(There’s a slightly condensed version of this post available in .pdf format in my Downloads category, feel free to download, print out, copy, and share….)

You’ve probably heard about the pet food recall. But unless you’ve been actively seeking out more information, you may not realize just how extensive the problem with our pets’ food supply is, and that it’s far from over.

I’ve been following the pet food recall news closely, through two websites that have been doing a stellar job digging up information and reporting it quickly and clearly, with updates as soon as anything new is known:

http://petconnection.com

and

http://itchmo.com
Thursday, April 26th, while the FDA was assuring everyone at a press meeting that they weren’t expecting any more recalls of pet food, several more companies recalled some of their canned products.

This time, it was due to tampering in the US: American Nutrition, Inc., a pet food manufacturing and packing contractor, revealed they had been putting rice protein concentrate in some of the foods they were manufacturing without the knowledge or consent of the companies they manufactured the foods for. And yes, American Nutrition received some of the contaminated rice protein concentrate imported by Wilbur-Ellis that had led to the previous round of recalls, well after the massive recalls by Menu Foods due to contaminated wheat gluten.

Among the recalled foods: Natural Balance and Blue Buffalo foods that I’d been continuing to feed my dogs and cats after the previous recalls because there was no “wheat gluten” or “rice protein concentrate” listed on their labels. I trusted those labels, just as the folks at Natural Balance and Blue Buffalo trusted their contractor to manufacture those foods according to the specified formulas.

Also affected: Costco’s “Kirkland” brand, Diamond’s “Lamb & Rice” dog food and “Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul” dog and cat food, Mulligan Stew, Canine Caviar, and Harmony Farms.

Many pet owners think the recall’s over and done with. But it’s not — far from it. And the situation’s bigger than most news stories have recognized:

Deaths

The media is still reporting “16 confirmed deaths” (or “unkown” numbers of pets affected) but the actual death toll is much, much higher than that. Banfield Hospital, a nationwide chain that partners with PetSmart, reportedly saw a 30% rise in cases of renal disease over the past few months. Estimates based on veterinary reports submitted to the Veterinary Information Network and extrapolated to the estimated pet population range from 3,000 to 7,000 animals now deceased due to contaminated pet food, and thousands more may be affected. The Pet Connection website has a database where pet owners can add the information of their pets they think died because of contaminated food. Although PetConnection stresses that these are self-reported numbers (not confirmed cases), the database contains information on more than 4500 pets suspected of having died due to eating the contaminated food, with more added every day. And the FDA has received more than 15,000 reports of ill or dead pets, they simply haven’t been “confirmed.” (Note: since I wrote this just a few days ago, the FDA has issued an Import Alert, in which they state “As of April 26, 2007, FDA had received over 17,000 consumer complaints relating to this outbreak, and those complaints included reports of approximately 1950 deaths of cats and 2200 deaths of dogs.)

Contaminated Ingredients

The recall now involves at least three contaminated ingredients: wheat gluten, rice protein concentrate, and (at least in South Africa) corn gluten. The contamination appears to have been deliberate. Adding melamine (used as a fertilizer in China) increases the nitrogen present in the gluten or protein concentrate, thereby artificially raising the apparent protein content and increasing the gluten’s value on the open market.

Contaminants

In addition to melamine, three other contaminates have been found in the pet food and in the urine and tissues of affected pets, all related to melamine — but the vets and researchers still don’t know why any of them would be causing so many deaths and illnesses related to renal failure. So testing continues, with no clear answers. Bit by bit more clues are coming forth. Recently, researchers at Guelph University reported a piece of the puzzle – a chemical reaction that can occur between melamine and cyanuric acid, one of the other contaminants found in the recalled pet food and in the urine of affected pets.

Long-Term Effects

There’s no telling what the long-term effects of eating the contaminated food may be to pets who were treated for renal failure in time, or pets who may have been affected without showing clinical signs (kidneys can lose up to 70% of their function before there are any detectable signs of renal disease in the blood or urine).

The Human Food Supply

There’s some evidence that some of those contaminated ingredients made their way into the human food supply (although the FDA quietly intercepted most of it before it actually got to consumers). Some hogs that were fed “scraps and sweepings” from American Nutrition’s plants have tested positive for melamine. Some of those hogs were slaughtered and sold to consumers, and not all of the meat has been tracked down. Poultry farms may have received some of the contaminated ingredients, as well. The possible effects of eating the meat of contaminated animals are unknown.

The Timeline

Importers may have been receiving contaminated ingredients from China since last summer. And Menu Foods apparently knew that something was wrong with the pet foods made in their Kansas plant well before they recalled those foods. (Most of the 16 deaths confirmed so far were of animals in Menu Foods’ pet food testing trials.) The scope and severity of the situation has been exacerbated by slow reporting and delays before pet foods with suspected contaminants have actually been recalled. Itchmo.com provides a Pet Food Recall Timeline with extensive information on what happened when.

And now we learn we can’t even trust the labels on our pets’ food, so avoiding wheat gluten, rice protein concentrate, and corn gluten altogether may not be enough.

What to Do

Educate Yourself

Make sure you keep up to date on the news on this matter. With the scrutiny the pet food industry’s under now, we’re likely to discover further problems with various brands that may lead to additional recalls. For the latest news, visit http://petconnection.com and http://itchmo.com. Sign up for Itchmo’s Pet Safety Alert email subscription to get information on new recalls and other urgent pet safety news by email.

Check every pet food you use against the recall list. The FDA has a searchable database of recalled foods. For an extensive list of pet foods that includes what’s been recalled and what hasn’t, with additional information on every brand (including what contractors manufactures the food, in case you wish to stay away from any pet foods produced by Menu Foods or American Nutrition, Inc.) see http://thepetfoodlist.com/. (Please note that The Pet Food List isn’t updated as frequently as the PetConnection and Itchmo sites are, so use it as a starting point rather than assuming any food that’s not listed as being part of a recall is truly safe.) Check your pet food against the recall lists often as additional foods may be added as investigations continue.

Learn to read pet food labels. For more information, see “Interpreting Pet Food Labels” on the FDA website and “Dog Food Label Information 101″ from the Dog Food Project website.

Research alternative pet foods. Many brands of pet food do not use any of the contaminated ingredients (wheat gluten, rice protein concentrate, and corn gluten), and some pet food companies have their own plants where they manufacture and pack their own pet food under close scrutiny. However, even if a pet food label does not list wheat gluten or rice protein concentrate (or “rice powder” or “rice gluten”) as ingredients, you should check the food against the recall list.

If you’re considering a home-prepared diet, do your research! While it may be tempting to prepare your own pet food at home (and I do so myself), there are many ways to get it wrong (at the expense of your pet’s health). Be sure to learn at least the basics about canine nutrition and healthy, balanced, home-prepared diets for your pets before embarking on this path. There are several views of how our dogs and cats should be fed, and there are many disagreements among proponents of the various types of diets. Raw diets are increasingly popular, but there are risks to these (including food-borne illness such as salmonella), so read up on the issues and weigh the risks before adopting a raw food diet. With any home prepared diet, it’s vital that you feed a variety of foods and also supplement those foods with proper levels of vitamins and minerals. You must also familiarize yourself with foods that are toxic to dogs (including onions, grapes and grape products, macademia nuts, human vitamin supplements containing iron, and much more). There are several good books on home-prepared diets: see the posts in the “Dog Diets” category on this website for some recommendations.

Speak to your veterinarian before making any drastic changes in your pets’ diets. This is especially true if you choose a home-prepared diet, but is also true if you wish to shift the types of commercial foods you’re feeding (to foods available only in specialty pet stores or direct from the manufacturer, for example, including any commercially prepared raw diets). Note that, as with general practitioners in human medicine, not all veterinarians have a strong background in nutrition. Ask for a referral to a veterinary nutritionist if you feel your primary vet doesn’t have the specialized knowledge of nutrition you are looking for.

Schedule annual exams for your pets. These exams should include complete blood tests (sometimes called “geriatric profile” tests) and urinalysis to be sure that your pets’ nutritional needs are being met. If you are switching to a home-prepared diet, have these tests performed before you begin feeding the new food so you have a “baseline” you can compare later tests against.

Know Your Pets

Noticing when something is “just not right” with your pets is your best line of defense against illness. Take note of your pet’s normal eating and drinking and eliminating patterns, and learn to recognize signs of good health as well as signs of illness. Pets often hide their pain (an instinctive desire to avoid showing signs of weakness), so there may not be any obvious signs of pain (such as limping or crying). Changes in behavior or posture, increased respiration and heart rates, a reluctance to move, panting, or a tight “worried” look around the eyes may indicate your dog is in distress. The key is to look for changes in your dog’s appearance or behavior, as these may indicate something is wrong. So learn to recognize signs of pain in your dog.

Take your pet to the vet if you have any concerns.

Observe your pets for any signs of illness. The specific signs of renal disease to look for include a change in water consumption and urination (especially if these increase), vomiting, lethargy, depression, loss of appetite, or diarrhea. If your pet is showing any of these signs, please see a veterinarian as soon as possible, even if your pet hasn’t eaten any of the recalled foods. Familiarize yourself with the Top Ten Signs of Illness in your pet, Symptoms of Pet Illnesses, and Dog Illness Warning Signs.

If your pet has eaten any of the recalled food, visit your vet even if your pet doesn’t seem to be sick. Ask for a complete blood test (including a Complete Blood Count that can check for anemia and infections and a Serum Chemistry Profile that measures the function of the major organs) and urinalysis with special attention paid to any crystals found in the urine. Explain that you think your pet may have eaten some of the contaminated food (bring the bag or can that includes the product code so your vet can compare it to the pet food recall list).

Properly dispose of any recalled pet food (but keep any opened bags or cans).

Provide your vet with samples of the suspect food. Bring full or empty cans or pouches or bags with you so your veterinarian can check the specific product codes against the full recall list. Your veterinarian may also be able to send samples of the food out to be tested for the specific contaminants found (including melamine and cyanuric acid). Instructions for veterinarians on submitting samples and reports are available on the American Veterinary Medicine Association’s website.

Make sure any opened foods are sealed and stored in a safe place where children and pets can’t get to them. Keeping the bags or pouches of recalled food you have fed to your pets will help your vet determine if any harm has come to your pets, and may help you recover some costs of veterinary care from the manufacturers. If you cannot ensure that the opened food will not be eaten, return it to the store for proper disposal.

Return unopened cans and bags of recalled product to the store you purchased them from. The store should give you a refund.

Do not donate any recalled food to an animal shelter or put it on the curb or throw it in the trash where an animal might be able to get to it. Sad but true, the “can I donate the recalled food to my local animal shelter” has shown up as a “frequently asked question” on some of the websites concerning the pet food recall.

Tell Your Veterinarian About Pet Connection and the Itchmo Safety Alerts.

Make sure your vet knows about petconnection.com and the Itchmo safety alerts. These are the best sources of up-to-date information. Once alerted to new information, your veterinarian can seek out additional information on veterinary-specific websites such as AVMA.org and the Veterinary Information Network.

Report Pet Illnesses and Deaths

If you believe one of your pets is ill (or has died) due to contaminated pet food, report it. The Pet Connection website has a database for pet owners to report pets who have been affected by the contaminated pet food. You can enter information here. Report this to the FDA by contacting your local Consumer Complaint Coordinator. You should also ask your veterinarian to submit samples and a report to the AVMA.

Other Things You Can Do

Pet Connection’s Call to Action

Sign Itchmo’s Petition to Require Pet Food Companies to be Held Accountable

Tell your friends and co-workers what they should know about the pet food recall!

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 28th, 2007 at 12:07 pm and is filed under In the News, Canine Health, Dream Dog Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.