Breaking News: Pet Food Recall Expanded Again

[PhilipShore]

(Washington - AP, April 5, 2007) - The recall of pet foods and treats contaminated with an industrial chemical expanded Thursday to include dog biscuits made by an Alabama company.

The Food and Drug Administration said Sunshine Mills Inc. is recalling dog biscuits made with imported Chinese wheat gluten. Testing has revealed the wheat gluten, a protein source, was contaminated with melamine, used to make plastics and other industrial products.

Also Thursday, Menu Foods, a major manufacturer of brand- and private-label wet pet foods expanded its original recall to include a broader range of dates, the FDA said. Menu Foods was the first of at least six companies to recall pet foods and treats made with the contaminated ingredient.

Sunshine, of Red Bay, Ala., sells pet foods and treats under its own brands as well as private labels sold by grocery, mass merchant and dollar stores, according to its Web site. A list of recalled products was not immediately available.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=5186398

[neuvocat]

1. kick

[1monster]

2. Kicked and reccommended. We need to get that list of affected

pet foods ASAP.

I guess my cats are going to be eating tuna and rice as regular fare rather than a once a week treat...

[KoKo]

3. Here's the FDA's list (if you can believe them) but it's a start:

http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html

[kestrel91316]

12. Poultry would be MUCH more appropriate. Tuna is highly

inadvisable in cats: linked to dangerous urinary problems, GI problems, skin problems ("tuna head" as I call it), and increased risk of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Cats are direct descendants of the desert wildcat of North Africa, Felis libyca. There are NO fish in the desert. It is a highly unnatural food item for them.

Off my soapbox.

[1monster]

18. With a screen name like Kestrel, I'm wondering why you know so

much about cat diets? :evilgrin:

(Kestrals)

[TZ]

25. what great pix!

Read some of Kestrel's posts and you will see the screenname fits personalitywise! Somehow I can't see merlin or peregrine working quite as well!:evilgrin: :rofl:

[kestrel91316]

4. PS can you cross-post this over on Pets Forum so they know about it?

[kestrel91316]

5. For those who don't have it, here's AVMA's central database of

press releases, recall details, helpful info:

http://avma.org/aa/menufoodsrecall/default.asp

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

6. No details yet on brands of dog biscuits

But lots of other good info there including some info on homecooking which is sounding more and more like the right thing to do - at least on a temporary basis.


edited to add : you can purchase recipes ($50 each) on the site that were prepared by certified veterinary nutritionists. They also recommend Dr. Strombeck's book on home cooking

[kestrel91316]

7. Temporarily it's fine, and the REAL important part is

home COOKED, not raw, lol.

[EFerrari]

9. Sunshine Mills is in Al?

http://www.sunshinemills.com/?na=true&type=content&content=3

[kestrel91316]

11. It's just their subsidiary, Sunshine Pet Treats, I think:

http://www.sunshinepettreats.com/about.htm

[EFerrari]

16. Must be right because their connection keeps timing out.

TG my pup only gets Newmans. :(

[Clark2008]

19. Kestrel, is there a place to find out what's NOT on the list?

So far, I can only find Pedigree.

I need to buy the poochies some dry food this weekend.

I'd love to cook for them, but it's all I can do to maintain my house right now - I'm on partial bedrest due to a pregnancy. I just don't have the energy (anemia and gestational diabetes) to cook after working part-time and raising a son.

I'm feeding a dry food that, thus far, I haven't seen on the list and they all seem OK. Is Pedigree dry OK for right now?

[kestrel91316]

8. VERY prelimnary data from the survey of veterinarians on VIN:

"....Q: Are there any survey results available?
A: The tabulation of data below is preliminary and very limited. We will update this section as we continue to analyze the incoming data.

Approximately 50% (~850) of respondents stated they have seen at least 1 case of suspected toxicity.
Of these, approximately 95% (~800) are from the US, and 5% (~50) are from Canada
Geographic distribution is not apparent. Heavily populated states are more commonly represented (e.g. California, New York, Washington, Ohio, Florida etc)
Approximately twice as many cats (~1100) appear affected as dogs (~600)...."

"....Remember, the numbers represent the responses of survey participants, and represent reports by participating colleagues, we can only guess at how this extrapolates to the total numbers affected. In addition, these are reports of what colleagues believe to be related cases. This is the best we can do at the moment, and likely ever, as we will never get full reporting and it will never be possible to be 100% certain that specific cases were truly related to the affected foods....."

[kestrel91316]

10. UC Davis testing for melamine:

http://cahfs.ucdavis.edu/pet_food.htm

[Arkansas Granny]

13. They really need to release a list of the recalled products.

I've already suspended feeding any wet foods to my dog and cat because the list kept expanding and I didn't know if the brands I used would show up eventually. Now, if we don't know which treats are affected, I suppose I'll have to suspend treats, too, until we find out. I'm not going to be very popular with my girls. My cat, especially, scolds me every morning when I don't put her favorite food in the dish.

I would gladly cook for them, but I'm afraid that I wouldn't get all the nutrients they need in their diet and I would wind up doing them more harm than good. So, I guess I'll stick to their regular dry food (which does not list wheat gluten as an ingredient) and hope for the best. This has been very unsettling.

[kestrel91316]

14. I'll try to get the list of dog treats from Sunshine up here as soon as

it shows up someplace. I have to go get some lunch but will be watching for it when I get back.

[Arkansas Granny]

15. Thanks. You've been a great help to many of us during this mess.

[theHandpuppet]

22. Those so-called "natural" LASSIE brand dog treats are on the list

Those are the ones I had been giving to my dogs and the bar code matches the ones on recall. This after I just stopped giving my dogs Mighty Dog pouch and Alpo Prime Cuts with Gravy. I used those to mix in with Purina One dry food.

I can't begin to tell you how I'm feeling right now. My dogs are like my children. I AM MAJORLY PISSED!!!!!! Why are more and more products just trickling their way on to the list? These companies know what the hell they are putting in their crap.

Thank god the cats have not been eating any of the affected foods.

I want a list of foods that are SAFE for my pets to eat!



:grr:

[Clark2008]

20. What dry food are you using?

I'm in a similar situation in that some physical limitations I have prevents me from having the time or energy to cook dog food when I have human children I have to tend to just now.

I've got to go buy some dry food this weekend (mine like dry food and I mix it with a little rice or warm water to make gravy). I've already chucked the can food I feed my old dog and have just made him a mostly rice mix with dry. He has to have mushy food because of oral cancer (he's not long for this world as it is - I certainly don't want to make things worse for him).

I just don't want to get the wrong kind of dry.

[Arkansas Granny]

21. I've used Purina products for years for both dogs and cats.

I'm currently feeding Purina Pro Plan to my dog. You can check the ingredients and the analysis here:

http://www.proplan.com/dog_products/products_dog_dry_adult.aspx

[Rhiannon12866]

17. K&R! And passing this on, thanks...

:scared:

[piesRsquare]

23. List of Sunshine Mills Inc Recalled Products

Link to list of Sunshine Mills, Inc. Recalled Products

http://www.sunshinemills.com/press_release.html


Pet food recall info at http://2blackcats.wordpress.com

[and-justice-for-all]

24. kick