[nagdu] {Spam?} {Disarmed} Fw: [leader-dogs-l] Be careful of jerky treats

[William Vandervest]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Gail Selfridge 
To: leader-dogs-l at yahoogroups.com 
Sent: Friday, April 06, 2012 11:04 AM
Subject: [leader-dogs-l] Be careful of jerky treats


  
Frank Cunningham sent this to me and I thought I should put it on the 
list just in case anyone is thinking of using these treats.

FDA inspectors probe pet jerky treats in China
By JoNel Aleccia
Federal health officials have sent inspectors into Chinese plants that 
make chicken
jerky pet treats to investigate potential links to illnesses and deaths 
in hundreds
of dogs in the United States, two lawmakers say.
Staffers for Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich, 
D-Ohio, confirmed
Wednesday that Food and Drug Administration officials were conducting 
the inspections.
“Based on our ongoing discussions with the FDA, we are expecting 
important new information
soon,” Vic Edgerton, a spokesman for Kucinich said in an email to 
msnbc.com.
It’s not clear exactly how many inspectors are involved or which plants 
the officials
will visit as they attempt to solve the mystery behind at least 600 
reports of illnesses
including abrupt kidney failure after dogs have been fed chicken jerky 
treats made
in China.
FDA officials declined to comment on the inspections.
Last month, msnbc.com reported that FDA records showed that a log of 
owner and veterinarian
complaints of harm referenced at least three popular brands of jerky 
treats: Waggin’
Train, Canyon Creek Ranch and Milo’s Kitchen Home-style Dog Treats.
Waggin’ Train and Canyon Creek Ranch products are produced by Nestle 
Purina PetCare
Co. Import data compiled by the firm
ImportGenius
showed that those treats are produced and supplied by JOC Great Wall 
Corp. Ltd.
of Nanjing, China.
The move comes as the FDA faces growing pressure from consumers and 
lawmakers to
address rising numbers of illnesses blamed on the treats.
Robin Pierre, a co-founder of “
Animal Parents Against Pet Treats Made in China
," has collected more than 7,000 signatures urging on a petition urging 
the FDA to
take action and more than 2,600 on a petition taking Nestle Purina to 
task, she said.
Pierre, 49, of Pine Bush, N.Y., believes Waggin’ Train chicken jerky 
treats were
responsible for the sudden death last fall of her previously health 
2-year-old pug,
Bella, who developed kidney failure.
"While I am happy that the FDA is in China investigating now, it never 
should have
taken this long. Too many of our innocent and voiceless companions 
suffered horrific
deaths and many will forever be dealing with the repercussions of 
falling victim
to corporate greed. No animal should have ever had to die because of a 
'treat'",
she said.
In February, Brown and Kucinich sent letters to the FDA asking the 
agency to step
up testing and inspections of the China-made products. After a meeting 
with Kucinich,
the FDA stepped up its investigation, spokesman said, and traveled to 
manufacturing
facilities in China.
The FDA has issued three warnings about the treats since 2007. Agency 
scientists
have been testing the products since then as well, analyzing the jerky 
treats for
evidence of dangerous toxins, including heavy metals, melamine, 
melamine analogs
and diethylene glycol, chemicals used in plastics and resins.
So far, they’ve found nothing that would lead to the kind of illnesses 
reported in
the animals.
Keith Schopp, a spokesman for Nestle-Purina, did not immediately return 
calls asking
about the inspections. Previously, Schopp had said the company’s treats 
are safe
if fed as directed and that the illnesses may be a result of other 
causes.



__._,_.___
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic 
Messages in this topic (1) 
Recent Activity: 
Visit Your Group 
 Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use.
 
__,_._,___