September 15, 2007
By Diane C. Lade
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Federal regulators said Friday they are investigating potential contaminants in dog treats made in China, as the nation's leading veterinarian association posted a warning to pet owners that the products might be making animals sick.
The American Veterinary Medical Association, which represents 75,000 vets, issued the statement prompted by members' reports of numerous unusual cases of dogs suffering from a rare kidney ailment after consuming the China-made treats. Most of the products were chicken-flavored."We want people to know what we are hearing, to pay attention and to monitor their pet's health," said association spokesman Michael San Filippo. "We can't stay quiet, putting our fingers in our ears and ignoring the situation."
While the association stopped short of advising pet owners not to buy Chinese-made dog treats, San Filippo said: "I would be leery, especially if it was something I had not given my pet before."
Food and Drug Administration spokesman Mike Herndon said the agency is trying to determine whether the jerky treats pose a threat but has not singled out individual brands or requested any recalls. Several veterinarians said they first reported their cases to the FDA about three weeks ago.
Veterinary investigators advised pet owners not to panic. Initial tests of the most likely toxic ingredients -- including melamine, a component in plastics that was behind the massive Menu Foods recall earlier this year -- have come back negative, "and we are continuing to investigate," Herndon said.
Dr. Richard Goldstein, associate professor of veterinary medicine at Cornell University and part of the team assisting the FDA in its investigation, said most of the affected dogs are small breeds that had developed renal problems. Symptoms include vomiting, lethargy and lack of appetite.
"If people have a dog that has exhibited these symptoms in the past few months and they were [being fed] treats, they should take the dog to their vet and make the vet aware of the treat history," he said.
Herndon did not say how many jerky treat complaints the FDA has logged. But San Filippo said the FDA told the association it had received about 100 calls. So far, none of the cases have been fatal and Goldstein said dogs usually can recover if the condition is spotted early enough.
Earlier this year, Canadian-based Menu Foods was involved in one of the largest consumer product recalls in U.S. history. About 100 brands of pet food manufactured by the company, with tainted ingredients from China, had to be pulled from the market. Consumers had complained during the incident that the FDA had been too slow in calling for recalls, San Filippo said.
Wal-Mart in late July pulled two brands of Chinese-manufactured chicken jerky for pets, one from Shanghai Bestro Trading and one from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co., after customers were concerned the products had made their animals ill. But the product was not officially recalled.
Dr. Brian Roberts, with Veterinary Specialists of South Florida in Cooper City, said he became convinced something new was wrong with pet food when he recently diagnosed four dogs in six weeks with Fanconi Syndrome, a rare disease which damages the kidney tubule. The disease is so uncommon that some vets never have a case, Roberts said.
Fanconi's usually is genetic and seen in the Basenji breed. But none of Roberts' patients were Basenjis, and all were young, small dogs. In talking to the owners, he realized all the animals had been fed jerky treats manufactured in China, all of them chicken flavored. Veterinarians participating in online chats started reporting similar Fanconi cases possibly associated with the treats, Roberts said.
He who called the FDA to report his concerns.
"The disease is so rare, it's very suspicious," he said.
Steve Feinberg, vice president of marketing for Sunrise-based Pet Supermarkets, said the chain buys its Chinese-made jerky products from Pet Center Inc. in Los Angeles because the company has its own plants in China and does extensive testing.
"If anything came to light, we would react. But we feel comfortable the product is safe," Feinberg said.
China is a primary source of chicken jerky-style treats, as dark meat is more popular there than white for human consumption.
Unlike the Menu Foods recall, where the products were made in U.S. and Canadian factories using tainted wheat gluten from Chinese suppliers, most jerky treats are made in China and carry that designation on their product labels.
Mark Levin of Sergeant's Pet Care Products, which sells three chicken jerky-style products made in China, said the current investigation is particularly mystifying, as chicken jerky is considered one of the healthiest food items for dogs. Most such products are natural, with no additives and only one or two ingredients.
"There are companies sitting on the edge of their chairs," said Levin, vice president of technical affairs for the Omaha-based corporation. "The last thing any of us want to do is stop selling what should be a good product on the assumption something is wrong with it. We're monitoring it very closely."
Diane Lade can be reached at dlade@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6618.
Copyright © 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/custom/consumer/sfl-0915jerky,0,6159705,print.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout