Another Contaminant?? - Chinese criticized in pet food probe (Pet Food Recall)

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ^ | 4-11-07 | Karen Roebuck

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Dr. Richard Goldstein, associate professor of medicine at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine and kidney specialist researching the outbreak's health impact on pets, and other researchers saw what they believe is a second contaminant in the gluten and the urine of infected animals, but have yet to identify it.

Xuzhou Anying's Website said it also exports carrots, garlic, ginger, corn protein powder, vegetables and feed. Chinese officials have not responded to the U.S. government's question about whether any products other than wheat gluten were shipped here.

Under the microscope and even to the naked eye, the contaminated gluten looks different from uncontaminated samples. Researchers see melamine granules and other colored granules throughout the gluten.

Even so, they do not believe the melamine made the animals sick, although they said it is a marker for tracking the outbreak, because the crystal found in the melamine and in animals' urine and tissue is distinctive to this outbreak.

Because of a dearth of past studies on melamine exposure in dogs and cats, the only way to know for sure if it could cause the outbreak would be to feed the compound to those animals, Goldstein said, adding, "That's not an option."

More than 10 laboratories are researching the crystals and working together to develop criteria to determine which kidney illnesses were caused by the contaminated pet food. Although the link is relatively easy to establish because of the distinctive crystals, the process is expensive and time-consuming.

The labs will test urine and tissue samples from pets suspected of becoming ill from the food and possibly samples of the food. How that will be accomplished and who will pay for it has not been determined, so pet owners and veterinarians are advised to keep those samples.

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