Jerky Treat Poisoning

Davidh

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Here is an interesting article from Dogs Naturally Magazine, by Dr. John Heaslet. This is why I do not buy any food products from China.

Since September 26, 2007, the FDA has issued repeated warnings regarding jerky treats from China. It wasnā€™t until January of 2013 that major manufacturers, including Nestle and Del Monte, pulled the suspected products from store shelves. By October of 2013 the FDA received 3600 reports of illness including 580 dog deaths linked to these jerky treats. Most pet deaths and illnesses are not reported to the FDA so the actual number is much higher. [h=1]Typical Symptoms of Jerky Treat Poisoning[/h] Symptoms included dehydration (due to excess urination), vomiting, diarrhea (sometimes with blood or mucus), kidney failure, convulsions and collapsing. Once the jerky treats from China were pulled from the store shelves, the reports to the FDA immediately dropped. This disgustingly slow response to remove the products from store shelves was two full years after the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association reported seeing illnesses associated with the consumption of chicken jerky treats from China.
[h=1]Jerky is Making a Comeback[/h] The FDA has responded by asking for more reports from veterinarians and releasing a video to the public promoting safe handling of pet foods. Basically, the video says to treat all pet foods like they are contaminated.
The exact cause of the deaths has never been found, and now the treats from China are returning to store shelves.
Manufacturers of pet foods are not required by U.S. law to state the country of origin for the ingredients in their products. Thatā€™s right, your petā€™s food is most likely coming from China, and you may never know. Many pet treats are highly deceptive on their packaging, sometimes showing a logo of the continental USA, or stating ā€œMade in the USAā€ but not mentioning that the ingredients are imported from China.
Wagginā€™ Train treats made by Nestle Purina is one of the products blamed for causing multiple deaths since 2012. Heartbreaking stories told by dog owners are easy to find on the internet.
Nestle Purina is huge. The entire grocery store aisle is filled with pet foods from this company including Fancy Feast, Chef Michaelā€™s, Be Happy, Beggin Strips, Beneful, Pro Plan, Alpo, Friskies, Whisker Lickinā€™s, Deli-Cat, Purina One, Pro Plan, and many others.
Nestle brought the treats back to market in January of 2014.
[h=1]FDA Inspections are Futile[/h] Donā€™t count on the FDA to prevent a repeat of this atrocity. We pulled an inspection report dated April 16, 2012 from the FDA. The inspection was of a Chinese processing facility, Shandong Honva Food Co. located in Liaocheng, China, that had been tied to numerous complaints relating to sick and dying dogs. What we got back was disturbing.
All but 3 pages of the 34 page report were partially or fully ā€œblacked outā€ so they could not be read. At every blacked out page was a little box that said ā€œb.4.ā€ This refers to an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act that refers to withholding information that could cause competitive harm. Any commercial or financial information can fall into this category.
It was required that the inspection was ā€œpre-announcedā€ so, not surprisingly, some of the employees, including the manager of the meat warehouse were instructed not to come to work that day. All the photos in the report were also blacked out. The FDA was not allowed to take any samples from the facility for testing. All of the company names that purchased the products were blacked out of the report, as well as all the Chinese suppliers, irradiation plants and testing facilities. The facility admitted that it does not provide label information. The customers do. We canā€™t see these labels. They were blacked out. The owners of the facility were not present, however a general manager provided a list of the suppliers of meat to the facility. These would be rendering plants and slaughter houses. We are not allowed to see this 10-page list. (B4) These are not inspected. The inspection report goes on to list the ingredients and meats stored in the warehouse. It too, is blacked outā€¦
Nine long months later, the treats were pulled from shelves in the U.S.
People who live in China are, like most, wonderful and caring. But the government is far behind the U.S. in human and animal rights. Not everything from China is bad for you, but China has already won a reputation for producing some of the most contaminated, polluted and dangerous foods in the world.
Despite current ad campaigns, it is legal to eat dogs in China, and there are no laws protecting the treatment of animals. Chinaā€™s fur trade which includes dogs and cats is horrendously cruel. Multiple videos can be seen on the internet showing cats, dogs and rabbits packed by the dozens in small cages and crates, thrown from trucks, and sometimes processed alive.
Without the ability to monitor and inspect the facilities that supply the U.S. with food and drugs, we have no assurance over what is actually in these products. Twice in 5 years great numbers of our beloved pets have died from tainted Chinese products.
 

cali baker

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Great reminder, David.

I do not buy any treats from China either. Not worth the risk at all. Reading this article made me sad but it's reality and goes to show that just b/c something is on our shelves to eat does not mean it's safe for us.
 

nycbullymama

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Thanks for posting this, @Davidh

As I was reading the post, the part that struck me was, "Made in the US". This is so important because I know when I see this, I assume that the ingredients are sourced here as well. This was a great
reminder that the things that go into the "Made in the US" food can actually come from China.
It was something I never really put much thought into.

So I just emailed Stella and Chewy's asking if any of their ingredients that go into their "US made food", are sourced from China.

Maybe we should email the most popular brands here and ask. This way, we know which companies source from China, and which ones don't.
 

2BullyMama

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Thanks for posting this, @Davidh

This was a great reminder that the things that go into the "Made in the US" food can actually come from China.
It was something I never really put much thought into.
Maybe we should email the most popular brands here and ask. This way, we know which companies source from China, and which ones don't.

one of the big reasons, I am so happy that Fromm's works for my babies.... it is all sourced and made in the USA
 

dolphin

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Thank you for this. Monica had posted something recently along these same lines and I emailed SOJO's because they make grain free treats that we give Buster and they replied back that all of their ingredients are sourced from the U.S. with the exceptions of the garbanzo which they sometimes get from Canada. It really makes me sick that Nestle and Del Monte are allowing Chinese products back into their mix. I think that's criminal.
 

nycbullymama

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[MENTION=6717]pdolphin27[/MENTION] I agree that it's criminal. Thinking not enough people know or this wouldn't be happening?

Got a response from Stella&Chewy's:

Thank you for your interest in Stella & Chewyā€™s. I would be happy to provide you with sourcing information about our productsā€”you can rest assured that none of our ingredients, whatsoever, come from China.
Ā· The meats/poultry/fish are antibiotic-free and have no added hormones. They are raised under the strict rules of the Animal Welfare Act.

o The red meats (beef, lamb and venison) are from North America, Australia and New Zealand. They are grass-fed.

o The poultry (chicken, duck, goose, turkey and pheasant) are from North America and Europe. Theyā€™re cage-free.

o The fish is North American, wild-caught.

o The rabbit is from Western Europe and/or North America.

Ā· All of our fruits and vegetables are 100% organic. They are all sourced from North and South America based on seasonal availability.
Ā·
The vitamin and mineral mix we use our products is formulated for us in the United Statesā€”the individual components are from the US and Western Europe.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any further questions.

Ok, feeling much better now.

Hoping everyone else also emails the manufacturer of their pups food and asks.
 

cali baker

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Wow, [MENTION=7457]Blueberrys Mom[/MENTION], that's so great that Stella and Chewy's promptly replied to you and disclosed their information! i like S and C's treats very much and now I like them even more. :yes:
 

nycbullymama

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Wow, @Blueberrys Mom, that's so great that Stella and Chewy's promptly replied to you and disclosed their information! i like S and C's treats very much and now I like them even more. :yes:

I know!! I feel better too. So weird, I'm usually on top of stuff like this but the whole "made in the us" thing threw me. Should never have assumed the ingredients are US sourced as well.
 

dolphin

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That's great they replied like that and they really broke it down for you too! When this all originally went down it was all over the news, sad they can't get it back on there they are going to start this stuff up again. That's why I think forums like this are so important.
 

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