Thursday, April 19, 2007

South Africa Pet Food Recall : Melamine in CORN Gluten

Thanks to howl911.com for the information, and who adds
This finding--melamine in corn gluten--should seal the theory that melamine was added to wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate deliberately .... With this news, Howl 911 believes all pet foods containing additives of any kind from China should be tested for melamine and other contaminates.

This finding also vindicates the claims of many pet parents whose pets were sickened or killed as a result of eating non-Menu Foods brands which did not contain wheat gluten. Virtually all pet foods and many treats contain protein additives in the form of gluten (wheat, corn) or from other grain or vegetable sources (rice, soy, whey), and many of these additives are products of China.

I am sorry to say, but this newest information--combined with the lack of full disclosure from pet food companies as to where they source their raw materials from-- renders ALL commercial pet food suspect.
I couldn't agree more, even though no US or Canadian connection has been reported. Yet. But (again thanks to howl911.com)
An independent pathologist, Professor Fred Reyers said the outbreak may not be an isolated incident. He believed there was sufficient evidence to suggest a link between this outbreak and a similar one in Cape Town as well as one in the United States. The source of the contaminant was said to be from raw materials in the food that originated from China.



Johannesburg - Tests have confirmed that Vets Choice and Royal Canin dog and cat dry pet-food products contained corn gluten contaminated with melamine, says the manufacturer.

The contaminated corn gluten was delivered to Royal Canin by a South African third-party supplier and appears to have originated from China.

Those products subject to the present recall were manufactured by Royal Canin South Africa in its Johannesburg plant between March 08 2007 and April 11 2007 and were sold exclusively in South Africa and Namibia.

...

Sales of all Vets Choice products were suspended on April 11 2007 and all affected products were being recalled from the market.


David Goldstein's post called it ahead of time after he received a tip from an industry insider 2 days ago, here.
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Our family has been wondering that the real issue is the Chinese connection. Yours is the first article that questions the safety of all prepared pet food using Chinese ingredients. My original gut reaction was this was simply a case of a manufacturer taking a chance with cheap raw ingredients - the truth may be far more horrible.

My heart goes out to those of you who lost your babies or are fighting to keep them alive.

I started a free pet food recipe website. Whether your readers visit my site to look for recipes or not, I would dearly wish for them to research what human foods can be dangerous to their furry friends. I visited several vetrinary and animal welfare websites and combined all of their advice in a single place. My family has almost always had one or more cats and dogs in the house and we thought we were well informed on what was and wasn't safe - some of the items surprised us.

April 20, 2007 at 3:01 PM

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Volunteers Needed! Get food off shelves...

howl911.com, itchmo.com, thepetfoodlist.com, petconnection.com, petfoodtracker.com and spockosbrain.com have joined together to ask for your help.
Update 6-10: Recalled food was purchased from a California store on 5-29th – this stuff is still out there!
We need Volunteers to help get recalled food off store shelves. Read this post at Spocko’s Brain for instructions. Print a list (or two) on this site. Visit stores, then report safe stores here at Itchmo.com.

Printing Information:
1. Print the main FDA Pet Food Recall page http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html – this will be handy to show retailers who haven’t heard anything about the recall. (3 pages)

2. Print the list of 14 Major National Brands - it includes flavors and date information where applicable so you can tell if specific products for these brands have been recalled. The brands are: Alpo Prime Cuts, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul, Doctors Foster and Smith, Eukanuba, Gravy Train, Hill’s Science Diet, Iams, Jerky Treats, Lick Your Chops, Mighty Dog Pouches, Natural Balance, Nutro, Pounce, Royal Canin. (It’s 7 pages and includes FDA contact information.)

3. Print the List of All Brands – it will remind you what products have been recalled - but it does not give you date and flavor information, there is just too much to put in one document. (7 pages, but the 7th page is links to more detailed information so you don’t need to print it)

If you want, and are going to a store that you know has store brands that have been recalled (such as Walmart), go to that recall information at the links on the summary or at the FDA site and print it out. Some of the information is formatted in ways that make it difficult to read (one of the main reasons for this site), but it’s better than nothing.

Note: The FDA is the official source for all recall information and recalled products. This is an unofficial volunteer effort to help get the word out and get recalled foods off of shelves. We’re doing the best we can but can’t guarantee these lists are completely accurate. Again, here is the official recall site: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html