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Archive through April 13, 2007

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: Apr. 2007 ~ Jun. 2007: Hairball Haven (ARCHIVES): Pet Food Recall (ARCHIVES): Archive through April 13, 2007 users admin

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Cdbga
Member

10-04-2004

Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - 4:29 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cdbga a private message Print Post    
Newest recall info:

CA paper reports melamine found in pet food not on recall list. So, if you aren't already, just avoid anything made by companies on the recall, whether that specific product is listed or not. (Maybe Friday we'll get an announcement adding these foods to the list.)

Some pre-recall numbers:
Kidney Failures Climbed before pet food recall

Coincidence?:
Menu Foods CFO Sold His Almost Half His Shares Weeks Before Recall (That would be after they started getting customer complaints and right around the time they started testing).

Has anyone else noticed an increase in the pet food advertising out there? Over the weekend I swear I saw more pet food commercials in a few hours than I usually see in a week.

Cdbga
Member

10-04-2004

Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - 4:47 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cdbga a private message Print Post    
Good Op/Ed piece in Forbes: Misnavigating The Pet Food Crisis

And a blog for the victims: Menu Foods Victims (Careful with this one, folks, it'll make you cry.)

Cdbga
Member

10-04-2004

Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - 12:58 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cdbga a private message Print Post    
Latest recall news: Royal Canin Canada recalls Medi-cal Feline Dissolution Formula

Cdbga
Member

10-04-2004

Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - 4:28 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cdbga a private message Print Post    
*SIGH*

Menu Foods is expanding its recalled food list AGAIN (this would be the 3rd expansion from them). Does anyone doubt it won't be the last? And this from the company who not so long ago was assuring us all that anything not on the recall list was safe. There is just no way that I believe they are just finding this stuff out. I am just tired of it all. Tired of the pet food companies (yeah, Royal Canin, I'm looking at you) who know their foods are made by menu saying "Menu assured us we didn't get the tainted wheat gluten." If your foods contain wheat gluten and were made by menu just go ahead and pull them. If you were supplied wheat gluten by ChemNutra, go ahead and pull that food. You don't need ChemNutra, Menu Foods or the FDA to tell you whether you got tainted gluten. Just pull your food already. How many animals will have to die before this will all be over? *DEEP BREATH* I'm sorry, y'all it is just really getting to me at this point. I think the stock sale & the fact that the Menu now adds the Nutro canned food that they were denying was tainted until it was tested and exposed by the Marin Journal in CA. It is just too much. Honestly, do you think Menu would have expanded their list today if they hadn't basically been caught? ANYWAY, for the press releases on the latest recall (sorry that is all I can find with product details) click the links below:

Menu Foods Voluntarily Recalls Additional Pet Food Made With ChemNutra Wheat Gluten n- Canada

Menu Foods Voluntarily Recalls Additional Pet Food Made With ChemNutra Wheat Gluten - US

And, seriously, "Voluntarily"? Why does that word make me so mad?

Cdbga
Member

10-04-2004

Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - 2:37 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cdbga a private message Print Post    
Your morning update:

Nutro Products Orders Removal of All Wet Pet Food Products Made by Menu Foods with Wheat Gluten

Kind of what I was asking for yesterday. Nutro has pulled all their wet products from stores and has suspended shipment of any wet foods containing wheat gluten until they are sure they are safe. Now isn't that the better alternative? Stop selling them until you are sure they are safe rather than continuing to sell them until you are told they are not?

Also: Scientists think there is another contaminant in the gluten

From the article: "Under the microscope and even to the naked eye, the contaminated gluten looks different from uncontaminated samples, Goldstein said. Researchers see melamine granules and other colored granules throughout the gluten, he said."

So, if ANY quality control was done at all, they should have been able to SEE that there was something in the gluten? I work in TELEVISION and we have to do 100% QC on everything. Are you telling me they have lower QC standards in places that produce FOOD? Yeah, I'm getting riled up again. But, frankly, if this is true, we should ALL be getting riled up. Does make me wonder if the contaminated food looks any different.

Seamonkey
Moderator

09-07-2000

Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - 4:11 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Seamonkey a private message Print Post    
Angelina was getting (besides dry food at will) the cuts pouches from Iams and from Nutro, ALL of which are now recalled. Hers were from lots quite a bit earlier than the recalled lots and I stopped feeding them to her months and months ago. I've checked all the numbers on the ones I still had.

She loved the IDEA of getting them and would willingly run up to bed at night because of them. Some nights she didn't eat much, others she wolfed and threw up and so I stopped.

I don't think it was the cause of her cancer and her other functions were fine until the last day or so when she developed jaundice symptoms.

I have been feeding Blue Spa Select dry foods lately. NO wheat at all. Both cats enjoyed it and Critter continues to enjoy it.

The last week when I was just wanting to have Angelina eat SOMETHING with her prednisone (which she loved in liquid flavored form) and she had backed off of dry and stopped eating the pumpkin, I had some little cans of Spa Select wet food and she LOVED IT. She couldn't eat all that much but actually ate an amazing amount considering her condition (and her weight loss from 11lb to 7.9 on March 21 and only 4 pounds on Monday, just before we let her go.

Anyway the Spa Select is still available in both dry and canned formats and no recalls.

It is such a worry, especially for older, or sick pets and of course the smaller creatures like cats.

I look at Critter all curled up here and just shudder to think I might be inadvertently giving her something that later will show up on a recall list.

Dipo
Member

04-23-2002

Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - 9:06 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Dipo a private message Print Post    
CDBGA thanks for keeping this up. Just one question, it is only the specified companies wheat gluten that is a problem, correct? I noticed my friskies wet food has wheat gluten and was a little concerned.

Cdbga
Member

10-04-2004

Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - 9:20 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cdbga a private message Print Post    
It is hard to say Dipo. The problem has been that new companies/brands keep being added to the list. So, while Friskies may be perfectly safe, it is hard to know one way or the other for sure. In the first few days, it was just the Menu Foods. Other companies were assuring us they were safe. Then Purina had to add some products. Then Del Monte. The Sunshine Mills. So it is hard to say whether a product that isn't on the list is really safe, or whether it just hasn't been added to the list yet. That is what makes this so very troubling. The source of the wheat gluten is the problem (ChemNutra), but so many different manufacturers use the same gluten. And every time they claim they've identified all the companies/foods, something else gets added. I've stopped feeding my girls anything with wheat gluten, at least for the time being, just to be on the safe side. Naiya misses her Fancy Feast, but I'm just too scared to take the chance right now. So she's on organic food and I'm cooking for Whitney (who will be switched to organic food, soon too).

Vacanick
Member

07-12-2004

Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - 9:21 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vacanick a private message Print Post    
I had one can of Friskies wet food in my pantry ... my son threw it out last night. My dog is only eating Beneful at this time.

I come to this thread often to get updated. Thank you!

Dipo
Member

04-23-2002

Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - 12:17 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Dipo a private message Print Post    
thanks! I think I will set aside the ones with wheat glutten, not all of them have it. My kitties refuse any other food, and we have tried, LOL. The vet finally let me give them what they wanted because they stopped eating. They are very stubborn!!

Cdbga
Member

10-04-2004

Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 8:33 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cdbga a private message Print Post    
Our recall has now spread to South Africa:

SA faces pet food shock

So, to recap. The recall now affects the US, Canada, Europe & South Africa. But don't worry, because Dr. Claudia Kirk says "We are not facing a pet-food crisis." She'll be testifying at the Senate hearing...

The US Senate Hearing is today at 2pm. The webcast is available here: Senate Webcasts

Calamity
Member

10-18-2001

Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 9:40 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Calamity a private message Print Post    
Well, you know one reason they're trying to downplay this is because they don't want a panic over what may have gotten into the food supply for people. I've said more than once these past few years that our food supply was vulnerable and we needed to do something about that. I also said back in March that I want a criminal investigation into this recall.

Thanks again for all the info, Cbdga. When Calamity became ill, the vet said there could be an infection involved but they couldn't find the cause. My mom thought it might have been related to a problem with her eye but now that this recall story has come out, things are starting to fit. I'm so upset.

ETA: My cats got clean bills of health at the vet on Tuesday. I took them in as a precaution even though none of their food was on the list. Linus had bloodwork done too since he's the one who's not eating much. But everything checked out. I wish the little guy would eat the organic food though! He just picks at it. He's not even eating Diamond much and he used to like that.



Calamity
Member

10-18-2001

Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 12:05 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Calamity a private message Print Post    
Oh I'm sorry, I misspelled your name Cdbga. Just saw that as I was checking for updates.

Supergranny
Member

02-03-2005

Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 3:02 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Supergranny a private message Print Post    
Now they are saying that Del Monte knew 3 weeks before recall that the food was bad. This is just another example of greedy corporation cost cutting.

Cdbga
Member

10-04-2004

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 3:34 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cdbga a private message Print Post    
No problem, Calamity, its easy to get letters jumbled, especially when its something like mine where its letters and not an actual name (its my initials cdb, w/ga for georgia, my home state)...if that makes any sense.

I watched some of the hearing yesterday. It had some pretty awesome moments. Senator Byrd talking about his beloved Shih Tzu, Durbin giving the old smackdown to a panelist or two (who deserved it, especially that Edekahl guy). Here are some links:

Itchmo Hearing Transcript
Byrd Doggedly Expresses His Love for Man's Best Friend
FDA's Response to Tainted Pet Food Assailed
Retailers Urged to Check Pet Food Again

Yankee_in_ca
Member

08-01-2000

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 6:25 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Yankee_in_ca a private message Print Post    
You guys, I've been on the road and haven't had a lot of time to read news or even here at TVCH.

I have a question -- it's just wheat gluten that's affected, right?

Because my dog has two products made by affected companies -- Nutro Max (stick treats) and Royal Canin (his regular DRY food). Royal Canin so far has only had a recall on their cat food, but...

I had my husband, who is home, check and he says that neither product contains wheat or wheat gluten.

So can I stop worrying (for now)? Is it just the wheat gluten?
s

Jimmer
Moderator

08-30-2000

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 6:37 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jimmer a private message Print Post    
Royal Canin's web site says nothing about a recall?

Royal Canin

Yankee_in_ca
Member

08-01-2000

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 6:39 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Yankee_in_ca a private message Print Post    
It was a Feline product. Royal Canin Canada.

http://www.royalcanin.ca/index_en.php

Jimmer
Moderator

08-30-2000

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 6:41 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jimmer a private message Print Post    
Oh I checked further and Royal Canin has recalled one canned cat food in Canada.

Royal Canin Canada is recalling Medi-Cal Feline Dissolution Formula canned diet because one production lot (January 08 2009) contains contaminated wheat gluten. This product is produced for Royal Canin Canada by the Menu Foods Ontario plant. Medi-Cal Feline Dissolution Formula canned diet is Royal Canin’s only wheat gluten-containing canned product. This is the only Royal Canin or Medi-Cal product being recalled.

Royal Canin Canada

Jimmer
Moderator

08-30-2000

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 6:42 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jimmer a private message Print Post    
LOL - Thanks Yankee_in_ca. I should have just refreshed before going off to
research!

Yankee_in_ca
Member

08-01-2000

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 6:51 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Yankee_in_ca a private message Print Post    
But my basic question in all of the rambling above was -- is it just wheat gluten that's affected?

Cause if so his treats/food don't seem to have it.

Cdbga
Member

10-04-2004

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 7:07 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cdbga a private message Print Post    
Yankee, so far they are saying it is just the wheat gluten.

Now, I have read reports of other pet owners saying their pets have gotten sick from food that doesn't contain wheat gluten according to the label. As far as that goes, I was reading that pet food companies are allowed to change ingredients (like maybe substituting corn gluten with wheat gluten) without immediately changing the label. I don't know the truth of that. I do know that there is no regulation to protect against cross-contamination when one food is manufactured after another that has different ingredients. Each manufacturer does it their own way. So, it is always possible wheat gluten ended up in foods that shouldn't have it. Or, those illnesses could be unrelated.

But, as far as this recall goes, the FDA is saying the problem in contaminated wheat gluten. No other ingredients have been mentioned at this point.

Yankee_in_ca
Member

08-01-2000

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 7:11 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Yankee_in_ca a private message Print Post    
Thanks so much, Cdbga. He's been eating from the same bag and seems fine, but since I'm not there with him I'm worrying from afar.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 7:54 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Just as an FYI... IF your pet companion ate food or treats that were recalled, you would notice something within a couple of days. So, heaven forbit, your cat ate affected cat food, you'd notice if he or she started to drink more water, or lose appetite, or whatever within a few days. If it's been a while with the same bag o' food or treats, you'll be OK.

Yankee_in_ca
Member

08-01-2000

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 9:23 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Yankee_in_ca a private message Print Post    
Thanks, Costa. I figured, but I love my boy so much I worry...