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So what IS safe to feed your pet? What are the best products? We've got the answers for you! Click here to listen to free previews of our new audio series on pet nutrition!
Veterinarian and pet food expert Jean Hofve, DVM, and award-winning author Jan Rasmusen, have created a series of three talks on pet nutrition and health, "How NOT to Kill Your Dog or Cat!" These audios are jam-packed with important information and tips on: - How to choose a good quality, SAFE commercial pet food
- The 4 supplements every pet needs
- How to prevent disease through nutrition
- What fresh foods are best to give your pet
- How to get started with homemade pet food
- Overview of holistic therapies that can help your pet live a longer and healthier life
While we are traveling, please visit ITCHMO.COM for latest recall news!
Complete list of all recalled foods and treats related to melamine.
Complete list of other foods and treats that have received a warning or been recalled for reasons other than melamine.
**EXCELLENT list of foods from PetSitUSA.com stating whether or not they contain foreign ingredients, where they're made, and whether they've been recalled. A TERRIFIC RESOURCE!
List of organizations that provide financial assistance for pets' veterinary bills.
7/6/07 - Further tests on food that was thought to be contaminated with acetominophen did NOT confirm the original reports. The recall finally seems to be "over"--of course for the 30 or 40 thousand people left with damaged pets it will never really be over. Sadly things are returning to "business as usual" -- the pet food industry hasn't changed anything, the FDA hasn't changed anything, and most people have not changed the way they feed their pets. We're back to the situation where pet foods are STILL KILLING OUR PETS -- only slowly -- with obesity, dental disease, arthritis, diabetes, allergies, and chronic gastrointestinal problems -- instead of all at once with kidney failure. Don't let your pet be a victim -- read the nutrition articles in our library and don't fall for their marketing hype!
6/19/07 A lab report provided by an Itchmo reader indicates that a sample of unrecalled Country Value Puppy formula exported from the US contained melamine at levels higher than found in cross-contaminated foods. The food was exported to South Korea and tested positive at a university there. Reportedly, the food was made in September 2006 at Diamond's S. Carolina plant. This date is months prior to the allegedly earliest contamination date cited by Menu Foods. Diamond is investigating.
6/7/07: Ol' Roy Complete Nutrition dry dog food recalled due to Salmonella contamination.
Single lot made by Doane Pet Care, 55 pound bonus bag, UPC Code: 6 05388 72076 4, Lot Number: 04 0735 1, Best Buy Date: Apr 13 '08. Distributed to 69 Wal-Mart stores MD, NC, OH, PA, VA, WV.
6/5/07: Texas lab finds pain medicine in pet food (from DogFoodProject.com)
Acetominophin (Tylenol) and cyanuric were found in foods that are not among the more than 150 brands recalled since March 16. The highest level of acetaminophen was found in a dog food sample submitted by a manufacturer, according to the lab, which declined to identify the compan(ies) but said its officials were given the results "well over a month ago."
Note: Blog posts report acetominophen in the following foods:
Pet Pride "Turkey and Giblets Dinner" lot number APR 24 09, and Pet Pride "Mixed Grill" lot number SEP07 09.
Hills Science Diet Sensitive Stomach dry cat food
Hills Science Diet dry food, possibly Feline Light dry cat food
Special Note: A rumor is going around that kitten and/or puppy milk replacer (KMR, Esbilac, etc.) were recalled. This is NOT true. Manna Pro, an agricultural company, did recall a milk replacer intended for livestock (for reasons unrelated to the pet food recall). Kitten and puppy formulas by PetAg and others are NOT involved or recalled.
5/21/07 -- Costco Nutra-Nuggets Lamb & Rice dry dog food. Made by Diamond and distributed to Costco in CA, WA, OR, AZ, NV. Product contains melamine; probably cross-contaminated when it was made after previously-recalled Natural Balance food. No other foods affected at this time, but stay tuned--you never know!
Also today, Menu Foods added two more items to their Canadian recall list that they "forgot" to put on the May 2 list:
Western Family Canada Chicken Cuts/Gravy canned dog food
Western Family Canada Chunks of Chicken/Gravy canned cat food
5/18/07 -- Chenango Valley recalls 7 dry brands including dog, cat and ferret food due to potential cross-contamination from foods containing rice protein manufactured on the same line.
5/11/07 -- Royal Canin pulls 15 dry dog & cat foods:
Sensible Choice Chicken And Rice Adult (Dry Dog Food)
Sensible Choice Chicken And Rice Reduced (Dry Dog Food)
Sensible Choice Lamb And Rice Reduced (Dry Dog Food)
Sensible Choice Chicken And Rice Puppy (Dry Dog Food)
Sensible Choice Chicken And Rice Large Breed Puppy (Dry Dog Food)
Sensible Choice Natural Blend Adult (Dry Dog Food)
Sensible Choice Natural Blend Senior (Dry Dog Food)
Sensible Choice Natural Blend Puppy (Dry Dog Food)
Kasco Chunks (Dry Dog Food)
Kasco Hi Energy (Dry Dog Food)
Kasco Maintenance (Dry Dog Food)
Kasco Mealettes (Dry Dog Food)
Kasco Mini Chunks (Dry Dog Food)
Kasco Puppy (Dry Dog Food)
Kasco Cat (Dry Cat Food)
5/8/07 -- FDA announced today that melamine-contaminated feed was fed to unknown numbers of farm-raised fish. The ingredient incorporated into Canadian-made fishmeal (then shipped to the US and fed to fish) was "wheat flour". If wheat FLOUR is actually contaminated, then Houston, we have a VERY BIG problem. Lots of small points for concern in FDA's announcement; we'll keep digging for more info! We have long advised our clients to avoid farm-raised fish of any kind for many other reasons' see "Why Fish is Dangerous for Cats" in our library.
Also noteworthy: yesterday morning, FDA/USDA said that they needed to study the 2 million potentially contaminated chickens to ascertain the risk to people who eat them--and in the afternoon they lifted the quarantine, saying the meat from these birds is perfectly safe. Oh, and by the way, the crisis is over. I sure feel better, don't you?
5/4/07 -- Drs. Foster & Smith enlarged their recall. See above for link to current list. These foods were produced after melamine-containing foods, and even though the equipment was supposedly cleaned, they're just being extra careful. Can't blame 'em!
SmartPak Canine also executed a voluntary nationwide recall on all lots of LiveSmart Adult Lamb and Brown Rice dry dog food. This product tested positive for presence of melamine in a test received earlier in the day, probably due to cross-contamination since the food does not contain any of the suspect protein materials. One dog died and 2 other pets are sick.
5/3/07 -- FDA update: 8,500 pets killed; melanine found in pet food made way back in 2006; millions of chickens ate tainted food. See Itchmo's live blog report. Also, three new Nutro foods added to recall.
Also today, ASPCA recommends avoiding all non-US protein sources. A nice start, but...As always, Little Big Cat recommends avoiding all NON-MEAT protein sources. Cheap vegetable protein substitutes are inappropriate in the diet of a carnivore, and are used ONLY to increase profit!
5/2/07 -- Menu Foods expands recall for "potential cross-contamination." Nine dog and 19 cat canned foods added. Consumer complaints and tests suggest this is a significant issue.
5/1/07 -- Mars Inc. announces its purchase of Nutro. That may explain the recent apparent nose-dive in Nutro's quality--it's exactly what we saw right before Procter & Gamble announced its purchase of Iams. It's disappointing to see another previously great company swallowed up by a mega-corp. While Mars stresses that Nutro will maintain its quality, we think they doth protest too much--and history contradicts it.
5/1/07 -- FDA finally admits to the larger problem. They now say that 4,150 pets have died. The human food chain has also been compromised far past a few pigs: contaminated products were also fed to 3.5 million chickens--which were sold for human consumption months ago.
The following products from China covered by the FDA: wheat gluten, rice gluten, rice protein, rice protein concentrate, corn gluten, corn gluten meal, corn by-products, soy protein, soy gluten, mung-bean protein and amino acids. While wheat gluten and rice protein are not all that common in pet foods, corn gluten (implicated in pet illness and deaths in South Africa) and cornmeal (also called "ground yellow corn") are ubiquitous in dry pet foods. Soy protein is also common, especially in dog foods.
As always, Little Big Cat recommends avoiding pet foods containing plant substitutes for real meat protein.
April 27, 2007 -- More and more recalls--canned, dry, treats--more Natural Balance canned foods, Blue Buffalo, Lick Your Chops and other foods made by American Nutrition, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul and other Diamond-made foods, Costco Kirkland; see our complete list for details.
Oh well...I tried to get away from the computer for a few days, headed for the sunny beaches of Southern California -- and everything changed *again*...
You've probably heard about the contaminated "salvage" pet food having been fed to hogs in not only California, but now New York North and South Carolina, Utah, and maybe Ohio are involved. And oh yeah, not just pigs, but chickens and who knows what else. If you're not already a vegetarian, think about it...and meantime continue buying *organic* meat for your carnivorous pals since it's unlikely that salvage pet food is in the organic food chain.
The other new main points are that the FDA is now admitting that the melamine-additive issue may have been going on since mid-2006 but they evidently were hoping it would just go away. It didn't. They're now starting to take it seriously but of course, the horse is long gone and the barn door is still ajar.
For the latest update from FDA/USDA on the hogs fed contaminated feed that may have entered the human food supply, click here.
Meantime, new recalles include SmartPak's LiveSmart Weight Management Chicken and Brown Rice Dog Food made with rice protein concentrate. Other new recalls include Drs. Foster & Smith dog and cat dry food, Lick Your Chops Lamb Meal, Rice and Egg dry cat food, foods from Diamond, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's, Costco Kirkland brand canned foods, and more foods from Natural Balance and Blue Buffalo. See our complete recall list for details.
April 20, 2007 - Medi-Cal/Royal Canin Canada adds more veterinary diets to recall:
Dog: Canine Early Cardiac EC, Canine Sensitivity RC, Canine Skin Support SS / Cat: Feline Hypoallergenic HP, Feline Sensitivity RD (Rice And Duck). A new contaminant, cyanuric acid, was found in rice gluten (an ingredient in the recalled foods). This contaminant is cyanuric acid, which is chemically related to, but distinct from, melamine.
4/21/07 -- FDA says contaminated pet food ended up in pig feed, pigs sold for human consumption. A criminal investigation has been opened
4/20/07 -- Researchers name more toxins. Several labs have found cyanuric acid, amilorine and amiloride -- all by-products of melamine -- in the crystals of animals' urine, tissues and kidneys.
The FDA also said today that the contaminated wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate used in pet food in the United States and Canada and melamine-tainted corn gluten used in recalled pet food in South Africa have all been traced to companies in China.
4/19/07 -- Royal Canin recalls contaminated dry foods dog and cat foods; company confirms there is a "melamine derivative" in the rice protein of 8 dry foods, including 1 veterinary cat food, 2 veterinary dog foods, and 5 Sensible Choice dog foods; click here for complete list.
4/18/07 -- Blue Buffalo Company recalls their Spa Select Kitten Dry Food, "Best Used By Mar. 07 08 B." This food tested positive for melamine.
Halfway around the world, the South African pet food recall has taken an ominous turn. Melamine-contaminated CORN GLUTEN MEAL is being blamed for acute renal failure in pets there. Corn gluten meal is an extremely common ingredient in dry pet food in the US and Canada. Royal Canin and Vets Choice are the companies involved.
What do wheat gluten meal, rice protein concentrate, and corn gluten meal have in common? They're all cheap substitutes for real meat protein. Pet food companies who use grain protein extracts instead of meat are guilty of trying to increase their profits by cutting production costs--at the expense of our pets' health. Evidently, Chinese products are SO cheap, that even with shipping costs and the higher bulk price created by boosting the apparent protein level with large amounts of melamine, they're STILL worthwhile to import. Even products that have in the past been respectable are guilty--Natural Balance only recently replaced some of the venison meat protein in their food with rice protein. The chickens are coming home to roost, fellas--and the truth behind the pet food industry is clearer than ever before.
Scroll down for past alerts and information on the pet food recall!
Click here to listen to free previews of new audio series on pet nutrition! Veterinarian and pet food expert Jean Hofve, DVM, and award-winning author Jan Rasmusen, have created a series of three 60+-minute talks on pet nutrition and health, "How NOT to Kill Your Dog or Cat!" Audios are just $15 each or all three for only $35--a savings of $10! Click here for more information!
Score one for the good guys! Dr. Jean has been invited to Los Angeles to be taped as part of a special on the pet food recall being produced by CBS. We'll let you know how and where to see the program as soon as we find out!
4/18/07 Update -- As of 4/17, ChemNutra, the supplier of melamine-tainted rice protein has told FDA they delivered the contaminated product to FIVE pet food companies, yet FDA still refuses to name the companies. Two say their products tested negative for melamine, but Natural Balance has withdrawn 4 items, and Blue Buffalo has recalled 1. Meanwhile we pet lovers are floundering around trying to find something to feed our precious ones, but the next thing we choose could be just as bad as the recalled foods.
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM, FDA? If more pets die because you are letting poison food to be bought and fed while you protect the profits of four unnamed companies, then you deserve far worse than the mass of bad karma you've already accumulated! You work for US, the American People--do your job, for once!
****4/16/07 -- Natural Balance recalls venison formulas of dry dog and cat food due to MELAMINE contamination! These foods do not use wheat gluten! See story below.
- Venison and Green Pea Dry Cat Formula
- Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Formula
- Venison and Brown Rice Treats for Dogs
- Venison and Brown Rice Canned Formula for Dogs
From a story posted today in USA TODAY
Natural Balance Pet Foods said Tuesday it found melamine in two of its pet food products, which the company has recalled...But Natural Balance doesn't use wheat gluten, the ingredient contaminated with melamine in the Menu recall. Instead, it suspects that melamine was in a rice protein concentrate...Melamine was detected in samples of the food. (Please click here for the rest of this story.)
A later story from USA today claims: Rice Protein Sold to 4 Others, FDA Told a Week Ago Supplier was identified as San Francisco-based 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." USA Today says of those five, only Diamond Pet Foods is named. The other major manufacturer tested for melamine and it did not test positive. Diamond Pet Food says they do not use rice protein in their foods...according to Thacher, the melamine contamination was reported to the FDA a week ago. The Amazing Itchmo also notes that Natural Balance updated their list of ingredients to include rice protein in recent days — raising questions about when the substance was actually added to the product. Little Big Cat has information that Natural Balance Venison & Brown Rice dry dog food sold as recently as 2 weeks ago does NOT contain rice gluten or rice protein concentrate. Their Venison & Green Pea canned cat food, also bought 2 weeks ago and sitting on my desk, also appears to be free of this ingredient. But am I going to feed it to my cats? Ummmm....no.
4/15/07 -- Recalled foods are still being sold! Join the Safe Stores effort by printing out a list of recalled foods and checking your local retailers; click here to get started.
It's Not Just Us -- South Africa is in the middle of an expanding recall, after just getting over one in February. Among brands involved were Hill's Science Diet and Royal Canin. The recall expanded again on 4/17. No word yet on the culprit, which coincidentally causes acute renal failure. Wheat gluten may be a suspect but information is still sketchy.
4/13/07 -- Notes on April 12 Senate Hearing at Itchmo.com. While not a complete transcript, Itchmo's excellent notes summarize the session. The 2-hour hearing covered a lot of ground and exposed some of the pet food industry's favorite claims as lies, including "pet food is a highly regulated industry" and "pet food is safe." The industry's sleazy mouthpiece, Duane Ekedahl of the Pet Food Institute, continued to parrot the party line--including the ludicrous assertion that "6 pets" had been affected by the recall--and despite a good trouncing from Senator Durbin. Dr. Claudia Kirk, a former Hill's nutritionist, provided an interesting look at the workings of a pet food plant. Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins challenged the system with a blistering statement about the pitiful state of affairs at the FDA and the pet food industry.
The FDA continued in its bureaucratic ineptitude, admitting that they didn't know if more foods would be recalled, and that recalled foods are still on the shelves in some stores.
4/11/07 -- Researchers are getting closer to the real toxin causing renal failure in pets. Most experts do not think that melamine alone is to blame; but they believe there is another toxin for which melamine is a marker. More than 10 laboratories are researching the crystals and working together to develop criteria to determine which kidney illnesses were caused by the contaminated pet food. Complete article here.
***4/10/07 -- OVER 30 MORE FOODS RECALLED! Three canned cat foods not originally in the recall, along with many other Nutro cat foods, private brands, and--for the first time--a Royal Canin product--its prescription Medi-Cal Feline Dissolution Formula canned diet--were all recalled today. Since it was announced this morning that 3 Nutro products tested positive for melanine at UC Davis (tests requested by a private family), Menu Foods suddenly discovered that a part of the contaminated wheat gluten had been shipped to its Ontario, Canada plant and incorporated into a long list of cat foods not previously on the recall list.
4/10/07 -- Three Nutro products NOT on the official recall list contain melamine. A California family had these foods privately tested after their cat became ill. The UC Davis veterinary laboratory confirmed the toxin. Thanks Itchmo for the heads-up! Full story here.
* Chicken Cacciatore, UPC 79105352055
* California Chicken Supreme, UPC 79105300117
* Lamb & Turkey Cutlets, UPC 79105300148
4/6/07 -- As was inevitable, it appears that this entire recall fiasco is going to boil down to one overriding principle: profit. FDA told CNN that it was investigating the possibility that melamine was added on purpose to boost the protein content of the wheat gluten, thus upping the selling price. This would certainly explain why there was so much melamine in the wheat gluten it could be seen with the naked eye. For more information, see Howl911. But take your blood pressure medicine first.
Liar Liar Award to China, as quoted in the New York Times: "The Chinese government said yesterday that no wheat gluten had been exported to the United States or Canada. Xuzhou Anying denied it had ever shipped wheat gluten to either country." But according to an AP report just a few hours earlier, Xuzhou Anying said that the U.S. is its only foreign market, to which it exports more than 10,000 tons of wheat gluten a year. Have our corporations and government officials been taking lessons from these guys?
4/5/07 -- Lest we go a day without news, Menu graciously extended the recall date for its products back to November 8, 2006. We hope someone investigates why Menu failed to wait until Friday to release this news.
Now, let's see...in the beginning, Menu was sure that the wheat gluten was at fault because it started using a new supplier of that ingredient IN DECEMBER. Oh, excuse us, it appears that they really meant NOVEMBER all along. Fortunately, most of the Menu-produced foods have already been taken out of stores, no matter what dates they were made.
4/4/07 -- The importer of the wheat gluten has been identified as ChemNutra. While there are accusations and denials flying every which way, it seems clear that at least some of the wheat gluten could be present in human-edible products. Wheat gluten, as those of us who are allergic to it know well, is present in about a zillion products, from salad dressing to canned soup to lunch meat.
Also today: The Toronto Daily News reports that "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. 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." (Thanks to Howl911.com for this report!)
Almost exactly a year go, a very un-publicized recall of Royal Canin veterinary canned foods that was blamed for sickening 10 sick pets due to excessive vitamin D. Over time, this excess caused hypercalcemia and kidney damage. A class-action suit was just filed in Canada on March 20, 2007.
Numbers in Flux: While FDA clings to its increasingly ridiculous statistic of 14 animals dead (they say "pets" but most were not pets--they were Menu Foods' lab animals), veterinarians in Oregon and Michigan report 38 and 49 deaths, respectively, and the count on VIN (Veterinary Information Network) is well over 400. Pet guardians have reported more than 3,000 deaths.
4/3/07 -- One blog poster on Itchmo.com made an excellent point about wheat gluten--it is washed in water, and (duh!) the water in this case is necessarily Chinese. Having just returned from India and knowing what the drinking water is like in Asia--ack! There may be a whole lot more bad stuff in that wheat gluten than anyone has yet discovered. And of course the other ingredients that all the recalled foods have in common are not off the hook either. It has never been confirmed that melamine, even lots of it, is toxic enough to kill. Many sources are now calling it a "marker" for some other as-yet-undiscovered toxic substance.
4/2/07 -- The wheat gluten at the heart of the recall scandal is reported by Del Monte as being "food grade"--meaning it could have entered the human food supply. Click here for more info. Of course, an adult human can handle a whole lot more toxic load than a 2-pound kitten or a 4-pound Maltese. However, maybe the FDA will start doing its job if there's a potential for human--not just animal--harm.
4/1/07 -- FDA has apparently identified the Chinese company that produced the wheat gluten suspected of poisoning thousands of pets. See itchmo's blog for details. ***New Info (4/4): The Chinese exporter claims that it acquired the wheat gluten from many local suppliers. A CNN video report shows the poor conditions at the company's warehouse. Additionally, the company said it sold part of the wheat gluten to another Chinese exporter, although FDA has not said a word about that.
Click here for a complete list of recalled brands. MANY new foods and treats have been added!
***New info also being added to older news where appropriate; and more important information has necessarily been pushed down the page: be sure to scroll down!
3/31/07 -- MORE, MORE and MORE RECALLS:
Del Monte Pet Products (another private labeler and co-packer--a competitor of Menu Foods) is voluntarily recalling 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 dog food products sold under private label brands (including OL' ROY canned dog food). The affected brands and products have been added to our up-to-date list of recalled items.
***DRY CAT FOOD recalled: Hill's Prescription Feline m/d dry food recalled 3/30. Posted on the Hill's website: "Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. is voluntarily recalling Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food from the market." This is the only dry food on the list--so far.
***PURINA again...From a midnight press release--again on a Friday (3/30), although barely: "Nestle Purina PetCare Company today announced it is voluntarily recalling all sizes and varieties of its ALPO Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with specific date codes." They go on to say that "no other Purina dog food products" are affected. Did they forget that they already recalled Purina Mighty Dog pouches??
***A press conference held on 3/31 revealed new findings on melamine. The New York Times reports: 'Testing by the FDA and Cornell University has found melamine in samples of recalled pet food as well as in crystal form in the urine and kidney tissue of dead cats. They've also found the chemical, in apparently raw form in concentrations as high as 6.6 percent, in wheat gluten used as ingredient of the recalled cat and dog foods, said Stephen Sundlof, the FDA's chief veterinarian. ''There was a sizable amount of melamine. You could see crystals in the wheat gluten,'' Sundlof told The Associated Press.' To keep this figure in perspective, there is only 6.5% fiber in Iams' most severe weight loss/hairball food, and only 6% salt in Skippy Peanut Butter!
It was also revealed that neither Cornell nor FDA had found aminopterin in the food samples they were testing--the rat poison that was originally discovered by a New York State laboratory. Cornell notified FDA about these results on March 26 (Monday) and again on March 27 (Tuesday), yet FDA waited until Friday to release the news. Hmm...there seems to be a pattern here....
Also in Friday's (3/31) press conference, FDA admits they have not even tried to confirm any of the 9,000+ complaints it has received of sick or dead pets. The Pet Connection blog has received reports of over 3,000 cat and dog deaths. Veterinarians have reported nearly 500 cases. Yet the "official" death count remains ludicrously low at 14. Is it just us, or is there something terribly wrong with this picture?
***At the same FDA press conference, the Dean of the Cornell vet school also said that dry food may also be involved. Wheat gluten is used in many dry foods, mostly dog foods. There have been reports that pets have gotten sick from eating dry food as well as the recalled canned products. A partial list of dry foods containing wheat gluten can be found here.
***According to a press conference on 3/30, melamine, a toxic chemical, has been found in the recalled foods, in the wheat gluten, AND in the tissues of the original test animals from Menu Foods. Melamine is used as a fertilizer in Asia, so they are still trumpeting about the Chinese wheat. However, you can find plenty of it right here in the USA if you're paying attention! Melamine is a breakdown product of trichloromelamine, which is EPA-approved in the U.S. as a sanitizer and disinfectant and is approved for use in food processing plants. Melamine is ALSO a breakdown product of a chemical called cyromazine, an insecticide with many EPA approved uses in the US including flea spray, crop spray, and a feed ingredient for poultry. No need for Chinese wheat when we are so liberal with poisons in our own food supply.
***The FDA also issued a formal warning to The Iams Company for using an unapproved and potentially toxic form of chromium in its light and weight reducing formulas of Eukanuba dry and canned foods for dogs and cats. The form of chromium used, chromium tripicolinate, is only approved for use in swine diets. It is thought to be genotoxic; that is, it can cause genetic mutations and/or tumors. Iams doesn't have to recall the food containing this ingredient, but it can't use it in "future formulations."
*** A nationwide march in memory of pets who died from eating recalled pet food has been scheduled for April 28 by Keep Our Pets Safe.
NOTE: Information updates identified with "***New Info."
***NEW INFO (07/03/27) The ASPCA is echoing the same doubts that we expressed here when the aminopterin was found in the food. The symptoms do not fit the known adverse reactions to this drug; only at high doses does the acute renal failure syndrome occur, and other symptoms that should have been there, have not been seen. We'll keep you posted!!
ORIGINAL INFO
On Friday, March 16, 2007, Canada-based Menu Foods initiated a "voluntary recall" of 60 million units of dog and cat food packaged in cans and pouches. The recall was initiated when 10 animals (9 cats and a dog) died from renal (kidney) failure caused by the food.
The "cuts and gravy" wet foods were manufactured by Menu Foods for more than 50 brands of dog food and 40 brands of cat food, including Iams, Eukanuba, and Nutro, as well as store brands for Wal-Mart, Petsmart, Kroger (including grocery chains King Soopers, City Market, Ralph's, and many others), Safeway, Vons, and many more. Hill's Science Diet (5 cat foods) and Purina (Mighty Dog pouches only) have joined the voluntary recall, since Menu also manufactures some of their foods. Click here for a complete list of recalled brands. We will keep this list as up-to-date as possible. (***Note: many other brands are also made by Menu, including some that we feel are still good products, like Nature's Variety, Wellness, Castor & Pollux, Newman's Own Organics, Wysong, Innova and EaglePack. NONE of these products are involved in the recall.) ***New Info: PetSitUSA has posted a list of foods that are NOT made at a Menu facility.
If you are feeding any of the recalled foods, stop immediately! Hang on to empty pouches or cans of recalled food that you may have fed that show the date, lot number, or bar code. In many cases this is on the can itself and not the paper label. If at some point you need to file a claim for veterinary expenses, you will need the original packaging. If you bought a case or variety pack and still have some left, KEEP THEM. Iams has requested that unused portions be returned to them, but DON'T DO IT! You may need them later to substantiate your claim. If you have a camera, it wouldn't be a bad idea to photograph the identifying information for backup.
If you have a pet affected by this food, you must get your pet into the FDA's system. Contact your local veterinarian, and let him or her contact the state veterinarian, who will then report your pet's illness to the FDA. This provides a verified trail of information, plus a track history of the complaint. We cannot stress this enough.
Iowa State University is offering to autopsy and test food for toxicity. See Itchmo's Seattle Blog for more info. For more information on the first animals that died, click here--but viewer discretion is advised. This information is not for the queasy or the tender-hearted.
If you need to change foods quickly, be sure to read our article on Switching Foods to make the process as safe and stress-free as possible for both you and your pets! ***New info: If your pets have been eating any of this food, EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT SICK, you should take them to the vet for testing. Vets are reporting finding abnormal blood tests in normal-appearing animals! Symptoms may take weeks to develop, but you can get a head start with treatment and save lives.
(07/03/24): Rat poison blamed. While this initially didn't make sense given the listed toxicities of the culprit, aminopterin, further investigation reveals nephrotoxiciy (toxic to kidneys) at high doses, and the process looks similar to what has been seen in pets. Prompt, aggressive treatment with fluids is necessary. How such a large amount of this compound got into the wheat and ended up processed into pet food is still a mystery; however, it could have been added post-harvest to "protect" the wheat during either storage or transportation. We're told that Cornell has not called off the search; other suspects could still turn up. NOTE: This may be a false lead; only one other lab has found aminopterin in the food.
Due to the extreme urgency of this issue, we're creating a series of recordings on how to feed your pets to keep them safe and healthy. These were originally going to be teleseminars, but the information is changing too fast to wait. Click here to listen to a free preview!
Initial reports blamed the wheat gluten in the food, which Menu says it was getting from a new supplier between December 3, 2006, and March 6, 2007. They say they've changed suppliers since then.
According to internal documents, Menu Foods is the leading North American private-label / contract manufacturer of wet pet food products sold by supermarket retailers, mass merchandisers, pet specialty retailers and other retail and wholesale outlets. Approximately 1% of canned foods sold in the U.S. are made by Menu Foods. As many as half a million animals may have been exposed to this company's products. Tens of thousands of animals are likely to be affected specifically by the recalled foods. Symptoms associated with the toxic food are: vomiting (usually within 12 hours of eating the food); poor appetite or refusal to eat; lethargy; weakness; increased thirst; altered urination; increased salivation; breath may smell of ammonia; and blood in the urine. Prompt treatment is crucial; if your pet is showing these symptoms--no matter what you're feeding--contact your veterinarian immediately!
While the food appears to be causing acute renal failure, this condition can permanently damage the kidneys and lead into chronic renal failure. Read our article, Kidney Disease in Older Cats, to find out more about this deadly process, which affects dogs as well as cats, and can affect all ages, though it is more common in older pets.
Feeling frustrated--or just plain disgusted--with the pet food industry? What you need is trustworthy information. Dr. Jean has just updated her top-selling 15-page special report, What Cats Should Eat, which is available in the Little Big Cat Bookstore. This report includes a comprehensive list Dr. Jean's Approved Brands of dry, canned, and raw commercial cat foods, to simplify your shopping process and reassure you that you're really getting the best for your feline companions! Foods like those that were recalled didn't make the cut into Dr. Jean's exclusive club of approved brands! Click here for details.
How to Keep Your Pets Safe from Toxic Food!
In the Menu Foods recall scandal, pets' kidneys are being destroyed due to something in the food. Wheat gluten has been put forward as the prime suspect, but no one has explained how an inocuous grain like wheat can cause so much damage. Indeed, it is probably not the wheat itself, but the grain may have been contaminated with toxic mold, heavy metals, pesticides, or chemicals. Plant products, such as grains, can be condemned for human use due to mold, excessive pesticide residue, and other problems, but there are no legal limits for using these condemned products in pet food.
Wheat gluten is used in canned foods as for texture, and as an inexpensive source of protein that can be used to boost the protein percentage without adding much to the cost of producing the food. It is not an officially defined ingredient according to the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), which sets the standards by which pet food is made in the U.S.
Other suspects would have to include drugs and other toxins from the animal by-products used in all the recalled foods. By-products are a much cheaper source of animal protein than meat. All of the recalled foods used some type of by-products (including liver, giblets, and other organ meats) as well as wheat gluten.
Toxins could also include antibiotics, some of which can survive heat processing intact. There are a few kidney-toxic antibiotics that are extremely restricted, with long "withdrawal" times required before an animal can be slaughtered for human consumption. However, sick livestock, or those that die with high levels of drugs in their systems, can still be processed for pet food.
Bacterial endotoxins and fungal mycotoxins can pass unchanged through all the processing a pet food undergoes. Toxin-producing bacteria like Salmonella and Clostridia are very common contaminants of all slaughterhouse products, but especially the sorts of things that make up by-products, like digestive organs. You might know some of the products of Clostridia bacteria better as botulism and tetanus. Pet food makers know that the animal ingredients they buy are contaminated with these organisms, but they have always relied on the high heat used in processing pet food to kill the bugs. However, they also know that dangerous bacterial toxins remain in the food even after the bacteria are dead. Whether these are enough to cause illness is unknown.
Fungal mycotoxins have been blamed for several recalls of dry dog food in the past several years, some of which killed dozens of dogs. Aflatoxin, one of the nastiest, is common in corn, but can also occur in wheat. Tests on the recalled pet food were reportedly negative for aflatoxin, but there are hundreds of others. Fungal toxins are typically more toxic to the liver, but some affect the kidneys.
Other drugs or chemicals could potentially contaminate any of the ingredients. In a recent incident in South Africa, extensive testing found ethylene glycol (antifreeze) in the food. However, ethylene glycol, cleaning solvents, some mycotoxins, and several pesticides have been preliminarily ruled out as the cause based on laboratory testing.
If you've been reading our CatsWalk newsletter for a while, or if you've browsed our Little Big Cat Library, you've probably read quite a bit about nutrition and feeding. Dr. Jean does recommend feeding canned food, especially to cats. Dr. Jean has always stressed that foods containing a lot of animal by-products or grains should be avoided. Besides wheat gluten, a common feature in all of the recalled products is the use of by-products, which also includes organ meats such as giblets and liver.
Pet food makers have, in the past, been "insulted" by Dr. Jean's allegation that profit, not pet health, is the bottom line for most of the big companies. But this incident proves the point. It is particularly interesting to note that Menu Foods' initial press release was directed to "Business and Financial Advisors"--not consumers--and in fact specifically stated that it should NOT be released to the U.S. media. Menu clearly had the potential damage to its profits foremost in mind.
So how do you prevent such deadly results in your pets? Many of the smaller makers of natural and meat-based pet foods are dedicated to putting out a decent product at a reasonable price. While they obviously have to make money to stay in business, they still put quality ahead of profit by using real meat instead of by-products; fewer grains; and other better-quality ingredients. Those are the ones you want to buy. The Little Big Cat library has dozens of articles on nutrition that explain what and how to feed your pets to keep them healthy. Feel free to make copies for your friends and co-workers. Our new audio series, available in our Bookstore, covers all the info you need to know in 70 minutes. Link to us if you have a website. Let's get the word OUT!
To help you protect your pets and learn what you need to know about dog and cat nutrition, pet food expert and veterinarian Jean Hofve, DVM, and an Rasmusen, award-winning author of our favorite dog care book, Scared Poopless: The Straight Scoop on Dog Care, will offer a series of three 60-minute talks on pet nutrition and health, "How Not to Kill Your Pet!" Click here to listen to a free preview!
#1 -- What the Heck Do We Feed Them Now?
With all the media focusing on pet food, whose advice are you taking? We'll tell you:
• What's wrong with the pet food industry. Think you know? Think again!
• How to tell what's really in pet food.
• Exactly how to pick the best and SAFEST food for your dog or cat.
• Why your vet may be the worst source of nutrition information.
• How to get fussy animals to eat a better diet.
#2 -- Diet, Disease, and Longevity
Whether your pet is young or old, healthy or plagued by health issues, diet is the key. We'll tell you:
• How you can extend your pet's life by years with food alone.
• How you can prevent and treat more than a dozen chronic diseases without drugs, just by feeding the right foods.
• What four nutritional supplements are crucial for every dog and cat.
#3 -- From Mere Survival to Glowing Health
We're going to tell you how to make sure your pet enjoys the longest, healthiest life possible!
• What you should never give your pet!
• How to get started with homemade or raw food diets.
• If homemade and raw diets are not for you, you can still make a big difference by augmenting your pet's diet with fresh foods.
• About homeopathy, flower essences, acupuncture and other holistic treatments, and how they can help your pet.
Click here for more information and to order!
FDA puts the mortality rate at 20%; according to several sources, hundreds of deaths have already been reported.) Hopefully people's pets will get faster and better care and the death rate will be much lower. Still, Menu provides 1% of the canned food sold in the U.S., which could result in devastating losses among our 160 million pet dogs and cats. We may never know the true extent of this tragedy.
Veterinarians are also reporting many animals sick or dead, mostly cats, but many dogs. Vets are also outraged that neither Iams nor Hill's notified them in anything like a timely manner, although the companies seem to have no trouble sending marketing materials by fax. Hundreds of veterinarians from all over the US and Canada have posted recent and ongoing cases of acute kidney failure to a professional bulleting board. Most are reporting multiple cases.
We'll keep this page updated as the story develops. Please check back with us!
If you'll be in Denver on April 29th, please plan to join pet nutrition experts, including our own Dr. Jean and 3 other holistic veterinarians and experts, on a 4-hour journey through the pet food jungle. You'll learn: what and how our dogs and cats are designed to eat; to understand pet food labels and make comparisons; specific information on the extreme requirements of an extreme carnivore--the cat; how to make homemade food for your pets; and understand how food can be therapy from the Chinese Traditional perspective. This seminar will go from noon to 4pm at the Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine at 1441 York St. (near Colorado Blvd.) Visit www.harmonyanimalwellness.com (click on the link to April events on the left) for more information and to register.
EVENT SOLD OUT!! We're looking into recording and will let you know if that works out!
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