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Couple pleads guilty in toxic pet food case By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Las Vegas-based company and its owners have pleaded guilty to distributing a tainted ingredient used to make pet food that killed potentially thousands of dogs and cats. Sally Qing Miller, 43, and her husband, Stephen S. Miller, 56, along with their company, Chemnutra Inc., pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of selling adulterated food and one count of selling misbranded food, both misdemeanors. They initially were charged with 13 counts of introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce, 13 counts of introduction of...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed that the agency is investigating NUTRO pet food, following a series of unexplained illnesses and deaths. Consumers have been complaining for more than two years that their pets have become ill after eating NUTRO products; many have recovered when they were switched to other foods. The company has steadfastly denied that its food is to blame.

A 5.5-ounce can of "holistic pheasant" cat food sells for $1.73 at a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., specialty pet food store. Three blocks away, you can get the same sized can of a supermarket chain brand cat food for 39 cents. Is the more expensive one better for your cat than the supermarket food? Not necessarily, at least according to eight dog and cat nutrition experts at seven well-known veterinary medical schools who were interviewed by Consumer Reports. The bottom line of the article in the magazine's March issue: "There are quality foods at every price point," says Jamie Kopf Hirsh,...

The Food and Drug Administration continues to caution consumers about a potential connection between dogs becoming ill and the consumption of chicken jerky products (also described as chicken tenders, strips or treats) imported from China. The FDA issued a warning in September 2007 but does not have the authority to demand a recall. At least one firm in Australia has recalled its chicken jerky product, and the recall notification said the chicken jerky product was made in China. Symptoms include decreased activity, vomiting, diarrhea (sometimes with blood) and increased water consumption and urination. Although most dogs seem to recover, some...

(Schaumburg, Ill.) — More than a year after warning consumers about a possible link between certain chicken jerky products imported from China and illness in dogs, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to receive complaints from pet owners and veterinarians claiming these products are making dogs sick. In addition, the University of Sydney is currently investigating an association between illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky after recent complaints in Australia, and one Australian firm has recalled their chicken jerky product, which the company says was manufactured in China. In a statement released Friday afternoon, the FDA...

Appeals may delay payments in pet food case By GEOFF MULVIHILL | Associated Press Writer 2:56 PM EST, December 30, 2008 MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. - More than 23,000 pet owners in the United States have asked for money from a $24 million settlement for owners of dogs and cats who were sickened or died after eating pet food contaminated with an industrial chemical.

Please find recalled pet food UPC information below. The products listed below are made at our Everson facility on behalf of a variety of retailers. All code dates, with the exception of PEDIGREE®, are listed in a similar format as noted below: Consumers should look for “17” as the first two digits of the second line. Sample: Best By Feb 18 09 17 1445 1 For PEDIGREE® the Everson code date format is as follows: Consumers should look for “PAE” on the bottom line – the sixth, seventh and eighth digits. Sample: PEDIGREE ® Small Crunchy Bites Best Before 02/2009...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Two Chinese businesses and a U.S. company were indicted Wednesday in the tainted pet food incidents that killed dozens of animals last year and raised worries about products made in China. Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co., Suzhou Textiles, Silk, Light Industrial Products, Arts and Crafts I/E Co., and Las Vegas-based ChemNutra Inc. were charged in two separate but related indictments. The U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City said the tainted food led to the death and serious illness of pets in the U.S. last year. One of the indictments charges Xuzhou Anying Biologic, located...

AVMA, ACVIM offer opportunities to review the situation. Successes and failures in responding to the recalls of pet food were the subject of a panel at the AVMA Annual Convention in July. The recalls also were the topic of a panel during the June forum of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Earlier in the year, ingredients from China that contained adulterants went into pet food in the United States. The manufacturers of the pet food, starting with Menu Foods, issued recalls after finding an association with renal disease. The situation has contributed to calls for more resources to...

A Philadelphia woman says her dog died after eating tainted dog food treats (Bestro Chicken Jerky Strips) bought from Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has quietly pulled the made in China dog treat from its stores named Bestro Chicken Jerky Strips. There has been no announcement to the public as of yet. It is also uncertain of how many tainted bags of treats there may still be out among consumers. more .....

Safe Cat Food List - Products not included in the Cat Food Recall. Click to view the Cat Food Review and Cat Food Ratings Acana Pet Foods Active Care Cat Food Advanced Pet Diets Select Choice Artemis - Holistic Cat Food AUNT JENI'S Cat Food AvoDerm Natural Cat Food Azmira Holistic Animal Care Cat Food Back to Basics Cat Food Bench & Field Cat Food Bil-Jac Cat Food Blackwood & Adirondack cat foods Blue Seal® branded canned pet products Brandon Farms® brand of organic dry and canned foods Bravo Cat Food Breeder's Choice Cat Food Burns Natural Cat Food By...

US Recall News A Blog About Private and Government Recalls on consumer products, pharmaceutical drugs, food, autos and more. Tuesday, April 03, 2007 How to Make Your Own Dog and Cat Food the Simple Way Since we obviously can't trust the so-called "dog food" and "cat food" manufacturers to supply our pets with sustenance that doesn't contain of ingredients that can kill them, we might just be forced to make our own. But don't worry - it's easier than you think! (click here for a list of dogfood recalls , and click here for a list of catfood recalls)...

There’s more troubling news for pet owners, who have worried for the past few months if the food they give their dogs and cats is safe. Or tainted with the chemical melamine, which can cause kidney failure or death. A Texas laboratory says it’s uncovered the pain killer acetaminophen in samples of pet food. According to a report by KTRK in Houston, technicians at the medical testing laboratory, EperTox, discovered the popular pain killer is at least a half dozen pet food samples. The Deer Park, Texas, laboratory did not disclose the brands of the foods tested because of a...

BEIJING (Reuters) - China sentenced the former head of its food and drugs agency to death for corruption on Tuesday in a surprise judgment as the government sought to contain a wave of scandals over health safety. Zheng Xiaoyu, former head of the State Food and Drug Administration, was convicted on charges of taking bribes and dereliction of duty, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People's Court. The sentence, which was unusually harsh, could still be reduced on appeal. But it reflects the weight China's top leaders are giving to the issues of corruption and...

ORIGINAL POST: Itchmo has learned that a toxicology test reported the presence of cyanuric acid in an opened bag of what is alleged to be Iams Large Breed dry dog food. According to the report obtained by Itchmo, the results have been certified by a forensic toxicologist. We have obtained a copy of the toxicology report. Iams Large Breed does not list rice protein concentrate or wheat gluten as ingredients. ... This information requires verification and we are asking for your help. Itchmo is asking you to find an unopened 20 lb. bag of Iams Large Breed dry dog food...

Last updated May 6, 2007 11:05 p.m. PT What's safe to put in your pet's bowl? Weeks after tainted food killed dogs and cats, trust shaken but few answers By CECELIA GOODNOW P-I REPORTER Ohio electrician James Spratt sailed to London in 1860 to sell lightning rods, but the sight of quayside dogs scrabbling for scraps set him on a more momentous course. We know him today as the inventor of commercial pet food. Now the industry Spratt inspired has itself become a lightning rod -- for distressed and angry animal lovers who wonder what to feed their pets as...

UPDATE: The expansion expands again. Menu Foods’ own press releases do NOT match up with their recall expansion list. Pet Food Tracker and PetSitUSA have worked the last several hours checking the lists and added several more brands to the recall expansion. Our recall list is now updated. Again. ORIGINAL POST: This recall expansion covers dozens of new brands and foods — wet foods only — citing cross-contamination (corrected). This announcement comes more than a month and a half after the initial recall. The recall also expanded to include 2 varieties in Europe.

30 broiler poultry farms and eight breeder poultry farms in Indiana contained

In Tuesday’s four-hour session of live-blogging the food-safety hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives – work from which her wrists have yet to recover – Christie found herself typing something we at the PetConnection first heard weeks ago, but couldn’t get confirmation on until it came up in the hearing: Without Iams, there might not have been a recall at all. In sworn testimony, Menu Foods CEO Paul Henderson admitted that his company called the recall because Iams told them they’d had enough, that their own quality internal systems had revealed a problem, and that they were pulling their...

Hogs at a western North Carolina farm have tested positive for melamine, the industrial chemical blamed for killing and sickening dogs and cats that ate it in their food. North Carolina Department of Agriculture officials said that none of the hogs that ate the tainted food have entered the food chain for human consumption. The department has quarantined the farm, which has about 1,400 hogs, until it the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can advise what to do next.

Imported ingredients used in recalled pet food may have been intentionally spiked with an industrial chemical to boost their apparent protein content, federal officials said Thursday. That's one theory being pursued by the Food and Drug Administration as it investigates how the chemical, melamine, contaminated at least two ingredients used to make more than 100 brands of dog and cat foods. In California, state agriculture officials placed a hog farm under quarantine after melamine was found in pig urine there. Additional testing was under way to determine whether the chemical was present in the meat produced by American Hog Farm...

The Food and Drug Administration has opened a criminal investigation in the widening pet food contamination scandal, officials said yesterday, as it was confirmed that tainted pork might have made its way onto human dinner plates in California. More than 100 hogs that ate contaminated food at a custom slaughterhouse in California's Central Valley more.....

hemNutra, the Las Vegas importer of the contaminated wheat gluten that led to the original 100-plus packaged pet food recallÑalso imports pet sickening rice protein concentrate from China, "though from another source". "The company has been testing those shipments," according to spokesman Steve Stern. (Andrew Bridges, AP, April 18, 2007). In other words, ChemNutra, whose Chinese headquarters are within 50 miles of wheat gluten-producing Xuhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. Ltd., is up to its bag brim in the rice gluten poison pet food scandal. Binzhou Futian Biology Technology Co. Ltd. is suspected as the company making the rice protein....

Yet another pet food brand, Natural Balance, has been found to contain melamine, an industrial chemical. Another yet again, the contaminated ingredient has been traced to China.With over 100 brands of cat and dog food being recalled, we're beginning to wonder if it's safe to feed our pets anything at all. Thousands of animals have been affected by the chemical and dozens have died. Terrifying as the tainted pet food scandal has been for those who love their animals, there's an even more frightening fact to consider: China also exports food consumed by human beings. This week it's your dog;...

With the news changing daily about the tainted pet food, Arizona Carolyn and I are starting a ping list to be published on her profile page. Please let us know if you would like to be included. I will not be able to respond until later today and over the weekend.

WASHINGTON // Federal investigators are probing whether Chinese producers laced a key ingredient in pet food with an industrial chemical in order to boost the price of their shipments snip Referring to the contamination that has prompted the recall of more than 100 brands of pet food, investigators are trying to determine whether Chinese producers purposely added melamine to their wheat gluten shipments to Menu Foods. more.....

Johannesburg - Tests have confirmed that Vets Choice and Royal Canin dog and cat dry pet-food products contained corn gluten contaminated with melamine, says the manufacturer. The contaminated corn gluten was delivered to Royal Canin by a South African third-party supplier and appears to have originated from China.

... The chemical, melamine, is believed to have contaminated rice protein concentrate used to make a variety of Natural Balance Pet Foods products for both dogs and cats, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday. Previously, the chemical was found to contaminate wheat gluten used by at least six other pet food and treat manufacturers. Both ingredients were imported from China, though by different companies and from different manufacturers. A lawmaker said Wednesday the Chinese have refused to grant visas to FDA inspectors seeking to visit the plants where the ingredients were made. An FDA spokesman later said the visas...

Itchmo has confirmed an email from Natural Balance that they are removing two products from sale: Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Formula Venison and Green Pea Dry Dog Cat Formula These products do not contain wheat gluten. No deaths or serious illnesses have been reported and no recall warning has been issued. The warning applies only to products sold in the last week, according to Natural Balance. "Please know that at this time we are removing this product from the shelves, as we have had some phone calls indicating gastric upset after eating this formula. At this time, we...

SHANGHAI, China — The list of Chinese food exports rejected at American ports reads like a chef's nightmare: pesticide-laden pea pods, drug-laced catfish, filthy plums and crawfish contaminated with salmonella. Yet, it took a much more obscure item, contaminated wheat gluten, to focus U.S. public attention on a very real and frightening fact: China's chronic food safety woes are now an international concern. In recent weeks, scores of cats and dogs in America have died of kidney failure blamed on eating pet food containing gluten from China that was tainted with melamine, a chemical used in plastics, fertilizers and flame...

"...sources tell CBS News that the FDA had tracked at least one suspect batch of wheat gluten into the human food supply, quietly quarantined some products and notified the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention to watch for new patients admitted to hospitals with renal or kidney failure."

The chief financial officer of Menu Foods Income Fund says it was a "horrible coincidence" that he sold nearly half his units in the pet food company less than three weeks before a massive product recall. Insider trading reports confirm that Mark Wiens sold 14,000 units, or 45 per cent of his stock, for $102,900 on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27, reports The Globe and Mail. The shares would be worth $62,440 at current prices. Wiens still owned 17,193 units and options to purchase 101,812 units after the sale. "It's a horrible coincidence, yes . . ." Wiens told The...

Dr. Richard Goldstein, associate professor of medicine at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine and kidney specialist researching the outbreak's health impact on pets, and other researchers saw what they believe is a second contaminant in the gluten and the urine of infected animals, but have yet to identify it. Xuzhou Anying's Website said it also exports carrots, garlic, ginger, corn protein powder, vegetables and feed. Chinese officials have not responded to the U.S. government's question about whether any products other than wheat gluten were shipped here. Under the microscope and even to the naked eye, the contaminated gluten looks...

The revised recall includes cat food brands from Nutro, Publix, America’s Choice, Pet Pride, Winn Dixie and more. What was that FDA? We’re done with the recalls? We can’t wait to hear what you have to say at the Senate hearing. Menu Foods voluntarily recalls additional pet food made with ChemNutra wheat gluten TORONTO, April 10 /PRNewswire/ - Prompted by reports from the US Food and Drug Administration as to the presence of melamine in cans of cuts and gravy pet food produced in Menu Foods’ Canadian production facility, Menu Foods undertook an accounting of all recalled wheat gluten supplied...

Scientists at a state animal health laboratory confirmed Monday that a popular brand of pet food submitted for testing by Marin veterinarians was indeed contaminated, even though it is not on a growing list of recalled pet foods. At the request of the Mill Valley Pet Clinic, three varieties of Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics, in 3-ounce cans, were tested by the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System at the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

Pet food contaminated with an industrial chemical may have sickened or killed 39,000 cats and dogs nationwide, based on an extrapolation from data released Monday by one of the nation's largest chains of veterinary hospitals. Banfield, The Pet Hospital, said an analysis of its database, compiled from records collected by its more than 615 veterinary hospitals, suggests that three out of every 10,000 cats and dogs that ate the pet food contaminated with melamine developed kidney failure. There are an estimated 60 million dogs and 70 million cats in the United States, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. The...

As officials announced an expanded pet food recall today, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said that the Senate will hold an oversight hearing on the investigation and regulatory mechanisms that govern the pet food industry. During a press conference today in Wicker Park, Durbin (D-Ill.) said the role of the Food and Drug Administration needs to be expanded to prevent future threats to humans and animals, and to penalize companies that delay reporting health issues.

"The Food and Drug Administration said Sunshine Mills Inc. is recalling dog biscuits made with imported Chinese wheat gluten. Testing has revealed the wheat gluten, a protein source, was contaminated with melamine, used to make plastics and other industrial products."

Home-cooked pet food not always safe TORONTO, April 3 (UPI) -- The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association says pet owners need to be aware of the risks of serving home-cooked foods to their pets. Recent deaths from tainted pet food has increased the appeal of home-cooking for some pet owners, but the CVMA says people need to do some research first, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. One of the biggest concerns is a risk of salmonella poisoning associated with raw pet food diets. While animals in the wild have always eaten and survived on raw flesh, CVMA spokesman Danny Joffe told...

Eight In One Announces Nationwide Recall of All Lots Of Dingo® Chick’n Jerky Treats for Dogs, Cats And Ferrets Contact: Jamie Tully Victoria Hofsted 212-687-8080 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Cincinnati, Ohio -- March 30, 2007 -- Eight In One, Inc., a division of United Pet Group, Inc., is voluntarily recalling nationally all lots of Dingo® CHICK'N JERKY treats due to Company concerns that the jerky treats have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, which can cause serious infections in dogs and cats, and, if there is cross contamination, in people, especially children, the aged, and people with compromised immune...

IA #99-26, IMPORT ALERT #99-26, "DETENTION WITHOUT PHYSICAL EXAMINATION AND INTENSIFIED COVERAGE OF WHEAT GLUTEN DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF MELAMINE" TYPE OF ALERT: Detention Without Physical Examination (Note: This import alert represents the Agency's current guidance to FDA field personnel regarding the manufacturer(s) and/or products(s) at issue. It does not create or confer any rights for or on any person, and does not operate to bind FDA or the public). PRODUCT: Wheat Gluten PRODUCT CODES: 02F[][]08 Wheat gluten 02E[][]06 - Wheat flour gluten 71M[][]01 wheat gluten PROBLEMS: Poisonous or deleterious substance Unsafe food additive PAF: PES FAD PAC FOR...

Del Monte Pet Products Voluntarily Withdraws Specific Product Codes of Pet Treats and Wet Dog Food Products SAN FRANCISCO, March 31, 2007—As a precautionary measure, Del Monte Pet Products is voluntarily recalling select product codes of its pet treat products sold under the Jerky Treats®, Gravy Train® Beef Sticks and Pounce Meaty Morsels® brands as well as select dog snack and wet dog food products sold under private label brands. A complete list of affected brands and products is below. The Company took this voluntary recall action immediately after learning this morning from the FDA that wheat gluten supplied...

Alpo® Brand Prime Cuts In Gravy Canned Dog Food Voluntary Nationwide Recall No Dry Purina Products Involved St. Louis, Missouri, March 30, 2007 Nestlé Purina PetCare Company today announced it is voluntarily recalling all sizes and varieties of its ALPO® Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with specific date codes. The Company is taking this voluntary action after learning today that wheat gluten containing melamine, a substance not approved for use in food, was provided to Purina by the same company that also supplied Menu Foods. The contamination occurred in a limited production quantity at only one of Purina's...

Recall expanded to some dry cat food By Andrew Bridges, Associated Press Writer March 30, 2007 WASHINGTON --Federal testing of recalled pet foods turned up a chemical used to make plastics but failed to confirm the presence of a cancer drug also used as rat poison. The recall expanded Friday to include the first dry pet food. The Food and Drug Administration said Friday it found melamine in samples of the Menu Foods pet food involved in the original recall and in imported wheat gluten used as an ingredient in the company's wet-style products. Cornell University scientists also found melamine...

"Testing by the FDA and at least one lab independent of the agency found melamine, a chemical used in plastics and household textiles, in samples of the recalled pet food and in one of its ingredients -- wheat gluten -- said an FDA official and another source close to the investigation. Neither wanted to be identified prior to the FDA's formal announcement this morning." "The FDA has not determined how melamine got into the pet food. Melamine is used as a fertilizer in Asia and has several commercial and industrial uses."

Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service Food and Drug Administration Rockville, MD 20857 JAN 08 2007 CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED In Reply refer to # CVM-06002V Mr. Gerald G. May Director, Government and Trade Affairs Product Safety and Regulatory Affairs The lams Company 6571 State Route 503 North P. O. Box 189 Lewisburg, Ohio 45338-0189 WARNING LETTER Dear Mr. May: The Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) reviewed The Iams Company website with respect to several Eukanuba brand products containing chromium tripicolinate. Chromium tripicolinate when added to food is a food additive as defined in section 201(s)...

Hold the MSG Please!March 29, 2007 As a growing number of dead cats and dogs amply prove...the Department of Homeland Security will not keep you safe.  It will: create a burgeoning federal bureaucracy; give the Democrats a fertile field for unionization and even create the illusion of security.  But...it is reactively defensive and it will not keep you safe. If the U.S. doesn’t stop worrying more about ways to protect the “rights” of potential terrorists than it does about actually killing terrorists...it will be raining more than the dead bodies of cats and dogs on American soil in the future.  Have you...

OTTAWA, March 27 (UPI) -- An Ottawa woman trying to trick her terrier into trying a new kind of food ate it herself and developed symptoms, including foaming at the mouth, of illness. The stunt-gone-wrong began earlier in the month before a North American recall of moist pet foods was issued, but Elaine Larabie suspects she and her new 1-year-old pet, Missy fell victim to tainted food, the Ottawa Citizen reported Tuesday. She said once her dog started eating the food, she stopped, but both fell ill, and for three days she experienced foaming at the mouth, problems urinating, vomiting...

BEAUFORT, S.C. -- A woman said she was so worried about reports of tainted pet food she spent more than $1,000 buying all the product she could find at her local Wal-Mart. Margaret Trask said she filled a shopping cart full of canned pet food made by Canadian company Menu Foods at the Beaufort Wal-Mart after hearing about the recall Friday. She returned Wednesday morning to buy more food and came back that night to buy even more, but Trask said store officials asked her to leave. She said store employees were taking some of the food off the shelves....

Tests of Suspect Pet Food Killed 7, Government Says Deaths Remain a Mystery ? WASHINGTON, Mar. 20, 2007 - As many as one in six animals died in tests of suspect dog and cat food by the manufacturer after complaints the products were poisoning pets around the country, the government said Monday. Related Links RECALL: Complete Pet Food ListMORE: Pet Food Recall Grows (3/19/2007)LINK: Menu Foods Web Site (http://www.menufoods.com)LINK: FDA Pet Food Recall Information (http://www.fda.gov)Receive Breaking News AlertsGet Eyewitness News Updates A federal investigation is focusing on wheat gluten as the likely source of contamination that sparked a recall...