Pet food recall: USA Today takes a look at the timeline

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A few mid-day, mid-week items:

Nice overview piece in USA Today from Elizabeth Weise and Julie Schmit. Particularly interesting is the sidebar link on the timeline, but it's well worth reading and bookmarking the whole thing.

The International Herald Tribune is in the Chinese city in which the company that US officials say was the source of the contaminated wheat gluten:

Xuzhou is the home of Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development, a small agricultural products trader that U.S. regulators say was the source of the wheat gluten, distributed to major pet food suppliers in North America, that was at some point adulterated with a toxic chemical that sickened or killed the animals.

Although U.S. and Chinese regulators are still investigating the matter, this city is already yielding clues about how the gluten may have been contaminated, and also exposing some of the challenges faced by China's emergence as a global agricultural products supplier.

If proof is found that melamine was intentionally blended into the wheat gluten, it could be a huge setback for the agricultural trade between the United States and China, which is already battling a reputation for lax food safety standards.

Of particular concern are indications that Xuzhou Anying, whose main office consists of two rooms and an adjoining warehouse here, may have purchased melamine, the chemical linked to the animal deaths. The company has distanced itself from the pet food contamination and recall, saying it neither manufactures nor exports wheat gluten, but only acts as a middleman trading agricultural goods and chemicals.

In an interview last week, the company's manager, Mao Lijun, said he had no idea how wheat gluten with his company's label ended up in the United States or how melamine, a chemical used to make plastics, fertilizer and fire retardant, got mixed into the product.

But somehow, U.S. investigators say, wheat gluten sold by the company ended up in millions of packages of pet food across North America.

[...]

In recent months, Xuzhou Anying appears to have posted several requests on online trading sites seeking to purchase large quantities of melamine.

In one March 29 posting on a trading site operated by Sohu.net, a Chinese Web site, people who said they were with Xuzhou Anying wrote, "Our company buys large quantities of melamine scrap all year around." There were also postings on several other online trading sites, like ChemAbc.net.

Story here.

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Comments

[Linda]

Do't slam me for posting this if everyone knows about it: But seems something happened with the U.S. and China's Trade issues with this New Congress - things are now being revised or so it seems:



http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/worldbusiness/10trade.html

[Linda]

Here's the beginning of the article:



WASHINGTON, April 9 — Has the Bush administration’s economic team run out of patience with China?





Doug Mills/The New York Times

Susan Schwab, the trade representative, said that the United States would press China over piracy of books, CDs, DVDs and other goods.

For years, President Bush has avoided confronting Beijing with sanctions or legal challenges to its trade practices, preferring to use diplomacy to press China to bring down its trade deficit with the United States, now at $232 billion. But these days, the conciliatory approach looks as if it is being reconsidered, if not discarded.

[Maureen]

Sen. Durbin's senate oversight committee hearing will be televised on cable station CSPAN tomorrow at 2 p.m. (EDT). CSPAN is a cable station carried by all cable networks. There are 3 different CSPAN stations: CSPAN, CSPAN2, and CSPAN3. This is CSPAN. It's channel 70 in New York, but it's different in each cable market. See www.cspan.co

[Steve]

The bottom line is the Pet Food Industry is doing everything possible to avoid admitting they have been screwing up.



If they did, 120 million lawsuits would be raining from the sky against everyone in the business.

[Linda]

The Pet Food Industry knows they are crooks and maybe even hoodlums in fancy suits. They know most of their food is toxic waste junk and they sell it with slick ads and donations and yada yada....



Most of us have been asleep at the wheel, well, not more.



Linda MS.

[Steve]

Comment by Linda — April 11, 2007 @ 4:48 pm



And it's obvious we have had zero government oversight and even in a case like this the government appears to be reluctant to step in and risk upsetting their biggest contributers.

[james]

are you guys aware that pedigree dry dog food has 3 (!) sources of wheat gluten? pedigree is not on the recall list, but refuses to name supplier of wheat gluten...

[spocko]

Steve. If you have a method to email me please do.

spockosemail at gmail.com

[DeeAnn]

From the article above.



Of particular concern are indications that Xuzhou Anying, whose main office consists of two rooms and an adjoining warehouse here, may have purchased melamine, the chemical linked to the animal deaths. The company has distanced itself from the pet food contamination and recall, saying it neither manufactures nor exports wheat gluten, but only acts as a middleman trading agricultural goods and chemicals.



Xuzhou Anying is a lying sack of wheat gluten excurment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Words from the horse’s mouth below and a recent posting by that company on April 8, 2007, 4 days ago.



http://b2b.tradelinkup.com/buyoffers/mem_id/7061.html



Posted On 2007/04/08



…..we can supply Vital Wheat Gluten Here are brief introduction of our company: Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co, Ltd ……Our company is a multiplex technological private enterprise with research, production, distribution, which exports biologic feed, feed additive, wheat gluten meal (wheat vital protein)



Synonyms for Production: assembly, authoring, bearing, blossoming, construction, creation, direction, elongation, engendering, extension, fabrication, formulation, fructification, generation, giving, lengthening, making, management, manufacture, manufacturing, origination, preparation, presentation, producing, prolongation, protraction, provision, rendering, reproduction, result, return, staging, yielding





but only acts as a middleman trading agricultural goods and chemicals. They say they are not, they say they are.

[MonkeyKitty]

I am sure the Chinese government and media will not allow them to say they exported it to the US even if the wanted to.

[Kat]

One of the things I find MOST irritating is the constant report of 16 pets dead. I can see why the news media, US citizens, China, & elsewhere don't think it's any big deal.. 16?? They're probably thinking -- "well, that's too bad".



The Chinese eat dogs -- so, the death of a dog is not much news to them.



We are being sheilded. We are being lied to.



Every single one of us -- each day -- needs to be sending emails to the news media, the FDA, the USDA, the congress, the senate, and, the White House.



The squeaky wheel gets the grease!

Make them

[Kat]

I don't know where "Make them" came from.

[MFEMFEM]

What they say or don't say doesn't mean much. Apparently he only thing that means anything to a sizable secment of the pet food industry is that the wheat gluten was cheap.



Pet food industry marketing hype:



natural

healthy

premium

superior

organic

choice

quality

tasty

enriched

gourmet

nutrition

savory

flavorful

nature

entree

optimal

balanced

complete care

choice

nutritious

satisfying

well being

lifestyle

delicious



Reality:



rendered

poison

garbage

[Jay]

Here is an link to an article that I wish I had read many, many years ago.



http://leda.law.harvard.edu/leda/data/784/Patrick06.html



Read it and weep.

[ellioitt]

MFEMFEM I like your hammer. It hits right on the head!

[Jay]

Posted this to another thread but it is an importan analysis of what we all face today and tomorrow especially with the PFI involved in the Congressional inquiry. A long exposition but worth the effort.



http://leda.law.harvard.edu/leda/data/784/Patrick06.html

[Steve]

Pet-food industry needs total overhaul



There have been 11 recalls in 12 years, starting in 1995 and continuing into 2007. For an industry that claims we can trust them, 11 recalls say otherwise.

[carly]

I was just reading the timeline, which I know I've seen before and it just struck me:



If Menu Foods didn't know what was going on March 2nd, why was their first reaction to notify ChemNutra that the wheat gluten might be bad????? Why choose that ingredient?



Realistically, any ingredient could have been adulterated--why immediately focus on that one?

[Lois Kimball]

Jay,



That is an incredibly comprehensive article, possibly the best ever, with What's Really In Pet Food by the API running a close second.



On another note, is Lethaldose among us or are people just plagiarizing? Or is Lethaldose plagiarizing? Just curious as to which came first.

[Linda]

Jay I read the paper yesterday and downloaded it for good measure. May I never forget ever!



Linda MS

[Steve]

Comment by Lois Kimball — April 11, 2007 @ 7:00 pm



When your trying to save lives sometimes it's necessary to act first then worry about awards, credits, and accolades later.

[FMtz]

I posted this on another thread but thought I'd post it here to:



I was watching Oprah today when I noticed she said her dog of 12 yrs, Sophie, was suffering from kidney failure. Anyone know if it is related to the pet food nightmare? I don’t usually watch Oprah, so I’m not sure if she has mentioned this before.

[mal]

Another puzzling question:



Feb. 20: Menu Foods, the company that started the recall, receives first reports from owners of three sick cats. Two had access to the outdoors and may have ingested antifreeze, which can damage kidneys. Alarms don't go off, company says.



How many people do you know that would have called Menu Foods about a problem with their pet food (prior to the recall). Their name is not on any products they produce.

[MonkeyKitty]

What does it take to recall all of Menu's products:



I wonder how many people in congress (and their pets) have been impacted by this.



I am counting the hours to watch CSPAN tomorrow. Hopefully they will get to the bottom of this and get the FDA what they need to do their jobs or find someone who can.



I still want to know why this is still a not a MANDATORY recall for ALL foods made by Menu. It is pretty clear that either the FDA doesn't have the power or they are protecting big business rather than who they should be protecting. Hopefully congress makes it a new directive for the FDA to force Menu to pull all foods and shut down their plants.



As far as I am concerned the plants should be closed indefinately and all their foods should have been pulled off the shelves by now since it is obvious that they don't have a clue what went where. Why do they need to test before they can recall a product?



Thats a very good point mal, even now some companies are not disclosing where their food is REALLY made.

[E. Hamilton]

Jeez, I hate to even think this but if the pet food industry has harmed a dog belonging to Oprah, we might have a lot of help!

Odd, don't you think that the kidney failure hit NOW?

I sure hope Oprah knows about the bad food.

[Linda]

Wonder whose commercials air on Oprah's program?



On another note, Menu's website needs updating. Instead of puppies eating out of bowls we need puppy photos after their menu meals - if you know what I mean.



Linda MS

[MonkeyKitty]

http://www.oprah.com/email/email_landing.jhtml



I can't hurt to send an email using the above link. I have spammed as many media outlets as I can. If they get enough email it usually gets the producers attention.



I have had enough of this Imus thing...too bad he didn't eat menu foods. CNN has A.D.D I think. They barely even talk about this issue anymore.

[Deb]

Proctor & Gamble is the largest marketer in the U.S. Now, even though they own Iams and Eukenuba and they have been subject to these Menu Foods Income Fund recalls, no one seems to want to discuss that. Nestle owns Purina and Del Monte owns a number of brands too. Do you suppose if Oprah did an expose on this that her paper towel and tampon advertisers would drop her? Or would they take her to court like the beef suppliers did in Texas? Hmmm. Wonder why she won't do a show on this?

[E. Hamilton]

I wonder if any of the tabloid news places think that the pet food industry has poisoned Oprah's pup?

Gosh, that would make an entirely inappropriate headline.

PET FOOD POISONS OPRAH'S PUP!

Probably sell a ton of issues.

[E. Hamilton]

If Oprah and Procter & Gamble get in a tussle , MY money is on Oprah!

[Lois Kimball]

Steve,



You are so funny! It's great to keep your sense of humor in a crisis.

[Laura]

I have some real issues with the Patrick article cited by Jay, above, @6:15pm. (Full disclosure - my partner's a vet.)



In the opening, the author says, "Veterinarians CAN earn 20%" of their profits off of pet food. Sure, they can, but the vast majority don't. (You could also say vets "CAN" kill your pet, but again, most don't, thanks.) Nice scare tactic to start off the paper. Wonder what grade this got.



Did anyone notice the footnote where Patrick talks about a vet she didn't like, and her cat's subsequent rescue by a friend who's a probiotic expert? Gee, I wonder where her bias lies here.



And the stuff about vet food companies "buying off" vet schools? Yes, they do contribute a lot of money to research and services. Like the imaging center at NC State, which has saved at least hundreds or maybe thousands of pets' lives.



Who paid for it? Iams. Does this buy them a get out of jail card for tainted food? Of course not. But it also isn't proof of sinister intent.



Who else do you think would have paid to fund that center with its expensive technology? Hint: donors are NOT lining up.



The final straw is Patrick's implication that, since vets only get paid when your pet gets sick, it's in their financial interest to keep them that way. Oh, for cryin' out loud! Good vets promote preventive care and vaccinations, and when good owners listen, vets make money off that, too. And NO vet makes a dime off a pet that isn't around anymore.



As I've said before on another thread, vets and vet students get a lot of crap pushed at them. But the vast majority are smart enough to know when they're being sold a bill of goods.



Here's a simple solution: if your vet is flogging you to buy food (or any other products) at his/her office, find a vet who doesn't. You wouldn't put up with that kind of pressure from your doctor. Why put up with it from your vet?

[Bernard J. (Bernie) Starzewski]

While I now have a number of issues with our vet and they do sell food I cant say they ever pushed it on me. However, the irony is not lost on me that they sell SCIENCE Diet brand and my main complaint is that they did not follow good science relying instead on a cursory exam allowing food that at least should have at least been considered suspect.



Take a little time and surf to this page from Wisconsin Public Radio. Look for two particular shows from 3/21 and 3/22 on the subject.



http://www.wpr.org/webcasting/audioarchives_display.cfm?Code=jca



Note that on 3/22 the industry rep (a retail chain owner) makes what have now proven to be grossly misleading statements with regard to the completeness and accuracy of the recall list with absolutely nothing else to go on beyond that offered by the company itself.



Also interviewd on 3/22 was Dr. Sandy Sawchuk DVM of the University of Wisconsin who made the rather astounding speculation on that date that when she heard of the recall that maybe this was "just a slow news day".... WHAT?



Also see her response to my call in to Larry Meiler's show on 4/11 that closely mirror the attitude of my vet.



http://wpr.org/webcasting/audioarchives_display.cfm?Code=mlr



Again, no exam and no red flags, no report the death or get the food tested... just those old "red herrings" again.



I have been both shocked and disgusted at the genereral lack of both scientific and intellectual curiosity on the part of the vet community.



I would however really like to comment the people at Vet Information Network for doing the good work that they ave done. Maybe we need to recruit from their ranks to run our vet schools.



FYI: Wisconsin Public Radio has perhaps been one of my best sources of information on this and many other topics. If you are not in range of a station listening via the internet is easy enough.

[Bernard J. (Bernie) Starzewski]

Just another note on the Dr. Sawchuk interview. She said that previously the ENTIRE pet nutrition curriculum at the UW Vet school at one time consisted of a guest lecture by a rep from Hills.



What has happened since? The lectures have been cut to her alone giving a single 50 minute lecture.

Sometimes Im glad that I was not accepted into Vet School. I learned more back on the farm!

[Laura]

Bernie,

I'm sorry you feel that way. You probably would've made a very good vet!



But the facts are the facts.



1. Most good vet schools do a little more with nutrition than a guest lecturer from Hills! Not that they're adequately trained - most will tell you they aren't. But they DO have to do continuing education, and I'm betting there'll be a lot more classes on nutrition after all this.



2. Not every pet who died of kidney failure over the past year died because of tainted food. it's sad when any pet dies, but the fact remains that chronic (not acute) kidney failure is a VERY common disease in cats AND dogs, not because of food, but because of old age...i.e., they're not dying of something else first, like they used to.



It's a lot like humans and cancer. Genetics research tells us clearly that as DNA wears down with replication (look up telomeres, if you want more info), cells wear out and mistakes happen. It's called the Hayflick limit.



You're right, VIN has done an excellent job. Why? Because those same vets you accuse of disinterest have been interested enough to respond to VIN's voluntary surveys. Oh yeah, the same vets who've been "bought off" by the pet food industry. Yeah, whatever.



Yes, there are bad vets. And bad doctors, and bad mechanics, etc. etc. But the majority have no interest in making your pet sick, or worse, which is what Patrick says in her term paper (and that's what it is, folks, not a published research article).



I'm sincerely *very* sorry for your loss. And I'm NOT minimizing the fact that I think Menu and others killed hundreds if not thousands of pets. But blaming your vet for what pet food companies did is missing the point..and taking what one "radio expert" says as proof of industry collusion is just poor reasoning.



If you're not getting the responsiveness you want from your vet, ask your friends for recommendations for a new one - and then tell your old one why you're leaving. We talk a lot here about the power of the market. It's useful for a lot more than pet food.