Pet Food Recall

[rangerette]

yahoo news link - pet food recall

There is incomplete information at this time, but thought it good to post this as soon as possible.

[BCSnob]

USDA Press Release:

Scientists Conclude Very Low Risk to Humans from Food Containing Melamine

MELAMINE AND ANALOGUES SAFETY/RISK ASSESSMENT

• There is very low risk to humans from eating pork, chicken and eggs from animals fed animal feed supplemented with pet food scraps that contained melamine and related compounds, according to an assessment by federal scientists.
• 
  This conclusion was drawn as part of a "Melamine and Analogues Safety-/Risk Assessment" conducted by scientists from five federal agencies. Melamine analogues include cyanuric acid, ammelide and ammeline, which are commonly referred to as melamine compounds.
• 
  A safety/risk assessment is a scientific approach to estimating the risk to human health from exposure to specified compounds. It is based on available data and certain scientific assumptions in the absence of data.
• 
  These scientists estimated the human exposure to melamine and related compounds from the consumption of contaminated pork, poultry, and eggs as well as from foods containing pork and poultry as ingredients, and compared this exposure to levels calculated to be safe to consume.
• 
  Scientists conclude that for individuals who consume large amounts of the specified foods, the level of consumption is 18,000 - 30,000 times lower than the level considered safe. In other words, a person could multiply the level of consumption by thousands and remain well below the level of public health concern.
• 
  Scientists also calculated the risk if melamine were present in all the solid food consumed by an individual every day. The amount consumed is still approximately 2,500 times lower than the level considered safe. These individuals are still extremely unlikely to exhibit any adverse health effects.
• 
  The assessment notes that melamine is not metabolized, and is rapidly excreted in the urine. Thus, it is not believed to accumulate in the body of animals.
• 
  The assessment was conducted by scientists from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

I have 1 problem with this assessment; it looks at the risk associated with melamine only not at the risk of melamine plus cyanuric acid. On the other hand, when these two compounds are present in urine they are highly insoluble and are therefore unlikely to become entrained in the muscle tissue.

Mark

[sue_t]

U.S. holds 20 million chickens because of melamine-tainted feed
Last Updated: Monday, May 7, 2007 | 9:58 AM ET
CBC News

U.S. officials are conducting a risk assessment to determine if millions of chickens are safe for human consumption after discovering their feed was contaminated.

The evaluation, drafted by the U.S. Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, could be completed as early as Monday.

On Friday, the FDA held back 20 million chickens from going to market because their feed contained melamine — a chemical used to make plastics and fertilizers.

Melamine found in tainted pet food has been blamed for the deaths of 16 cats and dogs, according to the FDA, which has also fielded about 17,000 consumer calls about related pet illnesses.

Officials traced the problem to imported rice gluten and wheat protein used in the pet food. More than 100 brands of pet food have been withdrawn from the marketplace since March 16.

Canada's food inspectors have issued border lookouts for vegetable proteins coming from China to prevent melamine from contaminating the human food chain.

U.S. hogs also being held

The FDA says that chickens raised at larger plants were not likely given the tainted feed but they said that about five per cent of feed used at smaller production facilities may have been contaminated.

The U.S. agency is also holding back from market hogs from farms in six states that had received tainted pet food for use as feed.

The FDA last week said it would not be issuing a recall on poultry or pork products already sent to market given that the feed comprised only a small portion of the animals' diet and the risk to humans was accordingly low.

[Br-]

Latest recall from smartpak.


May 4th, 2007

On May 2, SmartPak recalled all orders of LiveSmart Adult Lamb and Brown Rice. This product tested positive for presence of melamine in a test received on May 2. After their first recall of LiveSmart Weight Management Chicken and Brown Rice, SmartPak sent all of their other dog food for testing, and Adult Lamb and Brown Rice came back with positive results. SmartPak is dry food and is made by Chenango Valley.

SmartPak is saying that this is odd because this particular dog food doesn’t contain any rice protein concentrate, wheat gluten or any of the other ingredients that are on FDA’s import watch list. They are saying it may be cross-contamination. (Oh by the way, it took 48 hours for the FDA to put up the press release).

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

BCSnob wrote:
Additional difference is our food will have been filtered (by chickens, pigs, etc) and diluted (via excretion of melamine by chickens, pigs, etc) prior to consuming the melamine. However, with unknown effects, 0 consumption is the best approach.

Mark

I find the fact that it's excreted, to be somewhat good news??? That perhaps the body will rid itself of the stuff, given enough time??? Hopefully, some Veterinary School is trying to find this out.

During the PBB contamination in the '70's, they found it was stored in fatty tissue - it did NOT leave the body.

Deb

[chrisnpat]

update on pet food recall

[sue_t]

Cross-contamination widens pet food recall
Last Updated: Thursday, May 3, 2007 | 9:50 AM ET
CBC News
Ontario pet food maker Menu Foods has expanded its recall of wet cat and dog food because of the chance of cross-contamination.

The Mississauga-based company said in a news release on Wednesday it was now recalling products that were manufactured at one of its plants during the time when tainted ingredients were used, even if they weren't made with those ingredients.

The tainted pet food has been been linked to the deaths of 16 pets, mostly cats.

The pet food was marketed under a variety of brand names.

The company said it has received a customer report and study results that indicate cross-contamination had occurred.

The additional items on its recall list include products sold in Canada, the United States and Europe.

An updated list of its products can be found on the company website.

The contaminated gluten originated in China and was supplied to Menu Foods by ChemNutra of Las Vegas.

The recall dates of those products previously recalled have been modified to include all dates during the period that ChemNutra wheat gluten was used in the applicable Menu plant, the company said.

"All of these products, including the expanded dates, have previously been withdrawn from the market and should already be off the retailer shelves," the company said in a release.


Menu Foods said the additional recall represents less than five per cent of the products that have already been recalled. It said it has also revised its estimate of the out-of-pocket costs for the total recall to be $40 million to $45 million.

Wheat gluten shipments improperly labelled: FDA
The tainted pet food has been linked to the deaths of 16 pets, mostly cats. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said tests show that the food was contaminated with melamine, a chemical used in the making of plastics. The agency has fielded about 17,000 calls from consumers about the pet food recall.

Several other pet food companies also have voluntarily withdrawn their products from the market to prevent further pet deaths.

Meanwhile, American regulators say wheat gluten shipments went unchecked by Chinese export authorities because the goods were falsely labelled as non-food items, according to an FDA report obtained by the New York Times.

On Tuesday, FDA officials said that while melamine had been used in feed for hogs and chickens, the threat to humans was minimal.

The FDA confirmed that as many as three million chickens out of nine billion slaughtered may have consumed the tainted feed but the agency noted that there was no data to justify a recall on poultry and pork products.

[Br-]

Now there might be possible cross-contamination. What a mess.

menu foods recalls more

[Br-]

Thanks to Senator Durbin.

new regulations

[BCSnob]

Additional difference is our food will have been filtered (by chickens, pigs, etc) and diluted (via excretion of melamine by chickens, pigs, etc) prior to consuming the melamine. However, with unknown effects, 0 consumption is the best approach.

Mark

[dturm]

One advantage we have is weight. There is a difference between my 200# and an 8# dog or cat. Like you, I'm still not reassured by the FDA/USDA statements.

Doug

[sue_t]

... tobacco ...

[JTMO]

Or Thalidamide.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

sue.t wrote:
[

No recall of poultry products being issued
The FDA and USDA said the likelihood of human illness from eating chicken fed the contaminated product is very low. With no evidence of harm to humans, no recall of poultry products processed from these animals was being issued, the agencies said.

I saw this on CNN yesterday - and my first thought was "how do they KNOW melamine won't harm humans, or unborn fetuses, etc???"

A lot of other things first thought to be "harmless" have turned out to be anything but: mercury and asbestos immediately come to mind....

Deb

[sue_t]

Contaminated pet food linked to chicken feed
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 1, 2007 | 8:19 AM ET
The Associated Press

Chicken feed in some farms in Indiana contained byproducts from pet food manufactured with contaminated wheat gluten imported from China, two federal agencies said Monday.

The U.S. Agriculture Department and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a joint statement that officials learned of the link between the chicken feed and tainted pet food as part of the investigation into imported rice protein concentrate and wheat gluten that have been found to contain the industrial chemical melamine and related compounds.

An estimated 30 broiler poultry farms and eight breeder poultry farms in Indiana received contaminated feed in early February and fed it to poultry within days of receiving it, the agencies said. Other farms will probably be identified as having received contaminated feed, they added.

All the broilers believed to have been fed contaminated products have been processed, while the breeders are under voluntary hold by flock owners, the agencies said.

No recall of poultry products being issued
The FDA and USDA said the likelihood of human illness from eating chicken fed the contaminated product is very low. With no evidence of harm to humans, no recall of poultry products processed from these animals was being issued, the agencies said.

On Saturday, the FDA and USDA cited similar reasons for not issuing a recall after determining that hogs in some states may have been fed the tainted pet food.

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.

[Br-]

Finally, but a little too late for owners of ill or lost pets.

fda alert