The FDA gave the 16 figure quite a long time ago. It never claimed that there hadn’t been any food-related deaths in addition to these absolutely confirmed cases. As of a few days ago, the Veterinary Information Network reported a few hundred cases of probably food-related kidney failure and fewer than 200 deaths. This contrasts with the several thousand deaths claimed by pet owners on a self-reporting website, which it’s pretty clear to me includes a lot of deaths unrelated to the food. When the first dry food recall was announced, many vets were quoted in the media as saying they hadn’t seen or heard of any cases related to foods beyond those originally recalled. I’m not trying to claim there’s no big deal here, but I think it’s worth trying to inject some reason and perspective into the discussion.
Try to understand the position of the FDA. They are not equipped or authorized to make definitive determinations about the cause of death of any animal. They can cite numbers only for specific cases that have been solidly confirmed by a well-qualified veterinarian. If they cite larger numbers than that, they need and will be asked for a specific basis for them — like where are these animals you’re referring to, which brand(s) of food did they eat, etc. Then if they cite specific cases as “presumed” to be food related, their statements will be used in lawsuits by the owners of those pets, even if it’s not really certain that food was the cause. The deaths the FDA cited were those conducted in controlled lab situations by the manufacturer, which were clearly not caused by an animal gnawing on a poisonous houseplant or lapping up some antifreeze that leaked from a parked car. Early on, before any specific contaminant had been identified, these were the only cases that could be definitively linked to the food.
This evening, Menu Foods has extended the recall backwards to "to pet food made between Nov. 8 and March 6," per Bloomberg.com. Wasn't Menu's rationale for its original cutoff date of March 6 the fact that that was the date the wheat gluten in question was added to the food? And now food produced up to four months earlier is being recalled, after pet owners may have been feeding this food for the past few weeks, thinking it was safe?
If the pet food industry (with the assistance of the FDA) intentionally set out to bankrupt itself, they couldn't have done a better job than they're doing right now, IMO.
In addition, according to the same report, the FDA is now modifying it's position on melamine being the sole contaminant:
``We still have a lot of work in understanding why melamine is involved,'' said Stephen Sundlof, the director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, today in a news conference. ``We are relatively certain there is a connection here someplace.'' (Well, that's reassuring/sarc)
>>snip<<
Melamine may be linked to another substance that hasn't yet been identified that could have contributed to pet deaths, Sundlof said.
Since the Chinese supplier in question also exports other grains, including, IIRC, corn gluten, which is also used extensively in pet food, I can't help wondering if this will turn out to be a matter of cumulative poisoning over a period of months, with more than one contaminated ingredient and/or toxin involved.
Well, I had written out a reply, but my computer decided to reboot while I wasn’t looking.
I think what I had said was that, without actually reviewing all of the self-reported reports, I don’t think it’s valid to say “it’s pretty clear to me” that the self-reported numbers “include a lot of deaths unrelated to the food.” The self-reporting form asks for Veterinary info, food that was being fed, lot numbers, etc.
Regarding FDA: Yes, I’m well aware of their regulatory limitations, as I work in regulated community myself. However, with over 10,000 complaints, one would think that in the 3 weeks since the recall, they would be able to “confirm” a few more than the original 16 reported deaths. I was personally called by FDA last Sunday - SUNDAY - and they had many many people on the phones returning phone calls to people who have made complaints/reports. Even I could have confirmed a few dozen cases by now.