Why, under Oath, they Could Not Claim That all tainted Food had been Recorded. (not to mention the Rice!)

April 17, 2007

Menu Foods Refines Recall List

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(April 17, 2007) - Menu Foods


Menu Foods has previously recalled wet cat and dog food produced with adulterated wheat gluten supplied by ChemNutra Inc. Over the past several days, Menu Foods continued a detailed analysis of production records at its Emporia, Kansas, plant as part of the US Food and Drug Administration’s ongoing investigation of this adulterated wheat gluten. As a result of this work, Menu Foods advises the public:

- One additional item has been added to the recall list and is shown below


- Two additional production dates of eight varieties of pet food have been added to the recall list. These eight varieties of pet food had previously been withdrawn from the market and should already be off the retailer shelves.


An updated list of the recalled products, including this addition, is available at the Menu Foods website at http://www.menufoods.com.


Dog Food

Natural Life dated Nov/22/09
Vegetarian 13.2oz Can UPC 12344-07114

By Julie Schmit and Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
The industrial chemical melamine has been found in more pet food, and suspicion is falling on a second pet-food ingredient imported from China as the source of the contamination.
Natural Balance Pet Foods said Tuesday it found melamine in samples of some of its food, which led to a recall. The company suspects melamine was in a rice protein concentrate used as an ingredient, said President Joey Herrick in an interview.

Melamine is the chief suspect related to the Menu Foods recall, first announced four weeks ago for more than 60 million cans and pouches of wet dog and cat food. The melamine in Menu's products was in wheat gluten imported from China and sold to Menu and several other pet-food makers, which also did recalls.

The rice protein concentrate was imported from China by San Francisco-based Wilbur-Ellis. Herrick says the concentrate, which is being tested, is suspected to have melamine, as it was the only new ingredient. Recalled Natural Balance products include Venison and Brown Rice canned and dry dog foods, dog treats and Venison and Green Pea dry cat food.

Wilbur-Ellis CEO John Thacher said his company sold the concentrate to five pet-food makers, but that most of it went to two firms. One of the primary companies was Diamond Pet Foods, which packs some of the Natural Balance product but doesn't use the concentrate in any Diamond-made foods, says Diamond spokesman Jim Fallon. The other major customer, which Thacher would not name, tested the rice protein and found no melamine, Thacher says. Natural Balance's rice protein concentrate is mixed with venison meal, Thacher says.

Consumer Inquiries:
(800) 829-4493
Media Inquiries:
Daniel Bernstein
310-275-0777

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Pacoima, CA -- April 17, 2007-- Natural Balance, Pacoima, CA, is issuing a voluntary nationwide recall for all of its Venison dog products and the dry Venison cat food only, regardless of date codes. The recalled products include Venison and Brown Rice canned and bagged dog foods, Venison and Brown Rice dog treats, and Venison and Green Pea dry cat food. Recent laboratory results show that the products contain melamine. We believe the source of the melamine is a rice protein concentrate.   Natural Balance has confirmed this morning that some production batches of these products may contain melamine.

The recall was prompted by consumer complaints received by Natural Balance involving a small number of cats and dogs that developed kidney failure after eating the affected product.

Dogs or cats who have consumed the suspect food and show signs of kidney failure (such as loss of appetite, lethargy and vomiting) should be seen by a veterinarian. We recommend our customers immediately stop feeding our recalled venison products regardless of date code and return unused product to their retailer for a full refund.

The products are packaged in bags, cans and zip lock treat bags and sold in pet specialty stores and PetCo nationally.
No other Natural Balance products are involved in this voluntary recall as none of our other formulas include the rice protein concentrate.

Although the problems seem to be focused on a particular production period of the venison products, over the last four days we have notified our distributors and retailers by phone and e-mail to immediately stop selling and return all recalled Venison dog foods and treats and the Venison dry cat food. Venison canned cat food is not involved.

The source of the melamine appears to be a rice protein concentrate, which was recently added to the dry venison formulas. Natural Balance does not use wheat gluten, which was associated with the previous melamine contamination.

None of Natural Balance’s other dry formulas, none of our other canned or roll products and none of our other treats are involved with this voluntary recall.

We continue to work closely with the FDA in their ongoing investigation.

So now we have to watch out for Rice Concentrations (Rice Formulas)?

Ingredienst for Dogs: Brown Rice, Ground Rice, Rice Bran, Venison Meal, Rice Protein Concentrate

For Cats: Peas, Venison, Venison Meal, Rice Protein Concentrate

Note the addition of Dog Treats.

Products Affected:

• Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food
• Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods

As Noted Here: There is no Wheat Gluten in these Formulas VENISON & BROWN RICE FORMULA Ingredients.

Notice from Website:

NOTICE:
We are receiving consumer complaints regarding the Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods. We do not know what is wrong with the food at this time, but we have heard that animals are vomiting and experiencing kidney problems. Although the problems seem to be focused on one particular lot, as a precautionary measure, we are pulling all dates of Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food from the shelves.

Please discontinue feeding all Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison and Green Pea Dry Cat Food.

We are working closely with the FDA.
We will update this website today, as more information comes available.

NO OTHER NATURAL BALANCE PRODUCTS ARE AFFECTED.

A reporter for the Washington Post writes about the rising importance of pets in the American family and how a recall of 99-cent cans opened his eyes to the industry’s practices.

Is That Wheat Gluten in My Bowl?

By William Booth
Sunday, April 15, 2007; Page B02

LOS ANGELES It would be inaccurate to describe my pets as spoiled utterly rotten. True, we once bought them "designer" dog beds. A costly and failed experiment. And yes, Alma the dog was once driven cross-country (front seat, rented Buick) because she prefers not to fly crate. And okay, sue me, we have dressed them in costumes for Halloween.

But as modern American middle-class pets go, Alma and the auxiliary dog, Blaze, are relatively rough-and-tumble mutts. They don't wear sweaters. They don't go to spas. Yet they are happy animals, and the happiest 72 seconds of the day is when dinner is served. So it should come as no big shock that for me, and millions of other Americans, the ongoing pet food debacle has been a hassle and a revelation.

Needless to say, the recalls of tainted food are sowing confusion at mealtime with our permanent houseguests. Something missing in the bowl? Alma is, like, "Hey, boss, you got to be kidding." Blaze is reevaluating everything she once believed in. Meanwhile, the recalls raise troubling questions for us, the management, such as: Who really makes pet food? And why does it include wheat gluten from the Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. in Wangdian, China? And how did this shipment of wheat gluten become contaminated with melamine, a compound used to make plastic forks?

Before the first recalls were announced last month, Alma and Blaze could count on one thing above all others: that as long as I am alive, it is my duty to feed them. Into their metal bowls a heaping cup of dry kibble would go and then -- wait for it, wait for it -- the sound of one of their cans of slop being opened. At that popping metallic pssst! the gals would literally groan with pleasure.

"For many cats and dogs who are sedentary neutered adults, who spend most of their time indoors -- like a lot of humans -- food is a major part of their life and their interaction with their owners," Tony Buffington, professor of veterinary sciences at Ohio State University and an expert in pet nutrition, told me.

No kidding. But what, really, is that grayish brown reconstituted lump in the can? I assumed it contained lamb lungs and chicken brains. But there's a lot more. A 99-cent unit of "cuts and gravy" is the signal product of global industrialized food, where nothing is wasted, a brutal efficiency rules and ingredients are assembled from a relentlessly competitive international marketplace. There is no accident in a can of dog food. Just the opposite. The contents have been supplemented and fortified for nutritional, mineral and vitamin balance, the foods precisely engineered for smell, texture and palatability. (The makers want dogs to desire it, but not crave it, and they want its smell not to repulse owners.) And then they market it with all the cunning they can muster.

In the weeks since March 16, more than 100 dog and cat foods have been yanked. The recalls center on an outfit called Menu Foods and its plant in Kansas, and trust me, consumers were very surprised when they learned that Menu Foods makes din-din sold under dozens of pet food names, from the cheap generic store labels to the fancy "premium" offerings. A lot of familiar brands are on the recall lists, such as Alpo, Mighty Dog, Iams, Science Diet, Eukanuba, Gravy Train, Paws, Special Kitty and Ol' Roy.

The recalls are unprecedented. There never has been anything as extensive before for animal or human foods. While the volume -- 60 million cans and counting -- is sizable, what is remarkable is the number of pet food makers involved. It's almost all of them. (For a complete list, see http://www.fda.gov.)

"Some people are absolutely panicked," said Bonnie Beaver, a professor of veterinary medicine at Texas A&M University. "Some owners are going to home-cooking. But too much fat, and you've got a case of raging pancreatitis."

Raging pancreatitis? See what I'm talking about? Friends have begun to share dog food recipes with me. There are pet cookbooks. There's the bones and raw food, or BARF, diet. The buzz now? Organic pet food from local providers; nouvelle cuisine for cats.

What happened at the Menu Foods plant is still being investigated. But we do know that melamine causes kidney failure. I do not want to feed melamine to my dogs, though I am sure they would eat it, just as they once ate those designer beds.

At the federal level, the Food and Drug Administration is responsible for oversight and investigation. It has confirmed 16 pet deaths, including those of "test animals," reportedly employed by Menu Foods once suspicions of contamination arose. And some predict a far greater toll.

CLICK HERE to read Page 2 of the Article.

Let's Make the 2007 year the one we Vote With The Pocket Book.

The wheat gluten recalls have left hordes of pet parents with uncertainty and wondering what they should buy. Many have turned to holistic and/or organic pet food.

Natural pet food an option amid recall scare
Gary Klien
Article Launched: 04/13/2007 11:07:49 PM PDT

Excerpt Below:

At least six pet food companies have recalled products made with imported Chinese wheat gluten tainted with melamine, an industrial chemical used to make plastic kitchenware, countertops, fertilizers and flame retardants. The recalled food includes product by Menu Foods, Del Monte Pet Products, Hills Pet Nutrition, Nestle Purina PetCare and Sunshine Mills, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The tainted food, which can cause kidney failure, has sickened thousands of animals and killed numerous others, although the death toll remains unclear. The recall involved about 1 percent of the overall U.S. pet food supply.

Veterinarians have fielded calls from residents seeking guidance. Sausalito veterinarian Raymond Dieter, owner of Sausalito Animal Hospital, said the best option, time permitting, is to cook meals for pets using quality meat and whole foods, vegetables such as carrots or asparagus, bones or bone meal for skeletal health, vegetable oil and a balanced vitamin supplement.

Byproducts and mass-produced food full of protein filler - like gluten - should be avoided, he said.

"Everyone's scrambling now to figure out what to do," Dieter said. "If we really love our animals the way we think we do, we'd probably cook for them ourselves. More and more people are doing their own home recipes."

But Michael Dahlman, a doctor with South Novato Animal Hospital, tells clients that home-cooked pet meals are ill-advised because they don't cover the nutritional bases as well as quality commercial brands. Dahlman said he is confident most of the food involved in the recall has been removed from the shelves.

"We generally prefer commercial diets," he said. "Almost invariably the diseases we've seen that can be attributed to a dietary deficiency, we find they are usually from a home-produced diet."

Evans, the owner of Marin Sun Farms, said his pet food is raw and consists of 90 percent ground beef and 10 percent kidney and liver. Because the food is based on grass-fed beef, as opposed to the more common grain-fed variety, the meat is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid, according to the ranch. It also has about half the fat and cholesterol of grain-fed beef.

"There's a large contingency of pet owners that are moving their pets to a raw diet, trying to adhere to the natural diet of the dog and its ancestors," Evans said.

The food, which sells for $2.99 a pound, is available at Marin Sun Farms' butcher shop in Point Reyes Station or at the Saturday farmers' market at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza. Evans also sells the ground beef to Feed This Inc., a raw pet food company in Forestville, where it is made into treats.

"We got a lot a phone calls from wholesalers and individuals looking for a healthier alternative for their pets," Evans said. "We had the ground pet food for a while, but we didn't really put it out there because we didn't know there was such a demand."

ORGANIC PET FOOD

Estimated sales of organic pet food according to the Organic Trade Association.

2004: $20.6 million

2005: $30 million

2006: $40.8 million

2007: $51 million forecast

Source: New York Times

Pet food mishap shows reason for COOL
Friday, April 13, 2007 8:58 AM CDT

Our Views

Country of Origin Labeling passed several years ago but USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service has yet to implement the law.

Now, it looks like the United States may accept this legislation. Unfortunately, that acceptance may come about because of what happened to some family pets.

Country of Origin Labeling, or COOL, is an initiative of the 2002 farm bill. It requires country of origin labeling for beef, lamb, pork, fish, perishable ag products and peanuts.

President Bush signed a public law on Jan. 27, 2004, that called for a delay in implementing COOL for all commodities except wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish until Sept. 30, 2006.

Then on Nov. 10, 2005, the President signed another public law delaying the implementation until Sept. 30, 2008.
   
Fast forward from 2005 to 2007. Public perception of COOL is changing and has become more acceptable.

Love and compassionate care for family dogs and cats are common themes across the United States now.

So the recent loss of some pets due to tainted food has worried many people. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on March 31 that wheat gluten supplied to U.S. pet manufacturers from China contained melamine.

Gluten is a plant protein found in cereal grains. When flour is kneaded, gluten strands provide structure and elasticity that support baked goods. Gluten is used in a wide variety of products, including pet food. Melamine, a synthetic polymer, does not belong in food. Manufacturers use melamine to make floor tiles, kitchenware and fire retardant products. The polymer is a liquid when heated. It is poured into molds where it hardens.

It's hard to even imagine why or how melamine would get mixed into the Chinese wheat gluten.

The Food and Drug Administration has now blocked imports of the cheap wheat gluten from China, but not before the damage occurred. Some beloved pets have died, and manufacturers have called for massive and expensive recalls of dog and cat food.

The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) recently released a statement indicating why this pet food issue shows a need for a healthy, domestic food supply.

“NAWG has been closely monitoring the developments involving wheat gluten and recalled pet food products,” said NAWG President John Thaemert. “We grieve with the pet owners who have suffered a loss and understand the anxiety of people who are wondering how this could have happened and what they should feed their pets.

“Not only is this a truly unfortunate event, but it also highlights the problems that can result from depending on another country for something as fundamental as food.”

Food manufacturers have long held the belief that American consumers want the cheapest food available.

This mishap with pet food can serve as a wakeup call that using the cheapest food ingredients can actually become a costly mistake.

The wheat gluten that caused the deaths of the pets did not come from the United States.

Country of Origin Labeling is one way to assure that Americans have the opportunity to purchase food raised in the United States.

U.S. farmers have little reason to fear COOL.

As former Texas Congressman Charles Stenholm recently told producers at the National Pork Producers Council's annual meeting - “Far beyond any other country, United States' farmers produce the most abundant food supply, the best quality of food, and the safest food supply at the lowest cost to the United States' consumer.”

We look forward to the implementation of COOL and the opportunity to purchase food and pet food produced by U.S. farmers.

More Info Can be Found at: Americans For Country of Origin Labeling

For Further Information (whose really on your side!!)

Supplemental Testimony for the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Hearings
April 12, 2007

Chairman Kohl, Senator Bennett, Members of the Subcommittee,

Thank you for allowing me to add to my spoken testimony before the subcommittee.

Today, the pet food industry operates within a marketplace of its own deliberate design. Through astonishingly successfully marketing efforts of the industry, pet owners and their veterinarians have come to believe that household pets must consume commercial foods, and only commercial foods, day in and day out, throughout their entire lives, in order to remain healthy. In fact, many veterinarians today teach their clients that any deviation from this ridged commercial dietary protocol will invariably lead to illness, and perhaps even death. Veterinary nutritionists uniformly insist that ?homemade? diets, those prepared by owners at home from human food ingredients, are likely to be contaminated, unbalanced, and dangerous for pets, in almost any amount.

Those who agree with this view argue that pet owners are not qualified to compose complete and balanced, safe diets for their pets at home. Certainly this cannot be because pet owners lack the intelligence to learn to do this. Rather it is because the pet-owning public has no access to educational programs about the basics of pet nutrition and how to prepare homemade diets through qualified experts in industry, government or the veterinary profession. The pet food industry has knowingly substituted itself for the pet owner in the decision making process when it comes to the nourishing of pets. This co-opting of the pet owners? initiative in choosing how to feed their pets has been facilitated by the widespread presence of AAFCO life-stage or lifetime nutritional safety and adequacy claims on commercial pet foods. These claims tell the pet food purchaser, in no uncertain terms, that the food bearing the claim can be trusted absolutely to provide safe, complete, and balanced nutrition for the pet. Every one of the pet foods implicated in this latest recall bore this AAFCO safety and adequacy statement on its label.

Can it come as any surprise that these pet owners feel betrayed when a calamity such as the present contamination incident occurs? Worse, they feel lost and helpless, because they have not even the barest pet nutrition education upon which to rely for deciding how to provide alternatives in such a crisis for their four-footed family members.

Contrast this with the government?s and the human medical community?s view of human nutrition. No physician attempts to control the diet of any patient to the extent that the pet food industry controls the pet owner?s beliefs about proper pet nutrition. Humans are allowed the freedom to purchase raw meats and fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, and a wide variety of canned, frozen and dry packaged meals, and supplemental ingredients for their daily diet without alarm or constraint from the government or the medical community. Despite this unlimited freedom people enjoy to choose all dietary elements for themselves and their families, there are almost no health or medical claims made on the packaging of these foods and certainly no claims for complete safety or nutritional wholesomeness. As a result, consumers have no unreasonable reliance on the nutritional quality of these foods. Rather, in recent decades human health interest groups and the government have sought to influence and improve people?s food choices through education, in school, and through public interest advertising. When human foods become contaminated, as is nearly inevitable from time to time, we humans know enough about what good nutritional alternatives are available to make safer choices. Because we enjoy such a wide variety of different foods from different sources in our diet, we never feel at a loss about what to eat at our next meal to avoid contact with known contaminated foods. Further, because we do eat such a diverse diet, the effects of consuming a single contaminated food is mitigated greatly in any particular individual.

Pet?s consuming a contaminated ?complete and balanced? commercial diet as a sole source of nutrition every day, and whose caregivers have no idea how or where to go to avoid the danger, are not so fortunate. The effects of contamination and nutritional inadequacy will fall hard on these pets, because there is no dilution provided by dietary diversity.

In its successful efforts to become the undisputed sole provider of the only intelligent source of nutrition for pets, the pet food industry, knowingly or inadvertently, has imposed upon itself a burden for providing almost impossibly clean, safe and unquestionably adequate food for the lifetimes of this country?s pets. I cannot imagine that any human food producer would ever desire to accept such a burden.

If the pet food industry desires that commercial pet foods remain the preeminent choice for nourishing American pets, it has no choice but to accept fully the responsibility for providing safer and more nutritionally adequate foods. Doing so will not be easy. There will be costs associated with taking the steps to regain and deserve the trust of the American pet food purchaser. Many companies will have to exercise greater care in selecting and testing their ingredients than they presently do. Many will have to review how they formulate their foods, and the industry as a whole will have to test and prove more convincingly the nutritional adequacy of those formulas.

I believe we can devise a system in which there will be an incentive for the better pet food makers to authenticate the safety and nutritional superiority of their products more thoroughly. The government need not shoulder the costs and administrative burden of enhanced regulatory procedures for enabling the industry to produce safer products; rather, we can choose to allow the marketplace, and pet food purchasers themselves, to stimulate and reward this much needed improvement by adopting a ?truth in pet food labeling? initiative.

I propose that:

1) AAFCO and FDA adopt a presumption that all safety and nutritional adequacy claims for pet food are disallowed and all foods bearing such claims are deemed misbranded. Pet foods may be marketed without claims, as is the case with human foods, with the pet food purchaser and veterinarians aware that the product carries no label claims for safety or nutritional adequacy.

2) A new system of claims be devised for the benefit of those companies that wish to make claims, for the education of pet owners and veterinarians, under some system of greatly enhanced testing and scientific validation of those claims:

a) Simple safety claims, such as ?the ingredients of this food have been tested for common contaminants and found free of such contaminants,? might be available to those companies that could provide documentation that ingredients used in their foods were in fact, tested individually according to strict guidelines, and deemed worthy of such a claim by scientific standards.

b) Nutritional adequacy claims, such as, ?this formula has been tested in a scientifically valid number of animals for a scientifically valid lifetime period to prove that it is complete and balanced for exclusive long-term feeding of the adult dog (or cat),? might be available to those companies that wish to invest the considerable time and resources to actually prove their product deserves this claim

c) Medical efficacy claims, such as those presently used on ?prescription-type? pet foods, would be allowed only for foods that had been thoroughly and scientifically tested, to the satisfaction of third-party scientists, for genuine efficacy in medical conditions in pets Alternatively, medical efficacy claims could be made for ?prescription-type foods? without valid scientific testing (as is presently the case) with the disclaimer ?these claims have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration?

This proposal, first and foremost, puts the pet food buyer and his veterinarian on notice that pet foods without claims must be taken at face value and caveat emptor applies. Today, because all commercial foods bear unjustified assurances, there is no such fair notice to these pet care givers; instead, unqualified faith in untested foods is the norm.

Because of the very competitive nature of the pet food industry, it is inevitable that some, maybe many, companies, will desire to make meaningful claims for their products. When pet food companies cannot make gratuitous sweeping claims as they do now, but must either forgo claims altogether or apply for select claims under scientifically valid standards for testing and proof of those claims, prominent companies will rise to the challenge of meeting those standards, and better tested, safer, and more efficacious foods will emerge.

Companies with products bearing those allowed claims will have a competitive advantage within the marketplace. Many, if not most, pet food purchasers will elect to buy foods for which properly substantiated claims are allowed by regulatory authorities, and less safe, less efficacious foods will have a distinct competitive disadvantage. Foods that do not bear legitimate safety claims will be less popular, and many fewer pets will be exposed to the dangers of contaminated ingredients at any point in time.

Poultry/Chicken By-Product Meal - Poultry by-product meal consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcasses of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines -- exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices.

This is a low-quality, inconsistent ingredient, with multiple organs used, constantly changing proportions, and questionable nutritional value. The origin can be any fowl (turkeys, ducks, geese, buzzards, etc.), instead of a single source, like chicken. Poultry by-product meal is much less expensive and less digestible than chicken meal.

Corn Gluten Meal - Corn gluten meal is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm.

Corn gluten meal is a low ash source of protein and acts as a urine acidifier in some of our cat food formulas. Cats vs Dogs: While not the best quality source of protein, the use of corn gluten in small amounts offer preventive health benefits for cats. In addition, unlike dogs, cats do not usually show signs of allergic reactions to corn products. Though corn gluten meal is only a cheap protein filler when used in this manner.

Corn Meal - Corn meal is the entire corn kernel, finely ground.

While the whole corn kernel is nutritious, corn is considered to be highly allergenic especially to dogs.

Ground Whole Wheat - Ground wheat is the entire wheat kernel, ground or chopped.

Ground wheat is a good quality source of carbohydrates. Because it includes the entire wheat kernel, it contributes additional protein, wheat oil, bran, and vitamins and minerals to the diet. This is in contrast to the fractionated wheat ingredients used by some manufacturers such as wheat bran, wheat flour or wheat middlings, which are leeched of much of their nutritional value.

Animal Fat - Animal fat is obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial process of rendering or extracting.

Animal fat is a by-product of meat meal processing. The origin of the contributing animals is never known, and the resulting oil is very low in linoleic acid -- an essential fatty acid that is important for skin and coat health.

Brewer's Rice - Brewer's rice is the small milled fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice.

Brewer's rice is a lower quality rice product that is missing many of the nutrients found in ground rice and ground brown rice.

Soy flour - Soy flour is the finely powdered material resulting from the screened and graded product after removal of most of the oil from selected, sound, cleaned and dehulled soybeans by a mechanical or solvent extraction process.

Whenever flour is part of an ingredient's name, the grain has been processed and some (or all) of the nutritional value has been lost. Frequently these flour ingredients are simply the leftover dust from processing human food ingredients

Fish Meal - Fish meal is the clean, rendered (cooked down), dried ground tissue of undecomposed whole fish or fish cuttings, either or both, with or without the extraction of part of the oil.

Fish meal is made from unspecified types of fish. While fish meal can be a good source of essential fatty acids and is very palatable for cats, the ambiguous nature of this ingredient puts it on our unapproved ingredient list.

Brewer's Dried Yeast - Brewer's dried yeast is the dried, non-fermentive, non-extracted yeast that results as a by-product of the brewing of beer and ale.

Although brewer's yeast is a good source of Vitamin B, it is a potential allergen for some animals.

Animal Digest - the smelly stuff that makes animals want to eat the kibble

For More Information - See The Senate Hearings.

Pet Food Industry Comments: Italics
Dr. Hodgkins Comments: Bold
My Comments: Purple

Rebuttal to Pet Food Industry Response to Hearings Held April 12, 2007

(ON), April 13, 2007, the pet food industry has issued a broadly published statement and Q & A to counter testimony and questioning that occurred yesterday in Washington DC before the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee investigating the recent pet food contamination recalls. Much of what has been published is incorrect and the industry?s way of trying to do damage control. The following is the text of the industry?s message and my rebuttals to that message: (pet food statements are in italics, my rebuttal in bold):

The pet food industry remains a partner in the investigation with the FDA and has cooperated with state and federal regulators since evidence leading to the recall first surfaced. The industry will continue cooperate fully with any other official investigations relating to this incident.

The FDA's investigation is ongoing and has not reached any conclusions about how any foreign substances entered the process. I think it?s presumptuous to additional regulatory measures at this time. Only when we have this information can we make an accurate and informed decision.

The industry representative insisted that the industry is cooperating fully in this investigation, yet when asked how long it had taken Menu Foods to report to the FDA about the toxins in their food, he admitted that he did not know. The time to report, which is well documented at 3 weeks, would have been something he would have known had the industry been fully involved and cooperating with this investigation. The industry wants this to go away, not be fully investigated so that better quality control measures can be implemented.

Actually - Menu Foods began receiving Complaints in December/January.  They chose to ignorre those complaints.  The Wheat Gluten entered the Food Chain in Nov. 2006.  The February Conclusion was reached AFTER THE TEST ANIMALS DIED (its not when they started testing!!)  During the end of the tests (around Feb 20, 2007) and the beginning of the Recall, Menu Foods CEO dumped HALF HIS STOCK in the Company (He claims it was just a coincidence).  Things that make you go HHHHMMM.

How Pet Foods Are Regulated
Pet foods are one of the most highly regulated food products. They are required by law to provide on their labels more information than most human foods. State departments of agriculture provide standards and enforcement policies for regulation of manufacture of pet foods resulting in safe foods. Ingredients in pet food must be acceptable to state authorities. In the March 23 press conference Sundlof also stated that regulation of pet foods is the same as human foods.

Pet foods are far from regulated as human foods are. 4D meat (meat from dead, dying, diseased or disabled animals) CANNOT be used for human food, but it CAN be used in pet foods and is used routinely by at least some manufacturers. Other ingredients that would not be allowed in human foods, such as rendered tissues, are allowed in pet foods. Further, human food health claims are very difficult for human food makers to get. Virtually ALL pet foods contain unsubstantiated claims for safety, completeness and balance that NO HUMAN FOOD in the world would ever be able to get. While some pet foods are likely to be adequate food for pets, many are not, yet there is no testing done to differentiate the good from the bad in this self-regulated industry. FDA has delegated the responsibility of pet food regulation to an association known as AAFCO. AAFCO itself ADMITS it has NO regulatory AUTHORITY or enforcement capabilities, so although there are several layers of APPARENT regulation, there is actually no regulation of pet foods today.

Hence, the importance of investigating Pet Nutritional Requirements, Finding the Right Foods, and ALWAYS READ THE LABEL.

Pet food manufacturers are responsible for producing safe products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and state governments provide the rules, guidance and oversight under which safe pet food is produced. FDA requires pet food to be wholesome, contain no harmful or deleterious substances, and to be truthfully labeled.

Yes, pet food companies are responsible for producing safe products, and they have failed many times in the past, at least 3 times in the past 18 months. To say they are responsible for doing something is quite different from saying they are ACTUALLY doing it. The facts speak for themselves on this point. The pet food industry has breached the FDA's mandate of them because they are self-regulated!

All a New Pet Food has to do - is provide a Chemical Analysis that the food contains the same nutrient information to meet the minimum standards listed on the back of the label.  Nothing about actual ingredients is tested (this is in relation to the many Generic Foods that enter the market - such as Priority).

How Ingredients and Finished Pet Foods Are Tested
Pet food ingredients undergo significant testing for safety and quality assurance including screening for mycotoxins (including aflatoxin), bacteria (including Salmonella and E.Coli) and nutrient content. Furthermore the finished product is analyzed to ensure appropriate nutrient levels, evaluating protein (including 11 amino acids), fat, fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

This is an untruth. Many if not most pet food ingredients undergo no testing whatsoever. If this statement were true, we would not have repeated pet food aflatoxin toxicity problems as we do. We also would not have had a recent and very serious toxicity problem in a major pet food from excess Vitamin D supplementation. This statement merely describes what is SUPPOSED to happen, not what really DOES happen. The facts speak for themselves.

A Consumer's Guide to Pet Food: Valuable Information for Pet Owners
Veterinarians agree that pets are living longer, healthier lives since the use of commercially prepared pet foods became widespread. Decades of research have gone into the development of pet food to make sure the special nutrition needs of pet dogs and cats are met.

Veterinarians DO NOT agree about this, they can't, it is totally unproven. Evidence about changes in the life span of pets over the past several decades is sparse, and no scientist would dare draw the conclusion that pets today live longer on average than pets 30-40 years ago because of commercial pet foods, for example. What does seem clear is that today's indoor pets live much longer than those that live outdoors. The evidence for this conclusion is strong.
Those who would give commercial pet food even partial credit for this increase in life expectancy in the indoor pet, however, have absolutely no evidence to back up this conclusion. There are many factors that affect the life span of pet animals under indoor and outdoor circumstances. Indoor pets are more protected from death due to automobiles and predators, they are more protected from exposure to infectious disease and often receive more medial care than outdoor pets, to name just a few of the important differences between these two groups. It is easy to sweep commercial food consumption right along with all of these other factors as contributing to longer life in today?s pets. Unfortunately for this particular factor, there is no reason to believe it has anything to do with the longer life of house pets. Let's look at an analogy to understand how this might be so.
Humans in the US enjoy longer life expectancy today than they did fifty years ago. During those decades of improving average life span, those same people have consumed ever-increasing amounts of fat-laden, sugary, carbohydrate-rich 'fast' food and other types of over-processed 'convenience' foods. We are far more obese today than in decades past, and human nutritionists nag us endlessly about changing our diets to include better quality, fresh whole foods. Imagine anyone believing that this increasing consumption of highly processed ?fast? foods and increasing obesity is the reason, or even makes a positive contribution to our increasing life spans! We are living longer in spite of our diets, not because of them. Many other factors, such as less tobacco smoking, the use of seatbelts, better prenatal and postnatal care, and astonishing high-tech medical advancements for defeating disease and injury account for our increasing life spans. Our convenience-oriented diets are actually working against longer life, but cannot defeat all of these other strong protective factors in our lives.
So it is with our pets. When they live indoors, they live longer than if they lived outdoors, but commercial foods likely have no part in adding those extra years. Like our own ?overprocessed? diets, they may even be depriving our pets of even greater health and longevity. If you hear anyone make the flat statement that pets are living longer BECAUSE of commercial foods, demand to see the scientific data for that statement!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Indoor cats live much, much longer than outdoor.  I knew a loving kitty which belonged to my neighbor.  She let her cats outside.  She no longer has the kitty. (We live in an apartment Complex).  The other day, I saw the carcass of a cat with its head ran over.  These are our pets, they don't understand the human world.  Please take care. (If you have a balcony, let them out on that.  There are also special outdoor kitty cages you can build, so they can be safe - and outside - at the same time).

Question
What does "complete and balanced" mean?

Answer
Unlike most foods for people, many pet food products are designed to be the sole source of nutrition for a pet dog or cat. Products that are labeled "complete and balanced," as defined by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), have been tested to make sure they meet the complex nutritional requirements of a healthy dog or cat.

No, they have NOT been tested to make sure they meet the requirements of healthy pets! Only a very few 'sample' diets have even been tested on any animals for even 6 months. Considering that cats have a natural lifespan of 20 years or more, and dogs can live 10-20 years depending on breed, 6 months is NOT long enough and 6 animals is not anywhere close to a statistically valid number to even prove a 6 month claim. This is one of the most serious and most misleading of the untruths that pet food companies make about their foods.

Please note my above comment about Chemical Analysis Testing.  It is far more cheaper, and also counts the protein sources of wheat gluten and soy (both of which are not fit foods for animals).  Corn Gluten, Corn Meal, Corn anything should never be in the food (it is only a filler - providing too many carbohydrates for your furbabies).

Question
What does it mean on a pet food label that a product has been tested using animal feeding trials?

Answer
There are two ways a pet food company can test the nutrition of its products. One method is the use of standardized animal feeding trials, designed by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), to make sure their products meet the complex nutritional requirements of dogs and cats. The animals in these tests are fed the food for six months and are closely monitored to make sure they stay healthy. A product using this test will have language similar to the following on the label - "Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that Nancy's Food for Dogs provides complete and balanced nutrition for all life stages."

This is almost a completely truthful answer, because it admits that this 'study' only last six months. This answer omits two important factors: there are only a handful of animals tested, and only a few sample diets are even tested on those few animals for those few months.

Note: No mention of the other method of testing.

Question
Are fillers used in pet food?

Answer
Every ingredient used in pet food is there for a reason. Decades of research have gone into making pet foods that meet the nutritional needs of dogs and cats. The makers of pet food do not put in anything that's not needed.

There is almost no research on any pet food anywhere that can be considered scientific by any genuine scientist. Whether reused vegetable oil and rendered animal scraps and wood cellulose is 'needed' by any dog or cat is very highly questionable by intelligent and well trained experts. The cat has absolutely no need for carbohydrates, for example, yet all dry cat food has PLENTY of this cheap ingredient that is required for dry food processing. Further, the acids that pet food companies put into 'urinary tract diets' can and do even cause other diseases, proving that those acidifiers are not only not needed, but are even harmful to many cats. Pet food companies absolutely DO put things in pet food that are not needed and that can even cause harm.

Wondering if the Pet Food Institute Reps, Employees and Advisors actually feed their animals this food (since of course, none of their pets died due to the recall).

Question
What is ingredient "splitting?"

Answer
Some people incorrectly believe pet food makers split up ingredients to give the illusion that some ingredients are at higher concentrations than others. Pet food makers are required to carefully label their products according to stringent government regulations. Just as the case with food for people, pet foods must clearly state what ingredients are included in the product. Each ingredient in pet food is there for a reason and to serve a nutritional purpose.

The "stringent" ingredient regulations have been developed by the industry in concert with AAFCO. AAFCO has no real authority over the pet food companies, and goes along with the desires of an industry that, by the admission of the FDA, is a good way for by-products of American agriculture to 'dispose' of those by-products of agriculture that are not fit for or undesirable for humans to eat. Many ingredients in pet food serve no nutritional purpose in our pets, but keep farmers and ranchers from having to throw them away.
An example of ingredients splitting: Pet food companies who wish to disguise the amount of cereals in their products will list several different cereals instead of using just one (not top quality cereals either) so that what meat IS in their products will legally be listed as the one of the first ingredients. In many, if not most of these foods, cereal actually makes up the majority of the food, but consumers see 'chicken' as one of the top 2-3 ingredients and think that chicken is a predominant component of the food. This is 'smoke and mirrors.'
The regulations may demand that the ingredients be listed in order of predominance, but there is NO prohibition against the sleight of hand described in this example.
The pet food industry is an ineffectively regulated 15 billion dollar industry that produces everything your pet eats, day in day out. This should make you want to know a lot more about what is going into those cans and bags, and into your pet!

And Another useful Question:

Question
What are by-products?

Answer
By-products, simply put, are the parts of animals people do not normally eat.For example, if a chicken were raised for its white meat then the remaining meat would be considered a by-product. The by-products used in pet food are an important source of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids. Like all pet food ingredients, by-products from animals or grains are safe, nutritious and approved for use in pet food by federal and state government agencies.

Animal by-product meal is defined as “the rendered product from animal tissues, exclusive of any added hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents, except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices.” Rendering, the melting down of animal parts, is discussed in detail below. But it is important to recognize that the AAFCO definition leaves much to be desired. Until AAFCO defines “good processing practices” in specific terms, it takes little imagination to wonder how much hair and stomach contents are included in bone meals, considering the time and cost it would take to remove such items in mass quantities. It has also been noted that meat is sold from food store chains (expired of course) - and the plastic is not removed prior to rendering.  Along with the Dead, Dying, Down Animal - the Chemical to put the Animal to sleep survies the Rendering Process (can't be killed by Heat).

Requests for all Visitors:

• Please Link to the Blog, it will be updated to the best of my ability.
• Start an Email Campaign, get the word out.
• As recent as of Thusday (April 12, 2007) the FDA under Oath cannot confirm whether all products that are contaminated have been recognized (there is even doubt if the total of 90% is Accurate).

IMPORTANT LINKS:

• Sign the Petition - Links to the Petition
• Online Survey - Take The Recalled Foods Market Survey
• Post Your Personal Story and Food Suggestions - Report Your Pet Story, Post Your Website Here

Note: This page will be used for frequent update purposes, deletion will occur.

Out of respect for the readers, Please No Spam.

First Off:

• If you have a sick pet or a question on your pet’s health, call your veterinarian. Pet Connection also put together a basic primer on kidney disease for your information, here.
• If You are new to the Blog - Please Check Out All Articles.
• Update 4/14, 6:26 a.m. PT: 4,133 pets have been reported as deceased to our PetConnection database. Of these, 2,129 are cats, and 2,004 are dogs. Total reports of all owner-suspected cases of food-related illness: 12,820. These are self-reported numbers, and should be in no way be considered confirmed or "official." But if even a fraction can be confirmed, they show deaths far exceeding the FDA's count of 16 pets, most of whom died in a manufacturers feeding trial.

I am asking all folks that have been affected in some way to post their Stories here.  You can make food suggetions, discuss what has happened to your pets, let the world READ. Let's all try to make a Difference.

I look forward to your Comments.

I am attempting to compile information from EBay Users whom may/or may not be aware of the issues related to the Latest Pet Food Recall.  This Poll assesses your knowledge, Pet Food Status/Changes, and Market Influence.

Take The Recalled Foods Market Survey

I will be posting the Results in a bit (don't want to taint the answers!).

This is to Counteract/Add on - The Recent "Market" Survey published. Read the Article

Quote From the Market Survey:

The on-line survey, conducted April 9-11, found that 95% of Americans are aware that pets have died recently because of tainted pet food. Among owners of dogs and cats, awareness reached 100%. Most of them are following the story: 80.4% of cat owners and 74.8% of dog owners say they know which brands are associated with this issue. And of the pet owners, 13.1% said the brand they usually buy has been recalled.

But the pet-food scare has not influenced people to change their behavior. Most are still buying the same brand and type of food (i.e.: wet versus dry) they usually buy, and they’re getting it at the same retailer they always go to

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) stopped into the meeting long enough to make sure everyone realized just how important pets are.

"There is a unique special relationship between pets and their owners. I'm talking because I know," said Byrd, who has a Shih Tzu named Trouble who was named by his late wife, Irma. Byrd calls the dog Baby.

"She sleeps on my bed. She goes with me to the Senate. She stays in my office. That is Baby -- that is my wife's dog Trouble," he said. "Our pets are our companions, our soul mates, and our hedge against emotional turmoil. ... When the FDA protects our pets, the FDA protects the health of millions of Americans as well."

For More Info: and a Link to Live Video - See Sen. Appropriations Subcmte. Hearing on Contaminated Pet Food

For the purpose of this post - we will focus on Cats.

Meow Mix: Indoor Formula http://www.meowmix.com

Ingredients
Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Yellow Corn, Brewers Rice, Powdered Cellulose, Beef Tallow Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols (Source of Vitamin E), Turkey-By-Product Meal, Salmon Meal, Fish Meal (Source of Ocean Fish Flavor), Brewers Dried Yeast, Soybean Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Animal Digest, potassium chloride, Alfalfa, Gelatin, Phosphoric Acid, Tetra Sodium Pyrophosphate, Salt, Choline Chloride, Taurine, l-Lysine, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, l-Alanine, Dl-Methionine, Yellow 6, Manganese Sulfate, Niacin, Yellow 5, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Red 40, Calcium Pantothenate, Blue 2, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Rosemary Extract, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, biotin, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K Activity). A-1200

Note the BIG NO NO'S: Corn in the 3 Ingredients, and By-Product Meal as the First Ingredient (however, this can be more healthy than listing Chicken alone - since most Commercial Foods listing Chicken as the first ingredient is by weight - and the weight constitues up to 90% moisture.)

Iams Original With Chicken http://us.iams.com/

Ingredients
Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Grits, Corn Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Sodium Bisulfate, Potassium Chloride, DL-Methionine, Brewers Dried Yeast, Choline Chloride, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid], Calcium Carbonate, Minerals [Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate], Salt, Rosemary Extract.

Note: Big No No's in the Top List of Ingredients: Chicken listed as first - but don't be mislead - see the above notes for Meow Mix. By-Products, and Corn (now they don't list as gluten, but it amounts to about the same thing - since cats/dogs are not created to digest a Corn based diet).

Now - Consider the Ingredients of the Food Recommend to myself (they also publish a booklet to go with the foods, most can be found in Pet Feed establishments). Also - Please Reference: What to Fee Your Pets During/After the Recall (I)

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul

Adult Cat Formula

Visit the Website

Ingredients
Chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), ocean fish meal, white rice, potatoes, oatmeal, millet, natural chicken flavor, salmon, turkey, duck, flaxseed, sodium bisulfate, egg product, methionine, potassium chloride, choline chloride, dried chicory root, taurine, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

IMPORTANT NOTE ON METHIONINE: Both IAMS and Meow Mix claim to improve Urinary Tract Health and PH balance.  Research the Ingredients on the Web.  Chicken Soup does include Methionine:

Effect of supplementation of dry cat food with D,L-methionine and ammonium chloride on struvite activity product and sediment in urine.

Laboratory of Nutrition, Azabu University School of Veterinary Medicine, Sagamihara-shi, Japan.

Feeding dry foods supplemented with urine acidifier (D,L-methionine (Met) or ammonium chloride) decreased urinary pH and struvite activity product in clinically normal cats. As a result, the number of struvite crystals in urine was greatly reduced. Supplementation with 3% Met but not 1% Met caused decrease in the urinary concentration of sediment, which resulted from a reduction in the HCl-soluble fraction. The concentration of HCl-insoluble sediment was not affected by supplementation with the urine acidifier.

And Another Source:

There are many factors attributable to onset of fatty liver disease. Carnitine is an amino-group containing, vitamin-like substance found in high concentrations in mammalian heart and skeletal muscle. This amino acid is not considered to be essential by the AAFCO. Cats can synthesize carnitine from lysine and methionine (both found in meat). Methionine is added to most dry cat food brands and lysine is added to the higher end brands. As with most nutrients found in raw meat, I believe it is best to feed the real thing rather than supplementing with synthetic nutrients. In humans, a carnitine deficiency causes hepatic lipid accumulation and liver dysfunction. A similar connection is being investigated in cats. Also, carnitine increases lean muscle mass and enhances weight loss in obese cats.

HOWEVER, URINARY TRACT HEALTH IS A PROBLEM WITH OVER THE COUNTER CAT FOOD:

The current trend towards dry food with urine acidifiers (for urinary tract health according to pet food manufacturers) can cause metabolic acidosis, resulting in impaired kidney function and mineral imbalance that includes potassium depletion. Urine that is too acidic provides a good environment for oxalate crystals to form that can cause urinary obstruction. Struvite crystals, associated with an alkaline urinary pH were once the common form of urinary tract disorder, now calcium oxalate crystals, associated with a more acidic urinary pH, are more common.

The first signs of early stage kidney failure are increased water consumption and urination. The cat loses its ability to concentrate urine, something it has naturally evolved to do. The grain proteins contained in dry food release more nitrogenous wastes with digestion. These are converted to ammonia and are expelled by the kidneys, taxing them unnecessarily.

From IAMS website:

Cats of All Ages Need High-Quality Nutrition!
For cats one year and older, IAMS^® Original Formula Cat Food

• Helps maintain urinary tract health by reducing urinary pH and providing low dietary magnesium

Just What the Doctor DID NOT ORDER!

For more Info: http://leda.law.harvard.edu/leda/data/784/Patrick06.html

Please Also Reference: Hearing on Contaminated Pet Food

FDA: Pet-food safety not yet assured

By Nicole Gaouette
Los Angeles Time

WASHINGTON — Tainted pet food may sit on the shelves of U.S. stores, federal officials on Thursday told lawmakers looking into the contamination that has killed at least 16 pets and sickened thousands more.

The problem prompted a recall by several companies of about 100 brands of pet food in recent weeks, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials testified at a Senate subcommittee hearing that more recalls may be ahead. They also said they have no clear idea how many animals have been affected.

"This is one of the largest pet-food recalls in history, if not the largest," said Dr. Steven Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. "Pet food is generally ... a very safe product. This is quite disturbing because it's so unusual and we're dealing with a substance we've never encountered before."

The hearing highlighted holes in the system to ensure pet-food safety.

Pet-food manufacturers are not regularly inspected and there are no penalties for a firm's failure to promptly report problems to the FDA. Also, the federal government has no authority to recall a faulty food intended for humans or pets; instead, it must rely on voluntary compliance by the private sector.

The pet-food scare echoes a variety of problems the FDA has faced in recent years.

Prescription drugs have been found to cause dangerous side effects after they have been approved for market, E. coli contamination of spinach drove people away from the vegetable and peanut butter has been recalled from grocery shelves.

"This is the story of food safety in America," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who plans to introduce a bill to improve regulation of pet food. Durbin said heightened public awareness about food safety could make it easier to get legislation passed.

"From E. coli spinach to pet food, it raises the same issues over and over," Durbin said.

The hearing was prompted by the announcement last month that a Canadian company, Menu Foods, was recalling wet pet food produced by its plants in Kansas and New Jersey after animals eating their samples had died. The recall has since been expanded to include some dry pet food.

Officials traced the problem to Chinese wheat gluten, a binding agent used in human and animal food, that was contaminated with melamine, a chemical that has no approved use in food.

It is not clear how the melamine was introduced into the wheat gluten, and FDA officials said they have asked China to help with the investigation.

Menu Foods was asked to attend the hearing, but it requested that the Pet Food Institute, a trade association for the industry, appear instead. The institute's president, Duane Ekedahl, told the committee that pet food is perhaps the most highly regulated product on store shelves. He noted that manufacturers are governed by the FDA and the Agriculture Department as well as authorities in all 50 states.

"Pet foods are safe," Ekedahl assured the committee.

Sundlof said the FDA had 400 employees assigned to the investigation, checking retail stores nationwide.

He added that the agency is uncertain if all the tainted food has been found. He advised pet owners to check the FDA Web site for the most current list of recalled products.

Material from The Associated Press is included in this report

From CLAUDIA A. KIRK, DVM, Ph.D.

What should a pet owner do for now? The commercial products now on the grocery shelves are considered safe. We expect few, if any, additional recalls. For those needing extra peace of mind, avoiding products with wheat gluten could be considered for the next few weeks.

However, heads up (Wheat Glutin is not mentioned, but the recall is referenced as being related to the Hills Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food recall.

Royal Canin Recalls Pet Food in South Africa

SA faces pet food shock
12/04/2007 11:41  - (SA) 

Cape Town - Two big pet food manufacturers have removed of their products from shelves after reports that some animals fell ill after eating of the food.

READ FULL STORY

Acute renal failure

But while investigating this story, it emerged that one of the country's premier dog food companies announced that it was to withdraw its dog food from shelves around the country.

Vets Choice, manufactured by Royal Canin, is a premium dog food product sold only at veterinarian's offices and pet shops.

According to South African Veterinary Association's Gerhard Steenkamp, Royal Canin decided to recall all Vets Choice products after there were signs of contamination in the food.

Recently, there were confirmed cases of 19 dogs in Cape Town and Johannesburg who'd presented with acute renal failure, all of whom appeared to have been fed Vets choice products. According to a statement sent out to veterinary surgeons across the country and in the possession of News24, it wasn't clear what had caused the condition.

"In the interests of patients and pending tests being conducted on Vets Choice products, Royal Canin South Africa has decided to suspend all sales of Vets Choice with immediate effect and vets are requested to advise clients to cease feeding Vets Choice products to their pets until further notice," the statement said.

"It will be a huge loss for the company. It's a massive industry," said Steenkamp.

He said it was commendable that the company had decided to recall the product as soon as it heard of the problem with the food as it was unclear what had caused the problem.

Several vets confirmed that they had received a fax asking them to remove Vets Choice products from their shelves pending further instruction.

Vets Choice had at the time of publication not given a statement to confirm that they had ordered a recall of their food.

Recently, Woolworths had to recall all of its dry dog and cat food due to contamination of certain products.

However, quite interesting to Note:

Dr Steenkamp said as different companies manufactured the dog and cat foods and imported them from overseas in most instances - and different ingredients were used in the manufacturing process, any link between the reports of contamination appeared to be coincidental.

Sounds Like More of The Same, Be prepared for Perhaps Some Chance (if they are willing to admit - and not stand limitation of liability issues) Some Recall Affecting the US. (I'm quite sure just becuase they made the food in South Africa - they didn't change the Ingredient listing).

First off, a BIG THANKS to Senator Richard (Dick) Durbin.  This was a valiant effort on his part (albeit, it was kinda obvious the Witnesses were provided with potential questions prior to the hearing).

Of course, Menu Foods declined to have a representative present.

Be Sure to thank Senator Durbin: http://durbin.senate.gov/contact.cfm
IMHO - the Best Consumer Representative on the Hearing

WATCH THE HEARING:

Sen. Appropriations Subcmte. Hearing on Contaminated Pet Food
The recent recall of contaminated pet food is the subject of a Sen. Appropriations Subcmte. hearing. Govt. officials, veterinarians and industry experts discuss the role of the Food & Drug Admin. in the inspection process and whether regulations need to be updated. Sen. Herbert Kohl (D-WI) chairs the hearing.
4/12/2007: WASHINGTON, DC: 2 hr. 3 min.
(Note: A Media Player is needed - Options Real or Windows. Scroll down to Where the Link is posted. If not available - Then go to next Page). WORTH THE WATCH.

Comments? (Of course we got friggin Comments!!)

• This is the weakest Senate Hearing I've ever seen.  Most seem to be towing the company line.  Not a lot of mention about proper nutrition for pets (though the AAFCO and Pet Food Institute Witnesses noted that this was PROVEN NUTRITION, and they both own pets - noone mentioned if they ACTUALLY FED THEIR PETS THIS FOOD!!
• As has been noted on other blogs (but you really have to see it to believe it) - PFI witness Duane Ekedahl stated he regrets the deaths of 5 CATS AND 1 DOG (You're joking, right? Anyone want to own up as to which particular dog was there's? Oh, I forgot - that was Menu Food's Dog, everyone else must be totally confused as to the Death of their Dog)  Duane went on with how out of 6 pets - One was too many. (Remember Duane - be sure to pick up some Fancy Feast for your 12 year old Cat now!!)
• Duane again - citing the Banfield reports noted in Tainted Foods may Have Sickened 39,000 Pets - completely misrepresents the reports findings.
• On Cross-Contamination (as toxins at Menu Foods may have been passed on to other brands of foods not using Wheat Glutin). Eric Nelson- American Assoc of Feed Control Officials- President admits there is no requirement nor systems in place for Manufacturers to Clean the Machines betweent different brands/types of foods produced (of course, human labor would cost more).
• Duane one more time - is unfamiliar with the fact that Menu Foods first heard about the deaths of pets, and tested their own animals to confirm deaths - by February 20th (those deaths are part of the statistics, right?) - and consequently, denies there was a delay in 3 1/2 weeks later in March reporting to the FDA to recall foods. (Your Pet Food Institue At Work).
• Eric Nelson - does a Wonderful Double Dance around who funds AAFCO.  They have advisors (From the Pet Food Industry) - but the Organization in Charge of Confirming Nutrition for your Pet (read those labels folks) - has 1 EMPLOYEE (A FEMALE ASSISTANT) - (at this time, I'm LMAO).
• And lest we not forget Dr Claudia Kirk, U of TN- Vet Med Professor (whose Nutrition Programs and Research/Facilities are funded by the Mass Market Brands) - seems to fear nothing from these foods.  "There is No Crisis" Incident not as bad as reports suggest.
• Senator Durbin: "Consumers will STOP BUYING MENU FOODS Products".  The best statement ever!!

Reports - compiled now with Nestles, Del Monte, and Colgate-Palmolive sponsorhips (advertising dollars on the line) are starting to back pedal.

As Before - More to Come.