There have been ongoing issues for nearly 6 years. Thousands of complaints that pets have gotten sick and died after consuming these treats. Main brands include Milo's Kitchen, Waggin' Train, and Canyon Creek Ranch among others made in China. More than 2,200 pets have been sickened and over 360 dogs and one cat have died.
Here's some history, and a summary paragraph at the very end.
In September 2007 the FDA made their first statement of caution. (bold added)
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm048029.htm
September 26, 2007
The Food and Drug Administration is cautioning consumers of a potential association between development of illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky products also described as chicken tenders, strips or treats. FDA has received more than 70 complaints involving more than 95 dogs that experienced illness that their owners associated with consumption of chicken jerky products.
A year later the FDA issued a preliminary warning.
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/UCM054448
December 19, 2008
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to caution consumers of a potential association between the development of illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky products also described as chicken tenders, strips or treats. FDA continues to receive complaints of dogs experiencing illness that their owners or veterinarians associate with consumption of chicken jerky products. The chicken jerky products are imported to the U.S. from China. FDA issued a cautionary warning to consumers in September 2007.
MSNBC did a report in December 2011 (bold added)
http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2011/12/28/9747728-chicken-jerky-treats-sicken-353-dogs-owners-report
The federal Food and Drug Administration has logged at least 353 reports this year of illnesses tied to imported chicken jerky products, also sold as chicken tenders, chicken strips or chicken treats, a spokeswoman said.
Dr. Dan McChesney, director of the Office of Surveillance and Compliance at the FDA CVM said: (bold added)
On average, about 40 complaints regarding chicken jerky are filed every week when there is little to no press coverage occurring. The number of reports per week raises drastically whenever the media turns it's attention to the issue, however.
In September 2012, the FDA made another statement. (bold added, Fanconi syndrome link added)
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation/ucm319463.htm
The FDA has received approximately 2,200 reports of pet illnesses which may be related to consumption of the jerky treats. The majority of the complaints involve dogs, but cats also have been affected. Over the past 18 months the reports have contained information on 360 canine deaths and one feline death. There does not appear to be a geographic pattern to the case reports. Cases have been reported from all 50 states and 6 Canadian provinces in the past 18 months.In 2012, on average more than one dog died every day and 2,245 dogs were affected. (bold added)http://truthaboutpetfood2.com/report-from-meeting-with-fda
--
China has grown 85-fold (see table). It is estimated that nearly 86 million pounds of pet food came from China in 2011. Pet treats, including jerky pet treats are currently considered the fastest growing segment in the pet food market.
What are the signs of the illnesses?
The majority of the cases in dogs report primarily gastrointestinal signs, including vomiting and diarrhea, sometimes with blood and/or mucus, and can involve severe signs such as pancreatitis or gastrointestinal bleeding. The next most common signs relate to kidney function, including frequent urination, increased urine, severe thirst, kidney failure and some cases resemble a rare kidney related illness called Fanconi’s syndrome. Typically Fanconi syndrome is found in certain breeds of dogs that are pre-disposed to hereditary Fanconi syndrome (e.g. Basenji).
From January 1, 2012 to December 17, 2012 (less than 12 months)
1,872 Reports have been received by FDA related to the jerky treats.
Within these 1,872 reports – a total of 2,245 dogs suffered a reaction, 6 cats suffered a reaction. 383 dogs died, 1 cat died.
Of significance, Dr. McChesney stated the FDA has received 112 diagnosed cases of Fanconi linked to the Chinese imported jerky treats. Dr. McChesney shared Fanconi is a difficult disease to diagnose, typically only found in rare instances in Basenji dogs. With such a high number of clinically confirmed Fanconi diagnosed dogs, Dr. McChesney shared this proves “something is going on” with these jerky treats.
You can read consumer complaints in this report, which covers from 1/1/07 - 7/2/2012. Takes a couple minute to load as it's 97 pages.
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/OfficeofGlobalRegulatoryOperationsandPolicy/ORA/ORAElectronicReadingRoom/UCM314415.pdf
On January 9th, 2013, there was a breakthrough made by the New York Department of Agriculture. They discovered residual amounts of antibiotics in the treats, prompting several companies to recall their products. (bold added)
The move [recalls] came after the New York Department of Agriculture and Marketing told federal Food and Drug Administration veterinary officials this week that trace amounts of residual poultry antibiotics had been found in several lots of each of the brands of jerky treat products.
The agriculture agency found very low levels of four antibiotics that are not approved for use in poultry in the U.S. and one antibiotic that is approved for U.S. poultry use, but is limited to nearly undetectable levels in the finished product, said Joe Morrissey, a department spokesman. The antibiotics include sulfaclozine, tilmicosin, trimethoprim, enrofloxacin and sulfaquinoxaline, he said.
The antibiotics are approved in China, where most of the treats are made, and in other countries, according to company statements.
The FDA has yet to issue a recall.
Although individual companies are issuing recalls now that a potential cause has been discovered, the FDA has not issued any recalls and seems to think the residual antibiotics are not the true cause of illness and death.
Susan Thixton explains further on her website The Truth About Dog Food. (bold added)
Why are these drugs illegal for use in animal feed in the U.S.? One reason – specific to the sulfa drugs – is allergies. Dr. Cathy Alinovi, DVM told us “many people are allergic to sulfa drugs – as are many animals.” From the Vetmed.tamu.edu veterinary information on sulfonamides (sulfa drugs) states: “Hypersensitivity to sulfonamides – Renal function impairment.”
Quoting the Vetmed.tamu.edu sulfonamides veterinary information sheet “A large majority of the animals in which idiosyncratic toxicosis (allergic reaction) occurs have had a previous exposure to a sulfonamide combination. Most cases involve a trimethoprim and sulfonamide combination.”
The New York Department of Agriculture found sulfa drugs and trimethoprim – this exact combination – in the jerky treats they tested.
One part of the theory: The reason some dogs became ill and others didn’t was some were highly allergic to sulfa drugs.
But, there is more concern. From the same Vetmed.tamu.edu sulfonamides veterinary information sheet it states: “Dogs are considered to be unable to acetylate sulfonamides to any significant degree.”
What does this mean?
From The Free Medical Dictionary (bold added): “acetylation – one of the synthetic biotransformations which operate in the metabolism of drugs in which metabolites are produced that are more readily excreted than the parent drug. Dogs are exceptional amongst the domesticated species in that acetylation does not occur in their tissues. Acetylation is one of the principal metabolic pathways of the sulfonamides.”
Dr. Cathy Alinovi told us in layman terms this means “In order to break down sulfa drugs, the body needs to add an acetate molecule to the sulfa. Then, the liver says – oh, I know what to do with this – it can detoxify, break down and excrete the sulfa. Dogs cannot do that, so the liver says what the heck is this and the sulfa drug will not break down, so it isn’t removed from the body.”
So what does this all mean? It means thousands of pets have been getting sick and hundreds have died over the last 6 years from chicken treats but the direct cause was unknown. Without a reason, the treats could not be recalled and without recalls the treats continued to sicken and kill pets. The trace amounts of antibiotics discovered by the New York Dept. of Agriculture a few days ago finally gave a reason to recall the treats. The FDA remains unconvinced which I think may be a good thing in the long run. With brands voluntarily issuing their own recalls, the FDA being unconvinced means they will continue testing and researching the chicken treats. The products will be off the shelves and the FDA can look for a potentially more dangerous issue. Treats from China are the only ones in question as far as I know. If you see the C word on any package of treats or food, leave it on the shelf!
No comments:
Post a Comment