Pet food recall: FDA says another recall may be coming

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According to the FDA, there may be another pet food recall coming.

On April 23, Sens. Durbin and Cantwell wrote to the FDA, saying:

We have learned that in addition to Wilbur-Ellis, a second United States company imported a shipment of rice protein from China that is also likely to be contaminated with melamine. We request the FDA identify this second importer as well as those manufacturers to which it may have sold the contaminated product. Again, we request the FDA closely track this shipment and immediately press the affected companies to recall any food containing the imported rice protein.

At the May 3 FDA media briefing, we were waiting to ask about the senators' letter, and if there was indeed another company. We e-mailed the FDA the questions when we didn't get to ask them at the media briefing, and were promised a response. After today's media briefing, we got our FDA response. What we found out:

On May 4, a company called Cereal Byproducts issued a recall of rice protein concentrate it obtained from what it called a "local domestic importer." The recall was announced on a website at www.riceproteinrecall.com, which was offline for an unknown period until just after we called the company:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Mt. Prospect, Illinois – May 4, 2007 – Cereal Byproducts Company is announcing today that the FDA has determined that there are melamine and/or melamine derivatives in the rice protein concentrate produced by a single source Chinese supplier, Binzhou Futian Biology Technology Co. Ltd., and purchased through a local domestic importer. Cereal Byproducts shipped the recalled product to a total of three customers located in the Midwest between July 19, 2006 and March 14, 2007.

The FDA previously found melamine and/or melamine derivatives in Wilbur-Ellis Company’s rice protein concentrate, which was purchased from the same Chinese supplier as Cereal Byproducts. Cereal Byproducts proactively notified their customers of this finding, and thereafter both parties implemented their own voluntary recall of the contaminated products on or about April 19, 2007.

Although Cereal Byproducts has received no confirmed cases of pet deaths, it voluntarily chose to initiate the recall when Cereal Byproducts discovered there was a potential contamination of melamine or melamine type derivatives in the rice protein. We are confident that our customers have implemented on-going recalls and the remaining rice protein concentrate, not previously distributed to these customers, is located at a separate warehouse facility under quarantine.

Cereal Byproducts assures its customers that the safety and quality of the ingredients it supplies is a top priority. Since 1917 it has always been our goal is to ensure the safety and integrity of our products. Cereal Byproducts is working closely with the FDA to assist in its efforts to address the recent development affecting the pet food industry.

Customers with questions about this recall or any Cereal Byproducts Company product should visit the website at riceproteinrecall.com or visit the FDA website at www.fda.gov for more information.

Note the release says the concentrate was sold to three customers of Cereal Byproducts, only two of which have issued voluntary recalls of pet food products since that time.

The FDA's Kimberly Rawlings today by phone confirmed that the third company may, at some unspecified time in the future, also recall some pet food products, saying, "Cereal Byproducts recalled the rice protein concentrate they sold to three firms. This recall may result in additional pet food being recalled." She said she was unable to put any kind of timeframe on such a recall.

Neither FDA nor Cereal Byproducts would identify the third company, although Cereal Byproducts did say all three customers were "in the Midwest."

Rawlings stressed that "based on our records, the Cereal Byproducts shipments of rice concentrates trace to Binzhou Futian Technology--the source already identified. There is no new importer or Chinese supplier of rice protein concentrate that we know of per the records we collected."

She said that FDA was preparing a response to Sens. Durbin and Cantwell. Sen. Durbin's office indicated it was in the process of setting up a meeting with FDA and the Chinese Embassy to investigate this issue in more depth.

The last set of pet food recalls was attributed to cross-contamination with wheat products containing melamine and similar chemical compounds in a Menu Foods plant. When asked if the Menu Foods recall was related to the FDA inspection of one of the company's plants the previous week, the FDA's Douglas Arbesfeld replied, "It is the same firm in Kansas, the corporate HQ, that initiated the recall to include the NJ facility. It would be a stretch to say that this action was a direct result of the current and ongoing inspection and interaction with firm. I would refer to them as related activities."

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Comments

[Carole]

So is it RPC or wheat flour?

[Kim]

I'm confused. the release says "total of 3 customers", then it says "both recalled". Typo?

[straybaby]

"The FDA’s Kimberly Rawlings today by phone confirmed that the third company may, at some unspecified time in the future, also recall some pet food products, saying, “Cereal Byproducts recalled the rice protein concentrate they sold to three firms. This recall may result in additional pet food being recalled.” She said she was unable to put any kind of time frame on such a recall."



WTF?!?!



"She said that FDA was preparing a response to Sens. Durbin and Cantwell. Sen. Durbin’s office indicated it was in the process of setting up a meeting with FDA and the Chinese Embassy to investigate this issue in more depth."



excuse me, but how many weeks does it take to form a response as to where the RPC is?! HELLO?!

[Carole]

Cereal's recall notice...who'd a thunk you could actually find a website named riceproteinrecall.com. Guess they didn't have to fight anyone for that domain.



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Mt. Prospect, Illinois – May 4, 2007 – Cereal Byproducts Company is announcing today that the FDA has determined that there are melamine and/or melamine derivatives in the rice protein concentrate produced by a single source Chinese supplier, Binzhou Futian Biology Technology Co. Ltd., and purchased through a local domestic importer. Cereal Byproducts shipped the recalled product to a total of three customers located in the Midwest between July 19, 2006 and March 14, 2007. "The FDA previously found melamine and/or melamine derivatives in Wilbur-Ellis Company’s rice protein concentrate, which was purchased from the same Chinese supplier as Cereal Byproducts. Cereal Byproducts proactively notified their customers of this finding, and thereafter both parties implemented their own voluntary recall of the contaminated products on or about April 19, 2007."

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



So doesn't this say that they sold it to three people, but yet the last line says "both parties". Huh?



Also, BB and Royan Canin did their recalls around the 19th but Blue (CJ Foods) states they got their stuff from Wilbur Ellis.



What a tangled mess!

[Kim]

And you know what else is weird - Royal Canin and Vets Choice in South Africa are the only April 19th recalls.

[Sandy]

These people-companies-agencies totally disgust me. And what a sham and scam re: "Cereal Byprodcts Co." ... they posted that notice on an untitled page with no link to the parent company--effing cowards, all of them. And check out their contact us page--NO contact info provided at all. Effing cowards, all of them.



One question that they all need to be pressed on is when are the tainted chickens, hogs, fish, wheat flour, and god-only-knows-what-else going to be dumped into the pet food chain since it has been deemed ok for human consumption?

[slt]

"Although Cereal Byproducts has received no confirmed cases of pet deaths,"



Neither has anyone else except the initial ones at Menu Foods so stop sounding so high and mighty.



"it voluntarily chose to initiate the recall"



Makes them sound like food safety heroes because they "voluntarily" recalled their mela-powder. Well now we all know there is no such thing as a MANDATORY recall in these cases so again, get off your high horse.

[straybaby]

oh,crikey. i forgot.



it's because it's complicated . . .

[Kim]

Oops, missed blue Buffalo, they were April 19th too.



Something is wrong with this picture. Again.

[Carole]

Do Royal Canin and the other one state they were tied to Wilbur Ellis? If not, then we can possibly assume they are the two.

[Carole]

But if they are the other two, then doesn't that throw off Wilbur's five companies?



Running in circles, we are.

[Kim]

Anyone hungry?



CEREAL BYPRODUCTS COMPANY

55 E. Euclid Avenue, Suite 410

Mt. Prospect, IL 60056-0575

Phone: 847/818-1550

Toll Free: 800/369-1550

Fax: 847/818-1659



Product(s): Recycle food to blend into feed products: alfalfa products, barley products, beef,lamb & pork products, beet products, beverage industry products, buckwheat products, chicken products, canola products, citrus products, cooked products, corn products, fish products, cotton products, flax products, marine products, milk products, millet, milo, safflower & sunflower products, oat products, organic products, peanut products, poultry products, rice products, rye products, soybean products, wheat products, and other products.

[Ally]

Freakin' A.



OK. So what is it FDA? Wheat flour? Wheat gluten? RPC? Cyanuric acid or a select combo of all of them?



My brain just imploded so can someone please explain what the heck IS being recalled so I can understand? I'm having way too many Boo Radley moments these days as it is.

[straybaby]

"and other products. "



would that be Melamine and Melamine Compounds . . . ?

[straybaby]

sorry Ally. my brain exploded at least 5 times since the FDA update . . . no help from me :-/

[Sandy]

From grainnet.com's directory listing ... but cerealbyproducts.com does NOT come up in a google search--



Cereal Byproducts Company, Mt. Prospect, IL, 800-369-1550



CerCo LLC, East Liverpool, OH, 800-336-2756



http://www.grainnet.com/companies/Cereal_Byproducts_Company.html



Cereal Byproducts Company

P.O. Box 575

Mt. Prospect, IL 60056

847-818-1550

800-369-1550

Fax: 847-818-1659

Website: http://www.cerealbyproducts.com (site says it was last updated April 2003)



E-mail us • [email protected]



Key Personnel (go to link to click name to email)

• Tim Thompson, Marketing

• Joe Pesoli, Trader

[Kim]

Carole - as near as my pounding head can remember, we'd tracked ALL the recalls so far to Wilbur-Ellis.

[Ally]

...and then there's Kim's list above that I only now saw since we were cross posting. cripes, I'm so confused. I used to be a "fairly" intelligent type. or did melamine melt my brain over the past few weeks, months or *GASP* even possibly years?!!!

[Kim]

From the Blue Buffalo press release

"The Blue Buffalo Company has undertaken a voluntary recall of one production run of our Spa Select Kitten dry food. The production code on the recalled product is:



“Best Used By Mar. 07 08 B.”



We have taken this action because the rice protein concentrate used for this run was obtained from Wilbur-Ellis, the same company who supplied this ingredient to Natural Balance. "

[Sandy]

From grainnet.com's directory listing ... but cerealbyproductscompany.com does NOT come up with a google search ..



Cereal Byproducts Company

P.O. Box 575

Mt. Prospect, IL 60056

847-818-1550

800-369-1550

Fax: 847-818-1659

Website: http://www.cerealbyproducts.com

E-mail us • [email protected]





Key Personnel (Click name to email)

• Tim Thompson, Marketing

• Joe Pesoli, Trader

[Carole]

Comment by Kim — May 8, 2007 @ 4:08 pm



Kim, I never did know where Royal Canin got their stuff, So then we are positive we know the Wilbur 5?



That being said, the only logical explanation I can think of is that the manufacturers received RPC aka Wheat Flour from more than one supplier and therefore we'd only see one recall.

[Sandi K]

OK I am on major overload today! Whew! Do all people in this world think pet parents are idiots or is it just FDA?

[Carole]

I know Blue and Natural Balance track back to Wilbur, but was there ever a statement about Royal Canin? I haven't read every single release and post on the web.

[Carole]

"Additionally, Royal Canin USA has announced a voluntary nationwide recall of its dry pet food products containing rice protein concentrate and contaminated corn gluten has been found in South African dog food. The Wilbur-Ellis Company is also recalling all lots of rice protein concentrate shipped to pet food manufacturers because of a risk of melamine contamination."



This statement steps around the supplier issue for Royal Canin.

[Sandy]

And there is NOTHING mentioned about the recall on Cereal Byproduct's website, which apparently has not been updated since 2003. What's/how's their stock doing ?????

[Ally]

So does this latest entry into the bizarr-o next act unfolding now mean it "ISN'T OVER" yet? Or is the official stance by the FDA stil "it's all good, everything's safe so no worries"?



HOUSTON? We DEFINITELY have a problem here. Who was it this morning that reported the FDA is broken? You couldn't have called it any straighter if you tried.

[straybaby]

don't know about their stock, but their product list is frightening . . .

[Katie]

Wait:



petfood: barly(whole grain),flax meal,lamb meal,beets!,chicken prod.,canola,corn prod,milk prod,peanut prod, soybean.... it's like the whole bag of dog food!



And,dog bones with peanuts....



Question: fish meal - does that mean fish oil is contaminated too??



Katie

[Deb]

To quote Bill the Cat "Gak"!

Excuse me, I need to go get a recycled paper towel, and a basin of vinegar and water. My head just exploded all over everything.

[Gail B]

What's next?

Consider this:

The melachicken goes to the food processing plant where it is sliced and breaded with coating containing wheat gluten spiked with cyanuric acid.

chicken nuggets anyone? how about some yummy fishsticks? chicken taco? nope, the tortilla has gluten in it too.



We have all read about how it is the combination of adulterants that caused the lethal effects. Exactly how diluted do these things need to be to avoid a combination cocktail of kidney death?

[Stephanie]

Ally, that was the former chief of the FDA, David Kessler.



http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/05/fda_broken.html

[Marilyn]

Hey, that last post about David Kessler was from me, not Stephanie. How did that happen??

[Ally]

Well whoever it was from - many thanks for the David Kessler name and link. My brain refuses to store any more info right now.



(thanks marilyn ;-)

[CathyA]

I bet it's the Menu Foods recall......they're calling it cross contamination, but that's got to be a bunch of hooey.



In fact all those that recalled lately called it cross-contamination.

Menu Foods 5/3

Smartpak 5/4

Wegmans 5/4

Fosters & Smith 5/4

and I think there was one more.

Just because they shipped it to 3 companies doesn't mean that it couldn't have been reshipped in smaller lots by another supplier, if this company only ships big lots.



This is NOT the Wilbur Ellis shipment, I'm pretty sure all 5 of those companies finally fessed up. Note these people don't really say if they were the importers, or got it from a supplier, only that it was purchased from the same company as Wilbur-Ellis.

[Stephanie]

Royal Canin states on the question page of the website that they recalled on the same day they got confirmation of tainted rice protein.



Maybe there is another Wilbur Ellis company holding out on us.

[Stephanie]

I meant to say that they found out on April 19. They make no mention of Wilbur Ellis.

[straybaby]

"Just because they shipped it to 3 companies doesn’t mean that it couldn’t have been reshipped in smaller lots by another supplier, if this company only ships big lots."



so this is the new definition of *cross-contamination* perhaps?

[Katie]

This may have been posted: looked up the D&B on Cereal By-Products it says they do business as " Milwaukee Grain & Feed "



Katie

[Lil Bear's Momma]

Cereal Byproducts Company



Which means all the stuff that fell on the floor or couldn't be used for human food. Like peanut shells, beet pulp, resturant deep fryer grease (that would be the canola and sunflower oil) ect ect ect, barf, gag, and ect ect ect....



I called pet food crap in a bag three years ago, Little did I know I was correct....



Brain fag is recognized as pet food recall overload these days....

FDA, you are fired!

[Katie]

Cereal By-Prodcuts is also Milwaukee Grain & Feed this site lists where their locations are country wide:

http://www.cerealbyproducts.com/locations.htm



Katie

[Kathi]

Cereal Byproducts

Feed and Food - did I read that right?

Anyone brave enough to go read their product list.

I read it but I'm hoping I didn't see what I thought I saw.

[Palomino82]

This is incredible. In order for a "free market" to function properly, it must be transparent. Transparency allows consumers and buyers to make informed decisions about their purchases. Making an informed decision includes knowing a company's record on issues of product quality and safety. By withholding the name of the affected pet food company, the FDA is complicit in ANTI free market activity, i.e. propping up a controlled or "fixed" economy. What possible justification could the FDA have for denying us this information? Has anybody filed a FOI (Freedom of Information) on this case? Can one file for FOI information online?

[Palomino82]

I guess I just answered my own question. Requests can be made following the attached guidelines, and can be made via FAX.



http://www.babybag.com/articles/foia.htm



(This is not from the FDA site, and I suppose could be outdated.)

[Palomino82]

Here's the updated page on FDA's site. It looks like consumers will not be charged.



http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/foiahand.html

[straybaby]

kathi,



check my 4:18 comment . . . .



you should know i would go there ;)

[Palomino82]

Is RPC (rice protein concentrate) the same thing as brewers rice?

[Ann H.]

Cathy A - Menu Foods & Chenango Valley.



I think y'all are right.

[Mary]

dont know if this is helpful or not but I found it an interesting list. all located in same area

http://www.kcanimalhealth.com/sec_companies/section/list.htm

[Pam]

By the way, Brewers Rice is the small milled fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice. It is a lower quality rice product that is missing many of the nutrients found in Ground Rice and Ground Brown Rice. Basically, the sweepings from the floor of the mill!

[Pam]

Here is an GREAT article about the pet food industry. "Get The Facts: What’s Really in Pet Food"



http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1



Very informative!