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No, Toto, This Isn't Kansas, It's the FDA: US Pet Food Fiasco

Last post 07-27-2010, 5:49 AM by Rosiemeow. 76 replies.
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  •  12-22-2009, 8:57 PM 4284522 in reply to 4282256

    Re: No, Toto, This Isn't Kansas, It's the FDA: US Pet Food Fiasco

    What I could find so far from their web site - their number is listed at the bottom :  http://www.premiumedgepetfood.com/announcements/66/

     

    On September 23, 2009, Diamond Pet Foods issued a voluntary recall on the following date codes of Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat and Premium Edge Hairball cat:  RAF0501A22X 18lb., RAF0501A2X 6 lb., RAF0802B12X 18lb (BB30FEB11), RAH0501A22X 18 lb., RAH0501A2X 6lb. The date of manufacture is May 28, 2009 and August 30, 2009.

    All retail outlets shipped the above lots were contacted, asking them to pull the product from the store shelves. The retailers were also asked to contact their customers via email or telephone requesting them to check the date code of the food. However, if you or anyone you know has these date codes of Premium Edge cat food, please return them to your retailer.

    Symptoms displayed by an affected cat will be neurological in nature.  Symptoms may include wobbly walking or muscle weakness, paralysis of the hindlimbs, seizures, ventroflexion (bending towards the floor) of the neck, and abnormal eye movement called nystagmus. Any cats fed these date codes that display these symptoms should be immediately taken to a veterinarian.

    Product testing proved no contaminants were discovered in the cat food; however the cat foods were deficient in thiamine.  Diamond tracked the vitamin premix lot number that was utilized in these particular cat foods and have performed testing on another lot of Premium Edge cat food that used the same vitamin premix, and it was not deficient in thiamine.  No other neurological signs have been reported on any other product manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods.

    To contact Premium Edge Pet Foods, please call 800.977.8797 between the hours of 8am and 5pm central time, Monday through Friday.

     

     

  •  01-03-2010, 4:06 AM 4289885 in reply to 1483113

    Re: No, Toto, This Isn't Kansas, It's the FDA: US Pet Food Fiasco

    http://www.examiner.com/x-1747-Pet-Products-Examiner~y2009m12d30-FDA-asks-for-public-opinion-on-pet-food-regulation

    FDA asks for public opinion on pet food regulation

    The FDA has recently launched an initiative to gather public opinion for a proposed early warning system for future pet food recalls. Complete details can be found on the government docket information page. Comments can be submitted electronically or mailed to:

    Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305)
    Food and Drug Administration
    5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061
    Rockville, MD 20852.

    Comments must be sent by January 29th, 2010. Please note that the docket number (Docket No. FDA-2008-N-0546) needs to be included. This is an important chance for American pet owners to become involved in a process that directly affects them and the animals they love. We can only hope that positive change comes of it. The FDA has not widely publicized this yet so please spread the word.
     

  •  01-15-2010, 4:58 AM 4295630 in reply to 1620096

    Re: No, Toto, This Isn't Kansas, It's the FDA: US Pet Food Fiasco

    Wheat gluten has no reason to be in pet foods other than an appetite stimulant, however I don't see any pet food manufacturer admitting this (or human food producers since it's in everything we purchase that is not raw).  They indicate it's for the protein, however one would think the protein content would be derived from the meat.  1Y0-264 They indicate it's for the gravy consistency, however there's no gravy in dry food, other than the profits.  Eat more/buy more/gain more weight/get sick - great for the economy, medical  and pharmaceutical industries,70-236 and we as well as our pets have swallowed it.  Time we start spitting.
    --------------------------------
    redhat bootcamp




  •  01-16-2010, 10:11 AM 4295875 in reply to 1483113

    Re: No, Toto, This Isn't Kansas, It's the FDA: US Pet Food Fiasco

    Things haven't changed much since the initial post on this thread in 2007.  Sad, indeed.


    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/01/13/petscol011310.DTL&tsp=1


    Major veterinary drug recall gets bigger
    Animal anesthetic drug pulled off market, but questions remain

    By Christie Keith, Special to SF Gate

    Wednesday, January 13, 2010Print E-mail Share Comments (68) Font | Size:

    What if your veterinarian was using a recalled drug -- and didn't know it?

    That's not a hypothetical question. On Sept. 4, at least two veterinary drugs made by Teva Animal Health, Inc., a division of Israeli-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, were recalled by the FDA, which shut the company down in July. But few veterinarians or pet owners were aware of the recall until the end of December.
    Images
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    More Your Whole Pet »


    Although the reported deaths of five cats led the FDA to issue public recall notices on Dec. 22 and Dec. 29, just what products are involved, and over what time period they were manufactured and sold, remains unclear.

    The recalls involve two commonly used injectable veterinary drugs: butorphanol, a fast-acting opioid used to control pain from surgical procedures in dogs and cats, and the anesthetic agent ketamine.

    Ketamine is part of a "cocktail" of drugs that induces anesthesia in animals, including dogs and cats. It can be used, usually with valium, prior to surgery, a dental cleaning and sometimes as a form of restraint for procedures such as an imaging scan. It's not the only drug that can be used in this way, but it's one of the most common.

    The only explanation so far given as to just what's wrong with the recalled ketamine came in a press release issued by the FDA on Dec. 22, which said, "This recall is being conducted as a result of an increased trend in serious adverse events associated with this product, including lack of effect, prolonged effect, and death."

    Timeline of a recall

    Because pets are anesthetized more often than humans -- for example, nearly all dogs and cats are spayed and neutered at a young age -- the potential number of affected animals is huge. You'd expect, then, that veterinarians, the people who are buying and administering these drugs, would have been the first to learn that they were being recalled.

    You'd be wrong.

    Although it was the nation's largest manufacturer of generic animal drugs, almost no one in the veterinarian community had heard of Teva Animal Health until the FDA shut it down on July 31, citing adulterated drugs and multiple violations of good manufacturing practices at its St. Joseph, Mo., facility.

    If you were a veterinarian or a member of the public, there was no further news about Teva until Dec. 22, when the FDA announced the company was recalling its injectable ketamine hydrochloride following the questionable deaths of five cats undergoing anesthesia with the drug.

    It was obvious something else had occurred between the summer shutdown and Teva's announcement, however, because the FDA's recall notice referenced an earlier "distributor-level recall." But there was no copy of that recall notice on the FDA website, it didn't appear to have been published anywhere, nor could I locate a single veterinarian who had seen a copy.

    If they had seen it, what happened a week later would have come as less of a surprise. On Dec. 29, Teva announced that the recall was extending to ketamine manufactured by Teva but sold under the brand names of some of the biggest players in the veterinary -- and human -- pharmaceutical world: Ketaset (Fort Dodge/Pfizer), KetaVed (VEDCO), KetaThesia (Butler), VetaKet (LLOYD Laboratories), Ketaject (Phoenix), Keta-Sthetic (RVX),and AmTech Group, Inc.

    The information flow stops here

    Veterinarians, along with their patients' owners, suddenly realized they were the last link in a mostly-broken chain of information emerging -- or, more correctly, trickling out -- from Teva, the companies for which it was manufacturing drugs, their distributors and the FDA.

    There are many unanswered questions. For example, how far back in time did the recall extend? Dates listed on the site of the American Veterinary Medical Association suggest that the recalled ketamine has been distributed to veterinarians as early as 2006, a timeline confirmed by Denise Bradley, senior director of corporate communications for Teva.

    Furthermore, why did it take so long to notify veterinarians about the ketamine recall, and why have they still not been notified about the butorphanol recall, which includes the brands EQUANOL (VEDCO), ButorJect (Phoenix) and TorphaJect (Butler)?

    I contacted the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine about the earlier "distributor-level recall," and Laura Alvey, the agency's communications staff deputy director, e-mailed me a copy of the notice sent by Teva to its distributors.

    That letter, signed by Joseph DelGobbo of Teva's quality control department and dated Sept. 4, stated that the distributors were under no obligation to notify their customers -- veterinarians -- about the recall. "If you want to request return of product from your customers," it read, "that is acceptable although not required."

    The letter also included this statement: "This recall is being conducted voluntarily and with the knowledge of the Food and Drug Administration." (Note: All recalls are voluntary, as the FDA does not have mandatory recall authority.)

    That Sept. 4 distributor-only recall included all the brand name ketamine products not referenced until the second, "expanded" recall on Dec. 29, as well as the butorphanol recall that has still not been publicly announced.

    "It's been extremely frustrating to veterinarians," said Jennifer Fiala, who has been investigating the recall for the Veterinary Information Network, or VIN, an online community and information database for veterinarians and veterinary students. "They're worried that the drug on their shelves is going to create an adverse event in the animals they treat."

    That frustration is compounded by the fact that veterinarians have no way of knowing whether or not the drugs in their clinics were manufactured by Teva.

    Alvey provided me with the federal government's labeling regulations for drugs. They're difficult to decipher, but buried in the text is the fact that drugs made by Company A and sold under the label of Company B can legally bear the label "Manufactured for Company B." The drug label does not have to include where, or by what company, a drug was actually produced.

    Fiala finds that appalling. "Wouldn't it have been nice for a vet to be able to look at the label on a vial of Ketaset and see it was manufactured by Teva?" she said. "I can look at the label on my shirt and it will tell me it was made in China, but it can't say 'made in St. Joseph, Mo.' on a drug you're supposed to ingest or administer?"

    2007 pet food recall redux?

    This complaint probably sounds familiar to anyone who remembers the 2007 pet food recall, when questions about who made your pet's food, and whether any of its ingredients came from China, were impossible to determine from reading the label.

    The 2007 pet food recall was also marked by enormous problems in obtaining information from the FDA. Many journalists and bloggers, including me, regularly reported recalls that the FDA did not announce until days or even weeks later -- a scenario that's playing out all over again today.

    As of this writing, the ketamine recall information on the FDA's veterinary recall information page is limited to a link to the Dec. 21 notice.

    The ketamine recall has not been mentioned on the FDA's much-hyped pet health alert widget, which has so far mostly been used to issue mundane pet holiday safety warnings.

    There is also no sign of the Dec. 29 notice expanding the recall, although it was reported by Jennifer Fiala on VIN as well as on Pet Connection.

    Nor did the FDA update its site with a list of recalled brands and their lot numbers, which can be found instead on VIN and on the site of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

    Broken faith

    Dr. Paul Pion, a veterinary cardiologist in Davis, and co-founder and president of VIN, deplores the faltering, sometimes dammed-up, flow of information from both the drug companies and the FDA.

    "Once it becomes clear there is a problem, all concern should turn to getting the information to veterinarians so they can do the right thing for their patients," Pion said. "Everyone who has the information, whether they believe it's their job or not, should share it.

    "*** the lawyers, corporate protocol, quarterly sales goals or fear of being blamed. Because the truth will ultimately be known, and any attempt to delay or sugarcoat the information serves only to dissipate confidence in the entire system. And any individual or company who has reliable information and doesn't share it should be held personally and corporately responsible for any adverse reactions that occur after that."

    That's a battle cry pet owners can rally behind, including the owner of a dog named Rogue, who lives in Washington state and asked that her name be withheld so as not to cause problems with her veterinarian, who is still caring for her dog.

    "Rogue broke his tooth, and it became infected," she said. "In mid-December, I took him to the best veterinarian in our area, a specialist, and she scheduled him for surgery to remove the tooth."

    Neither Rogue's owner nor the veterinarian cut any corners. At 10 years old, Rogue, a chow-chow, is considered a canine senior citizen, so he had what's known as a "geriatric panel," blood tests that screen for common old-age problems that might make anesthesia more risky for him than a younger dog.

    "The vet listened to his heart with a stethoscope when she examined him before the surgery," his owner said. "He was fine. Everything came back normal."

    But shortly after the veterinarian injected Rogue with a combination of ketamine and valium, his heartbeat became abnormal. She had to immediately abort the procedure and wake him up to protect his life.

    Rogue was referred to a heart specialist, who diagnosed him with a serious condition known as a second-degree heart block. There's no way to know if the anesthesia caused the heart condition, or if it was the result of some previously undiagnosed problem. But when his owner heard about the ketamine recall on Dec. 22, she checked with her vet right away.

    The veterinarian assured her that she hadn't used Teva's ketamine on Rogue, but Fort Dodge's Ketaset instead. Unfortunately, a few days later, Rogue's owner learned that brand, too, was being recalled. She followed up with a fax to her veterinarian asking about the expanded recall and what risk it might pose to her dog, but so far has had no response.

    This void of information, from the highest corporate levels of Big Pharma, to the halls of government, right down to the plight of a sick dog and his worried owner, does as much damage to public health as tainted food and drugs.

    It does it by destroying trust. People lose faith in their doctors, pet owners lose faith in their veterinarians, and veterinarians and doctors as well as average citizens lose faith in agencies like the FDA, ostensibly tasked with protecting both human and animal health.

    "The domino effect applies," observed Fiala. "Everybody falls."

  •  01-16-2010, 10:14 AM 4295877 in reply to 4295875

    Re: No, Toto, This Isn't Kansas, It's the FDA: US Pet Food Fiasco

    And another recall:


    http://content.usatoday.com/communities/pawprintpost/post/2010/01/dog-treat-alert-salmonella-findings-cause-fda-warnings/1

    Dog treat alert: Salmonella finding causes FDA warning



    The U. S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use Merrick Beef Filet Squares for dogs distributed by Merrick Pet Care with a package date of "Best By 111911" because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella.

    The product was distributed nationwide through retail stores and Internet sales.

    Although no illnesses associated with these products have been reported, the FDA is advising consumers in possession of these products not to handle or feed them to their pets.

    In December 2009, the FDA conducted routine testing of Merrick Beef Filet Squares and detected a positive finding for Salmonella. A follow-up inspection found deficiencies in the packaging and manufacturing processes.

    Salmonella can affect both humans and animals. People handling dry pet treats can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the treats or any surfaces exposed to these products. Consumers should dispose of these products in a safe manner by securing them in a covered trash receptacle.


  •  01-19-2010, 12:21 AM 4296369 in reply to 1620096

    Re: No, Toto, This Isn't Kansas, It's the FDA: US Pet Food Fiasco

    Commerce once again takes precedence over our well being, and the well being of those tender pets we call our friends and many call their babies. Our Government shows blatantly that they have no conscience when there is yet another buck to be made. Do we truly believe if they've learned that dry pet foods, as well as human foods have been contaminated, that they would tell us at this stage of the game? This is our FDA that will not even permit labels to indicate a product is wheat or gluten free. They are still reporting only 16 deaths, with NO centralized method in place to track these deaths, and still have yet to publicize ALL SSCP the symptoms of renal kidney failure in cats and dogs because they do not WANT to know, and do not want US to know. Those who knew of the poisoned animals and did or said nothing need to be 1) immediately removed from their positions, 2) bought up on criminal charges, if applicable and 3) 70-553 fed whatever foods were included in the recall only until the supplies are exhausted. IF they are still standing, once we determine the cause, anyone with decreased appetite or thirst may get taken to the Vet for bloodwork but by then it would most likely be too late, however we may get urine samples or BCP-410 organ samples post-mortem if they were not cremated.
  •  02-01-2010, 3:36 AM 4300055 in reply to 1483113

    Re: No, Toto, This Isn't Kansas, It's the FDA: US Pet Food Fiasco

    FDA Launches Pet Food Recall Database:

    http://blogs.dogster.com/vet_blog_information_advice/fda-launches-pet-food-recall-database/


    The consumer world is full of product recalls. Infant cribs, venetian blinds and some Toyotas have been recalled recently. And who can forget the recent recalls of spinach, peanuts, and beef?

    Naturally, for concerned pet owners pet food recalls are very important–or at least they have become very important since the mother of all pet food recalls a few years ago. But keeping track of pet food recalls can be difficult and complicated. Simply put, there have been too many of them to remember.

    Enter the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has launched a new, searchable database that includes 971 recalls since January 1, 2006. (The database only goes back four years. If you have pet food from before then, I urge you to throw it away now for reasons completely unrelated to recalls!)

    The number 971 sounds quite scary indeed. If you’re thinking of circumventing this problem by making your pet’s food, remember that recalls of human food are stunningly common as well. (Remember the beef recall mentioned above? Beef is a common ingredient in home-made pet food.) Fortunately, the FDA has a database for human food recalls as well.

    Click here for the FDA pet food recall database.
    Click here for the FDA human food recall database.

    Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:


  •  02-05-2010, 8:00 PM 4302854 in reply to 1483113

    Re: No, Toto, This Isn't Kansas, It's the FDA: US Pet Food Fiasco

    The Verdict - After at Least 30,000 Pet Deaths:

    From:  http://www.koamtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11942775

    Couple gets probation in toxic pet food case

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Las Vegas-based company and its owners have been sentenced to three years probation for distributing a tainted ingredient used to make pet food.

    Federal prosecutors in Kansas City say 43-year-old Sally Qing Miller and 57-year-old Stephen S. Miller also must pay a $5,000 fine, and their company, Chemnutra Inc., must pay $25,000.

    The couple admitted importing from China more than 800 metric tons of wheat gluten tainted with melamine, an unsafe food additive, and sold it to companies in the pet food industry.

    Thousands of cats and dogs reportedly became sick or died after eating the tainted food. The case resulted in the recall of more than 150 brands of doog and cat food across the country in 2007.

    The court ruled Friday that the Millers won't have to pay further restitution because of a $24 million settlement in a related civil suit in New Jersey.

    Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


  •  02-06-2010, 2:23 PM 4303226 in reply to 4302854

    Re: No, Toto, This Isn't Kansas, It's the FDA: US Pet Food Fiasco

    More articles:  http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/02/chinese_formula22.html

    http://www.lvrj.com/news/breaking_news/federal-charges-result-in-probation-for-couple-in-tainted-pet-food-case-83684012.html

    http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/sentencing-for-chemnutra-over-misdemeanor-violations-in-melamine-litigation,1153713.shtml



    The one above says the Millers are struggling with the verdict and had no idea about the melamine, when it was shown they received it being labelled "Wallpaper Paste".  The liars - but hey, welcome to the United States justice system. 

    And the Millers have already started up another business.  They needed to have been sentenced to 100,000 hours of community service cleaning the cages at animal shelters, which always need volunteers. 

  •  02-16-2010, 2:13 AM 4309014 in reply to 4284522

    Re: No, Toto, This Isn't Kansas, It's the FDA: US Pet Food Fiasco

    USA -Lies deciet and cover up from FDA

    15 Feb 2010

    While it has been very convenient for the Media and the FDA to blame China for the pet food scandal in 2007, three years after the litany of lies and innuendo a Federal Judge places the blame on the US pet food industry where it belongs. CNN and Fox News spent months chastizing the Chinese for killing cats and dogs by using melamine in pet food, this was akin to blaming Australia for Hiroshima as the uranium in the atom bomb was mined there .A federal judge has sentenced the owners of Chemnutra to three years probation for distributing a melamine-tainted ingredient that triggered a massive pet food recall in 2007 and caused the deaths and illnesses of thousands of dog and cats nationwide.
    In addition to the probation the judge in Nevada ordered Sally Qing Miller (43), a Chinese national, and her husband, Stephen S. Miller (57), to each pay a $5,000 fine and Miller's company, Chemnutra, Inc., to pay a $25,000 fine.
     
    The result of this sentencing ends a long legal case that centred on the involvement of the Millers and Chemnutra with importing and distributing the melamine-tainted wheat gluten used in the recalled pet food.
     
    Chemnutra is a Nevada-based company that buys food products in China and imports them into the United States.
     
    The company then sells those products to pet food makers and other manufacturers in the food industry.
     
    Sally Miller is Chemnutra's controlling owner and president, while Stephen Miller is an owner and the company's chief executive officer.
     
    From November of 2006 through February 2007, Chemnutra and Millers imported more than 800 tonnes of melamine-tainted wheat gluten from China in at least 13 separate shipments, according to a federal indictment.
     
    Chemnutra received the melamine-tainted wheat gluten at a port of entry in Kansas City, Missouri, the indictment said. The company then sold and shipped the tainted wheat gluten to customers across the United States, who used the tainted product to make various brands of pet food.
     
    During the federal court hearing the judge decided not to impose further restitution because of the $24 million settlement reached in a civil suit filed in the wake of the pet food recall.
     
    The melamine-tainted wheat gluten forced pet food makers to recall more than 150 brands of dog and cat food during 2007. It was the largest pet food recall in US history

    Source: newsroom - meattradenewsdaily.co.uk


    PS - Let's not forget the wheat gluten was clearly labelled as "wallpaper paste".

  •  02-21-2010, 7:52 AM 4311845 in reply to 1483113

    Re: No, Toto, This Isn't Kansas, It's the FDA: US Pet Food Fiasco



    US Magistrate Judge John Maughmer ordered the probation for Stephen and Sally Miller, owners of ChemNutra Inc., on Feb. 5.  Probation.
    ***
    To Judge John, Stephen and Sally:

    It's easy to ignore the mass destruction of the pets we called our loved ones, and some our babies, all of which were our friends, especially when there are no faces, names or histories behind those nameless, anonymous 30,000+ some family pets that died due to your greed and ignorance.

    Let me introduce you to my two little friends:  Coho and Rosie.

    Coho was adopted from a feral family that lived in a barn under hay bales in Palmer (you'll see a photo below), Alaska, and flown home by me when he was 8 weeks old - for a better life (for both of us).  Coho was the runt of the litter, and I was exhausted and tired of work and life, in general.  Coho (the orange and white tabby) was like a puppy - he would follow me wherever I went - I took him to the park, on my boat (he loved waiting for the fish), jogged with me (with no leash) and lived peacefully alongside the animals at the farm I lived at.  Although I had many friends, he was my best friend - always by my side - always the clown making me smile and laugh.  Coho would go with me to the gym and hang with the guys while I trained, and sit under my desk at work. 

    Rosie just showed up one day about 6 months later and never left.  Now Rosie was one of those cats who no matter what, would not leave you alone.  He lived for pets, like a cocaine addict lived for their drug.  If Rosie sensed someone was allergic to cats, he would be in their face even more.  There was no pushing Rosie away if being petted was a viable possibility.

    They were inseparable.  They were my lifeline.  Coho once had an accident where he'd laid on the motor of the car and got caught in the fan belt, but he survived just fine.  But while he recuperated at home heavily sedated, Rosie never left his side (you'll see photos below).

    We were working with Rosie to be a therapy cat to take to local Nursing Homes to visit the bedridden Seniors, unfortunately shortly before that happened he was taken by the pet food recall, as was Coho.

    Prior to this time, my Mother was diagnosed with cancer, and I took care of her at home.  She chose to sleep on the chair because they'd cut away half of her face and her right eye (she had paranasal sinus cancer), but Rosie slept on her lap every night.  He bought her so much joy.

    My significant other, who never had been exposed to a cat, was also adopted by Rosie, and as you can see in the photos below, Rosie kept him safe as well.

    Although Coho was the runt of the litter, he grew to a whopping 25 lbs, however wasted down to 8 after he went into renal failure from the tainted pet food recall.  We tried the best we could to keep him alive, giving him IV's twice a day, but it finally took his life.  Toward the end, he became somewhat delusional and disoriented, and once he could no longer stand, we took him to the vets to be euthanized.  I could not bear to watch.  My significant other held his paw and when I started to cry, Coho looked up at me, and I had to walk out.  I am so sorry, Coho.

    Rosie passed away about a month later - he refused the IV treatment and I could not keep him hydrated.  Everyone Rosie ever came in contact with (hundreds of people) say they never met another cat like him, and how sad it was we could not get him to the Nursing Homes as was scheduled.  Both were 14 years old.  But they say there is a reason for everything, and I'm still trying to find the reason for the above two deaths.  I'm also trying to find a reason that the individuals responsible not for just my two, but THOUSANDS, have been given what boils down to a slap on the wrist, and have already started up a new business venture.

    I am not a vengeful or spiteful person, and believe in Karma.  I also believe in God.  You understand the rest of the story.

    Rest in Peace, Coho, Rosie and the untold thousdands of others who died in this massive pet food recall - we will see you at the Rainbow Bridge.


















     


















  •  03-10-2010, 12:07 PM 4316394 in reply to 4311845

    Re: No, Toto, This Isn't Kansas, It's the FDA: US Pet Food Fiasco

    Yet more pet food recalls:

    http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/91D26C/vetmedicine.about.com/b/2010/03/09/natures-variety-recall-expanded.htm/r:t

    Janet's Veterinary Medicine Blog

    By Janet Tobiassen Crosby, DVM, About.com Guide to Veterinary Medicine

    Nature's Variety Recall Expanded

    Tuesday March 9, 2010

    Screenshot of Nature's Variety web site © Janet Tobiassen Crosby DVM The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Nature's Variety have announced an expansion of the Nature's Variety recall on raw frozen chicken dietsthat was first announced February 11, 2010.

    According to the Nature's Variety Food Safety Update from Reed Howlet CEO:

    "Nature's Variety has received new test results from an outside facility that indicate that Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diet with the "Best If Used By" date of 10/29/10 and Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diet with the "Best If Used By" date of 11/9/10 may be contaminated with Salmonella. Therefore, we are voluntarily recalling these date codes of product from the marketplace. Also, out of an abundance of caution, we are expanding our voluntary recall to include all Chicken Formula and Organic Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diets for dogs and cats with any "Best If Used By" date on or before 2/5/11."

    At this time, the recall only involves the chicken frozen raw diets. Please visit the Nature's Variety web site for UPC codes and food varieties affected by this recall.

    Learn more: FDA press release about this recall expansion.

    Returning recalled product
    If you have purchased food affected by this recall, you may receive a complete refund or exchange for another variety by bringing in the unopened package or if already opened, just bring in your receipt to avoid cross-contamination.

    Protecting your family and pets
    Please be sure to handle opened product as potentially contaminated with Salmonella. Use proper sanitation of the tools and surfaces, wash hands, and secure the trash so no animals can access the food. Learn more about preventing Salmonella from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

    How pet food recalls affect us
    Have your pets been affected by a recall? Have you changed what you feed your pets because of recent recalls? Please share your story about recalled pet food.

    Image: Screenshot of Nature's Variety web site © Janet Tobiassen Crosby DVM


  •  03-12-2010, 7:38 AM 4316967 in reply to 4316394

    Re: No, Toto, This Isn't Kansas, It's the FDA: US Pet Food Fiasco

    Real Ham Bone for Dogs May Be Causing Illnesses and Deaths in Dogs:

    http://content.usatoday.com/communities/pawprintpost/post/2010/03/news-alert-pet-treat-under-investigation/1

     The Food and Drug Administration is looking into concerns that a Missouri-produced pet treat has caused serious illness or death in dogs, according to the Associated Press.

    An FDA spokesman said the government is reviewing complaints about Real Ham Bone For Dogs.

    The pet treat is sold throughout the U.S. and distributed under the Dynamic Pet Products label of Frick's Quality Meats in Washington, Mo.

    The FDA encouraged consumers to report their concerns.

    The Better Business Bureau in St. Louis said Thursday concerns arose after the bones splintered, sometimes blocking dogs' intestines.


  •  04-14-2010, 10:45 AM 4325521 in reply to 4316967

    Re: No, Toto, This Isn't Kansas, It's the FDA: US Pet Food Fiasco

    Newest recall:

    http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm208421.htm


    Response Products Voluntarily Recalls Advanced Cetyl M Joint Action Formula for Dogs Because of Possible Salmonella Health Risk


    Here is a listing of the products recalled:  http://www.basicfoodflavors.com/pdf/Product_Affected_By_Recall.pdf

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