Marin case confirms new tainted pet food (Canned Food Not On Recall List Contains Melamine)

[Shallah Kali]

http://www.marinij.com/marin/ci_5630208

At the request of the Mill Valley Pet Clinic, three varieties of Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics, in 3-ounce cans, were tested by the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System at the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

The food tested positive for melamine, which has been found in wheat gluten imported from China. Melamine is used to make plastics and other industrial products.

{snip}

Dr. Marianne Willis, veterinarian at Mill Valley Pet Clinic, said the UC lab "doesn't want to be in middle of all this. They said since we ordered the test and paid for it, we were free to do what we want with it."

She said clinic veterinarians were notifying the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the food manufacturer of the tainted food.

scroll to the end of the article for the can codes.

[napi21]

1. Where does all of this END???? For God sake! If I owned or

managed a business that made pet food, I would have ordered the testing done WEEKS AGO!

I'm so disgusted with this mess. Ibought a2#bag of brown rice today, and I have all the rest of the ingredients to make my own dog & cat food! I checked the net today and found a great recipe for dog food, and althoughthe recipe said both dogs & cats love it, I'm also going to check the net for some cat food recipes too.

I've NEVER purchased cheap junk foods for my flufferbutts, but I also neverbought the REALLY expensive stuff either. I NEVER thought the cheap stuff would harm my babies, but I knew it just wasn't as goodfor them as I wanted their food to be.

It seems NOW you can't trust any of them, so I'm just going to make my own!

[EFerrari]

2. Tomorrow, ALL my guys are getting homecooked meals.

So far, we've just been lucky. That's not good enough. :mad::mad::mad:

[Hepburn]

12. I am feeding only home-made food to my dog now.

Base of each meal is brown rice which is cooked with shredded carrots. I made a large batch of this up which is enough for a few days and then heat it before serving. I add a different meat and sometimes cheese (just a tad for flavor) or eggs each day to the base mixture and heat the meal in the microwave. My dog loves it. I feel much safer at this point in time ~~ and have tossed ALL canned food even if it was not on the recall list. Seems like every day there is a new product which is added and I do not want to take any risk on any of this canned stuff at all.

[Mojorabbit]

3. What in the world

does this quote mean? "the UC lab "doesn't want to be in middle of all this"

[orleans]

4. probably just saying the clinic understands the lab doesn't want to

discuss it with the papers or third parties because it was the clinic that hired the lab to do the tests.

[orleans]

5. unfucking real. what the hell is CONGRESS going to do about this?

and what's the deal on Stephen Sundlof or Stephen F. Sundlof who is director of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine?
i wonder when he started, his background, etc. i can't find much on google--just a bunch of current articles on the recall with his name in them.

[hang a left]

6. Has anyone tested dry food yet?

I saw an interesting thread today in GD regarding "meat and bone meal".

[HCE SuiGeneris]

7. And we get nothing from the FDA.

G'Damnit! :mad:

[StClone]

8. Good time to empty your freezers

Hunters you know may want to part with old venison. Or, if your freezer has old lean cuts of boneless beef, chicken, lamb, salmon you may want to consult the net on the best ways to prepare it along with fresh whole foods, veggies. Dogs can even have inexpensive fresh chicken necks (never cook bones to be given dogs) as a good meal in conjunction with other foods.

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/

I have always used Dick Van Patten's Pet products and seem, so far, to be above the problem.

[EFerrari]

9. None of our brands are one the list either -- so far.

The last thing I want to do right now is cook for 7 animals but this situation is out of control. Cr@p.

[nicknameless]

10. When are they going to test Nutro dry pet food?

http://hubpages.com/hub/PET_FOOD_RECALL_NUTRO_DRY_DOG_FOOD

The title on that page makes it look as though Nutro dry has been recalled. It hasn't.

K&R

[femmedem]

11. The FDA says another manufacturer received the tainted wheat gluten.

This from an article Kestrel posted in Pets yesterday:

snip

The FDA determined that another manufacturer of pet food, both wet and dry, received some of the wheat gluten. At press time, the agency was working with the manufacturer to determine whether the ingredient went into any food. The FDA also has begun reviewing and sampling all incoming shipments of wheat gluten from China.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=243x25410

[Shallah Kali]

13. BostonGlobe | Suspect gluten went to plants that make products for people, FDA says

http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/04/03/was_human_food_tainted_too

Tainted wheat gluten that triggered a massive nationwide pet food recall also ended up in processing plants that prepare food consumed by people, the Food and Drug Administration said yesterday. While agency leaders offered assurances that the nation's food supply remains safe, they said they cannot yet completely rule out contamination of human food by the suspect wheat gluten, which contained melamine, a chemical found in plastics and pesticides.

According to import records, the wheat gluten was shipped to the United States from Nov. 3, 2006 to Jan. 23 of this year and contained "minimal labeling" to indicate whether it was intended for humans or animals. The vast majority went to pet food manufacturers and distributors, according to the FDA. But some of the processing plants that remain under FDA scrutiny make both human and pet food.

[pushycat]

15. That article was published April 3 - it's now 10 days later. WTF?

Why don't we know by now if the suspect gluten was used in human food production?

How long does it take for an FDA investigation to determine this?

Somehow we are not getting the truth, again!!$@*%&$#

What does it take to determine an emergency at FDA? This whole debacle is symptomatic of the Bush Admin not taking care of Americans. So, business must be protected against 'frivolous' lawsuits aimed at negligent food producers... so frustrating!

[Shallah Kali]

16. What award will W give the head of the FDA for this fiasco?

I just hope someone leaks the companies who bought the contaminated gluten before anyone gets permanently injured or worse from this crap!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. How are they testing, and what are the melamine levels?