This keeps getting more worrisome. Royal Canin's recall list:
ROYAL CANIN SENSIBLE CHOICE® dry dog food:
- Chicken Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Puppy
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Adult
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Rice & Catfish Meal Formula Adult
ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY DIET™
Dry Dog Food
- Canine Early Cardiac EC 22™
- Canine Skin Support SS21™
Dry Cat Food
- Feline Hypoallergenic HP23™
As diaried today by deep harm, there are more questions about intentional melamine contamination. SusanHu also provides this link to Itchmo's report on same:
If it wasn't confusing enough, three more toxins were found in the
urine and kidneys of sick pets.
Researchers in at least three labs found cyanuric acid, amilorine and
amiloride — all by-products of melamine — in the crystals of animals'
urine, tissues and kidneys...
More links and resources below the fold...
One more recall [update from Abby Kellyite]: Blue Buffalo Company Announces Voluntary Recall of One Production Run of Spa Select Kitten Dry Food.
It gets worse:
Also, pigs that ate contaminated rice protein were slaughtered and sold before the government could quarantine them. It is not clear whether the meat made it into consumers’ hands. The pigs ate salvaged pet food from Diamond Pet Foods.
http://www.itchmo.com/...
Pigs, part of the human food supply (if you eat pork), being feed contaminated pet food that was salvaged (recycled) from Diamond Pet Foods...
It's in the food chain, folks. That's confirmation.
Here's some good news:
From HealthyPetNet about Life's Abundance.
As many of you already know, a new wave of recalls has been announced in the last 24 hours. Evidence suggesting that a shipment of the ingredient "Rice Protein Concentrate" contained melamine has come to light. Natural Balance, Royal Canin and Blue Buffalo have all announced recalls of their products containing this ingredient.
We have had several inquiries regarding our foods, since Life’s Abundance contains "whole brown rice". Some consumers are confused, as the newly recalled Natural Balance foods include "brown rice" in their names. However, the contaminated ingredient is not brown rice; instead, it is "Rice Protein Concentrate". None of our products include this ingredient.
Additionally, it is believed that this contaminated ingredient, like the wheat gluten involved in prior recalls, was imported from China. We use only human-quality ingredients from U.S. sources in our foods. There is no chance that this ingredient came into contact with any of our products.
We are fully confident that our foods, as well as all of our products, are completely safe. All of the products covered in the recalls of recent weeks included either wheat gluten or rice protein concentrate (and possibly corn gluten) in their formulas. We consider these ingredients to be unnecessary fillers, and as you know, we do not use fillers in any of our foods.
We continue to maintain very strict quality control measures in the manufacture of all of our foods, treats, care products and supplements. As we have noted previously, we devote a great deal of energy into using only the best vendors in the market, so that only the highest quality ingredients are included in our products.
We encourage you to contact your customers to let them know that all HealthyPetNet products are completely safe.
We will continue to monitor these developments and work diligently to provide the safest, healthiest options for your consumers and their companion animals.
[Update] From SusanHu's comment below:
I just wrote this up at No Quarter, with an emphasis on the Chinese government's recalcitrance in not allowing FDA inspectors into China, and on Sen. Dick Durbin's meeting this week with the FDA and his pressure on the Chinese government:
Keep An Eye on Pet Food Recall Stories
Even if you don't have a pet, you'll be concerned by growing evidence that human foods could be contaminated. Further, the FDA is being barred by the Chinese government from investigating the Chinese plants that produced the tainted wheat gluten. This is KEY because the same Chinese plant that sold tainted wheat gluten (an additive in countless processed foods) also exports "carrots, garlic, ginger, corn protein powder, vegetables and feed." And now we've learned that rice and corn glutens are contaminated. Here's more new information:
"Humans at risk from tainted pet food?," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ....
Read all.
Symptoms: Any sign of excessive thirst, loss of appetite, lethargy, get them to the vet.
Here's Royal Canin's full press release:
April 19, 2007
Dear Royal Canin USA Customer,
It is with sincere regret that I inform you of a new and unfortunate development with some of our pet food products.
Although we have no confirmed cases of illness in pets, we have decided to voluntarily remove the following dry pet food products that contain rice protein concentrate due to the presence of a melamine derivative.
ROYAL CANIN SENSIBLE CHOICE® (available in pet specialty stores nationwide)
- Chicken Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Puppy
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Adult
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Rice & Catfish Meal Formula Adult
ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY DIET™ (available only in veterinary clinics)
- Canine Early Cardiac EC 22™
- Canine Skin Support SS21™
- Feline Hypoallergenic HP23™\
ALL PRODUCTS WITH AN EXPIRATION DATE OF APRIL 19TH, 2008 ARE MADE WITHOUT CHINESE SOURCED VEGETABLE PROTEINS AND ARE SAFE.
We are taking this proactive stance to voluntarily recall these products to avoid any confusion for our customers about which Royal Canin USA products are safe and which products may be affected.
Pet owners should immediately stop feeding their pets the Royal Canin USA dry pet food products listed above. Pet owners should consult with a veterinarian if they are concerned about the health of their pet. No other Royal Canin diets are affected by this recall and CONTINUE TO BE safe for pets to eat.
In addition, Royal Canin USA will no longer use any Chinese suppliers for any of our vegetable proteins.
This decision to recall some of our dry pet food products is driven by our philosophy that the "Pet Comes First". The safety and nutritional quality of our pet food is Royal Canin USA’s top priority. Pet owners who have questions about this recall and other Royal Canin USA products should call 1-800-592-6687 or (800) 513-0041.
On behalf of the entire Royal Canin family, our hearts go out to the pet owners and everyone in the pet community who have been affected by all of the recent recalls. We are as passionate about the health and happiness of our customers’ pets as we are of our own, so we are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure this never happens again.
Sincerely,
Olivier Amice
President and CEO
Royal Canin USA
Here are links:
Blue Buffalo recall list
Royal Canin Recall List
Natural Balance Recall List
Del Monte Foods Recall List
Menu Foods, Inc. Press Release
Nestlé Purina PetCare Company Press Release
Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. Press Release
IAMS or Eukanuba: IAMS web site.
Here's the link to make complaints to the FDA.
My last six diaries about this:
- Poison in Recalled Pet Food! -- plus Healthy (safe!) Pet Food links!
- FDA reports Melamine in Recalled Pet Food!
- Hill's Prescription DRY Cat Food, Alpo Dog Food, Join Recall
- Pet Food Recall Grows - Del Monte issues their list!
- [Update] Pet Food Recall-US Wheat Gluten Supplier Identified!
- Update: Expanded Pet Food Recall, Now Including Rice Gluten!
Here's a link by [tag=Pet Food Recall] to all the great diaries lately.
SusanHu wrote a great diary about the FDA's Weak Food Inspection that includes this letter to the FDA from Sen. Dick Durbin.
SusanHu has also written about this at No Quarter.
Here is a link to three dairies by anna, who has been closely following this story.
Here is one from (great name) Goldy at HorsesAss (whose story I linked in my last diary): Tainted Wheat Gluten Sold as "Food Grade".
Great white north asks Tainted pet food deliberate?
Has your pet been affected? Report it here: http://www.PetConnection.com
Again, Christie Keith's (Pet Connection) article in the San Francisco Chronicle, YOUR WHOLE PET, The Story Behind the Pet Food Recall.
The ABC News report on the class action suit building on the recall.
TheBigKahuna's good advice: "I'd strongly recommend pet owners who think their pets may have been exposed to the tainted food have their pets tested. If I recall correctly, I think the cost for Socks was about $15."
Important!! If your pet is sick, be sure to TELL your vet about the ingredients suspected in the poisoning (melamine, aminopterin, cyanuric acid, amilorine and amiloride). The head vet at Cornell mentioned, during his press conference, that there are TREATMENTS for the poisons, as long as the treating vet knows about it.
Menu Foods says they will reimburse expenses for pet owners who can verify their pets were impacted by the recalled food.
How to make your own cat food: http://www.catinfo.org/
Dr. Michael Fox's Recipes for Cats and Dogs: http://tedeboy.tripod.com/...
If you have safe pet food alternatives you'd like to recommend, please post it on this thread, so we can link back to it and, if you see any recommendations of Natural Balance or Royal Canin there, please link a reply back to this diary to make sure people know not to use their recalled products.