Posted on 04/18/2007 7:59:23 PM PDT by nmh
...
The chemical, melamine, is believed to have contaminated rice protein concentrate used to make a variety of Natural Balance Pet Foods products for both dogs and cats, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.
Previously, the chemical was found to contaminate wheat gluten used by at least six other pet food and treat manufacturers.
Both ingredients were imported from China, though by different companies and from different manufacturers.
A lawmaker said Wednesday the Chinese have refused to grant visas to FDA inspectors seeking to visit the plants where the ingredients were made. An FDA spokesman later said the visas were not refused but that the agency had not received the necessary invitation letter to get visas.
"It troubles me greatly the Chinese are making it more difficult to understand what led to this pet food crisis," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told The Associated Press after meeting with the FDA commissioner, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach.
A message left Wednesday with the Chinese Embassy in Washington was not immediately returned.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Marking for later read.
There’s a FReeper opportunity here — is there a list of safe products for our pets that we can compile?
One benefit of the raw or BARF diet is that your dogs will have more energy and burn more calories. Our 5 dogs are all on a raw food diet and they are in great health. Most commercially fed dogs are overweight. I think this is because the grains in commercial dry food is not suited for the canine’s metabolism. With canned food it is more likely a matter of overfeeding. Dogs will always eat if given the opportunity unless they are ill. So know your dog’s weight and feed the recommended percentage. Not how much your dogs CLAIM they need.
Those big brown eyes make suckers of us all.
I found myself thinking the same thing. I considered therapy until I saw I had company. :)
Chinese people eat rats, cats, dogs and things unrecognizable, I shudder to imagine what they think is good to feed an animal.
In other words, American chicken will travel across the ocean once and return cooked and canned - to be sent on its way to a supermarket shelf near you.
Not surprising: an AP article last week cited poultry products as the leading Chinese agricultural export to the U.S. I think American chicken is most likely to return as something that appears on quite a few pet food labels: chicken meal. As with wheat gluten and rice protein, it's the processing (extraction/grinding/drying) that pushes up the price, not the raw product, and of course, the shipping costs on dried products that require only a lightweight sack make the Chinese imports even more cost-effective.
After cats, small dogs seem to be most at risk from this adulteration. I've got one, and though her dry food doesn't contain any of these products, it's one of the most popular premium brands, and does contain other "meals" and "proteins" which may also be Chinese imports. I'm switching her to another brand via mail order, but, although the ingredients (or lack of some) seem like a safer bet, there just aren't any guarantees for any of these foods right now, and, despite Durbin's grandstanding, I doubt that situation will change anytime soon.
“Where did the other 90% go?”
You know.
And I know.
But don’t say it out loud!
Profits are at stake.
Sorry to hear that. Ain't Globullisn grand? Blackbird.
No, we export the wheat, they process/poison it then ship it back to US to blend for both animal and human consumption. Globullism at it's best. Thank a FRee to be Traitor. Condemn the rest of US for allowing them to feed their greed. Blackbird.
Thanks for the link. We feed Abady, thanks to our breeder.
One of the problems with this is that because pet food is usually the only food pets get over and over again, they become sort of the canary in the coal mine. Humans usually eat different food daily so the dosage of poison the humans are getting is intermittent and not on a daily bases. This poison will take time to build up in humans but it will and there will be deaths from it, but we aren’t likely to see it for many months.
There I said it. Now we need to ban all Chinese food imports at the minimum and for good measure all Chinese products.
You’re trying to keep me up at night worrying ...
;)
If it lives.
Probably!
It’s getting crazy out there!
Are these ingredients listed on the recalled food?
Or is this a HIDDEN ingredient too small to list?
You’re naughty!
I’ve always been cynical, now I’m angry.
Trust Chinese food for pets? These are people who are living below 3rd world status. If a million Chinese died from food poisoning tomorrow they would hardly be missed. Female babies are left, alive, to die on the streets. Do we really think they care about our dogs and cats( which, by they way, they consider food)?
And as for Vets. They are making a lot of $$ selling Science Diet( not to mention treating sick pets), I don’t trust any of them to lose money by telling us the truth. I don’t think ANY commercial pet foods are safe- and I predict this will end up concerning human food as well. Wheat gluten in bread- rice gluten in baby food- just wait! Last month the latest brands on the list were ‘safe’, remember?
I cook for my maltepoo-just as I had cooked for my Shelties.
And as for ‘organic’ foods. Here’s a shocker- it’s usually on the ‘honor system’! Here in LA, a friend who owns a citrus farm was told he should register his farm as ‘organic’. He could charge more for his produce that way. When he told them he wasn’t organic, he was told that didn’t matter- it was the ‘honor system’, and no one was going to check. All he had to do was lable his citrus ‘organic’ and he( and the retailer) could charge more!
Think about that the next time you pay double for ‘organic’ anything.
And I’ll always say that the problem with spinach was human waste. Migrant worker pick all that produce, in huge fields, and I promise you there aren’t port-a-potties out there for them.
Natural Balance has indicated that Friday, April 13th, they began receiving reports of vomiting and kidney problems in cats and dogs eating the dry venison formulas. Natural Balance has confirmed that some production runs of the Venison & Brown Rice dry dog food products contain melamine. The source of the melamine appears to be a rice protein concentrate which was recently added to the dry venison formulas. Natural Balance does not use wheat gluten, which was associated with the previous melamine contamination
Apparently this poison is getting into even "all natural" foods. I have already looked up recipies and am cooking a bow wowlicious casserole now. Thanks for all your advice!
Is it really profitable to ship AMERICAN chicken over there that HUMANS consume? I doubt it. I suspect the chicken sent there is low grade junk to be used for pet food. Pet food is over priced. Chicken is rather cheap.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.