Jerky treats possible cause of death and illness

[Junior's Mom]

http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/jerky-treat-mystery-nearly-600-pets-dead-still-no-source-fda-says

[frijole]

This is a big deal - I just read this and really appreciate you posting this link. 600 dogs have died in the US from jerky treats and they are trying to figure out why.

Symptoms include kidney failure and we get a lot of dogs that have kidney issues vs cushings.

Kim

[molly muffin]

Thanks for posting and that is exactly why I check every lable for where something is from and what is in it. No chinese jerky treats in this house!

Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Squirt's Mom]

If you think your baby has been effected by these treats here is where you can report it to the FDA -

You can help FDA’s investigation by reporting your
complaints through the Safety Reporting Portal (www.safetyreporting.hhs.gov)

or your local FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator http://www.fda.gov/Safety/ReportaProblem/ConsumerComplaintCoordinators/default.htm

From a fact sheet for consumers linked in the article above: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/newsevents/newsroom/factsheets/ucm371715.pdf

[Harley PoMMom]

Pet Jerky Recall 2014: Treats Lead To 4,800 Complaints, Including Over 1,000 Dead Dogs And 3 People Who Fell Ill

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are teaming up to investigate over 1,000 dog deaths and three people who fell ill after consuming chicken, duck and sweet potato pet jerky imported from China. Following the FDA’s last update back on October 22, 2013, 4,800 complaints of illness, some including multiple pets in one household, have been reported to the agency involving 5,600 dogs, 24 cats and three people.

According to the FDA’s latest report, around 60 percent of the cases were tied to gastrointestinal and liver disease, 30 percent kidney or urinary disease, and 10 percent that included neurologic, dermatologic, and immunologic symptoms. Approximately, 15 percent of kidney and urinary cases also tested positive for Fanconi syndrome, a rare kidney disease tied to reported cases of pet and human illnesses. The FDA has still been unable to identify an exact cause for the sudden outbreak...

Full story can be found here: Pet Jerky Recall 2014: Treats Lead To 4,800 Complaints, Including Over 1,000 Dead Dogs And 3 People Who Fell Ill (http://www.medicaldaily.com/pet-jerky-recall-2014-treats-lead-4800-complaints-including-over-1000-dead-dogs-and-3-people-who)

[Harley PoMMom]

Insect repellent, antiviral drug detected in jerky pet treats

Chicken jerky treats consumed by dogs that became sick have been found to be tainted by the insect repellent DEET and the drug amantadine, according to a veterinary pathologist leading an independent probe of the ongoing pet treat mystery.

Samples of the treats were solicited through a survey conducted by the Veterinary Information Network (VIN), an online community for the profession and parent of the VIN News Service.

Dr. Kendal Harr, head of the chicken jerky treat team for VIN, said samples of suspect treats were submitted by a variety of veterinarians whose patients became ill after eating the treats. A total of 16 animals were involved, some of which had consumed more than one type of treat, she said. Whether the adulterants are responsible for making the pets sick is unclear.

“The clinical significance is unknown … but these are contaminated treats,” Harr said. “I think what the illegal residues tell us is that we have a contaminated food source.”

Harr owns a pathology company, URIKA, LLC, in Washington state, but she said the samples were collected by a member of the VIN jerky team who works at Cornell University and sent for analysis to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSDAM) Food Laboratory in Albany.

The NYSDAM laboratory made headlines in January 2013 after it detected illegal antibiotics in pet treats containing chicken imported from China. The discovery led to recalls of jerky and related treats for dogs, including leading brands sold by Nestle Purina PetCare Co. and Del Monte Corp., now named Big Heart Pet Brands. Those Purina and Big Heart Pet brands — Waggin’ Train, Canyon Creek Ranch and Milo’s Kitchen — have since returned to the market.

In an update posted today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also announced that it had detected amantadine in some pet treats made with chicken imported from China, and noted that during the past six months, the agency received some 1,800 reports of illness related to pet treat consumption. About 4,800 jerky-related complaints of illness have been received by the agency since the issue surfaced in 2007 in the United States. The problem has appeared in Canada and Australia, as well...




Full article: Insect repellent, antiviral drug detected in jerky pet treats (http://news.vin.com/vinnews.aspx?articleId=32153)

[lulusmom]

I just heard on the news that Petco is pulling all Chinese pet treats from their shelves. They should have done that a long time ago. No word from PetSmart yet.

[Renee]

What astounds me is that consumers are still purchasing these treats!

I applaud PetCo (although it seems they could have done this sooner), and I hope this big step from a big company can spark action from other companies as well.

[molly muffin]

Good, they need to withdraw them, every single store and chain that has pet treats should.

grrrrr

sharlene and molly muffin

[Harley PoMMom]

I just heard on the news that Petco is pulling all Chinese pet treats from their shelves. They should have done that a long time ago. No word from PetSmart yet.

I read in the paper that PetSmart is pulling those nasty jerky treats also, about time!

[bichon mommy]

http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/jerky-treat-mystery-nearly-600-pets-dead-still-no-source-fda-says

I went to that website but could find no info on jerky treats being recalled. What company makes them? i think I bought some but threw away the bag.

[Squirt's Mom]

This original post was from 2013 BUT many jerky treats have been recalled since then as well. MANY. A quick google finds the following, most from 2015 -

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation/ucm360951.htm

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm092802.htm

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recall/chicken-jerky-treats-suspects/

http://www.dogaware.com/recall.html

The most important thing we can do IF we must feed commercial treats is to read the package and learn how to analyze the ingredient list and nutrient profile PLUS to look for where that product was made. If we see "China" anywhere on that package, put it down immediately.

NOW here is a neat little trick manufacturers are using to hide where their ingredients actually come from and where their food is made. If you see the phrase "Made for ________ in the USA" odds are that all of the ingredients are NOT from the US and the product was made in a nasty plant like Diamond, who has had numerous recalls over the years on all their products. Solid Gold, a one time high quality feed, is now using a Diamond facility to make their feed and their package says just that - "Made for Solid Gold in the US".