Pet Food Poisoning Mystery May Be Solved

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that the additional itemed added to the recall represent less than 5 percent of all products already recalled or withdrawn.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

[akrk33nnn]

bobimport - Next time you hear a Democrat spouting about how we need more regulations to protect food safety, remind them that we would need to hire at least 200,000 new inspectors to check all the shipments of Chinese and Indian GARBAGE entering our ports each day. Also, remind them that it was a Democratic president, Bill Clinton, who recommended MFN status for China in the first place. I wonder how "Socks" is doing?

REMOVE CHINA AND INDIA FROM THE MFN LIST AND EJECT CHINA FROM THE WTO IMMEDIATELY.

[akrk33nnn]

ryanconlon2 - Unfortunately, they are "hypothesizing" a treatment to reverse the catalytic event, but apparently the FDA doesn't work on weekends. There hasn't been a new post on the FDA site since Friday.

[ryanconlon2]

In the article it says:

"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.

We have a pet that is experienceing kidney failure and would like to know the treatment. The "..." just doesn't help much. Can anyone tell us what the treatment is so we can tell our Vet?

[bobimport]

Next time you hear a republican spouting "less regulation" think of this case. Do we really want
"less regulation" of what we eat,drink and the pills we take?

[gossimer]

D*MN IT! This is AMERICA! We should be producing OUR OWN foods and goods for our own country, NOT depending on other countries, ESPECIALLY countries with such %u201Cquestionable%u201D practices!

Can you just IMAGINE the sheer AGONY these poor dogs and cats must have suffered, and continue to suffer, with shards of crystals INSTANTLY growing in and destroying their kidneys?!!!

There is NO excuse, or good reason, for relying so heavily on %u201Cother%u201C countries for OUR GOODS AND SERVICES!!! The %u201Cbottom line%u201C, or %u201Calmighty dollar%u201C is NOT a good reason! Think of all the grief, time, AND money this has already COST the people here, as well as in the rest of the world!!!

China does not %u201Cvalue%u201C pets and animals! Just a short time ago, they forced all dog owners to turn over their beloved pets to be beaten to death, to prevent the spread of rabies! WHY, when there is a perfectly good vaccination AGAINST rabies?!!

Because it is just one more way to %u201Ccontrol%u201C the lives of THEIR citizens, while WE stand by and do nothing, say nothing; except to continue importing from them!

It is time to send our business and our interests elsewhere, to countries such as Mexico! Where the Mexican people, OUR NEIGHBORS, will benefit by having jobs in their own country and not be %u201Cforced%u201C to come to America for a better future for themselves and their families! HELLO!?! Does ANYONE have common sense anymore?!!

[gossimer]

*** IT! This is AMERICA! We should be producing OUR OWN foods and goods for our own country, NOT depending on other countries, ESPECIALLY countries with such %u201Cquestionable%u201D practices!

Can you just IMAGINE the sheer AGONY these poor dogs and cats must have suffered, and continue to suffer, with shards of crystals INSTANTLY growing in and destroying their kidneys?!!!

There is NO excuse, or good reason, for relying so heavily on %u201Cother%u201C countries for OUR GOODS AND SERVICES!!! The %u201Cbottom line%u201C, or %u201Calmighty dollar%u201C is NOT a good reason! Think of all the grief, time, AND money this has already COST the people here, as well as in the rest of the world!!!

China does not %u201Cvalue%u201C pets and animals! Just a short time ago, they forced all dog owners to turn over their beloved pets to be beaten to death, to prevent the spread of rabies! WHY, when there is a perfectly good vaccination AGAINST rabies?!!

Because it%u2018s just one more way to %u201Ccontrol%u201C the lives of THEIR citizens, while WE stand by and do nothing, say nothing; except to continue importing from them!

It%u2018s time to send our business and our interests elsewhere, to countries such as Mexico! Where the Mexican people, OUR NEIGHBORS, will benefit by having jobs in their own country and not be %u201Cforced%u201C to come to America for a better future for themselves and their families! HELLO!?! Doesn%u2018t ANYONE have common sense anymore?!!

[akrk33nnn]

Actually, Happy Tails is on the list, my bad!! But still no Purina.

[akrk33nnn]

US Congress decides to "pass the buck". This is about impending legislation to transfer food and ingredient testing to the USDA, and out from beneath the aegis of the DHS (Department of Homeland Security). This is an important signal that the US legislative branch regards the American middle class as "dispensable" to Homeland Security.

http://www.brownfieldnetwor
k.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=58773C96-F
8A7-C405-DB642B4563167870

[akrk33nnn]

Happy Tails is not on the FDA's incredibly incomplete and useless list, but it IS on "Shaw" supermarkets' list, and it is a Del Monte product (Del Monte made the "Ol' Roy" brand which is on the FDA's list):

http://www.shaws.com/site_imag
es/home_page/petFoodRecallList.pdf

I'm finding more and more stuff that probably should be on the FDA list from 5 minutes of research, here and there, in my spare time. I also have a full-time, 50 hour per week job. What do FDA investigators do with their time, anyway? Rise to the highest level of their own incompetence?

[akrk33nnn]

cdnunn - Happy Tails is not on the FDA's incredibly incomplete and useless list, but it IS on "Shaw" supermarkets' list, and it is a Del Monte product (Del Monte made the "Ol' Roy" brand which is on the FDA's list):

http://www.shaws.com/site_images/home_page/petFoodRecallList.pdf

I'm finding more and more stuff that probably should be on the FDA list from 5 minutes of research, here and there, in my spare time. I also have a full-time, 50 hour per week job. What do FDA investigators do with their time, anyway? Rise to the highest level of their own incompetence?