It's a hot potato, a case of pass the buck.

Who's responsible for hundreds, maybe thousands of cats and dogs dying and becoming seriously ill from contaminated pet foods?

Not I, says the Canadian firm Menu Foods who recalled 60 million cans and pouches of wet pet food in mid-March encompassing nearly 100 brands.

Nor I, says Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Company Ltd., the Chinese manufacturer that is believed to have produced the contaminated ingredient wheat gluten using to thicken gravy after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it is blocking all imports of wheat gluten from the company.

A spokesman for the Chinese firm said the company did not manufacture the gluten but had instead purchased the ingredient from an outside source. FDA officials said that while they are still tracking the distribution of the wheat gluten contaminated with melamine, a chemical banned in this country and used to make plastics and fertilizer in Asia, it is doubtful it was processed in any human food.

And---while the FDA forces the populace to play Russian roulette with pet food, challenging pet owners to try and figure out what's safe to feed their faithful companions, now there's another worry---salmonella.

In a move unrelated to the Menu Foods/wheat gluten recall, Eight In One, Inc. of Hauppauge, NY, a division of United Pet Group, Inc., has recalled nationally all lots of Dingo® Chick'n Jerky treats due to company concerns that the jerky treats have the potential to be contaminated with salmonella, which can cause serious infections in dogs and cats, and, if there is cross contamination, in people, especially children, the aged, and people with compromised immune systems.

The products affected were sold at Target, PetSmart and other retailers. The products subject to this voluntary recall are Dingo Chicken Jerky 3.5 oz. and 8 oz. for dogs and Dingo Kitty Chicken Jerky 1.5 oz. for cats and Dingo Ferret Chicken Jerky 1.5 oz for ferrets.

Laboratory testing has shown that some samples of these chicken jerky treats were contaminated with salmonella.

Salmonella can potentially be transferred to people handling these pet treats, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products. Healthy people infected with salmonella can have some or all of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Apparently well animals can be a carrier and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

The company has received one report of salmonellosis in a dog. There are no reports of human illness.

These products are being removed from retail stores. Consumers should immediately stop feeding these treats to their pets, Eight in One says.

Consumers who purchased any of the above-identified treats should discontinue use of the products and should discard the unused portion. Consumers can obtain information on receiving refunds by contacting the Eight In One consumer affairs department at 1-888-232-9889.

The Eight In One recall is unrelated to the more extensive recall of dog and cat food that has led to kidney failure in pets, officially said to have killed 16 pets but likely to have killed scores more and have seriously afflicted maybe thousands of dogs and cats in North America.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said it's possible more pet foods will be recalled in the coming days as investigators continue to track the distribution of contaminated wheat gluten used in pet food.

"It is impossible for us to say at this time that there won't be additional recalls. We're continuing to follow the trail," said David Elder, who oversees enforcement in the FDA's office of regulatory affairs.

Officials with the FDA said last week that it had found the presence of melamine, a chemical used in plastics, countertops, glue and fertilizers, in test samples of the recalled wet and dry pet food and treats. The chemical was also found in cats who died after eating the contaminated food.

Scientists at the New York State Food Laboratory at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine have identified Aminopterin, a toxic chemical used to kill rats and to treat cancer, as a toxin present in cat food samples from Menu Foods, the manufacturer of the more than 90 brands of dog and cat food that are currently the subject of a nationwide recall.

The FDA said that while they had found that recalled pet foods contained melamine, a chemical banned in this country and used to make plastics and fertilizer in Asia, they had not detected any rat poison as had been identified by Cornell University.

At the FDA press conference Friday, Dr. Donald Smith, a veterinarian from Cornell University said the "association between melamine in the kidneys and urine in the cats that died and what was in the food they consumed is undeniable".

The FDA said it had found melamine in samples of cat food manufactured by Menu Foods and said that the chemical had been detected in wheat gluten used as an ingredient in the recalled wet-style products. FDA officials said that that melamine-contaminated wheat gluten had allegedly been shipped to a U.S. company which manufactures dry pet food but they refused to name the company.

Purina says they are not that company. So far, the only pet food company to have recalled any dry pet food is Hill's Pet Nutrition, recalling its Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry cat food. The FDA said the Hill's food included wheat gluten from the same supplier that Menu Foods used. The recall didn't involve any other Prescription Diet or Science Diet products, said the company, a division of Colgate-Palmolive Co. Hill's said no other Hills Prescription Diet or Science Diet products were affected by the voluntary recall. http://www.hillspet.com

Although the FDA continues to blame tainted wheat gluten for recent cat and dog illnesses and deaths, a mounting number of complaints about sick and dying animals who ate only dry food that did not contain wheat gluten strongly suggests another source of contamination, officials with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) say.

PETA says that evidence from reputable laboratories indicates that an excessive amount of vitamin D in pet food 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.

If your pet displays symptoms of vomiting, loss of appetite, lethargy, decreased or increased output of urine, difficulty urinating, more of less frequent urination or increased drinking or decreased drinking, contact your veterinarian immediately.

Tuesday, PETA vice President Bruce Friedrich made an urgent appeal to Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, asking the agency to refocus its investigation beyond wheat gluten - which is used almost exclusively in wet foods -- and consider other possible contaminants.

On Monday, PETA called on FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach to resign over what they deemed as the agency's mishandling of the pet food crisis.

"The FDA is feeding the public a line, and the American people's faith in the government is dying along with dogs and cats," says Friedrich. "The agency's failure to pinpoint the cause of death for animals who have eaten only dry food is cause for the commissioner to resign or be fired."

The pet food companies affected are busy trying to undertake damage control to try to stop the decreasing sales. The company that owns Iams and Eukanuba, both brands identified in the Menu Foods recall, has announced it is running full-page ads in 59 North American newspapers on Tuesday and Wednesday, outlining the steps they've taken to address the problem.

Primarily affected in the Menu Foods recall are 13.2-ounce cans of beef cuts and gravy dog food and 3-ounce cans of turkey and gravy cat food.

A list of the recalled pet food includes Menu Foods Products listed below:

Cat foods recalled
Americas Choice; Preferred Pets; Authority; Best Choice; Companion; Compliments; Demoulas Market Basket; Fine Feline Cat, Shep Dog; Food Lion; Foodtown; Giant Companion; Good n Meaty; Hannaford; Hill Country Fare; Hy-Vee; Key Food; Laura Lynn; Li'l Red; Loving Meals; Main Choice; Nutriplan; Nutro Max Gourmet Classics; Nutro Natural Choice; Paws; Presidents Choice; Price Chopper; Priority; Save-A-Lot; Schnucks; Sophistacat; Special Kitty; Springfield Pride; Sprout; Total Pet; My True Friend; Wegmans; Western Family; White Rose; and Winn Dixie.

Dog foods recalled
America's Choice; Preferred Pets; Authority; Award; Best Choice; Big Bet; Big Red; Bloom; Bruiser; Cadillac; Companion; Demoulas Market Basket; Fine Feline Cat; Shep Dog; Food Lion; Giant Companion; Great Choice; Hannaford; Hill Country Fare; Hy-Vee; Key Food; Laura Lynn; Loving Meals; Main Choice; Mixables; Nutriplan; Nutro Max; Nutro Natural Choice; Nutro; Ol'Roy; Paws; Pet Essentials; Pet Pride; President's Choice; Price Chopper; Priority; Publix; Roche Bros; Save-A-Lot; Schnucks; Springsfield Pride; Sprout; Stater Bros; Total Pet; My True Friend; Western Family; White Rose; Winn Dixie and Your Pet.

A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates has been posted online by Menu Foods at http://tinyurl.com/2pn6mm or http://www.menufoods.com/recall/ The company has also designated two phone numbers that pet owners can call for information, 866-463-6738 and 866-895-2708.

So far, there are no criminal investigations underway into the pet deaths.

DelMonte Foods voluntarily recalled select product codes of its pet treat products sold under the Jerky Treats®, Gravy Train® Beef Sticks and Pounce Meaty Morsels® brands as well as select dog snack and wet food products sold under private label brands. A complete list of affected brands and products can be found at http://www.delmonte.com/petfoodrecall.html. For additional information about the Del Monte recall, contact the Consumer Hotline at (800) 949-3799.

Purina Foods has recalled 13.2-ounce and 22-ounce ALPO Prime Cuts cans and 6-,8-, 12- and 24-can ALPO Prime Cuts Variety Packs have four-digit code dates of 7037 through 7053, followed by the plant code 1159. Those codes follow a "Best Before Feb. 2009" date. This information should be checked on the bottom of the can or the top or side of the multi-pack cartons.

Purina's 5.3-ounce Mighty Dog® pouch products, manufactured by Menu Foods, were previously withdrawn from the market as a precaution on March 16 as part of the Menu Foods recall. Consumers can visit www.purina.com or call 1-800-218-5898, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CDT, to receive more information.

With the increasing number of products being added to the pet food recall, many owners becoming desperate in trying to insure their pet's health. Many owners are turning to natural and organic pet foods while others are making their own pet foods. For information on homemade pet food http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/2007/040107OwnerAnxiety.html
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/2007/033007PetRecipes.html
June Maxam 4-3-07

© 2007 North Country Gazette