Today Nestle Purina recalled all sizes and varieties of its Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with specific date codes. This follows on the heels of yesterday's recall by Hill's Pet Nutrition of its Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry cat food.
No longer are we looking at a minor problem with a few varieties of pet food. The problem is massive and widespread. It also has serious implications for humans as well as animals.
As of 5:30 PM yesterday, March 30, the petconnection.com website lists more than 2,600 pets reported deceased to its website. Those reports have been solicited from pet-lovers "whose pets have been made ill or have died from one of the recalled foods."
The sudden increase in cases of renal failure in pets was initially thought to be a case of contamination by a the chemical aminopterin. Aminopterin has been described variously as a rodenticide, abortifacient, and cancer treatment. However, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) announced yesterday that there was "no evidence of Aminopterin in the tissues of animals who had died from consuming food from Menu Foods."
Rather, it now appears that the chemical which may be responsible for the deaths of thousands of dogs and cats is melamine. Yes...plastic. But it turns out that melamine is many more things than just a plastic. In China, it's used as a fertilizer. Here in the United States, as well as in other countries, it's used as a sanitizer and disinfectant. More on melamine and its derivatives is here.
The wheat gluten which is being blamed as the vehicle for chemical contamination came from China, where food standards are almost nonexistent. That wheat gluten was shipped in bulk from China to a U.S. supplier who then resold it to pet food manufacturers. That chain of supply presents an ominous question. What would have happened if the wheat gluten had been resold to manufacturers of food for human consumption?
Of note, CBSNews reported today, in its article on the Purina recall that "Menu Foods and the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates the pet food industry, have refused to identify the company that supplied the contaminated wheat gluten."
As of today, our dog and two cats are off all commercial food. There are many recipes for dog and cat food available on the internet. Until there is some assurance that commercial foods are safe, I'll be cooking for five.
And I'll be very careful about what I cook for the humans, too.