This page last updated 6/6/2009
JERKY TREATS IMPORTED FROM CHINA REPORTEDLY CAUSING KIDNEY FAILURE IN DOGS FDA
Continues To Receive Complaints about Chicken Jerky Products for Dogs and
Cautions Consumers
Signs to watch for include decreased appetite; decreased activity; vomiting; diarrhea, sometimes with blood; and increased water consumption and/or increased urination. See POTENTIAL NEW THREAT TO PETS: INFORMATION FOR VETERINARIANS for information to give to your vet. If your dog develops kidney failure or other symptoms described above while being fed chicken jerky treats, the AVMA says, "you should contact your state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Consumer Complaint Coordinator. For a state-by-state list of Coordinators, go to http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html. Please include as much information as possible, including the specific product name, lot numbers, veterinarian's report and diagnosis, etc." Without these reports, it will be impossible to track down the problem. I would also appreciate hearing from anyone whose dogs are affected (my contact information is at the bottom of the page). Update 5/28/09: Researchers in Australia have discovered several cases of unexplained kidney disease that was not associated with chicken jerky strips, but which may be associated with dental chews instead. The chews are called Veggie Dents and are made by Virbac. If your dog develops kidney disease and has eaten these chews recently, you or your vet should contact the FDA to report it. See New mystery arises in cases of Fanconi-like syndrome for more information. These chews were recalled in Australia the week of 6/1/09. On September 13th, 2007, the AVMA issued a statement warning people of complaints that multiple brands of jerky treats imported from China have been causing kidney failure in dogs. The FDA is investigating these claims, and issued their own warning on September 26th, 2007. They have ruled out melamine as a possible cause. See the AVMA's Resources page on this topic for more info. I've personally heard from five people from May to September 2008 whose young, seemingly healthy dogs suddenly developed kidney disease. In each case, they were being given chicken jerky strips. It could be a coincidence, but please avoid feeding chicken jerky strips from China to dogs until we know conclusively that they are safe. Note that these products often appear to be made in the US, but if you search carefully, you'll find "Made in China" in tiny print somewhere on the bag. Here's the rest of the story: On August 20th, 2007 it was learned that Wal-Mart had quietly removed Chicken Jerky treats made by two Chinese companies from their shelves on July 26th, due to complaints about the treats making dogs ill. No recall has been issued. Wal-Mart is no longer selling the treats, but other stores, such as K-Mart, are still doing so. The brands that were removed are Bestro and Pingyang Pet Product Co. On September 14th, PetSmart removed various Smokehouse brand treats from their shelves due to reports of pets becoming ill. No recall has been issued. An anecdotal report was posted September 9th warning against SmokeHouse Chicken Breast Tenders Treats sold at PetSmart (and likely elsewhere), also made in China. This product is reportedly being investigated by Cornell, but information is available only to vets, not to the public. It is possible that other brands of chicken jerky may also be affected, such as the Kingdom Pets brand sold at Costco, and the Waggin' Train brand, which are also imported from China, as there are unconfirmed, anecdotal reports of dogs becoming ill after eating them, though no testing has been done. See this article for another report on Bestro Chicken Jerky making dogs ill and leading to at least one death (read the comments at the bottom of these stories for even more information). The Pet Food Tracker site also has information on the many online reports of non-recalled dog treats suspected of causing illness/deaths (including Waggin Train which has not been pulled). I have heard one report of dogs becoming ill (vomiting, diarrhea, inappetance) from two different brands of chicken jerky made in the US. See these pages for more information:
There have been recurrent complaints over the last couple of years from people claiming that Nutro products made their pets sick. These foods have not been recalled and there are no reports of contaminants being found. I've been reluctant to include this warning without any confirmation, but the name keeps coming up. Here are the latest reports, as of June, 2008:
Reports from 2007:
I contacted Mr. Boivin at the FDA in March, 2007, who denied that there were any problems with any dry foods at that time. When I contacted him again on after dry foods began to be recalled, he did not respond. In August, it was learned that the FDA blocked more than 100 Nutro products from entering the country in July, due to "poisonous substances and unsafe additives," but Nutro says these were simply recalled foods being returned from overseas. See FDA Blocks Nutro Pet Food Shipment from Entering U.S. for more information. Also see the actual Refusal Actions from the FDA. Nutro has not been very responsive to those who have inquired, but you can read their statement saying that these were recalled products being returned from overseas on Itchmo: Nutro Responds To FDA Blocking Their Cat And Dog Food Products In July Few of the people who are reporting problems with Nutro foods have had any testing done on the food. Many don't even mention taking their dogs to the vet, which makes it hard to rely on their stories. However, over and over again, one thing that is repeated is that Nutro has not been helpful, has denied problems, has not tested the food themselves, and in general has not behaved responsibly. I don't know whether there really is any problem with Nutro foods, but until the question is answered satisfactorily, it may be safer to avoid them for now. If you think your pets have been harmed by eating Nutro foods, you should have your vet report the illness to the FDA consumer complaint coordinator for your state, or do so yourself. The more information you can provide, including lot numbers and food samples, along with veterinary reports, the more likely the FDA is to take this seriously and be able to track down the problem.
There have been recurrent reports of ExperTox, a Texas lab, finding acetaminophen (Tylenol) in several brands of pet foods. The FDA has been unable to confirm these reports and is not investigating further. The ASPCA investigated and were also unable to find any contamination. A number of companies and individuals have had the tests repeated at other labs, and none have been able to confirm the reports. It appears likely that acetaminophen contamination is not a concern, and ExperTox is incorrectly identifying it in foods. See these Itchmo stories for more info:
Also see this web site
from someone whose cat died after eating Pet Pride food that was
found to be contaminated with acetaminophen.
Update 2/6/08: 3
Companies Indicted in Pet Food Case
Update 11/15/07: Study shows that the combination of melamine and cyanuric acid causes kidney failure within 12 hours in cats. Either ingredient by itself is not harmful. See Itchmo for more info. See the complete list of recalled products at the Recalled Pet Food Tracker The "official" number of deaths reflects only the animals that died during Menu Foods' feeding trials. As of April 26th 2007, six weeks after the initial recall, the FDA had received over 17,000 reports of adverse reactions -- more than they would normally get in three years. Those complaints included uncomfirmed reports of approximately 1,950 deaths of cats and 2,200 deaths of dogs. On May 10th, the FDA said it had more than 18,000 calls, and of those, about half of the 8,000 entered into the system had been reporting a dead pet, according to Pet Connection. That site received uncomfirmed reports of 4,867 dogs and cats that had died before they closed the database on May 16th. Dr. Paul Pion at Veterinary Information Network projected in April anywhere from 2,000 to 7,000 total deaths and thousands more affected pets based on surveys of member vets. In November, Dr. Pion said that "VIN’s best estimate, based on an extrapolation from the approximately 1,500 deaths reported as likely from VIN member veterinarians, was that thousands, maybe tens of thousands, had died." Banfield Pet Hospitals estimated in April that more than 39,000 pets may have been affected by the contaminated foods, based on extrapolation of data from their own hospitals. Oregon's public health veterinarian reported 49 suspected deaths out of 127 suspected cases (Oregon has 1.2% of the population, so that would project to over 4,000 deaths nationwide). Michigan Veterinary Medical Association conducted a survey of vets in April that found 52 deaths and another 155 cases of kidney failure suspected to have been caused by contaminated food. While there is no way of confirming how many of those are a direct result of contaminated food, it is likely that they represent only the tip of the iceberg. Read Is Your Pet's Food Safe Yet? for more info. If you think your pet may have been affected by one of the recalled foods, it's important to talk to the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator for your state, and follow their instructions for submitting information, in order for them to verify what has happened. The more hard evidence they have, the better they will be able to respond to this problem. Resources for more information:
Wheat gluten imported from China that was contaminated with melamine was responsible for the original recall that began on March 16th 2007, when Menu Foods recalled 95 brands dating back to November, 2006. Menu Foods recalled further products on March 24th, April 5th and April 10th as further contaminated products were discovered. Note that Menu Foods had received complaints of their foods harming pets as early as February 22nd, and had seen their own test animals start dying by Febrary 27th. They ceased using the suspected contaminated wheat gluten on March 8th, but did not initiate their first recall until pushed into it by Iams. See Pet-food recall: Timing and triggers and its link to The Great Pet Food Scandal for a synopsis. On April 17th, a rice protein concentrate, also imported from China but from a different company, was found to be contaminated with melamine and causing illness. The company that supplied the rice protein said it shipped this product to five pet food manufacturers. On April 19th, South Africa reported that corn gluten contaminated with melamine was causing pet illness and death. Once again, the food originated from China. We don't know if any contaminated corn gluten has been used in pet foods in the US or Canada, though Royal Canin, the company that made the food in South Africa, has stated that none of the foods sold in the US contain corn gluten from China. On April 20th, Royal Canin reported finding a new contaminant, cyanuric acid, which is chemically related to, but distinct from, melamine, in rice gluten. Scientists in Canada now think that the cyanuric acid may have chemically reacted with the melamine to cause kidney failure. The NY Times reports that cyanuric acid, like melamine, was likely intentionally added to increase profits. On April 25th, American Nutrition, a major pet food manufacturer, informed a number of companies that contaminated rice protein concentrate (identified in at least one case as "rice flour") had been used in some of their products, some without the company's knowledge or consent, and without being disclosed on their labels. Affected brands that have since been recalled include Kirkland (Costco), Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, Diamond,Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul, Harmony Farms, Canine Caviar and Mulligan Stew (see below for more info). On April 27th, the FDA quietly expanded its hold on imported foods to include Wheat Gluten, Rice Gluten, Rice Protein, Rice Protein Concentrate, Corn Gluten, Corn Gluten Meal, Corn By-Products, Soy Protein, Soy Gluten, Mung Bean Protein, Soy Bean Meal/Powder/Gluten/Protein Isolate, Soy Protein Powder, Wheat Gluten, Wheat Flour Gluten, Wheat Gluten, Rice Protein, Rice Gluten, Rice Protein, Corn Gluten, Milled Rice Products, Amino acids and protein hydrosylates. On May 2nd, the FDA announced it was expanding the Menu Foods recall to include products which do not contain contaminated wheat gluten but which were produced during the same period and were cross-contaminated. In addition to foods sold in the US and Canada, two foods sold in Europe were added to the list. Foods from other manufacturers have been recalled in the days since due to cross-contamination (see updates below). See the full list of newly recalled Menu Foods products here and the complete list of recalled brands at the Recalled Pet Food Tracker On May 8th, the FDA announced that tests on contaminated wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate (RPC) showed that these ingredients were actually simple wheat flour spiked with melamine and cyanuric acid to increase the protein levels and make them appear to be something else. At some point, the "worry date" of melamine contamination was also pushed
back from November, 2006 to July or August, 2006. The NY
Times reports that melamine contamination in China is widespread and
deliberate, and has been going on for years.
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This page last updated 6/6/2009