Earlier this week one of my clients brought an article that said the brand of jerky treats she had been feeding were making pets sick. Her dog seemed lethargic and was vomiting intermittently so she was a little scared. My technician, Kelly, searched the FDA website for recalls and didn't find any listed for that brand of treat. My physical exam was normal and there hadn't been any weight loss. No increase in thirst or urination either. We ran a chemistry profile just to be sure everything looked good on the inside (he was due for some screening labwork anyway). All tests were normal. She will stop feeding the treats and save the package in case more information becomes available in the future. She thought her dog might just be tired from a big weekend and the vomiting could be caused by eating leaves but she was worried after reading the article. I treated with some anti-nausea medication and she is fine today.
Later, I started digging for more information. Is it all hype, or is there a new round of contaminated pet food lurking in the near future?
I found that there are reports of pets getting sick after eating treats made with chicken from China. The FDA has been investigating for several years but has not found any toxin or bacteria responsible. According to msnbc.com and Foodsafetysummit.com, treats being investigated include Waggin' Train or Canyon Creek Ranch jerky treats or tenders, both produced by Nestle Purina PetCare Co., and Milo’s Kitchen Home-style Dog Treats, produced by the Del Monte Corp.
This brings back memories of the 2007 recall of many pet foods contaminated with melamine, a chemical added to protein supplements by Chinese producers. The melamine contaminated food caused illness and even death in many pets in the U.S., including a few of our patients. I think I read that two executives in China were executed for their roles in that mess. The contaminated protein supplement had even been used in baby formula sold to developing countries.
Is there truly a link between the sick pets and the jerky treats, or are people just overly suspicious of pet food products imported from China? Coincidence or truly a cause and effect relationship? Nobody knows yet. Since no definitive toxin has been found with the jerky treats, there have not been any product recalls. For now, the best action for pet owners seems to be to avoid treats made with chicken imported from China. This can be difficult unless you read the extremely fine print on the packaging. Many products will have "made in U.S.A." on the label but they actually list the chicken as being imported from China.
How can this be? It is either made in this country or not. Well, the labeling rules say that if the product is substantially altered in a country, then it is a product of that country. So, Chinese people favor dark chicken meat, therefore white meat is very cheap and is sold to U.S. manufacturers for use in pet treats. Those U.S. companies process the chicken into jerky treats and put the U.S. label on. Apparently, they still list China as the country of origin of the chicken, just in very small print.
If you have been feeding one of there products listed and you are concerned, what should you do? Stop feeding them, save the product packaging and freeze the remaining product (just in case). If your pet is not losing weight, vomiting, having diarrhea or drinking excessively, then there is probably nothing to worry about. If you are still concerned, come in for an exam and chemistry panel. We will check for elevated liver enzymes or elevated kidney tests since the reports have shown liver or kidney damage in affected pets. If everything checks out ok, then we have baseline lab results to compare to in the future. Screening lab-work is very helpful in assessing internal organ function even if you aren't worried about toxin exposure.
If more information becomes available, we will continue to post recall notices and links on the Hallett Veterinary Facebook page and at hallettvet.com.
For more information:
food safety summit
Msnbc
No comments:
Post a Comment