F.D.A. Now Questions Safety of Dry Pet Food

More on the recent pet food recall...

Scientists with the Food and Drug Administration have linked a chemical to the illness and deaths of cats eating tainted food and raised for the first time the possibility that dry pet food may have been affected as well as wet food.

F.D.A. officials said at a news conference today that they have linked the chemical melamine, which they said is used as a fertilizer in Asia, to the kidneys of the affected cats. Thousands of owners of both cats and dogs who feed their pets wet or dry food have complained that their pets have become ill, but the F.D.A. has not yet determined if those illnesses are linked to pet food.

The agency has recalled a batch of contaminated Chinese wheat gluten that was sent to many pet food manufacturers, including one that makes dry dog food.

But they said they do not know yet if the contaminated wheat gluten has been used to make pet food. And the F.D.A.’s finding was also immediately disputed by the New York State Food Laboratory, the testing facility that announced last Friday it had identified Aminopterin, a rat poison, in samples of tainted cat food.

Because the F.D.A. identified melamine crystals in the kidneys of affected cats, the agency is presuming the illnesses are related to the chemical, said Dr. Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the F.D.A.’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.

F.D.A officials have not yet released the name of the dry pet food company that received the contaminated wheat gluten, saying it was not clear if any of that gluten had yet been made into dog food.

“We are in the plant right now,” said Michael Rogers, director of the division of field investigations in the office of regulatory affairs for the F.D.A. “At this time, we’re not certain any dry food was made with that wheat gluten. As soon as we find out what dry food, if any, was manufactured, we will announce it publicly.”

Jessica A Chittenden, a spokeswoman for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, said “We don’t think this is the final conclusion. Melamine is not a known toxin. There’s not enough data to show that it is toxic to cats.”

She added: “We are confident we found Aminopterin, and it makes sense with the pathology.” She also said another laboratory, Animal Health Laboratory at the University of Guelph in Canada, had confirmed the presence of Aminopterin in the samples.

But the F.D.A. said they had been unable to find Aminopterin in the pet food samples it had tested. Researchers at Cornell said they were also unable to find any evidence of the rat poison.

“We believe the laboratories involved in this investigation should continue to maintain an open forum to definitively identify the one or more agents that are causing the deaths and illnesses of cats and dogs so that they do not enter the animal or human food chain in the future,” said Patrick Hooker, the agricultural commissioner for the state of New York.

Though Dr. Sundlof said he was not certain melamine was the chemical causing illness in dogs and cats, “at this point in the investigation, we are not focusing on Aminopterin.”

F.D.A. officials announced they had received more than 8,000 complaints from pet owners with sick pets, but they have not yet had “the luxury of time” to confirm all of those complaints are linked to tainted pet food.

Officials did acknowledge, however, that many of the complaints were from owners who only fed their pets dry food.

A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates was posted on Menu Foods' Web site. The company also designated two phone numbers that pet owners could call for information: (866) 463-6738 and (866) 895-2708.

Comments

[Abbi]

I think the government should do something about this! He ensures the safety of our food, and now our pets have a chance of being killed b/c we can't feed them anything and know that they're going to live to see tomorrow! Maybe a food isn't on the list yet, but if you were the one to find out it should be, how would you feel?

[Kate]

I agree. I think the gov't should release the name of the dry food manufacturer with the possibly tainted food. They shouldn't wait until people's pets start dying to publicly announce it.

[Jill]

Some of us think of our pets as children. Watching a beloved pet die of kidney failure is the most horrible experience. We need immediate answers/accountability as to how to best proceed to prevent this from happening. It's extremely frightening and unnerving. And for those who have lost pets already, it's beyond heartbreaking.

[tisha]

I have three dogs. they eat ol roy dry food. so far ive heard nothing about this food being bad, but what if it turns out to be. ive been researching since this happened and have read that the animal byproducts listed on pet food also includes euthnized dogs and cats even sick ones . if thats true thats like turning my dogs into canibles. thats sick. my pets are like my children and i have social anxeity and depression promblems and they are what keeps me going. This is insane . i have been looking up holistic pet foods and they only use human grade ingredients and none of this stuff thats being said to have harmed other animals and no soy or wheat. sounds great except its exspensive but im willing to pay for it before i let this happen to my pets. I read things all the time about great things pets do for people , saving lifes and stuff and this is how there repaid. treated unimportant. If something happens to my pets i will fight this. Somebody in charge better figure something out like not feeding our pets other dead cats and dogs just to make money or im willing to bet other pet owners will do the same fighting and they will end up losing more money than they make. this is unacceptable .

[Mary Cartwright]

I have 4 dogs and 1 cat. For years I have been paying more than I can really afford to feed them Iams because I felt the "Better" ingredients were worth it to keep them healthy! I add a little canned food to the dry to make it more appetizing. In November 2006 my 10 year old, healthy cat became seriously ill overnight and died a week later of kidney failure - I fed her Friskies (Purina) brand wet food along with her Iams dry. (Purina maintains that this brand was never affected.) I wonder now how long this has REALLY been going on, and how many of the supposedly SAFE foods are going to end up being an "OOPS - WE'RE SORRY" too! I am also Furious finding out that while we pay for "BETTER" food, most of it is produced by the same Co. making all the cheaper brands. It's time for accountability in the animal and human food production in this Country - and the fact that all this food is imported from Countries that make it cheaper because there is little/no regulation to keep it safe for consumption!

[SHERRI PRATER]

yeah -the gov't should monitor food for our babies-.
really guys do you think that they are going to do better with these creatures that can't vote-don't pay taxes and can not run video cameras to document the truth----.yeah i trust that. makes me want to go buy some fda approoved spinach or something....
I have 1 dog and i would feel terrible if i fed her bad food.she has no idea how ineffective our gov't is..........

[Poodle Information]

what is the world coming to?

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