Pet food recall: FDA transcript, and the question

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It's been a long night and I'm still somewhat in shock from all the recalls in the hours after the media conference at which the FDA said... well, I can tell you exactly what they said, because they just published the transcript:

OPERATOR: Next question comes from Debbie (sic) Turner. Your line is open.

REPORTER: Thank you. This is Debbie Turner (sic) with CBS News. As it relates to pets, are you confident that you have confiscated and contained all the melamine adulterated or contaminated, whether it be wheat gluten, rice protein concentrate, and should we expect any additional voluntary recalls among pet food in the coming days and weeks?

CAPTAIN ELDER: There was a recall announced today (PetConnection note: That recall was actually announced the day before) involving the rice protein concentrate. It was announced by Chenango Valley Foods. And in this announcement it covered the product Smart Pac, product produced, marketed by the firm Smart Pac that we mentioned during the last call on Tuesday of this week, and it includes additional products distributed by a firm called Foster and Smith. These again were associated with the contaminated rice protein concentrate. We aren't aware of any other potential recalls at this time involving either pet food produced from contaminated wheat gluten or from contaminated rice protein concentrate. As we say time and again, the investigation is open, we continue to follow the trail, but we don't have anything else that we expect to emerge. However, with the caveat, the inspection is ongoing and we are going to follow the trail until it ends, and if another recall emerges through that investigation that's what will be necessary to continue to protect animal health and we will make sure that we do that as expeditiously as we can.

The whole transcript is here on the USDA website.

As I think we all know by now, not only had there been a subsequent recall during or shortly before the press conference - the Costco one - but there have now been FIVE MORE tonight, within hours of that statement - made, it should be noted, in response to a question from a reporter, Dr. Debbye Turner, who is also a veterinarian.

What's more, since Craig Wilson of Costco told me that it was FDA testing that found the melamine in their food in the first place (tests run by American Nutrition on the food were negative), what chain of events could have led to FDA saying that it "didn't have anything else that we expect to emerge"? What did FDA expect would happen with the companies it had told had melamine in their foods?

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Comments

[E. Hamilton]

Hey Christie, you might have missed one, I posted in the clueless FDA section, you will feel a whole lot better when you check it out.

[Christie Keith]

I saw it... I commented on it, told you it made my night. I also sent it to Gina. ;)

[E. Hamilton]

Sorry Christie,did not see your comment.

I figure I have at least as much authority as the FDA has to issue a recall, probably more and heaven knows there is sure something that SMELLS

tainted going on in the FDA.

[CatLady]

You west coasters get busy about the time I go to bed... a LOT happened overnight! The first thing I id this morning is went to the cabinet where I keep my quarintined pet food and moved my one remaining Blue Buffalo can from the "don't trust it" pile to the "recall" pile. Thank heavens our one fussy eater didn't like the other cans I bought, or he would have been on a steady diet of it. The other two cats seem OK having eaten a few cans, but we escaped that one by a whisker.



I agree that something seriously smells at the FDA. Either they are totally incompetent or they're on the take. I can't imagine any other reason we are seeing for the huge chasm between their version of reality and this recall nightmare that the rest of us are living.



I wonder what they are feeding their pets?

[Sue]

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2740178320070427



NEW YORK (Reuters) - ChemNutra on Friday raised the possibility that it was not the only company to supply Menu Foods with wheat gluten, an ingredient linked to a U.S. pet food recall that includes more than 100 brands.



The statement, which comes as ChemNutra said its offices in Las Vegas were searched by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, raises the possibility that the recall could widen further.



Menu Foods has sued ChemNutra for damages and costs associated with the recall, according to the Associated Press.



ChemNutra said that it believed Menu Foods used significantly more wheat gluten every month than the company provided.



"We hope that Menu Foods will disclose its other sources to the FDA to ensure that any suspect product is quarantined," ChemNutra Chief Executive Steve Miller said.



A Menu Foods representative was not immediately available for comment.

[PJ]

Why is the FDA FOLLOWING a trail when they are supposed to be the bloodhounds leading the way? Absolutely the most unbelievable thing I have ever seen! HELLO? "For the people, by the people" does not mean that we are suppose to figure it out for ourselves!!!!!!! Let Menu Foods and ChemNutra fight to the death - I could care less! It only makes both companies look like complete idiots! I have two teenage girls who fight just like this - "I didn't do it, she must have done it". The ghost that lives in my house is named "NOT ME!" Once again - Christie, I would never have known any of this if you were getting any sleep! Nice to know there are a few honest, intelligent, investigative journalists left in this world!

[E. Hamilton]

I hear a lot of anguished questions.

I ask some anguished questions.

What I am not hearing is answers.



I think we need to take a different tack, because what we are doing is not working

real hot so far.



Why are we BEGGING for answers from the very system that has failed us?

Are we beggars?

Why do we assume they have the power?

They make the food but they REALLY need someone to buy it.



Right now, this blog and all the others dealing with the recall are the biggest free resource in the world for the pet food companies.

They pay millions a year in market research to get the info we are forking over by the bucket load right now and I don't know that I want to be doing the PFI and the pet food companies any favors.



Is that a gift we want to give them, after the way they have done us wrong?

Right this second the PFI and the pet food companies are USING us.



They are here,on every place that covers this recall, watching, learning what we worry about, maybe posting but not openly, and they are not contributing answers, they are doing what they do, sucking the life and the time and the information THEY need right out of us,

just as silent as they were all this time the dying went on and on.

I don't like it.



I have been doing some thinking about this and on the Itchmo forum there is a private message system, I think we need to be using it for some things.

Maybe a lot of things.

There is some first class investigative work being done here too, and I do not think it ought to actually HELP the pet food companies cover their butts.

What do you think?

[slt]

The FDA and pet food companies both are "following the trail" of sick/deceased pets. I say again, in broken record mode: TEST FOODS NOW. Don't wait for reports of sick pets, don't wait to find out what's on the label isn't actually what's in the food, don't wait until after your stock is sold - TEST NOW!

[Sandy C]

E. Hamilton, I suspect you are right about pet food insiders watching blogs, websites, message boards and gleaning information from them. BUT...the sharing of information between the average common people is our best tool to fight them too. When information starts being shared by only a few in private messages, our cause is lost.



Some of us have known for years the horrors of the pet food industry. Five years ago, I read a book called "Foods Pets Die For". It was an eye opener!! I started making my pets food. I was lectured by my vet, I was seen as a radical and kook by my friends and family. I was told that I was going to kill my pets because I didn't have the knowledge to feed them correctly. Nevermind that I had raised 3 healthy kids, I surely wasn't smart enough to feed my dogs.



I had healthy pets for all those years that I made their food, but fast forward 4 years...Because of family emergencies and time restraints I made the decision to put my pets on commercial food temporarily. Within 2 weeks, I had a dog die and 3 more become desperately ill. WITHIN TWO WEEKS from the time they started eating commercial food!



The only way we can fight them is to get knowledge out to everyone possible. Never doubt that this is a war and knowledge is our sword.

[Eva]

Another great article by Judi McLeod:



Menu Foods sues ChemNutra

Tainted pet food cat fights

By Judi McLeod

Friday, April 27, 2007



The Pet Food Institute (PFI), which represents U.S. pet food manufacturers, could be the only entity in existence claiming faith in swift action to answer questions about how melamine--a substance foreign to pet food--ended up in specific ingredients from China.



China banned melamine yesterday and said it would cooperate with U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) agents expected in their country to investigate the melamine mystery.



ChemNutra was one step ahead of the FDA in announcing today that FDA has searched its offices.



"The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) today conducted a search of ChemNutra's offices in Las Vegas, NV, as part of a misdemeanor investigation into whether the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act has been violated." (MARKET WIRE, April 27, 2007).



"ChemNutra's officers have been informed that, under the legal doctrine of "strict liability", the company could be held accountable because it imported the melamine-adulterated wheat gluten that is one reason for the current pet food recalls, even though the company had no prior knowledge, or reason to believe, that its Chinese supplier had put melamine in the product."



"We also now believe that our wheat gluten customer, Menu Foods, used significantly more wheat gluten monthly than we supplied to them, so we hope that Menu Foods will disclose its other sources to the FDA to ensure that any suspect product is quarantined," said Steve Miller, Chief Executive Officer of ChemNutra.



The MARKET WIRE statement by ChemNutra follows yesterday's announcement that Menu Foods is suing ChemNutra.



But it will take more than the FDA, and indeed even more than Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery of how and why melamine made its way into commercial pet foods in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and South Africa when inspections get underway in China.



Indeed it is only after dragging their heels for weeks that officials in the Peoples' Republic of China have agreed to allow FDA officials the necessary visas to travel to the Orient to inspect the two Chinese companies that exported melamine to the U.S.



What possible proof could the FDA or the world's best detectives find months after the export took place?



It's a long way to travel now that the horse is out of the proverbial barn.



"In a letter delivered Wednesday from PFI President Duane Ekedahl to Ambassador Schwab and Commissioner von Eschenbach, the industry urged the two officials "to use all means at your disposal" to determine how melamine, an adulterant apparently imported into the United States from two Chinese companies, found its way into simple ingredients for pet food." (Southwest Nebraska News, April 26, 2007). "The Pet Food Institute said it has been "heartened" by reports the Chinese government is actively investigating the two companies implicated in the shipment, but expressed frustration that it has taken so long for U.S. inspectors to gain access to Chinese facilities.



Some pet owners ponder how PFI could write, "Fortunately, some 99 percent of pet food still remains unaffected by the recall and may be purchased with confidenceÉ."But until the ultimate source of the contaminated ingredients is identified and contained, we cannot rest."



Consumers, knowing that some of the recalled pet foods are still available on supermarket shelves and having heard about new recalls only last week, hardly believe that commercial pet food can be purchased with much confidence.



They worry that pet food manufacturers will resume using more cheap Chinese ingredients, which may be contaminated with something else.



"Sorry sir, the smoke screens and mirrors aren't going to work anymore." Michael Giacco, of Orlando, Florida wrote in an open letter to Ekedahl, care of Canada Free Press (CFP).



"You're facing a different consumer mentality now, no longer the pre-March 16 trusting and innocent willingness to believe anything told to us in commercial advertising and food labels.



"Over are the days when consumers like myself, believing I am buying "better" "safer" foods, go out of my way to purchase an IAMS, or a Nutro, or a Science/HillsÉand risk the chance that the same contaminant that makes the 22-cent Special-Kitty toxic to my cat is also present in the 400 percent pricier "name" brand.



"Take a lesson from the courageous decisions made by the pet food industry in South Africa, and little Royal CaninÑtell your North American consumers you will no longer be importing cheap, unregulated ingredients from China and other suspect source-countries. Put that in a full-page ad in the Times, Post and USA Today, and in letters to veterinarians.



"You say, "purchase with confidence" and because it's you saying it, I don't have a whole lot of confidence. I can't rest eitherÉbecause I don't know for sure anymore, what is safe. You, on the other hand, "cannot rest", because for the time being, you're forced to have to use pricier ingredients."



In the latest twist to the seemingly never ending tainted pet food story, the same recalled pet foods that sickened untold numbers of dogs and cats, has been branded "salvaged" and was fed to thousands of hogs in up to six states. Hogs that ate the contaminated pet food will be destroyed and their owners compensated, U.S. government officials said.



Nothing further has been heard about the hogs or whether through them, the contaminant has entered the human food supply.



The Pet Food Institute recently announced the formation of the National Pet Food Commission, a group of veterinarians, toxicologists, food scientists and other professionals from industry, government and academia who will study the cause of the adulteration leading to the recent recalls to identify any lessons. The commission has already started its proceedings and will issue a report outlining its recommendations.



Since 1958, the Pet Food Institute has been the voice of U.S. pet food manufacturers. PFI is the industry's public education and media relations resource, representative before the U.S. Congress and state and federal agencies, organizer of seminars and educational programs, and liaison with other organizations. PFI represents the manufacturers of 98 percent of all dog and cat food produced in the United States.



PFI members include Toronto-based Menu Foods Income Trust Fund. Menu Foods was the first of at least six companies to recall pet food and treats made with the tainted Chinese wheat gluten. It alone has recalled 100 brands of pet foods, sold throughout North America under its private and major labels.



ChemNutra, the Las Vegas-based company that supplied the wheat gluten to Menu Foods and three other companies has database entries on the Pet Food Institute, dated April 19, 2004.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Canada Free Press founding editor Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck and The Rant. Judi can be reached at: [email protected].



Other articles by Judi McLeod

[Sandi K]

After these lies from FDA, Im really beginning to think there is something else going on that hasnt been uncovered yet....perhaps another poison, perhaps some shady dealings? I dont know, but something smells very stinky and no, its not the leftover poison food we still have.



Calling Senators Durbin and Delauro, clean-up on aisle 6 please

[DeeAnn]

UPDATE:



I no longer give my pets disgusting, vile, putrid, nasty, disease infested, disease producing, maggot ridden, decayed body parts mixed with fecal matter, drugs, peanut shells, used discarded oils, fake protein, and other shocking components that make up pet food in a can or bag of dry food.



The pet food companies and others, who have a vested interest, are trying to pull one over on us again, by parroting the line that we couldn’t possibly be able to feed our pets without them.



To the powers that be in the industry: You keep under estimating us—you are idiots, and my money is off the table.

[Issy]

Would it surprise anyone to learn that ChemNutra did some fancy upgrading here in the U.S. before shipping their toxic chemical ladded protein concentrates to the Pet Food Companies?



I've been scanning the cable news channels and one would think this story is BIG but oddly it doesn't appear big on the major cable news stations - in fact its lack of coverage is interesting and that's being kind.

[Cynthia]

I think the FDA is BOTH incompetent AND on the take.



EHamilton, I hear your concerns and get that blogs are often used for the purpose of marketing. I think that what we really trying to accomplish is transparency about the food industry and agencies and I'm not sure that keeping our discussions secret will achieve that. Perhaps we can be educators here and benefit from it too. Maybe the pet food industry and the FDA can learn that people are paying attention. Maybe they'll learn that greed isn't the only consideration. Maybe we can help change happen. Our politians are paying attention too. I wonder if those congressional hearings would have happened without us expressing our concerns and opinions out in the open for all to see.





I have learned so much from the posts and from the comments. It's been a great resource. Thanks to everyone.

[E. Hamilton]

Sandy, then all is lost because a lot of info is already being sent by private message and email and has been this entire time.



I was hoping to encourage people to think about the issue and perhaps discuss the ways the answers could be gotten without BEGGING the pet food companies to "lie a little more to me honey ". Demeaning, much like fighting over some loser who doesn't love you anyway on the sleazier TV shows, not something I care to do, we deserve better.



At this point, it seems pretty clear that the pet food companies themselves have no idea what is in the food, so why should I ,or anyone for that matter, take their word for something they don't know in the first place?



Lets say that feisty guy from Blue Buffoon that got his comeuppance yesterday, showed up here on the blog and said ,oh , I am gonna get on top of what goes into my food and until I do, until I can get your trust back, I think I will give some news releases, or hire someone to get on TV about the real number of pet deaths, or the symptoms pet owners need to hear about. Would you cut the man some slack? I would.

It might even save his business.

I just need to see some effort that benefits US and the pets, not his business, which is in the toilet right now and he NEEDS us. He NEEDS a way to get some trust.

I doubt that he will have the stones to do it, just saying.

I am sure others have ideas. Let's hear them, let's all hear those ideas.

[Steve]

The question is - how much more damage will the Menu Foods Cartel wreak beyond what it has already wreaked? How long can they continue to hide from the American people the extent of its malfeasance?

[Peggy]

Comment by E. Hamilton — April 27, 2007 @ 5:43 am



"I have been doing some thinking about this and on the Itchmo forum there is a private message system, I think we need to be using it for some things.

Maybe a lot of things.

There is some first class investigative work being done here too, and I do not think it ought to actually HELP the pet food companies cover their butts.

What do you think?"



No, No, No more secrecy. NO! The bad guys all know everything they need to hide and cover up.



We need to bring it all out in the open! We need to search and dig and make everything as public as possible and to educate and inform everyone who will listen.

[LQuigley]

Anybody know whats going on with Purina? All their websites seem to be down. I constantly check them for updates because I use ProPlan for my dog. As if I wasn't parnoid enough about what to feed my dog, not comforting when the brand I use has its website shut down.

[Sandy C]

E. do you really think there is anything any of them could say right now to get me to put a spoonfull of poison into one of my dogs mouths? To put it bluntly, their short hairs are attached to their money belts. It's time to grab hold of those hairs and yank. STOP BUYING THE FOOD! There will never be full disclosure on this mess. There's too many big companies with big money paying to cover it up, but we can hit them where it hurts. STOP BUYING THE FOOD! You're absolutely right...They need US. We do NOT need them!

[slt]

From Blue: "All "BLUE" dry natural food for dogs and "Spa Select" dry natural foods for

cats are not affected by this recall and are safe for consumption."



So unlike the canned foods and the treats, they DO know with certainty what's in the dry food? Or they just trust that they know? Or they're waiting for that manufacturer to 'reveal' something later? Sorry, no sale.

[Peggy]

What we need are some hackers. To break into all these databases in all these companies. All the info we need is in there. Nobody can tell me these companies don't know who they do business with. It is not that they don't know what is going on.



If we had a hacker working for us then we would know about as much as they know and oh yes, far more that the FDA either knows or is willing to tell us. Don't forget about the hearing last Tuesday; they knew about the contamination long before the foods were recalled but had to dance around because:



THE FDA HAS NO POWER TO DO ANYTHING!!!!!!





Calling all Hackers::::

[Steve]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18348358/

[maddy]

other foods from menu with PRC from china: Castor and Pollux - own testing - FDA should test all companies with RPC - canned has it(pakistan) and Ultramix dog and cat- china- produced at same facitlity as Organix and by- CJ foods - All foods by mfg. should be tested-

Enough with "we don't find in our (limited) testing" Take it to the FDA to verify if you are so honest and have any shred of integrity.



Natural balance - other pet foods with rice flour - how can one think not adulterated? turkey and giblet canned

[Sandy C]

LQuigley, the Beneful site is up. Unfortunatly it doesn't yet say "We kill dogs".

[Steve]

Comment by Peggy — April 27, 2007 @ 7:38 am



I don't support that tactic. If you want to break the law don't do it my name.

[Steve]

Besides all the information required to topple these liars has already been accomplished. And without breaking any laws.

[Nadine Long]

"To the powers that be in the industry: You keep under estimating us—you are idiots, and my money is off the table."



Comment by DeeAnn — April 27, 2007 @ 6:59 am



Great mantra. We need to say to the powers that be *anywhere*...or to the powers that *think they be*...

[Laura]

Comment by Peggy — April 27, 2007 @ 7:26 am



I agree. I think open information sharing is what this blog does best. I really don't think we're uncovering anything that the pet food makers don't already know.



If they're learning anything, it's that us "dumb consumers" ain't so dumb as all that. We're no longer willing to settle for their silence and lies, we're capable of finding out what they'd rather not tell us, and we're not buying their crap (figuratively or literally) anymore.



In the meantime, though, a lot of other folks with nowhere else to go for information are learning a lot here, I think. So please don't close that information off.

[Maudigan]

I don't even know where to turn anymore. This big of a scandal and by the looks of it huge cover ups. I liked the idea of hackers.

I can't remember at this time all the info that petconnection collected from me when I counted my dog here a few weeks ago. It has not been recalled yet. We do have the KEY here to figure this out. Brand, make and bar codes of all that have reported here would show a pattern and why they have yet to publicly test the products, they know which batches to test and are testing them. These are the same leads the FDA has been tracking. Couldn't we do something like that here? Just from the 4,517 self reported pet deaths, we'de see what the FDA is seeing, a pattern. Course they have much bigger data base at this time than we could build here.

Just a thought.

[Ann]

E. Hamilton & Christie!!



You may have it on the cusp of a brilliant thought!

There are press release sites (like send2press.com) and pet magazines with editorial pages.



Getting all these sites together that have done such wonderful jobs at helping pet owners generate a compliation of events and reactions, data, etc. might be worthwhile to give pet owners a voice, educate the media, PFI and FDA about how the target markets are taking all this & how it is impacting them.



They're may not be going to count numbers, but if the info is press released, pet owners might be able to get past the lack of research from the media (mindless regurgitation of PR, stats & info from the FDA, PFI)



Is it possible to do that? Conduct a poll and publish it in that type of press release?



Ann

[Peggy]

Steve, I don't support breaking the law but it seem there is no law to be had any longer. I would just like to have an equal footing with the poisoners and know as much as they know and



MORE THAN THE FDA IS TELLING US!!!!!!!!



THIS IS LIKE KATRINA AND WE ARE ALL WAITING AT THE CONVENTION CENTER AND WE JUST WANT TO KNOW WHEN WE ARE GOING TO GET SOME FREEKING WATER!!!!!



sorry for the screaming, everyone.

[Ann]

Also, companies like Waggin Tails (loved their email today & thanked them for being proactive)are getting the manufacturers attention.



Their businesses are impacted also, maybe interview them too?



All this information around these sites, an ezine to publish it? I don't know, but in conjunction with the "my pet counts" a press release might open some kind of positive activity to get outside the boundaries of the blogs.



Ann

[Peggy]

This is what I've found so far on the internet:



XuZhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co.

http://tinyurl.com/2swjah



Company Info:

"Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co.Ltd is a technological enterprise with research, production, distribution, which exports biologic feed, feed additive, edible flour, agricultural and sideline products.



Our company sticks to the tenet of "Sincere and Keeping Promise" and "Putting Quality at the First Place" and has won the title of "Sincere and Keeping Promise" for many times by Consumer Association. The reference grade is three A. We have also held the certificates of ISO9001: 2000 international quality management system and HACCP-EC-01 international system.



Our company specializes in the export of wheat gluten, wheat flour, cornstarch, sweet potato starch, and other agricultural and sideline products. We wish to cooperate with home and broad merchants hand in hand. "





At Alibaba:

http://www.alibaba.com/member/renbf/product.html

Esb Protein Powder

Zinc Oxide Of Feedstuff

Fresh Carrot

Ginger



At Fuzing:

http://tinyurl.com/3e3obl

Wheat Vital Protien

Zinc Oxide Of Feedstuff

Esb Protein Powder



At 21Food.com:

http://tinyurl.com/2qv3lp

Carrot

Esb Protein Powder

Ginger

Garlic

Zinc Oxide

Wheat vital protein



At Their Site:

http://www.xzay.com/english/index.asp

Zinc Oxide

camellia seeds dregs

Calcium Bicarbonate

Carrot

Garlic

Ginger





This is just a start, we can learn a lot more. We know this is a bad company, these may not look like much but it will add up.



I'll do Binzhou Futian next.

[Peggy]

Binzhou Futian Biology Technology Co. Ltd.

http://www.sdjinhaiwan.com/

Catched at Google

rice protein (feed grade)

Powdery Corn Gluten Meal [Specialties export]

Granule Corn Gluten Meal [Specialties Export]

fishmeal [Exported Grade]

soya protein concentrate (feed grade)

Pea Protein Powder [Specialties export]

Wheat protein concentrate

fat powdery(megalac)

Soy lecithin powder



I don't think TinyURL will work with this one; just mash it back together:

http://64.233.167.104/

search?q=cache:-Dko4mBprZQJ:www.sdjinhaiwan.com/

sdp/122493/4/

pl-1088824.html+Binzhou+Futian+Biology+

Technology+Co.+Ltd.&

hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us&client=firefox-a



more to follow...

[marcy]

I just received an e-mail from Diamond Foods,

(I was feeding Dry Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul Dog & Cat) But it looks like more recalls to come.



Marcy,

American Nutrition will be announcing a recall of some of the products

that they produce. Diamond Pet Foods has recalled three canned products

(produced by American Nutrition); Chicken Soup Puppy and Kitten and

Diamond Lamb and Rice per FDA recommendations. We are doing this to be

on the safe side. There have not been any melamine related illnesses

with these products.



Please check our web sight. It has recently been updated with detailed

information about the recall.



Sincerely,

Cordell Schroeder

mailto:[email protected]

Quality Control Manager

Diamond Pet Foods

[KatieKat]

Peggy...I understand your frustration, we all do!! When we start thinking about doing things like "Hacking" we become NO better than all the pet food manufactures and companies.



If we start talking like that then NO one will take us seriously. We can make a difference, but in the right ways, it just takes more work and dedication to make the changes. Anyone that has ever faught to change laws knows this.



The American people collectively DO have the power to change laws. When all thier pet food piles up and wharehouses and no one is bying it, that is the only thing that will make pet food manufacturers hear us, period, money is the only language they understand!

[Peggy]

BINZHOU FUTIAN BIOLOGY TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD SHANDONG CHINA

http://tinyurl.com/2yhxbd

At 21Food.com:

" Binzhou Futian Biology Technology Co.,Ltd Shandong China . which becomes a self-managed limited company recently, mainly supplys the further processing of plant albumen powder, series of cornproduct, Granule Corn Gluten Meal powder,Corn Gluten Meal , soya inspissation albumen (feed grade),and rice gluten meal(feed grade).biological fodder.etc ,The company which owns fastness fund thirty millon yuan,has one hundred and seven employees.It covers seventy three syuare meters.Every year,the capacities of it sa followting :corn gluten meal severty thousand tons;biology feed two hundred thousand tons;rice protein concentrate (feed grade) thirty thousand tons; agricaltural material one million tons.owns several subordinate companys: Binzhou Futian Biological Technology Co. Ltd, Rongcheng Zhongcheng fodder company, Binzhou JINLIANG Biological Technology Co.Ltd. ,Binzhou Futian corn development company and Binzhou Tiandiren E-bussiness Co. Ltd. Since the foundation of company , we always insist the management belief of "Quality is first and the credit is prime"and our products are selled to countries of the Southeast Asia and Europe The main economic and technical index has reached the domestic advanced level. Our company was awarded "Star Enterprise" of Binzhou City and "Advanced enterprise of quality control". Recently, following the developing thought of "strict management inside, extend market outside", we accelerate the enterprise's development steadily. In the institutional framework, in order to adapt the market development, we established the front marketing team, and reformed the departments of market, business, information and advertising. Besides, we set up agencies and marketing sites on every large customers group so that we can let you know us and receive your feedback information as soon as possible. Transferring marketing and personnel rights to the subodinate company, and transferring "



Product list

http://www.21food.com/showroom/27074/productlist/s-p1.html



Wheat protein concentrate

Pea Protein Powder

Soya protein concentrate

Fishmeal [Exported Grade]

Soy lecithin powder

Powdery corn gluten meal[Exported product]

Granule corn gluten meal

rice protein (feed grade)



(I have to wonder if Exported grade means: Melamine INCLUDED!)





I'm posting the companies bio so everyone can see it. In my web classes they specifically point out not to do business with sites that are full of poor spellings and grammatical errors. They may not speak English but if they want to do business internationally then they need to get an interpretor.



goods sold through Alibaba.com next...

[Peggy]

Forgot this, it goes with the above post:



Company Name : BINZHOU FUTIAN BIOLOGY TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD SHANDONG CHINA

Address : NO.11 YUANQIAN STREET WUDI COUNTY SHANDONG PROVINCE CHINA

BINZHOU Shandong China

Zip : 251900

Tel : 86- 543- 6333315

Mobile Phone : 13792263688

Fax : 86- 543- 6333567

Website : http://www.sdlllw.com

[Peggy]

KitKat,



Please give me a break, don't take it all that seriously. I am just mad like everyone else. I just want info. If these companies knew we could read their databases they might not be so secure with their not telling us anything. We could simply turn the info over to the FDA, anyway, they need all the help they can get apparently. I am sorry but they didn't take us seriously when they made their poisoned food and the FDA is absolutely, positively, not on the ball!



This is like Katrina also, the private people with boats went in and rescued the people off of the roofs and brought them water.



I want to rescue the animals and find them some safe food.



Is that too much to ask, to try to take some action, some real action and not just writing letters to these idiots who created and are now extending our agony!

[Peggy]

That was supposed to be KatieKat, sorry.

[mal]

EXCELLENT ARTICLE!!!



LARGEST PET FOOD RECALL EVER:



FULL INQUIRY CALLED FOR: AND ACCOUNTABILITY



By Michael W. Fox B.Vet.Med., Ph.D., D.Sc. M.R.C.V.S.



There are many vested interests that would like to see this poisoned pet food pandemic forgotten because it exposes the unhealthful nature of industrial food production, processing and marketing that harm people and their animal companions, as well as wildlife and the increasingly dysfunctional natural environment. Mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, dioxins, and thousands of other industrial pollutants, and especially those highly toxic petrochemicals used ironically in the production and preservation of food---from fertilizers to herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides, now contaminate our drinking water, our food, even the milk of human, polar bear, whale and elephant mothers: and lead to the untimely death, often after prolonged suffering, of our loved ones, including our animal companions. This need not be, but will continue so long as there is public apathy and indifference rather than outrage and political action



http://tedeboy.tripod.com/drmichaelwfox/id74.html

[Linda]

300 tainted hogs probably made it into the human food supply. On the FDA website it said that none did. I believe the FDA will say anything to make itself look good. And what about that other Rice Protein Concentrate supplier - just how will we be notified - after more pets die?



http://tinyurl.com/2nj36n

[Peggy]

Picking up again with BINZHOU FUTIAN.



At Alibaba:

http://chinafeed.en.alibaba.com/

Granule Corn Gluten Meal

Fish Meal

Corn Gluten Meal



At ecplaza Global http://www.ecplaza.net/

http://tinyurl.com/2g244g



Fat Powder(animal Feed) started selling: Jul 12, 2006 !!!!!!!!!



What is Fat Power Animal Feed?:

Specifications

crude fat>82%

calcium>6.5%

moisture

[KatieKat]

Peggy it's ok lol...I almost went to Diamond in MO and raised hell with them, had I done that I probably would be in jail now :( I do struggle greatly with not just reacting, but I also don't want to be tagged as a loony either and want to be taken very seriously.



Also on the ingredients you listed from the trading site, I was looking at them yesterday!...did you notice the wording on the description for the ESB protien powder??

[Peggy]

Seems my last post got cut off at the end:



At ecplaza Global http://www.ecplaza.net/

http://www.ecplaza.net/tradeleads/seller/4005133/fat_powderanimal.html



Fat Powder(animal Feed) started selling: Jul 12, 2006 !!!!!!!!!



What is Fat Power Animal Feed?:

Specifications

crude fat>82%

calcium>6.5%

moisture

[Peggy]

Yep, gotta wonder about that ESB crap and how about that FAT POWDER!



Remember it is not necessarily the Melamine. That could just be a marker like they are saying. There could be something else mixed it that is actually causing the sickness. I really don't like the looks of FAT POWDER!!!



gotta go pay the Vet bill... back later...

[Peggy]

Funny, it got cut off again, ah it doesn't like the less than sign



moisture (less than) 10%

total energy33.6MJ/kg

percentage of fatty acid:

palmitic acid :10.4%

stearic acid :3.6%

oleic acid :19.9%

suboleic acid :53.3%

linolenic acid :7.3%



Didnt China have a case where someone was using trash, swill, and sewage to make fats???

I'm sure I can find a reference for that.



Other product listed at ecplaza:

Powdery Corn Gluten Meal

Granule Corn Gluten Meal 731

Pea Protein Powder [Specialties Export] 801

Fishmeal [Exported Grade] 722

Granule Corn Gluten Meal

Soya Protein Concentrate (feed Grade) 726

Fishmeal [Exported Grade] 801

Rice Protein (feed Grade)

Powdery Corn Gluten Meal[Exported Product] Powdery Corn Gluten Meal[Exported Product]

Rice Protein Concentrate (feed Grade)722



Could some nice sweet moderator but this back together on my previous post and delete the extras??? thanks

[Eva]

Cat parents, just saw this on ScrippsNews:



More bad news on the pet food front is coming out in the May issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. A new analysis by scientists in New Zealand has found that there is a lot less of something in many brands of cat food than manufacturers have been claiming _ the essential amino acid lysine, which is vital to absorbing calcium and building muscle protein. The report on 20 brands found overestimates of 41 percent to 143 percent for moist cat food and 18 percent to 90 percent for dry food.

[Ann]

FTC, Consumer Protection Agency, Better Business Bureau - where are they?



Maybe we need to be filing complaints about the information and contradictions that are jeopardizing the health of our animals.



And, causing getting money from us without revealing that the FDA is testing their products for contamination or that they have purchased ingredients contained in their pet foods that are highly suspect.



Truth in advertising where are you???



Look at Natural Balance who blames ANI. Menu who sues ChemNutra.



If they can do it, so can we by filing complaints thru Federal, State and Local agencies!!



Ann



Ann

[Carole]

Re: Blue Buffalo



In the interest of not starting an all out war on these boards, I will edit my comments regarding Blue Buffalo.



"He NEEDS us".



I disagree. They just pulled 17 products from every store nationwide without hesitation. And they have suspended production of those 17 products until further notice. This is a huge loss for a company their size and if they really needed us they would have done minimal damage control and moved on.



As for comeuppance, that's just sad. They did nothing to deserve this and until it is proved otherwise, which I highly doubt it will be, they are no different than any consumer that was blindsided. It doesn't matter what they do, it will never be enough for those who choose to hate them.



People will continue to pick them apart until they can find something wrong. I talked with them again this morning and they worked until 3am to get this recall going - note the time of their press release last evening. They were not at home sleeping, having evil dreams of ways to kill pets.



They had the backbone to call ANI on the carpet for what they did - they are the first pet food company to put their thoughts on paper and not mince words. They weren't afraid to expose ANI nor were they afraid to drop them. Nor were they afraid to pull every single product this manufacturer made for them.



Show me one other company who has done all three of these things in one press release AND suspended production of their food without even having final test results.



No, I don't work for them - in fact I never even heard of them until a few months ago. But for some reason it is just too hard for some folks to fathom that there are companies out there that are trying to get thru this just like we are.



And yes, they are aware that there is a percentage of the population that will never cut them any slack no matter what they do.



I have three animals that are caught in the middle of this just like everyone else. And yes, I still have them and I will not even pretend that I know how those of you who have lost yours must feel, but I also won't succumb to the notion that my opinion/thoughts are any less valid than any other person who posts here.



And as for Blue's dry food - I think there was clearly a difference in the way CJ Foods handled the dry recall when compared to American Nutrition. The FDA has inspected CJ's plant, tested their foods and has cleared everything except for the food that was recalled.



As for Blue's wet, when asked about their testing, they informed me that the FDA started testing it yesterday and thus far has not found anything but they are waiting for final results. But they were not willing to wait to pull their product, even if it comes up negative.



I think it would be a great idea if Bill Bishop and a few other would show up here but at the same time is there any reason to believe that he or anyone other CEO would actually be given the chance to express a thought?



Sorry, but I was up until 3:30am following this and some of the nastiness and misinformation that has been spread over the internet just boggles my mind.



This site is awesome and thank God for freedom of speech.