FDA finds chemical used to make plastics in recalled pet food

[Kerbear560]

The FDA found melamine, which is a chemical used to produce plastic kitchen wares and is apparently used as a fertilizer in Asia, in samples of the recalled pet food, as well as samples of the wheat gluten used as an ingredient. The kicker, according to the article, dry food may be involved as well

: "The apparently melamine-contaminated wheat gluten also was shipped to an unnamed company that manufactures dry pet food. The FDA is attempting to determine if that product, imported from China, was used to make any pet food, Sundlof said." I don''t know about everyone else, but I don''t want to keep feeding my pets potentially contaminated food, while they are off doing research and running tests to be sure. I understand that they don''t want to release the name of the company in case this is a false alarm (I''m sure they don''t want to affect the company financially if they don''t find anything). But come on...what''s more important, their profit margin or our pets'' lives? Here''s a link to the article: FDA tests reveal chemical in recalled pet food

 

[chrono]

Good grief! This seems to be getting worse everyday. What are we going to feed our pets now? I am almost tempted to feed my cat raw fresh food now.

Kerbear, you avatar is so cute. Is that your kitty playing with its tail?

 

[diamondfan]

I have been wary of the dry food as well, since no one really knew what was what. I wonder where that leaves us now?! Crazy...

 

[fire&ice]

This could be politically motivated as PETA is the one calling for the recall.

 

[robbie3982]

Agh! Seriously, what are we supposed to feed our pets?!?!

It sounds like this is a different company that could have bad dry food? So, does that mean if your dry food is from one of the companies whose wet food was recalled that you''re safe?

 

[chrono]

I''ve been reading on other pet forums that their dogs are getting sick after eating dry Pedigree and IAMs dog food. This is really worrying.

 

[FireGoddess]

So I guess it wasn''t rat poison?

It is scary to see how widespread and nuts this is getting. Poor little furbabies.

 

[Kerbear560]

Date: 3/30/2007 11:54:07 AM
Author: Chrono
Good grief! This seems to be getting worse everyday. What are we going to feed our pets now? I am almost tempted to feed my cat raw fresh food now.


Kerbear, you avatar is so cute. Is that your kitty playing with its tail?

Hehehe! Thanks...I think he''s a cutie too (but I''m partial)!

Actually, it''s pretty funny- he walks up to that spot in front of the couch and does a half somersault...and he sleeps like that, LOL! He does it almost every afternoon! Although he''s not in this particular picture, sometimes he plays with his tail (How could he not when it''s dangling in his face? LOL!)

 

[diamondfan]

Has anything been proven? A guy I know in the kennel/training field says PETA is very politically motivated...so who knows? It is so scary to even think about!

 

[Kerbear560]

Hill''s has recalled their prescription diet m/d feline dry food (prescribed for metabolic weight loss and for diabetes mellitus patients). The company says the recall does not involve any other prescription diet or Science Diet products. Hopefully there aren''t any PS''ers with kitties on this food...this whole situation is so sad!

Here''s a link to the article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17870750/

 

[Kerbear560]

Another brand of food has been added to the recall. Nestle Purina PetCare Co. is voluntarily recalling all sizes and varieties of Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy, which the company said may also contain melamine. According to an article on Forbes.com, "The dog food being recalled involves 13.2-ounce and 22-ounce Alpo Prime Cuts cans and 6-, 8-, 12- and 24-can Alpo Prime Cuts Variety Packs with four-digit code dates of 7037 through 7053, followed by the plant code 1159. Those codes follow a "Best Before Feb. 2009" date".

The article also gives additional information about the Hill''s m/d recall, "The cat food being recalled is labeled Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food. The products are: 4 lb. bag, U.S. & Canada UPC code 52742 42770; 10 lb. bag, U.S. & Canada UPC code 52742 42790. Consumers may contact Hills Pet Nutrition at 1-800-445-5777 or at www.HillsPet.com".

 

[scarleta]

Natural pet food diet is available.I posted before describing it a bit.Sorry don''t know how to put a link here.My dog has been on natural diet for many years.

 

[firebirdgold]

I just went to the locally owned pet store and bought Innova Evo for our kitties! No Grains whatsoever in it, and it''s as close to raw as you can get! They scarfed it down. (course that could be because I took their regular food away)

The local ''boutique'' pet stores are just swamped today! Almost no parking space, and lines at the counter! I''m not taking any chances with our babies!

 

[Blenheim]

Scary.

After AmberGretchen''s thread, we switched Dylan to Canidae. It doesn''t contain wheat and (according to their website) all of the ingredients come from the US, so it shouldn''t be affected by all of this. Dylan''s scarfing it down, but he does that with anything. I feel A LOT better with him eating it.

I read an article earlier today (forget where) about how a lot of pet owners are switching their pets off of the kind of pet foods you can get at the grocery store in favor of more organic ones. I wonder if this will have a long-lasting impact on the pet food companies affected.

 

[firebirdgold]

Eh, I don''t care if it''s politically motivated. (And I personally believe PETA is evil) This Innova stuff is waaay better for the fur babies than the supermarket versions, even TJ''s brand food.
Let''s face it, cats aren''t built to digest grain products anyway! They''re more carnivourous than dogs.

I suspect that alot of people are not only switching to the fancy brands, but they''ll stay on them as well.

 

[lvnut]

Date: 3/31/2007 2:27:35 PM
Author: Kerbear560
Another brand of food has been added to the recall. Nestle Purina PetCare Co. is voluntarily recalling all sizes and varieties of Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy, which the company said may also contain melamine. According to an article on Forbes.com, ''The dog food being recalled involves 13.2-ounce and 22-ounce Alpo Prime Cuts cans and 6-, 8-, 12- and 24-can Alpo Prime Cuts Variety Packs with four-digit code dates of 7037 through 7053, followed by the plant code 1159. Those codes follow a ''Best Before Feb. 2009'' date''.

The article also gives additional information about the Hill''s m/d recall, ''The cat food being recalled is labeled Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food. The products are: 4 lb. bag, U.S. & Canada UPC code 52742 42770; 10 lb. bag, U.S. & Canada UPC code 52742 42790. Consumers may contact Hills Pet Nutrition at 1-800-445-5777 or at www.HillsPet.com''.

Kerber560 - Thank you so much for posting the UPC info. I heard about the m/d Feline recall on the news twice but was unable to find the UPC info online. I have been worried about it because that is what I feed my 15 year old kitty. Unfortunately that is the UPC code on the bag I have. My husband and I have been feeding it to my boy (Mr. Kitty) since Feb. 20th. I have already called Hill''s, they told me not to feed him any more (obviously!) and to contact my vet tomorrow. I have already left a message for my vet, but just wanted to thank you for this info.

 

[ForteKitty]

This isn''t the first time products from China has been contaminated. There are almost no regulation in the factories, and human foods (soy and other preserved products) have been found w/formaldehyde-based solutions... yes, the stuff used to embalm people. Lead-based paint has also been found in their dinnerware. Maybe this will be a big wake-up call for companies who invest in factories in China. They need to start cracking down on the unscrupulous practices there.

 

[KindredSpirit717]

I was getting nervous about it too, so i started a switch over to a better brand (natural balance). Innova dog and cat food is some of the best stuff you can get for your babies!! unfortunately though you have to find a store that sells them, but their website offers a store locator i think. i''m on a dog forum and inova, natural balance, and organic foods are some of the top ones out there with really good ingredients and not much in the way of preservitives and fillers. PetCo offers Organix and Natural Balance plus tons others, but not inova.

 

[Kaleigh]

I buy vegetarian dog treats at Petco. They look like colored cheerios. Now I wonder if they are tainted too?? I''ll call tomorrow. They eat wet dog food that is by prescription and is made in Canada. It hasn''t shown up on any of the lists I''ve seen so far. I hope they get to the bottom of this soon.

 

[diamondfan]

Maybe this will show people concerned with the bottom line on a balance sheet that sometimes you get what you pay for, and if another country has a lax or much less stringent FDA we should not buy anything that could be ingested from them. It is making me crazy to deal with this!