Tainted Dog Food Victims Get Settlement

It only seems like a few months ago we were working to save my nurse’s dog’s  life. He was exposed to tainted dog food; food that was subsequently removed from store shelves.  She couldn’t remember the brand. But she still recalls the vigil she stood over her dog. Her vet didn’t know if the dog would make it. However after adding a natural green food product to the dogs treatment regimen, he perked up and is alive today.

There were a lot of dogs and cats that got sick and died due to  contamination of an ingredient imported from China. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. Chinese products have been getting a lot of front page exposure late. There were headlines due to toxins in various products, including toothpaste, lead in children’s toys and a chemical coating on Aqua Dot toys that when ingested, turns into GHB, the date rape drug. How would you like that running around in your KIDS system? 

Diamond Pet Food has agreed to a $3.1 Million dollar settlement. The pet food was supplied by 2 Chinese companies that are said to have closed their doors. I wondered what the offending agent was that caused pets to get very sick, and some to die. The agent is melamine.

Melamine is a nitrogen-rick chemical used to make plastic and fertilizer. When ingested, it causes your kidneys to shut down. What is of interest in this story is that the melamine in the pet foods may not have been an accident. It may have been put there to artificially boost the recorded amount of protein in the pet food. Melamine has been found in rice protein concentrate, wheat gluten and, in South Africa, corn gluten; all imported from China for use in pet food.

One story states a second agent was found, cyanuric acid. Cyanuric acid is used to clean swimming pools.

Apparently ChemNutra imported the wheat gluten that was linked to the massive pet food recall. They issued a statement that they believe they were the victim of deliberate and mercenary contamination for the purpose of making the wheat gluten appear to have a higher protein concentration that it did. How could this happen? Melamine has a high concentration of nitrogen, a major component of protein. Adding it to a protein concentrate gives the illusion that it contains more usable protein that it does.

But why wouldn’t they suspect melamine? The biggest reason is that melamine hasn’t been on the radar. It’s not known to be a food additive to suppliers. So they wouldn’t usually test for it.

Now they are.

There are several other companies that have recalled protein concentrates purchased from China that showed melamine when tested. Several of these companies included Wilbur-Ellis (major component distributor), Blue Buffalo Company (recalled Spa Select Kitten dry food), Royal Canine, Costco (Kirkland Signature Super Premium Lamb and Rice), Chenango Valley Pet Food  and Natural Balance Pet Foods.  Apparently there are over 131 brands of cat and dog food that were recalled.

And there was also a problem with cross contamination; that these ingredients got into pet foods that were not supposed to contain them. Finally, let’s not forget dog biscuits. Several of these were recalled too.

But that’s not all.

The FDA notes that about 6000 hogs were feed contaminated protein concentrate – hogs that may end up in the human food supply.

When is this gonna end?

My concerns: how can I trust my pet’s health to food that no one seems to be monitoring for quality? Why not list where the ingredients come from? Or manufacturers take a stand to boycott countries where these practises are taking place?

My dog’s life is worth it.

I don’t know…it just make me more leery about doing anything except cooking for my dog…when I get another one. There’s just been too much bad press as of late about products coming from China.

Maybe…just maybe… we shouldn’t be doing business with them?

If you believe your pet was a victim and that you’re entitled to compensation, visit the recalled pet food settlement site to complete the claims form.