated with the contaminated rice protein concentrate and we did not source this ingredient through Wilbur-Ellis.

Howl 911's retort to the above Castor & Pollux email is as follows:

First, the fact that food adulteration is on the rise in third-world countries gives consumers good cause to question the credibility of an organic certification originating from Pakistan.

Second, the fact that Castor & Pollux' China supplier of RPC is not the same as the one fingered in the most recent recall means nothing. The AP article cited above and Howl 911's posting below both indicate strong evidence that adulteration of food ingredients from China and other third-world countries is widely practiced and not limited to just one or two suppliers.

Howl 911 has a message for Castor & Pollux and all the other pet food companies who continue to issue meaningless blanket statements of quality assurance: Stop it.

We, as consumers, will no longer accept the pet food industry's spin and excuses for using the cheapest products the market avails. Nor will we accept the dismissiveness or lack of responsiveness by pet food companies whose products have sickened or killed our best friends -- or their quickness to shunt the blame of this recall onto suppliers, middlemen or contract manufacturers. The full weight of the responsibiltiy, ladies and gentemen of the pet food industry, is squarely on your shoulders. The blood of our sick and dead companions is, quite literally, on your hands, and your hands alone. The blame for this overwhelming tragedy is entirely your burden, your guilt, your sin to bear.

Now is the time to step up to the plate and prove your human worth by doing the right and moral thing. The South African pet food industry has made a start in the right direction, as has Natura, by vowing not to use pet food ingredients from China. Any pet food company, retailer or manufacturer who wants to earn back the trust and loyalty of pet guardians must consider doing, minimally, the same.

Making a vow towards corporate transparency would go a long way in restoring our faith. We consumers want truth in labeling: No more six-month grace period to correctly and honestly label your foods. No more "proprietary" refusals to name your suppliers, middlemen or contract manufacturers. Full disclosure on all labels as to the name, address and phone number of your manufacturers. Full disclosure of your raw materials suppliers' identities and country-of-origin of all ingredients. No more deceptive labeling tricks such as "grain-splitting." No more treating our cherished companions as unauthorized experimental subjects by sneaking into their foods ingredients which are unapproved, untested or unnecessary -- ingredients such as menadione, chromium tripicolinate, corn gluten feed, peanut hulls, the chemical preservatives BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin, propylene glycol, and more. No more, ladies and gentlemen of the pet food industry. NO MORE.

PROTEIN SPIKING OF FOOD IS NOT A NEW TRICK 04/23/07

Howl 911 has received a number of emails which has shed some light on the history and practice of protein spiking various food types to mask poor quality and/or to obtain higher market pricing. In some cases--that of adding urea to bovine feed--the practice is perfectly legal, albeit risky, as this University of Arizona veterinary health alert warns:

Animal Health Alert #1/2002: Urea Poisoning of Range Cattle:
Urea or ammonium salts are added to protein supplements as non-protein sources of nitrogen (NPN), which can be used, under the right circumstances, by ruminant livestock to provide up to 40 percent of their protein nitrogen requirements. NPN sources such as urea can be converted to protein and amino acids by rumen microorganisms in NPN-adapted ruminant livestock when energy intakes are adequate. They are commonly used because they are often less expensive than natural protein sources. When NPN supplements are improperly used, fatal ammonia intoxication can occur from too-rapid breakdown of urea (or ammonium salt)-containing products to ammonia from NPN sources by microorganisms in the paunch (rumen) of cattle or sheep.

In our googling quest, Howl 911 came across an old news report of a 1985 case of food adulteration. The case involved an American wheat farmer who added urea to his wheat (which was intended for human consumption) in order to boost the perceived protein content, thus yielding a higher market price. The farmer was subsequently caught and criminally convicted of food adulteration. So it would appear protein spiking has been going on for a long time, and if a wheat farmer in Kansas could figure it out, then it's not surprising a Chinese company (or two, or three) with a staff of scientists, could (and would) do likewise. Considering China's lax regulations on food safety, it is really no surprise that the adulteration of commodity foods like glutens might be widely practiced. A reader sent us a link which seems to support that such a practice might be more common than not in China. Here is, in part, what the supplier's ad says:

Product Description
Produced by Jiangyin Hetai Biochem Co.,Ltd. (China)
Exported by Jiangyin Hetai Trade Company Ltd. (China)

Rice Protein Concentrate Feed Grade
We never add any chemicals or other elements to "increase" protein contents. We only supply natural rice protein resources.

In addition, there is this 2005 statement which appeared on the above Chinese supplier's website: (courtesy of Abby Kellyite's Daily Kos diary, 04/18/07 entry):

BE CAREFUL OF PSEUDO RICE PROTEIN FEED GRADE
Recently, we found Rice Protein Concentrate Feed Grade with very low price in market. Its appearance is White, good fineness & good looking. It make some of our customers confused aboutour Rice Protein's appearance and price.

After we searched in the market, we kindly inform everybody,
This kind of product is PSEUDO rice protein, and there are 2 kinds:
1. Inorganic nitrogen and a small part of other vegetable protein mixed together.
2. Biuret (one of the carbamide/urea)

How to know it is PSEUDO RICE PROTEIN: (Based on analysis)
1. Total Nitrogen is Inorganic nitrogen.
2. All proteins have isoelectric point. It has no isoelectric point (pI).

The "biuret" referred to above is a newer "improved" NPN which is now being added to ruminants' (cattle, sheep) feed as a cheap alternative to natural protein sources of nitrogen, and is purported to be less toxic to cattle than urea. The Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) - Alliance Nutrition Inc.(ANI) website says this about biuret:

Biuret:
A Safe, Practical Alternative to Urea.
Feed-grade biuret is an ADM exclusive.

It is a mixture of compounds including biuret and small amounts of triuret, cyanuric acid, and urea, and is formed by the controlled decomposition and subsequent processing of urea.

Ed note: Cyanuric acid? Hmmm...

Ed. note: Incidentally, ADM-ANI also sells a number of commodity products to the pet food industry (wheat, soy, vitamins, mixed tocopherals, and TVP--texturized vegetable protein--which, they say, is available in various sizes and colors and is widely used in canned products as a meat extender.

Especially interesting is ADM-ANI's webpage on "byproducts." One such byproduct is CORN GLUTEN FEED (not the same as corn gluten or corn gluten meal). Corn gluten feed (CGF) "is the portion of corn grain that remains after extraction of starch, gluten, and germ in the wet milling process. It is primarily bran, which is quite digestible in the rumen. Typically, corn gluten feed consists of about 2/3 corn bran and 1/3 corn steep liquor ... Since corn gluten feed is high in phosphorus, it is important to provide a high-calcium mineral supplement to balance the Ca:P ratio. Supplementing diets with thiamine may be beneficial due to the increased tendency for polio-like symptoms in feedlot cattle fed high amounts of gluten."

The "polio-like" symptoms obseved in cattle which are fed CGF include blindness, muscle tremors and weakness which are presumably the result of brain lesions caused by the excess sulfur in the CGF. CGF, disturbingly, is becoming a popular "meat extender" in pet food. A quick google for "corn gluten feed" found it listed among the ingredients for Purina's Fit and Trim dry dog food, Pilgrim's 21% and 22% dog foods, and several of the JOY Pet Food formulations. Needless to say, the aforementioned list is just a small example. The caveat, as always, is to read the packaging labels or, because pet food companies are allowed up to six months to amend their ingredient listings, call the pet food company in question and ask them directly if corn gluten feed is used in any of their foods. The Dog Food Project website has compiled a comprehensive list of other foods to avoid in pet food.

▲BACK TO TOP

TOMMY'S STORY

His entire life we fed him Special Kitty from WalMart...

OTIS & OTTO'S STORY

The night of December 21 was his last - after eating, he became increasingly ill.

KITTY BOY'S STORY

On February 23rd 2007 I fed him now what I know was a bowl of tainted food.

ABBY GAYLE'S STORY

Abby Gayle, almost 4 years old, healthy Airedale Terrier until Sunday March 18.

LILY'S STORY

The days seem darker ahead. My lovely girl. My Lily. My best friend.

ANGEL'S STORY

When Angel got sick we had no idea what was going on.

ALEX'S STORY

Alex had eaten some tainted food and went into acute kidney failure. He was put to sleep yesterday.

BENJIE'S STORY

On Mar 20, 2007, I had to have Ben put to sleep.

BABY'S STORY

Baby died on 2-21-07 from eating the recalled food.

WE ARE THE VICTIMS

Link to a stirring graphic, the creator of which is unknown, picturing many of the victims of the Menu Foods recall. The recalled brands are listed on the left and right-side borders of the graphic. (Click on the graphic to enlarge.)

REMEMBERING ALLIE

A touching tribute one pet parent created for their dog, Allie, a victim of the Menu Foods recall.

FOOD NOT FIT FOR A PET by Dr. Wendell O. Belfield, DVM

This article is from a few years ago, but everything Dr. Belfield said then, bears repeating now -- especially in light of today's tragic pet food scandal.

ASK CONGRESS TO BETTER REGULATE THE PET FOOD INDUSTRY

Letter-writing campaign organized by Pet Food Crusade needs your help. The website offers sample letters and contact info.

UPDATE ON CLASS ACTION SUIT FROM THE PROGRESSIVE LAW GROUP

for persons interested in the class action lawsuit Progressive Law Group brought over pet food.

YOUR WHOLE PET

Real food for dogs is easier than you think (by Christie Keith, contributing editor of Pet Connection.)

HOW NOT TO KILL YOUR DOG OR CAT

Website offers expert advice and low-cost seminars on pet health and nutrition.

K.O.P.S. PLANS MASS MARCH APRIL 28, 2007

"Keep Our Pets Safe," a new website, plans a nationwide march for pet parents and their pets, April 28, 2007. To help organize a KOPS march in your city, visit the KOPS website.