Pet Food Poisoning Mystery May Be Solved

Finding Comes As Menu Foods Expands Its Recall And Senate OKs Regulation Of Pet Food Labels

(CBS/AP)  The mystery of how two chemicals that are considered non-toxic poisoned so many pets may have been solved, CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes reports.

The breakthrough was made at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. A week ago, scientist Perry Martos mixed together a few drops of melamine and cyanuric acid, the two unauthorized chemicals found in tainted pet food.

In less than a second, they formed a mass of crystals nearly identical to crystals found in the kidneys of sickened animals.

"If you can imagine an instantaneous kidney stone — that's essentially the way I would perceive it," says Martos.

Dr. Kimberly May of the American Veterinary Medical Association says the discovery could end up saving the lives of animals that eat the tainted food, Cordes reports.

"It's very possible that the crystals that are formed may be dissolved by ... altering the medical treatment somehow, and that is being investigated," she said.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government reportedly has made one arrest in the contamination case. It's believed the chemicals were added deliberately as cheap substitute for real protein.

In Washington, the Senate voted unanimously Thursday to standardize the nutrition labels on pet food and to fine pet food makers who don't report problems right away.

These discoveries come as Menu Foods recalled yet another batch of its products. Menu Foods said the recall was due to possible cross-contamination between melamine-tainted products and other foods made in the same period.

The expansion includes cuts and gravy pet food, as well as other products that were not made with the contaminated wheat gluten supplied by ChemNutra Inc., but were manufactured during the period the chemical-laced gluten was used.

The company based its decision on study results that revealed cross-contamination, as well as one report from a customer.

The recall now includes additional pet food products in the United States, Canada and Europe. It also expands the date ranges of previously recalled products to match the period that melamine-tainted wheat gluten was used in manufacturing plants.

Menu estimates that the additional itemed added to the recall represent less than 5 percent of all products already recalled or withdrawn.

More than 100 brands of pet food have been recalled since March 16 because they were contaminated with melamine. An unknown number of dogs and cats have been sickened or died after eating chemical-laced pet food.

For a complete list of Menu's recalled products visit their Web site at Menu Foods.

Check the FDA Web site for the full list of recalled brands.

[mswolfestock]

If you want to be sure that your dog's food is safe, use Pedigree brand. It is manufactured by Mars Co. in the United States. It is probably the only brand that has never been associated with any of the recent recalls. Pedigree is also active in animal welfare and rescue issues - I strongly urge every pet owner to support Pedigree by using their products; your pet's health and your peace of mind are priceless. I thank God every day that some twist of fate caused me to choose Pedigree.

[jetlizhan]

please everyone start feeding their precious pets dry dog/cat food. mine have been on this for years. i know they'd prefer the canned, but no way will i ever buy that stuff. this whole thing is getting outrageous - they (pets) look to us for protection and we must do this!

[ajapierce]

I think we need to have more reform in checking the food supply in general. For one thing, we should start more farms in this country since we can support more then 10 times the amount of farms we have now on the lands.

Then we need to have better watchdogs, and in this case, Non-Profit Volunteer organizations. Volunteers should be paid on inspection productions not a salary to keep them focuses and not to get cozy with companies. And we need to abide by that and not let oversight happen. The FDA is severely under-funded and volunteers usually make more honest people then people earning a paycheck.

[rasabaka]

I have been feeding my cats Wellness canned cat food and they do very well on it. It is high quality and has not been recalled. It is grain free and does not contain wheat gluten.

[jester188]

Pedigree is garbage food like the rest... don't think that they are any better than the other companies..... The only good food for your pet is Holistic blends... small companies that make natural organic foods.... I pay almost $100 a bag... but without a doubt it is the very best you can give your pet....

[dragonmouse-2009]

There seems like there's more pet foods on it than off. My Dog is eating Pedigree cans but I have been feeding her the NutroMax dry. I decided to finish off the bag since the DRY wasn't on the list and she was doing well with it. The cats have been on Purina Dry and Meow Mix cups. It's getting pretty scarey.

The really scarey thing is...the animals aren't the ONLY ones consuming "wheat gulten" as gravy thickener. What about US??? That's the BIG thing I'm wondering. Why only pet food?

Something's amuck somewhere

[ewharper]

$100 a bag!! You have GOT to be kidding me. My dogs get the $5.97 a bag dog food. They're only dogs, they eat thier own vomit.

[erasmus6]

I don't think this is ever going to end!

[akrk33nnn]

My cat started getting sick mysteriously about 2 days ago. He's always eaten dry food, but I switched to Purina after some dry foods made the list. Then I came to find out that Purina is now owned by Nestle, which in turn owns Alpo and a couple of other brands on the list.

I switched to Wellness (Old Mother Hubbard) dry two days ago. This food has no gluten whatsoever, no conr or wheat products, and they advertise that only 1% of their ingredients come from Asia. My cat has recovered quite quickly. I would recommend switching to Wellness or Innova immediately, at least for the time being.

[akrk33nnn]

Another important note (see comment above), when I first opened the Wellness dry food, I poured a bunch of it directly on top of the Purina dry. My cat picked out each individual nugget of Wellness, and left only Purina nuggets in the bottom of the bowl, then started meowing for more food. I immediately threw out the remaining Purina.

[incog-nito]

On the plus side, the ill-effects of these chemicals on humans will not be apparent until many years from now, by which time the statute of limitations for any redress would be long expired.

[indydogowner]

I own lovable Labs, Spaniels, and Bostons, and when this hit, I heard about Eagle Pack Pet Foods, made in Indiana. I switched my dogs over to this, and they have perked back up. The Eagle Pack dog food has turned out to be a great buy. I would rather spend 5 dollars more for a 37 pound bag, than spend the money for a vet bills. Just go to the web site, and they will tell you which pet supplies stores sell the brand. I think we all might start taking a second look at what is going in the food we eat as well.

[cgesualdo]

jester188, yes Pedigree probably isn't the best thing to feed your dog, but it seems to be the only widely available brand made by a company NOT to have anything on the recall list. Not everyone has access to holistic dog food.

[akrk33nnn]

I would recommend taking a second look at ALL brand name pet foods, including Pedigree. If they use any of the following substances, you ARE at risk:

wheat gluten, rice gluten, rice protein, rice protein concentrate, corn gluten, corn gluten meal, corn by-products, soy protein, soy gluten, mung-bean protein and amino acids.

There are only three brands (so far) which do not use any of the above, and also don't use garlic (very bad for cats and dogs, according to ASPCA doctors):

Solid Gold
Innova
Wellness / Old Mother Hubbard

[akrk33nnn]

erasmus6 - Looks like Canada saved our ***** again! You're right, it IS never going to end. Actually, it will end when the Chinese stock market crashes (again). I don't think it's going to rebound this time.

[suncita1]

I live in South America and ever since the tainted food broke out I stopped buying poison for my collie and began cooking for him. I cook once every 10 days or so. I must say that he never liked dog food even though I used to force him to eat Eukanuba. Now he looks forward to dinnertime. He eats every little grain of his food now. I even make his dog bisquits.

[slipster01]

We always prepare food for our three dogs. It's no more expensive per week than me and the wife going out for fast food once, and our dogs love the variety.

Of course, when we do bring burgers or something home, we get that big-brown-eyed doggie hypnosis look from them. If you own dogs, you know what I mean. ;)

We supplement their meals with vitamins daily from our vet to make sure they are eating healthy. It's no extra work for us.

[hober_mallow]

Re: The comment by erasmus6...

No, this is never going to end as long as we import food (and pet food) products from China.

The lying cheating Chinese put melamine in their protein supplements to increase the nitrogen levels in order to trick and fool chemical analysis into thinking protein levels are higher.

It's not even fake protein; it's just an increased nitrogen level.

And from what I've been reading, it happens all the time.

So remember, when you buy a Chinese product you support a corrupt government and country that doesn't hesitate to poison it's own people, work its people to death for serf's wages, and horrendously polute it's air and water.

And the Olympics is going to go to that den of liars and thieves.

[nothappyatall]

"meanwhile, the Chinese government reportedly has made one arrest in the contamination case. It's believed the chemicals were added"

In other words, they made one guy a public "we did something" media fallguy for their industry-wide scamming practice, after all, these products are only going to the USA and who cares about some foreign country's PETS right?

[ms38654ob]

We've been making our own dog food for over 10 years. It's actually cheaper to do than purchasing pre-made canned or dry dog food.

Our recipe:

4 lbs. tough low fat beef
2 cups barley
2 lbs. frozen mixed vegetables
1 qt. chicken broth

Chop the meat into 1/2 inch cubes, cook until done, add vegetables and broth, cook 20 minutes or so, add barley, cook until done.

Store in the freezer in 3 cup containers, serve daily.

Dogs love it!

[grammawhamma]

I started cooking for my dogs about a week after the first recall came out. It is not that much more expensive and fairly easy and quick to make. The dogs love it and gobble it up. My adult kids actually try some of my concoctions for the dogs and like it too. The dogs have their yearly vet exam coming up next month and I am sure they will be given a clean bill of health.

[lastdance2]

China :
Is a country, whose leadership.
Impose an institution of slavery.
Upon it's own populance.

Anyone who invests, in an institution of slavery.
Believes and supports an institution of slavery.

Even borrowing money, from a bank in China.
Strengthens and enriches that institution of slavery.

Lastdance

[akrk33nnn]

ajapierce - This seems to be the most common reaction to the situation. If you think about it, though, why hire 20 or 50,000 more FDA inspectors, to test imported food, when we imported almost NO food from China just ten years ago. How much money would we actually SAVE by just shutting our ports to Chinese ships? We might have to hire 10,000 more Coast Guard, or enough customs officials to make sure Dutch and Greek shipping companies aren't buying Chinese food abroad, then relabeling and shipping it to the USA, but a couple of major busts and life sentences in that area would stop any cheating. After all, this is the nation's food supply we're talking about being poisoned.

[radiob-2009]

Even borrowing money, from a bank in China.
Strengthens and enriches that institution of slavery.

Lastdance
Posted by lastdance2


And where do you think US banks are borrowing some of the money that is used in loans? Most favored trade status with China needs to be repealed but not on the basis of this, the Chinese government is still practicing mandatory abortions.

[wolf563]

buying canned or prossesed pet food has become the easy way to look after a pet in the busy life we all lead . Just as fast food has become an easy way to feed the kids . We all need to slow down and look after the things we care the most for , Our families and pets are a part of the family too . Fast food is the easy way to look after your family so you can do all that sitting in front of the TV or doing the things you like best . Well think about how much you would miss your program compared to how much you would miss your kids or pet . Feed your family and that includes your pet with food made in your home by the whole family and you will find more happy families with more money in YOUR bank instead of the manufacturers who only care about your money . Slow down and love life and family .

[achpetlover]

We need to go back to feeding our pets what they were meant to eat: raw, natural meat. I know that may sound disgusting, but dogs are not omnivores. They should not be eating grains and vegetable they don't need. A lot of meat with small amounts of fruits and vegetables is a much better diet for your pet. If the idea of putting a slab of meat in your pet's food bowl is disgusting, there are companies that make freeze-dried meat steaks with USDA certified meat. Stella & Chewy's is a good company that has freeze-dried beef, chicken and lamb.

[mercyme884]

Everyone seems surprised that the Chinese would harm a pet. But it was only a few years ago when the world discovered China was disposing of female babies, remember the outrage when that got out.A married couple could only have one child and all the men wanted sons so baby girls were drowned or tossed on the scrap heap for the dogs to eat, some caring couples sent them to orphanages to starve.And you all think they wouldn't deliberately poison animals to make money.

[akrk33nnn]

I want to give CBS News kudos for scooping this story. CNN, NBC and FOX have been esentially ignoring the story for the last week, and ABC is still reporting on events from 2 days ago. The NY Times (as usual) seems to be sitting on the fence. Only CBS News, by running the above story, is driving events in a forward-looking direction.

[mswolfestock]

Hey everybody, you should try Pedigree brand dog food - this is the only brand that was never mentioned in any of the pet food recalls. Pedigree is part of the Mars Company, the candy bar people. I've been thanking my lucky stars every day that I've been using Pedigree for years. Before you start to cook for your pets, check with your vet - there are lots of nutrients that your pets need which are not found in the best of human foods. And NO, DON'T FEED YOUR PETS RAW MEAT - I DON'T CARE WHAT THAT OTHER COMMENTER SAID - DO NOT FEED YOUR PETS RAW MEAT - THEY ARE NOT USED TO IT AND THEY WILL NOT GET THE PROPER NUTRIENTS THAT ARE FOUND IN MOST COMMERCIAL PET FOODS. IT MIGHT ALSO MAKE THEM SICK SINCE THEY ARE PROBABLY NOT USED TO IT.

[akrk33nnn]

Check to see if Pedigree uses any of the following ingredients:

Wheat Gluten, Rice Gluten, Rice Protein, Rice Protein Concentrate, Corn Gluten, Corn Gluten Meal, Corn By-Products, Soy Protein, Soy Gluten, Proteins (includes amino acids and protein hydrosylates), Mung Bean Protein.

If it does, you are STILL AT RISK. Some pet owners, such as myself, have noticed their animals still getting ill eating foods which are NOT on the list, such as Purina.

[akrk33nnn]

BTW - mswolfestock continually posts advertisements about Pedigree to this board, regardless of what anyone else says. My guess is he/she works for Mars, the parent company.

[incog-nito]

It looks like globalization is going well. Who needs a self-sufficient manufacturing base anyway? It's good to see that the Chinese are looking out for our well-being.

[confusedcat-2009]

Contrary to what one person said, many vets are just fine with feeding your pets raw foods. Mine is.
I don't do it, but I'm very close to trying it because I love my pets too much to see them poisoned.

[incog-nito]

If you don't want to feed your pets raw meat you can always boil it first.

[edmacdaddy]

My dog Missy ate Nutro Natural(dry) small bites, On 4-20-07 my dog was never sick until this new bag, she couldn't
walk, and drank tons of water just to throw it back up.
Took her to the vet for a pain etc... She was very very sick.
She died wthin 4 days after eating out of this new bag.
I called the co. They said that food is not on the recall list (for now)....But Missy "7 years old" died April 25th.

[dmorg4]

just wait til this happens to humans
that some idiot mixes somthing up

[akrk33nnn]

The FDA and major media outlets seem to be brushing this story under the rug, at this point. As edmacdaddy reports, a lot of DRY food, such as Purina and Nutro, seem to be killing animals too. Yet the FDA has already assured us that their "list" is excessively cautious, and other foods pose no threat to humans and pets.

edmacdaddy, my heart goes out to you. I'm not a veteranarian, but it sounds like Missy had the same symptoms my cat had 3 days ago. Please make sure to tell your story to everybody you meet. We'll all be praying that our pets' lives trump advertisers, the stock market and lobbyists this time around.

These guys use a lot of the same lobbyists as the tobacco industry, so get ready for a BIG fight.

[akrk33nnn]

from USA Today:

"Binzhou Futian is a classic example of a single Chinese entrepreneur pursuing his dream in a once-centrally planned economy that only recently opened its doors to private enterprise."

Entrepreneur??? This guy is a common criminal! I can't believe anybody would sully the term "entrepreneur" like that!

http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2007-04-29-china-food-usat_N.htm

[akrk33nnn]

***, I ate a bunch of pasta last night, and now my kidneys are KILLING me! I've been "going" like a RACEHORSE for the last few weeks, but this is getting out of control.

[akrk33nnn]

Seeing as the crystals in kidneys seem to be produced by mixing cyanuric acid with melamine, shouldn't they be testing all this stuff for cyanuric acid also? (Which is already banned in the US food supply.)

I seem to remember that food in the past was coming up tainted with cyanuric acid (?) And something about producers adding urea to feed during World War II, which was a scandal at the time. If these slimebags would add melamine to food, what would prevent them from merely switching to one of the other "protein fakes"?

[cdnunn]

My sympathies for the loss of Missy. I know the pain of losing a special furry friend, though I can't imagine the horror of discovering that food you trusted to be nutritious turned out to be fatal. As soon as I learned of the recall, I checked all of the food I feed my four cats and tossed out everything with wheat gluten on the label. Fortunately, none of my chids like the cuts and gravy style of wet food. They love Happy Tails Seafood Platter and that brand is still okay (I hope!).

[sclaires]

I am worry about my dog eating commercial dog food even though it is not on the list of recalled food so I have started making her food. And she loves it. Chicken & rice with V-8 juice added on top and then some raw carrots. She licks the bowl clean which she never did with commercial dog food. It might cost a little bit more, but at least I know what is in it. Anymore you never can tell what is contaminated and what isn't. I know I don't like to see MEAT as one of the ingredients and not know what type of MEAT it is. They should tell us what it is.

[harbourlight]

Interesting how a few days ago the news was that the product was always used in China, now it is an illegal practice warranting an arrest.

Partially off topic though, be wary of Purina products. They are holding back until the FDA notifies them of many complaints before recalling.
And from personal experience getting help and/or reimbursement is like pulling teeth.
(I'm still waiting)

[akrk33nnn]

harbourlight - read below, Purina dry almost killed my cat 3 days ago. Try Innova, Solid Gold, or Wellness, or fresh raw/cooked food instead. Of course, stay away from chicken (20 million in quarantine) and pork, too. I'm editing human foods with gluten (e.g. pasta, gravy) out of my own diet for the time being too.

[akrk33nnn]

Attention citizens of the free world. This is a code "Grant" alert. Farmers of the free world: plant wheat, corn, rice and soy beans. Don't let the government pay you subsidies not to plant, then fail to protect you from illegally dumped imported poisons. This is a trade war -- plant NOW and harvest good food this fall! Don't let the government pay you to keep your fields fallow this year -- we will all need the food this fall. TORA, TORA, TORA! Pass this alert along. Code "Grant".

[edmacdaddy]

If anyone here still thinks that the Chinese wouldn't hurt animals, check out this video on Youtube, it disgust me to watch it, actually I had to stop the video, it was to harsh for even me.

Thanks to everyone for your kind words about my Missy.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGWwoa_Q4MA

[edmacdaddy]

Sorry,
Here is the full url on Youtube, please leave a video comment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGWwoa_Q4MA

[rosiemeow]

To fine the pet food manufacturers will do nothing. Cheaper to take the fines than to report it - do you actually believe MenuFoods would have reported quicker had the fine punishment been in place? Nah - they had to take the time to dump most of their stocks first +

[akrk33nnn]

Pretty shocking stuff, edmacdaddy. It's important for the DHS to freeze all Chinese imports NOW. BEFORE the Shanghai stock market crashes (and all Chinese products become cheaper than they already are.)

[akrk33nnn]

It is the RESPONSIBILITY of the DHS (Department of Homeland Security), to immediately FREEZE all Chinese imports. Risks include: poison in gluten products, for human and pet consumption; lead in paint on children's toys and venetian blinds; lack of confidence in the reliability of electronic goods (e.g. medical devices made unreliable by ersatz or low quality components); exploding laptop batteries leading to home and industrial fires; 473 things we haven't found out about yet. Contact your congressman and senators: we cannot allow ideological "free traders" and wealthy, corrupt multinational business leaders to brush this issue under the rug again. OUR VERY EXISTENCE AS A PEOPLE AND A NATION DEPENDS UPON IT.