Pet Food Recall - toxic fertilizer

[elizabethann]

I just got this:

Breaking News from ABCNEWS.com:

MELAMINE, A TOXIC FERTILIZER, FOUND IN RECALLED PET FOOD, FDA SAYS ... DEVELOPING ...

[Vela]

Melamine is used in cabinetry and other manufactured products as well. I happen to have a large melamine cabinet out in my garage at the moment. So nice to know that stuff is used in food products, lovely.

[cassiesmom]

This is from today's online Chicago Tribune. Note the second to the last paragraph about dry food.


FDA Testing Reveals Chemical in Pet Food

By ANDREW BRIDGES
Associated Press Writer

March 30, 2007, 10:03 AM CDT

WASHINGTON -- Recalled pet foods contained a chemical used to make plastics, but government tests failed to confirm the presence of rat poison, federal officials said Friday.

The Food and Drug Administration said it found melamine in samples of the Menu Foods pet food, as well as in wheat gluten used as an ingredient. Cornell University scientists also have found the chemical, also used as a fertilizer, in the urine of sick cats, as well as in the kidney of one cat that died after eating the company's wet food.

Menu Foods recalled 60 million containers of cat and dog food earlier this month after animals died of kidney failure after eating the Canadian company's products. It is not clear how many pets may have been poisoned by the apparently contaminated food, although anecdotal reports suggest hundreds if not thousands have died. The FDA alone has received more than 8,000 complaints.

The new finding comes a week after scientists at the New York State Food Laboratory identified a rat poison and cancer drug called aminopterin as the likely culprit. The FDA said it could not confirm that finding.

New York officials have detected melamine as well, though it's not clear how that chemical would have poisoned pets. It's typically used to produce plastic kitchen wares, though it's apparently used as a fertilizer in Asia, said Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine.

The recall involved nearly 100 brands of "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat food made by Menu Foods. The recall covered products carrying names of major brand-name and private-label products sold throughout North America.

The apparently melamine-contaminated wheat gluten also was shipped to an unnamed company that manufactures dry pet food. The FDA is attempting to determine if that product, imported from China, was used to make any pet food, Sundlof said.

Menu Foods used wheat gluten, a source of vegetable protein, to thicken the gravy of its pet foods, FDA officials have said.
Copyright © 2007, The Associated Press

[king2005]

WTF are these companies doing!!!

Rat Poison & now this too!!!

Wet food & now dry too!!!

I'm horribly disscusted by this!!!! But very thankful the FDA is now working hard (or seems like it is) to solve this sad sad mess

I have to check the food recall to make sure Science Diet isn't on it now.. I had no idea Dry was involved *insert LOTS of swear words here*

[ramanth]

Oiy!!

[IRescue452]

Whatever chemicals they find, I think its safe to say no more buying cheap ingredients from China.

[Freedom]

I just saw it and was going to post it also. They are finding it in wet and dry foods. Ugh!

Here is the link for the article I saw.

http://rhodeisland.cox.net/cci/newsn...alidatearticle