House Hears Testimony on Pet Food Poisonings; FDA's Lack of Authority Cited

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/04/house_food_safety.html

U.S. Food Supply at High Risk of Terrorist or Profit-Driven Tampering

American food is high risk for both natural and terrorist-related outbreaks and many in Congress are questioning whether the Food and Drug Administration can adequately protect Americans.

With increased reports of dangerous imported glutens, particularly from China, infecting pets and possibly humans, Representatives held one of a series of hearings today to determine how to strengthen our nation's food supply.

"This has become a systematic problem that requires systematic change," Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said.

Representatives blamed the FDA's lack of power for the rash of recent food recalls.

"Every American has reason to worry about pathogens in our food supply that sickens 72 million and kill about 5,000 of us each year," Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) said. "It is important we learn how much of this death and illness could have been prevented by diligent and properly funded regulatory agencies, primarily the Food and Drug Administration."

Foxes Guard Henhouse

The most-noted flaw in the FDA's authority is its complete inability to order a food recall. By law, the manufacturer or distributor must voluntarily recall the tainted products.

This shortcoming was dramatically illustrated over the weekend, when ConsumerAffairs.Com's Lisa Wade McCormick reported that the FDA admitted knowing of five companies that received contaminated Chinese rice protein concentrate.

Three firms have identified themselves by announcing recalls; the other two are not publicly known because the FDA will not name them until the companies come forth voluntarily.

Currently, recalls are dependant upon the media to disseminate information and for consumers to be conscientious and well-read buyers.

DeGette has proposed legislation that will give the FDA and USDA the power to order recalls and also to increase recalls' effectiveness by forcing stores to remove dangerous products from shelves.

This morning's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing raised a continuing concern about imported foods from China, which has been at the center of the pet food recall. Recent reports claim the Chinese manufacturer purposely poisoned the wheat, rice and possibly corn glutens used in pet foods and to feed hogs.

After a handful of theories as to why pets around the country were dying, the FDA finally determined that Melamine, a toxic plastic, was to blame.

"Melamine is used in plastics and is not edible," Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) said. "In light of that fact, the FDA is investigating whether it was intentionally added to the wheat gluten or other ingredients to boost the protein content in order to make the products more valuable."

No Accident

Many are convinced that it was no accident that the Chinese tainted the glutens.

"Regardless of whether they are wheat, rice or corn-based proteins, they share two characteristics," Dingell said. "First, they were contaminated deliberately. Second, they came from our trading partners in China."

Yesterday, the Chinese finally allowed FDA inspectors into the country to inspect the suspect processing plants. But that came after an initial request which the Chinese immediately turned down.

"China's foot-dragging in a public health incident is totally unacceptable," Barton said. "Building a great wall of bureaucracy between our experts and their problem is not going to make the problem disappear."

"The suspicion of international contamination is eerily similar to past incidents in China," Barton said. "A dozen years ago, 89 children in Haiti died after taking cough medicine made with, believe it or not, poisonous antifreeze that was traced back to China. The world never got an answer from the Chinese on how this crime occurred.

"In an investigation started in 1998 when I was the chairman of this subcommittee, we found that 155 Americans were sickened by impure gentamicin sulfate made by a Chinese firm," Barton continued. "We never got a definitive answer on how this unapproved, impure drug ingredient got into that particular product."

Terrorism Risk

The poisoning of thousands of pets with dangerous food imported from China demonstrates how easily terrorists could kill Americans by poisoning food imported through a porous food inspection network.

"So far, the evidence suggests that the deliberate contamination was for greed and not as a trial run for terrorist purposes," Dingell said.

But a February Government Accountability Office report also concluded that the food network is a "high risk" and that terrorists could easily kill Americans through our own food.

There are a handful of bills pending in both the House and the Senate that seek to strengthen the food inspection network, but any preliminary vote on legislation appears months away at best.

The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will hold another hearing in approximately two weeks that will bring FDA officials to the stand.

LiveSmart Weight Management Chicken and Brown Rice Recall

Updated Wednesday 6:30pm: Per their new press release today, their contract manufacturer is Chenengo Valley Pet Food in New York.

Another non-recall recall. Apparently this was 'announced' on Friday, though noone knew about it until today. So, once again I must say "What is WRONG with these people??!!"

LiveSmart Weight Management Chicken and Brown Rice Recall

On Friday, April 20, SmartPak initiated a voluntary recall of a single production run of the LiveSmart Weight Management Chicken and Brown Rice Dog Food.

The particular lot of food recalled included rice protein concentrate that was supplied by Wilbur-Ellis, the same company that supplied rice protein concentrate contaminated with Melamine to Natural Balance. This was the first time that our supplier purchased and used rice protein concentrate from Wilbur-Ellis. No previous lots were affected, nor do we use rice protein concentrate in any other formulas of LiveSmart dog or cat foods.

Thankfully, the product was just produced, and only a very limited amount of product had left our facility prior to the recall (less than 1200 pounds). We have notified every affected pet owner via both phone and email.

We have not had any reports of injury to any dogs. Dogs who have consumed the LiveSmart Weight Management food and show signs of kidney failure (such as loss of appetite, lethargy and vomiting) should be seen by a veterinarian.

We have temporarily suspended further distribution of the LiveSmart Weight Management Chicken and Brown Rice Dog Food. We will notify you when we have the product back in stock and will continue to update our website as more information becomes available.

N.C. hogs got food tainted with melamine & FDA Investigating other hog operations

Added 6:41pm: A couple of places are reporting that a POULTRY Farm (ie chickens) may also have received tainted feed. More here when I get it confirmed...

Added 5:15pm: Hogs in 3 states have tested positive for melamine. (As reported on the CBS Evening News)

FDA says probing "thousands" of hogs for tainted feed

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday that "thousands" of U.S. hogs might be affected by the agency's investigation of livestock feed contaminated with melamine.

"I don't have the numbers on that right now but it potentially affects thousands of hogs," Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, told reporters. "Some of the hog operations were fairly sizable."

Livestock feed that may have been contaminated with ingredients imported from China was sent to hog farms in North and South Carolina, California, New York, Utah and "possibly" Ohio, he said.

N.C. hogs got food tainted with melamine (Note: this is in addition to ones in California that we heard about last week. )

Hogs at a western North Carolina farm have tested positive for melamine, the industrial chemical blamed for killing and sickening dogs and cats that ate it in their food.

North Carolina Department of Agriculture officials said that none of the hogs that ate the tainted food have entered the food chain for human consumption. The department has quarantined the farm, which has about 1,400 hogs, until it the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can advise what to do next.

The department declined to release the name of the farm. It said no other farms are believed to have been affected.

"The system worked and these animals were intercepted before they were allowed to leave the farm," said Mary Ann McBride, assistant state veterinarian for the department. "We want people to know the food is very much safe."

In California, officials have quarantined 1,500 animals at the American Hog Farm in Ceres, Calif., where hogs are also believed to have eaten tainted food.

North Carolina investigators are attempting to determine whether the melamine was absorbed into the meat of the pigs and whether it would eventually be safe to eat.

N.C. officials said the pigs' food came from a proccessing plant in South Carolina. That food contained a rice protein concentrate from San Francisco-based Wilbur-Ellis Co., one of three pet food makers that recalled products last week that were tainted with rice protein concentrate imported from China.

Royal Canin CANADA Recalls more DRY Foods

http://www.royalcanin.ca/index_en.php

Royal Canin Canada Voluntarily Recalls Pet Food Products That May Contain Contaminated Rice Protein Concentrate

Guelph, Ontario -- Following Royal Canin USA's discovery of a melamine derivative in rice gluten in some of its dry pet food products and its decision to recall these products, Royal Canin Canada has decided to remove Sensible Choice Diet and certain veterinary prescribed specialty diet products from distribution.

The following Royal Canin Canada products are being recalled:

• ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY DIET CANINE EARLY CARDIAC

• ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY DIET CANINE SENSITIVITY RC
  (Rice and Catfish)

• ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY DIET CANINE SKIN SUPPORT

• ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY DIET FELINE HYPOALLERGENIC HP

• ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY DIET FELINE SENSITIVITY RD
  (Rice and Duck)

In the interest of pet safety, Royal Canin Canada has taken the proactive measure to recall the products listed above.

"We cannot express how devastated we are to notify pet owners of this finding," said Xavier Unkovic, CEO Royal Canin Canada. "However, we feel that this recall is necessary as we absolutely cannot put pets at risk."

Based on today’s announcement, pet owners should immediately stop feeding their pets the Royal Canin Canada pet food products listed in this statement. Pet owners should consult with a veterinarian if they are concerned about the health of their pet. No other Royal Canin Canada diets are affected by this recall and CONTINUE TO BE safe for pets to eat.

Along with the recall announcement, Royal Canin Canada will no longer use any Chinese suppliers for any of its vegetable proteins.

Pet owners who have questions about this recall and other Royal Canin Canada products should call 1-866-494-6844.

Criminal Probe Opened in Pet Food Scare

It's about time.

Criminal Probe Opened in Pet Food Scare

FDA Says Charges Possible; Tainted Pork Confirmed in Calif.

By Patricia Sullivan

Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 21, 2007; Page A10

The Food and Drug Administration has opened a criminal investigation in the widening pet food contamination scandal, officials said yesterday, as it was confirmed that tainted pork might have made its way onto human dinner plates in California.

More than 100 hogs that ate contaminated food at a custom slaughterhouse in California's Central Valley were sold to private individuals and to an unnamed licensed facility in Northern California during the past 2 1/2 weeks. The hogs consumed feed that contained rice protein tainted with melamine, the industrial chemical that has sickened and killed dogs and cats around the world.

Almost a dozen companies have found that they have used melamine-contaminated ingredients from China in their animal foods, either wheat gluten, corn gluten or rice protein concentrate. In the United States, more than 60 million containers of cat and dog food have been pulled from the market in the past five weeks.

People who bought pork from the American Hog Farm, a 1,500-animal facility in Ceres, Calif., between April 3 and April 18 are being advised not to eat the meat, California health officials said yesterday, although there have been no reports of illness in either people or the hogs. Authorities are tracking down all the purchasers.

"We are making the recommendation out of a preponderance of caution," said Kevin Reilly of the California Department of Health Services. "The risk is minimal, but the investigation is very early on."

Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, said criminal charges are a possibility, but he declined to say whether there is reason to believe any individual or organization intentionally adulterated pet food.

Late Thursday, Royal Canin USA became the most recent company to recall pet foods. Some of its brands were contaminated with rice protein concentrate. Its South African subsidiary said contaminated corn gluten had been linked to the deaths of 30 pets there.

Five companies received the contaminated Chinese rice protein concentrate. Three firms have identified themselves by announcing recalls; the other two are not publicly known because the FDA will not name them until the companies say they used contaminants in their products.

More than six other companies, some of which make pet food under a variety of labels, have announced recalls because melamine-contaminated wheat gluten was used in their products, starting with a March 16 recall. Wheat gluten is by far the larger ingredient in American pet food, the FDA said.

Three other contaminants in urine, kidneys of pets - Pigs ate same food, Hog Farm Quarantined

PetConnection.com has a great post that combines info from a couple of articles. Rather than re-create the wheel, here it is in full. (Italics in parentheses are my comments)

Toxicologists have been saying for some time now that they didn’t think melamine alone could be causing the symptoms being seen in cats and dogs eating recalled foods, and suggested it might be a marker or co-contaminant. Tonight, Karen Roebuck of the Pittsburgh Times-Review (in an article titled "Humans at risk from tained pet food?") reported that researchers have:

…identified three other contaminants in the urine and kidneys of animals sickened or killed after eating the recalled foods, including cyanuric acid, a chemical commonly used in pool chlorination, three researchers told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Cyanuric acid is what most likely sickened pets, one researcher said.

[…]

Researchers isolated a spoke-like crystal in pet food, wheat gluten and in the urine, kidneys and tissues of infected animals. That crystal serves as a marker for determining what animals were sickened in the outbreak. About 30 percent of those crystals are made up of melamine, one investigator said, and researchers spent several weeks trying to identify what is in the remainder.

Researchers in at least three labs found cyanuric acid, amilorine and amiloride — all by-products of melamine — in the crystals of animals’ urine, tissues and kidneys, according to Dr. Brent Hoff, a veterinarian and clinical toxicologist and pathologist, at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada; Richard Goldstein, associate professor of medicine at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and a kidney specialist, and Dr. Thomas Mullaney, acting director of Michigan State University’s Center for Population and Animal Health.

Michigan State’s lab so far has found only the amilorine and amiloride, but Mullaney said he was aware of at least three other labs finding the cyanuric acid in the animals. The FDA asked labs involved in the pet food recall to test for the three chemicals.

Finding cyanuric acid is the more significant finding, Hoff, Goldstein and Mullaney said, although they are not yet certain how toxic it is to animals.

She also has quite a bit on the possible contamination of hog feed, and its implications for human health. Full story here.

More from the article:

They know that the melamine-contaminated feed was fed to hogs.The FDA, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Food and Agriculture are investigating.

Some animals that are believed to have eaten the contaminated food were slaughtered and sold as food before authorities learned their feed had been contaminated, said Nancy Lungren, spokeswoman for the California agriculture department.

...The contaminated feed was bought April 3 and 13 as salvage pet food from Diamond Pet Foods Inc., which received contaminated rice protein concentrate used in some recalled Natural Balance pet food, Lungren said.

ADDED 9:50am:
And now, the Hog Farm is quarantined. http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=26836

State agriculture officials have placed a Stanislaus County hog farm under quarantine after an industrial chemical that's tainted more than 100 brands of dog and cat food
was found in pig urine there.

Additional testing is under way to determine if the chemical, melamine, was present in the meat produced by American Hog Farm since April third.

Officials say so far evidence suggests that there is minimal health risk to people who have eaten pork produced at the farm.

State officials believe the melamine came from rice protein concentrate imported from China by Diamond Pet Food. The company's Lathrop facility produces products under the Natural Balance brand
and sold salvage pet food to the farm for pig feed.

Officials say American Hog Farm generally does ot supply meat to commercial outlets. They say the 15-hundred-animal farm sells to customers looking to purchase whole pigs.

Back to the PetConnection Post:

Update: Also, Carrie Peyton Dahlberg reports tonight in the Sacramento Bee that the FDA, in light of the possible contamination of hog feed as well as additional pet food recalls due to contaminated rice protein concentrate, “wants to learn how widely melamine has spread and which other products it might have contaminated.” She writes:

That question became more urgent Thursday with reports from South Africa that corn gluten in Royal Canin pet foods there was contaminated with melamine, killing about 30 pets. The Web site for Royal Canin U.S. announced an eight-product recall late Thursday.

The South Africa report brings to three the number of Chinese products with melamine contamination — wheat gluten, rice protein concentrate and corn gluten.

Veterinarians and nutritionists said that other potential targets for tampering could include whey protein isolate, soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, soy grits and soy lecithin.

All are pet food ingredients valued for the protein punch that they pack.

The melamine at the quarantined hog farm apparently came from salvage pet food sold as pig feed by Diamond Pet Food’s Lathrop plant, the state said. Diamond had gotten rice protein imported from China by a San Francisco distributor who recalled it on Wednesday because of melamine content.

Royal Canin Recalls DRY Pet Food in US

http://www.royalcanin.us/

April 19, 2007

Dear Royal Canin USA Customer,

It is with sincere regret that I inform you of a new and unfortunate development with some of our pet food products.

Although we have no confirmed cases of illness in pets, we have decided to voluntarily remove the following dry pet food products that contain rice protein concentrate due to the presence of a melamine derivative.

ROYAL CANIN SENSIBLE CHOICE® (available in pet specialty stores nationwide)

- Chicken Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Puppy
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Adult
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Rice & Catfish Meal Formula Adult

ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY DIET™ (available only in veterinary clinics)

- Canine Early Cardiac EC 22™
- Canine Skin Support SS21™
- Feline Hypoallergenic HP23™

We are taking this proactive stance to voluntarily recall these products to avoid any confusion for our customers about which Royal Canin USA products are safe and which products may be affected.

Pet owners should immediately stop feeding their pets the Royal Canin USA dry pet food products listed above. Pet owners should consult with a veterinarian if they are concerned about the health of their pet. No other Royal Canin diets are affected by this recall and CONTINUE TO BE safe for pets to eat.

In addition, Royal Canin USA will no longer use any Chinese suppliers for any of our vegetable proteins.

This decision to recall some of our dry pet food products is driven by our philosophy that the “Pet Comes First”. The safety and nutritional quality of our pet food is Royal Canin USA’s top priority. Pet owners who have questions about this recall and other Royal Canin USA products should call 1-800-592-6687 or (800) 513-0041.

On behalf of the entire Royal Canin family, our hearts go out to the pet owners and everyone in the pet community who have been affected by all of the recent recalls. We are as passionate about the health and happiness of our customers’ pets as we are of our own, so we are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure this never happens again.

Rice Protein Recall: Blue Buffalo Recalls Spa Select Kitten DRY Food - One Date ONLY

Voluntary Recall of Spa Select Kitten Dry Food

Dear Pet Parents:

The Blue Buffalo Company has undertaken a voluntary recall of one production run of our Spa Select Kitten dry food. The production code on the recalled product is:

“Best Used By Mar. 07 08 B.”

We have taken this action because the rice protein concentrate used for this run was obtained from Wilbur-Ellis, the same company who supplied this ingredient to Natural Balance. Test results received late last evening (4/18) indicated that this rice protein concentrate tested positive for melamine. This is the first and only time our manufacturing partner sourced an ingredient from Wilbur-Ellis, and we had no knowledge that they had imported the ingredients from China.

We have advised the FDA of this finding and will be working closely with them on this issue.

Of the 4,752 bags produced in this one run, we were able to prevent the majority from ever entering retail distribution. We are working closely with our retail partners to remove this product immediately and will be re-stocking the shelves with Spa Select Kitten dry food that was produced without any rice protein sourced from Wilbur-Ellis as soon as possible.

If you currently have a bag of Spa Select Kitten dry food, please check the code date and if it matches the one shown above discontinue use immediately and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. If your cat has eaten any of the recalled food, please call your veterinarian immediately to discuss if there are any risks to your pet.

Should you have a specific question call our Customer Service Department at 1-800-919-2833 or email us at info@bluebuff.com. We understand your desire for immediate answers and we will be working to get back to you as quickly as we can.

No other Spa Select cat food or dog food, canned or dry, is included in this recall.

As a family owned company whose reason for being is to provide cats and dogs with the highest quality natural foods, we are extremely upset by this recall and can’t begin to apologize enough to our customers. From our perspective, it is unacceptable to produce even one bag of food with the potential to cause a pet to become ill, and we will further tighten our ingredient sourcing and quality assurance procedures as a result of this incident.

Sincerely,

Bill Bishop
President
The Blue Buffalo Company

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.

Rice Protein Recalled - Pet Food Makers need to Recall foods using it

If you missed it, the company is now urging all pet food manufacturers using its rice protein concentrate to recall any pet food that may still be on supermarket shelves.

Gee, ya think? Someone needs to give us the names of these companies and these pet food brands NOW.

Here's the USA Today Article about it


And the press release
Wilbur-Ellis Voluntarily Recalls Rice Protein Concentrate

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wilbur-Ellis Company is voluntarily recalling all lots of the rice protein concentrate the San Francisco company’s Feed Division has shipped to pet-food manufacturers because of a risk that rice protein concentrate may have been contaminated by melamine, an industrial chemical used to make plastics and fertilizers that can lead to illness or fatalities in animals if consumed.

Wilbur-Ellis noted that it obtained rice protein from a single source in China and shipped to a total of five U.S. pet-food manufacturers located in Utah, N.Y., Kansas and two in Missouri.

Last Sunday, April 15, Wilbur-Ellis notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that a single bag in a recent shipment of rice protein concentrate from its Chinese supplier, Binzhou Futian Biology Technology Co. Ltd., had tested positive for melamine. Unlike the other white-colored bags in that shipment, the bag in question was pink and had the word “melamine” stenciled upon it. Wilbur-Ellis separated that bag and quarantined the entire shipment for further testing and since that time, no further deliveries of rice protein concentrate have been made. Samples from the white bags tested negative for melamine. However, subsequent and potentially more sensitive tests by the FDA came back positive for melamine, leading Wilbur-Ellis to voluntarily issue the recall.

Wilbur-Ellis began importing rice protein concentrate from Binzhou Futian Biology Technology in July 2006. A total of 14 containers holding 336 metric tons of rice protein concentrate were sent from Futian to Wilbur-Ellis. Wilbur-Ellis has distributed 155 metric tons to date.

On Monday (April 16), a pet food distributor issued a voluntary recall of its pet food, believing the source of contamination to be rice protein concentrate supplied by Wilbur-Ellis. As an additional precaution, Wilbur-Ellis is urging all pet food manufacturers using rice protein concentrate supplied through Wilbur-Ellis to recall any pet food that may be on supermarket shelves.

Menu Foods Recalls more food - Looking at their Records

Hey - *another* (unannounced) recall.

And check this out - Menu Foods apparently forgot to shred some documents, because someone found records of additional foods contaminated with wheat gluten. Additional dates of some foods now recalled, PLUS they've added Natural Life. http://www.menufoods.com/recall/Press%20Release%2004172007.htm

Attention Business/Financial Editors

Notice who they address in ALL their press releases - never you, the consumer.

Menu Foods has previously recalled wet cat and dog food produced with adulterated wheat gluten supplied by ChemNutra Inc. Over the past several days

Why the hell did you wait this long??!

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.

Menu Foods - I've worked at a lot of crappy companies, and you guys just suck beyond belief. I hope you all end up in jail, eating the food you made. I'll send you some forks.

Added: Here's the additional stuff added:

Dog Update

• Natural Life – ADDED to list for 1^st time – only 1 item
• Ol’Roy – new date
• Pet Pride / Good n Meaty – new date

Cat dates updated:

• Best Choice
• Hill Country Fare
• Pet Pride
• Sophisticat (Petsmart brand – ALL dates pulled by them at first date of recall)

**NOW Canned Food and Treats Too ** Natural Balance finds melamine -recalls 2 more products

Just added 4:25pm Itchmo has confirmed with Natural Balance that their recall has expanded and now covers the following items for all dates:

• Venison and Brown Rice Treats for Dogs (New today)
• Venison and Brown Rice Canned Formula for Dogs (New today)
• Venison and Brown Rice Dry Food for Dogs (Reported Sunday)
• Venison and Green Pea Dry Food for Cats (Reported Sunday)

7:21pm: The Natural Balance website HAS been updated with this information.

And, just added 5:13pm David Goldstein at The Huffington Post received a tip earlier today from an industry insider that products containing tainted rice and corn gluten were about to be recalled. Read what he said here.


USA Today posted this article:

Natural Balance Pet Foods said Tuesday it found melamine in two of its pet food products, which the company has recalled.

Melamine is the chemical suspected of causing pet deaths and illnesses related to the Menu Foods recall, covering more than 60 million cans and pouches of wet dog and cat food from dozens of brands the past four weeks.

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, a new ingredient used in the dry foods, said Natural Balance president Joey Herrick. "That was the only change in the product," he says.

The concentrate is now being tested, he added. Melamine was detected in samples of the food. The recalled foods are: Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods.

Whether other pet food makers got the same rice protein concentrate is unclear at this time. Herrick says the food was made for Natural Balance by Diamond Pet Foods.

Diamond Pet Food makes no other food that includes rice protein concentrate, spokesman Jim Fallon says.

Herrick also said Diamond got the rice protein concentrate from an American company, which he wouldn't name. The melamine in the Menu Foods recall was in wheat gluten imported from China.

What? Again with this "won't name suppliers crap?" This company must be named now!

The company has recalled all dates of the two products, although Herrick says it has only received complaints for food made March 28.

Herrick says Natural Balance, a premium pet food maker based in California, started getting calls Thursday from consumers reporting that dogs were vomiting. By Friday, the company had received calls from seven households regarding 11 dogs, Herrick said. The company also says it has received reports of animals suffering kidney problems, which has also occurred in the Menu recall.

The consumer calls set off alarms because "we don't get that," Herrick said.

The company has also received reports involving three or four cats, he said.

Natural sent out the food Friday to be tested for the usual things that would cause animals to vomit, such as pesticides and heavy metals, Herrick says.

No animals had yet died but that the company had reports that some were hospitalized, he said.

Melamine is not allowed in human or pet food. It is an industrial chemical used in plastics making in the USA and as a fertilizer in Asia, the Food and Drug Administration says. While melamine is not highly toxic, the FDA is investigating whether it, or something related to it, is responsible for pet deaths in the Menu recall.

Natural Balance Pulling Venison Dry Dog and Cat Formulas

---

Added Mon 2:38pm: Natural Balance has modified the information on their website , it now says:

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.

Itchmo breaks news again:

Natural Balance Pulling Venison Dry Dog and CAT Formulas (original post didn't state cat formula was included)

Itchmo has confirmed an email from Natural Balance that they are removing two products from sale:

* Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Formula
* Venison and Green Pea Dry Dog Formula

This products do not contain wheat gluten. No deaths or serious illnesses have been reported and no recall warning has been issued. The warning applies only to products sold in the last week, according to Natural Balance.

Please know that at this time we are removing this product from the shelves, as we have had some phone calls indicating gastric upset after eating this formula. At this time, we are unsure if this could just be a particular batch problem, or simply customers switching diets too fast. However, in the meantime while we are looking further into this matter, we are not recommending to feed this formula, and are suggesting to feed our Potato and Duck or Sweet Potato and Fish Dry Dog Formula.

Commercial Pet Food - My Decision to Stop Buying It

I can't do it any more, I just can't buy another can or bag of food for my cats. And I can't make any more suggestion of foods that might be safe for any of you to feed your pets. I can't do it, and I won't do it, not any more. (The rest of this is a bit long, because I feel the need to explain how I got to this decision...)

I went to several retailers this weekend to make sure they'd pulled all the recalled foods, and I was somewhat relieved to see they had. However, in every store I felt myself getting more and more sick to my stomach, as I looked at the products on the shelf wondering which product would be recalled next.

Like so many people in the past 4 weeks I've learned more about pet food and pet food manufacturing than I ever wanted to know. I've been appalled and horrified, felt angry and deceived, and then felt overwhelming guilt for keeping my head in the sand for so long.

Just a few of the lowlights...

The unforgivably slow and poor response by most of the companies and retailers involved in the recall. Learning that many brands (low-end high-end and in between) do only their own Marketing - the rest is contracted out to the lowest bidder. Finding out aboutRendering Plants. Reading undercover reports of how dogs and cats are horribly treated by pet food manufacturers.

Learning that there is no control over ingredients, and that 90% of the canned pet food is made by one company with the words "Income Fund" in their company name. Discovering that there are no penalties if companies don't report/recall poisoned food in a timely manner, and tragically finding out that the deaths of thousands of beloved pets is meaningless to them. Specialty Pet Food Retailers that knew less about the food on their shelves than I did.

Yet even with all this, I just kept trying to find a 'good' brand. A 'safe' company. One with 'integrity'. I kept reading updates of companies that didn't have recalled products over at www.thepetfoodlist.com.

After switching from Wellness and Innova because their canned foods are made by Menu and I decided early on to boycott any company doing business with them, last week I bought a couple more cans of Natural Balance (barely touched), and tried both Merrick and Solid Gold (both of which my cats liked.)

After reading about the negative health benefits of dry food (links coming soon) I stopped giving it to them, but yesterday I did buy a tiny bag of Natural Balance dry food for them - to be given to them as occasional treats only. They loved it, and I gave them some yesterday and more today.

And yet, all day Friday I sat here and hit 'refresh' over and over, waiting for the next recall, waiting for the other shoes to drop. And I'm not the only one, many of us online were doing the same thing.

I spoke with my FDA Complaint Coordinator last week, and as many other people have previously reported being told by their FDA people, he indicated that they are conducting tests on other dry food because of the numerous reports of illness and death they have received. And he told me his personal recommendation to callers is to not feed any food - wet or dry - made by any company with food on the recall list. I've been recommending the same thing, but, this still hit me hard.

Going into Friday night I was a bit relieved that there were no new recalls, but then I found out some information about the Merrick company that disturbed me, the family apparently owns a rendering plant right next door to their pet food company. While there's really no indication /proof that one affects the other, it does in my mind. And it's enough for *me* to cross them off the list of companies I'll give even a penny to. (I'll edit this soon to include a link to this information, posted over at petsitusa.com)

And while I'd planned to create a list of 'Good' companies and 'Safe' pet food this weekend, I kept avoiding it. I put it off and put it off and put it off. And I couldn't sleep. Not Thursday night. Not Friday night. And not Saturday night. And then tonight I realized why.

After over 4 weeks now of recall after recall after recall, I've come to the inescapable conclusion that I just can't trust my cats health to anyone but myself. I've been researching both home-cooked and raw diets, and my cats and I will be making that transition this week. I cooked for one of them this week, and so far he's thrilled. And he'll take to raw food like a cat would take to a, well, mouse.

And while there's a list of things it's not safe to feed your pets- and a few other things you really need to know - I found that once you get past the conflicting information it's really pretty basic. And straightforward. And it makes sense. Common sense.

I'll do my best these next few weeks to share information on making this transition with you, in the simplest way possible. And I'll try to keep your choices and options simple. Because whether it's deception on the part of the pet food industry, ignorance on the part of our vets, or just the normal learning curve of doing something new, to many of us it seems overwhelming to contemplate taking full responsibility for our pets food.

But how can we not? Living in dread of the next recall is no way to live. Wondering if the food you buy today will be recalled tomorrow is no way to live. Having food from the brand you bought yesterday be recalled is no way to live.

Watching your pet obsessively for symptoms of poison is no way to live. Standing in front of pet food in stores with a sick feeling in your stomach is no way to live.

Wondering if your other cat will someday need to go on fluids for chronic kidney failure is no way to live. Watching your dog struggle through the night trying to recover from poison is no way to live.

And watching one more beloved pet die before their time is no way to live.

So, I'll keep up the Lists of Recalled foods, and I'll make them easier to use as I get suggestions from you all on how to do that. I'll let you know here about everything directly related to food being recalled, and I'll add new lists when and if necessary. And on my other blog I'll continue to let you know what you haven't been hearing about from the companies involved.

And I promise I won't 'preach' about home cooking or raw food diets, I know for many of you it would be more difficult to do than it will be for me.

But I won't be doing a list of "Safe foods from Good Companies' like I'd planned. Not because there aren't any out there, because I do believe there are, somewhere. But because I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I did.

NUTRO Recalls all Wet Food Products with Wheat Gluten

Nutro Products Orders Removal of All Wet Pet Food Products Made by Menu Foods with Wheat Gluten

It's about time.


Added: And as if this weren't enough... I'm not a huge PETA fan, but at this point I'm much more likely to believe them than Nutro. http://www.peta.org/feat/contract/o-other15.html

For years, Nutro representatives have been telling consumers that the company does not use animals in laboratories to test its pet foods. Now, we know differently.

Menu Foods recalls additional pet food made with ChemNutra wheat gluten

Tainted food expands to 3rd Menu Foods Plant... Recall expanded

Pet food maker Menu Foods Income Fund has voluntarily
recalled additional products made with tainted wheat gluten at its
Canadian plant, the company said late on Tuesday.

The move was prompted by reports from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration identifying the presence of the industrial chemical melamine in "cuts and gravy" style pet food produced in Menu Foods' Mississauga, Ontario, facility.

Menu Foods said it "undertook an accounting of all recalled wheat gluten supplied by ChemNutra Inc. to Menu Foods in the United States."

Based on that review, Menu Foods said it identified a "single interplant transfer" of the wheat gluten, shipped from Menu Foods' plant in Emporia, Kansas, to its plant in Mississauga.

This wheat gluten was subsequently used in the production of pet food in December 2006 and January 2007, which is now being recalled. "Menu Foods transfers ingredients among its four plants," company spokesman Sam Bornstein wrote in an e-mail. "The adulterated wheat gluten was moved during one such transfer."

Menu Foods' recall list was originally announced on March 16. It was updated late last week to cover foods produced between Nov. 8 to March 6. The latest update -- the first to involve its Ontario plant -- comes amid news that the the chief financial officer of Menu Foods Income Fund sold nearly half his units in the pet food maker less than three weeks before it announced its massive product recall, according to insider trading reports.

The new varieties in the United States and Canada have been added to the recall list. The latest recall group is listed below, and a complete list of recalled products, including the new items can be reviewed at http://www.menufoods.com.

Here's a good list of the new products added to the recall.

Any one think it's a coincidence that this happened today, just after the news about melamine found in Nutro cans in California was made public?

And isn't it amazing that Menu just happened to have all this information handy, when it's taken them days to get the information together in the past?

My question to Menu Foods - how long have you really known?

And, why would we believe the South Dakota plant is also not affected?

And yes, I'll be updating the Pet Food Trackers for the 3rd time in 2 days .

The List of All Brands of Pet Foods Recalled Summmary 4/9

NOTE: The current file is at the top of the page, under "Recalled Pet Food Lists"

Master List of All Brands Recalled Pet Food Summary
Includes:
Date of recall
Dog and/or Cat recalled
Type of Contaminant (Wheat Gluten, Rice Protein Concentrate, Corn Gluten, Salmonella)
Name brand or Store brand
Stores where products are sold
Canned, Pouch, Dry, Snacks/Treats
Links to detailed info on flavors and dates recalled

Suggested Use(s)
Check products already bought at your home, neighbors, etc.
Take into stores that don't know about recall

Description
This is a “Master List” Summary (PDF file) of all the Pet Food Brands that have had at least one food recalled. This includes store brands! Individual foods/flavors are not listed, some of that information is on the Major National Brands Pet Food Tracker, also found at the tope of the page , the rest you can access via the links included.

Instructions
Clicking on the link at the top of the page will open the file for easy printing, right click on the link to open in a new window. Click here to download the latest Adobe Reader

The List of the 10 Major National Brands Pet Food Recall Details 4/9

This file replaces the previous Pet Food Tracker (Recalled Pet Food Tracker - National Brands Updated 4-2 )

(Added Tuesday 8:35pm This has been updated to include the new Nutro products that have been recalled.)

Ten Major National Brands - with Details (flavors and date codes)
Includes detailed flavor and date codes for these Ten Brands only:
Alpo Prime Cuts
Eukanuba
Gravy Train
Hill's Prescription and Science Diet
Iams
Jerky Treats
Mighty Dog Pouches
Nutro
Pounce Cat Treats

Also Includes:
FDA Complaint Coordinator list
Parent Company Brand Info

Changes:
Alphabetical
Parent company info moved to make it shorter
Formatting changes to make it shorter

Suggested Use(s)
Take into national retailers that carry these products to see if they are still on the shelves.

Description
This is a summary (PDF file) of the pet foods recalled by 10 of the most commonly found Major National Brands. Other brands will be added soon... in the meantime to see ALL products recalled, go to http://www.menufoods.com/recall/ for brands not listed here. The summary is 4 pages, and includes FDA contact information for every state. This list is for quick-reference only – it is NOT a complete list of all recalled products!

Instructions
Clicking on this link will open the file for easy printing, right click on the link to open in a new window. Click here to download the latest Adobe Reader .

NUTRO cans not part of recall test POSITIVE for Melamine

See itchmo.com for breaking news on 3 Nutro cans that are NOT part of the recall but have tested positive for melamine. I'll have these files updated again today.

• Chicken Cacciatore, UPC 79105352055
• California Chicken Supreme, UPC 79105300117
• Lamb & Turkey Cutlets, UPC 79105300148

Marin Independant Journal broke the story last night

Itchmo includes other information about the same products, and howl911.com gets my psychic award of the day as they had posted this earlier. (Nutro Max Cat California Chicken Supreme, 3 oz cans, "use by" date 05-16-09. (not on Menu Foods official recall list, but is suspected of causing same symptoms as the recalled food, resulting in death.)

In other 'how-much-more-did-they-know-news', petconnection.com reports Menu Foods CFO sold half his shares 2 weeks prior to recall. Note - I'm psychic, he's not. He's a liar and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of pets.

I've said it before and I'll say it again (in fact I just said it on Friday, but updated the post yesterday and removed it.)

Don't feed your pets ANYTHING that's on the recall lists - regardless of the dates! (That's not advice, just my personal opinion, I know nothing, no legal whatever, don't hold me to it, blah blah blah. )

Because here's the thing. Do you trust any of these companies now? With so many companies with food NOT on the recall list (see that list here thanks to http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/ , why would you keep feeding your pets any other food now?

This story is not over. There will be more foods reported by independent labs as 'tainted'. And more pets will die.

And Nutro's website says they'll be releasing a press release today. 10pm is my cynical guess...

FORBES - Misnavigating the Pet Food Crisis

Thank you Forbes! I couldn't agree more... I'm trying to keep everything other than Pet Food info over at my other blog, but since this made me feel so much better to read, I figured it might help a few of you too.

http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2007/04/09/pet-food-recall-oped-cx_meb_0409advice.html

Misnavigating The Pet Food Crisis
Marc E. Babej and Tim Pollak

The tainted pet food crisis has roiled a passionate market. And the story isn't dying: As the recalls mount, and the threat moves from cuts-in-gravy to staple dry food and even to treats, feeding pets seems like Russian roulette. How have the pet food companies involved reacted? Too little, too late--and, for the most part, the wrong way.

For most pet-owning families, their pets are family. This is hardly news to the nation's pet food manufacturers, but it might as well be. They've been strangely, almost eerily, silent. Such behavior consumers might expect from a big, impersonal corporation, but not from the people who make the food for their beloved pets.

A recent tour of their Web sites was almost surreal. As you might expect, the worst offender was Menu Foods, maker of the majority of the food affected by the recall. Rather than a heartfelt apology, the Menu Foods site displays puppies joyfully eating out of bowls emblazoned with the corporate name.

The consumer brands aren't doing much better. The home pages of Hill's Pet Nutrition, Del Monte Foods and Nestlé Purina PetCare offered links to press releases that sound like the product of a chemist, a lawyer and a publicist huddled around a conference table. MasterFoods trumpeted its non-involvement. Iams also led with good news: "This recall does not affect any Iams or Eukanuba products marketed outside of the U.S. and Canada." But what about their North American customers? Two more clicks, and buried in a page of technical copy is the following line: "We want you to know that we care deeply, and we continue to take action on your behalf." Sounds good--but what actions are they taking?

To Iams' credit, so far alone among this caring crew, it ran a national newspaper ad acknowledging the crisis. It expressed the sentiment that its employees were "heartsick that any of our products were involved," but provided little in the way of reassurance to jittery pet owners. Worst of all, the ad said nothing of substance about the steps being taken to ensure this would never happen again.

So far, pet food brands have been hiding behind each other, feeling secure in the knowledge that their collective market dominance leaves pet owners with few options. Sure, there are alternatives--high-priced organic specialty foods such as Merrick or Abady, or the fresh, refrigerated dog foods being rolled out to national retailers by Freshpet. Even homemade recipes have been getting a lot of attention. But these options can't possibly satisfy the hunger of an estimated 100 million America dogs and cats.

What should the industry be doing?

First, say you're sorry. Act like you really care about the animals. You may not think you owe an apology, but in pet owners' minds, you do.

Second, offer to replace the pet food in people's pantries, even it it's not your brand. Every new recall announcement creates more doubt about the food that's already out in the market. It might not be the cheapest solution, but it would buy a lot more goodwill than an ad campaign.

Third, stop being defensive. Simply reassuring people your other products are safe isn't very reassuring. After all, a few weeks ago, you were de facto assuring that all your products were safe. Do you trust the guy who says "just trust me" right after he messed up? Probably not. To regain consumers' trust, pet food brands have to give consumers reasons to trust that their food is safe.

Fourth, offer some substance. Explain what really happened, and what specific steps you are taking now to prevent something like this from happening again.

Fifth, send a message from the top. Jim Burke, the legendary head of Johnson & Johnson (nyse: JNJ - news - people ), personally managed the 1982 Tylenol crisis. The pet food manufacturers are all hiding behind their brands--to wit, the full-page ad signed by "The Employees of Iams and Eukanuba Pet Foods," not by A.G. Lafley, the CEO of Procter & Gamble (nyse: PG - news - people ), which owns both brands. The pet owners of America deserve to hear from the CEOs to whom they entrust the health and well-being of their pets. There are differences between this crisis and Tylenol's, but there is no less need for corporate courage, integrity and leadership.