What did veterinarians make of the pet food recall?

Nancy Cambpell, RVT, attended the recent American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine annual forum in Seattle for Pet Connection. She attended a luncheon panel sponsored by Hill's Pet Nutrition, Royal Canin, Nestle' Purina and Procter & Gamble, the makers of Iams and Eukanuba. Panelists and speakers included Dr. Claudia Kirk from the University of Tennessee and Dr. Paul Pion, co-founder of the Veterinary Information Network, and a number of other veterinarians from the pet food industry and academia.



"The overriding message to veterinarians had to do with their role in identifying, treating and monitoring emerging disease or toxicity in animals," Campbell said. "When they are faced with a possible contamination/poison case, such as idiopathic acute renal failure, do not wait to follow up, do not wait to get information from food labels, do not wait to report possible issues. Get that information immediately."



Dr. Dru Forester from Hills called for "some system of notifying every vet instantly" so veterinarians can get recalled food out of the hands of pet owners, out of veterinary and hospitals, off the shelves.



Dr. Kimberly May from the AVMA's communications division pointed out that the first recall was issued late on a Friday afternoon, and at that time the AVMA tried to get the information to vets in their system. They found that spam filters and inaccurate contact information made that very difficult, and she acknowledged that pet owners had more information than the vets by the time the information did reach them.



She stressed that AVMA members needed to make sure the organization has their correct contact information, but insisted the profession needs to push for a "CDC for animals" and to give recall authority to the FDA. Campbell reported:

There was talk of putting together a system that vets could make reports of cases so that there would a resource for all of them and if there seems to be a pattern emerging they'd be able to see it. Such as when they see a few cases of acute kidney failure in a relatively short period of time.



Dr. Pion stressed again to not wait and to be aware ... if you're seeing a few unusual cases that don't fit the norm, report it. Get more information. Do not wait. I really felt that the panel was calling for more vigilance on the part of the veterinarian.

Her other impressions? Campbell was disappointed that the initial questions considered by the panel were pre-determined, and noted that a number of attendees left during a long summary of events leading up to the present. Dr. Linda Ross from Tufts University and Dr. Pion felt the pet food industry had responded pretty well, given the uncertainties early on. Questions were asked about ingredients from China, and Dr. Denise Elliot from Royal Canin said, "We no longer source any vegetable protein from China."



The panel was asked how does the FDA regulates pet food, and Dr. Kirk responded, "The FDA does not have regulatory or policing authority over pet food. The USDA does. That is why they were unable to force any of the pet food manufactures to recall their foods, only suggest/encourage that they do so. They have no authority."



Dr. Pion added, "The FDA took on a CDC type role, but that is not their role."



Asked how many pets had been affected, Dr. Pion said, "We're never going to know."

Comments

[Donna]

“The overriding message to veterinarians had to do with their role in identifying, treating and monitoring emerging disease or toxicity in animals,”



- This is putting a huge burden on vets when many still had no idea of contamination in pet food.



“When they are faced with a possible contamination/poison case, such as idiopathic acute renal failure, do not wait ……. Get that information immediately”



- And how would they get that information? AVMA? VIN? FDA? USDA? PFI?



“Dr. Dru Forester from Hills called for “some system of notifying every vet instantly” so veterinarians can get recalled food out of the hands of pet owners, out of veterinary and hospitals”



- What about a system for pet food companies to notify when they discover contamination? As Hill’s sells to a large majority of vets clinics and hospitals and vet schools, they should already have readily accessible contact information.



“AVMA tried to get the information to vets in their system. They found that spam filters and inaccurate contact information made that very difficult,”



- And why would they not have a system ready and able (already checked and verified) to notify vets? This parallels Homeland Security readiness programs.



"Questions were asked about ingredients from China, and Dr. Denise Elliot from Royal Canin said, “We no longer source any vegetable protein from China.”



- So what ingredients do they source from China? Vitamins/Minerals/Amino Acids?



"The FDA does not have regulatory or policing authority over pet food. The USDA does."



- So, what did the USDA do? What excuse does the USDA have for not taking action?



"The overriding message to veterinarians had to do with their role in identifying, treating and monitoring emerging disease or toxicity in animals"



- And in this luncheon sponsored by pet food companies, did anyone discuss the responsibility of the pet food companies for producing healthy, toxin-free products?



"Dr. Pion said, “We’re never going to know.”



- WHY? From the co-founder of VIN, this is disturbing.



“that the initial questions considered by the panel were pre-determined”



- Hmmm? Now what does that tell you?

[Katie]

Christie,



This is interesting reading - glad you posted it.



USDA has control over pet food so FDA can't enforce recalls?? I don't remember that coming up in the FDA hearing?



Amazingly, Dr Prion thinks the PFI reacted well? Menu foods knew they had dying animals when? and how long did they wait to recall???



It does sound like the vets realize they need a centralized info. center, wish they all had realized years ago. To bad they haven't thought about how it could make a difference with emerging bacteria or viruses within the animal population. Or sickness due to contamination.



Vets need to be proactive and listen to their clients. I remember when my dog saw a specialty vet in Feb. and they thought she was having anxiety attacks or allergic to her food. It wasn't until early April when the routine vet saw her chems and said this dog has a kidney problem. I can't believe how they don't seem to check with one another across the country. Maybe they have learned with the pet food crisis -



As for Dr Pion's "We're never going to know" I hope someday the FDA,AVMA,etc. will admit it was greater than 16.



Another question that still bothers me: why didn't the vets speak up early on; and why haven't we heard from them these past months?



Campbells saying it's a concern that many left early: hope it doesn't mean that they didn't care - makes one wonder why?



Katie

[Evelyn]

I say all of you bloggers today are right, in my judgment.



Still waiting for an apology from the PFI!

Maybe I am up in space on that one.

[E. Hamilton]

Did anyone else notice what was NOT a topic of consuming interest to the people who attended this spinfest?



Here they all were, vets, pet food companies, that unspeakable Claudia Kirk, the FREAKING media and no one mentions the elephant in the room.



Darn a lot of pets died and we have no idea why!

Pets are still suffering!

We were not as good at lying and covering this up as we had hoped, need to get our stories straight for next time!

Wow, this cost a lot of pet parents tons of money and months of anguish, can we work in a quote about 16 "official" deaths just to twist the knife a bit?



I am truly surprised by only one thing, the FDA was not there to join in the fun!

[Aunt Granny]

Re: Comment by Donna



"– Hmmm? Now what does that tell you?"



It tells me that just like the FDA, their first priority is "to manage the information" !!!

[Trudy Jackson]

Why did some people walk out of the meeting? don't tell Me they were bored?

[Aunt Granny]

"Her other impressions? Campbell was disappointed that the initial questions considered by the panel were pre-determined, and noted that a number of attendees left during a long summary of events leading up to the present."



A transcript would probably give us an idea as to why people walked out. Shame there isn't one...

[sandy]

Thanks for this post. I'm exhausted and disgusted by everything ... and am now waiting to hear back from three friends whose relatively young pets (2- to 6-year-old cats and dogs) are refusing to eat--their usual old food and new food as well. I feel like I don't know what to do or say anymore. I have a feeling I'm not the only one.

[Elaine]

The class action suit by Canadian cattlemen against the Canadian govt. has uncovered proof that Canada had a BSE cow in 1993, but withheld the info from the public.



Moreover, they notified the U.S. FDA, and the FDA kept the info secret from the U.S. public, and it was 10 YEARS LATER before the BSE problem surfaced.





www.ellinghuysen.com:80/news/articles/53721.shtml



Excerpts from the article:





Cameron Pallet, counsel for the Ontario class action, told M&P he found a reference to the 1993 B.S.E. animal in a footnote buried in a 1994 report written for the government by a risk analysis expert that was never released to the public. "The really bad part is when they realized they had this B.S.E. case, they didn’t do anything." Moreover, in 1994 the Canadian government had negotiated a "one cow and you’re out" agreement with the United States, meaning that if a single B.S.E. case was discovered in either country, the border would close. "They guaranteed that their negligence would kill the Canadian cattle industry," said Pallet.



If you look at this statistically, of those 198 cattle, there was a 95-percent chance that at least six of them were B.S.E.-infected," notes Gareau, who adds there’s documentation that Agriculture Canada communicated with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration when the first Canadian B.S.E. case was found in 1993, but the border was not closed and cattle trade remained open between the two countries. "They used the excuse of an integrated market," he said. "And what happened later was the floor fell out from under the cattle industry."

[elliott]

Isn't that nice that HILL'S was a sponsor. Why don't they address the bi-products, BHT, BHA, ethoxoquin, etc that they use in their "prescription" food. IMO, some vets are actually eating this food, that would explain the robotic behavior of some. Sorry, I'm really, really crabby.

[Evelyn]

Meant to say "May the veterinarian organization want to be more praiseworthy....."

[michelle]

SSDD -- There is no meter left to measure the disgust. I am so tired of lies and excuses.

[Evelyn]

Donna--you said it all for me--Bravo for your comments.



I have always been very disturbed that the FDA cannot order a recall when the pet food kills our animals.



I guess it is up the us, the public, to utter our outcrys about late notifications on pet food poisoning. And I think the vets should have a better networking program within their organization so any big outbreak will be caught early--diseases, poisoning, new and significant birth defects, etc.



May the vet organization want to me more praiseworthy by instituting such a networking program.



I am only just a pet owner, but every voice counts.

[Aunt Granny]

Also possible they walked out because the: "long summary of events leading up to the present." -- was so much revised recent history and spin. Hard to say...

[Concha Castaneda]

Sounds like they just wanted to upgrade their list of vets to promote the next batch of poison. The vets that added their address to junk mail status probably don't want anything to do with them. It was probably fairly clear that the content was set and there would be no room in the agenda for anyone elses concerns or findings. Should have had the luncheon for the media!

[Donna]

Cathy, you're on-target with your comments.



Also, the vets need to quit relying on the pet food companies as their sole source of nutritional information for pet foods.



It's no longer about critical illness and death. One has to wonder how pet food is really affecting pets and how many of the minor symptoms and illnesses are caused by what they put into these foods.

[E. Hamilton]

Comment by Cathy — July 9, 2007 @ 9:32 am

Where are they? Good question.

Some of them let a company who sells poison buy them lunch and then they listened to someone, Claudia Kirk, tell a lot of lies and the party line on "how wonderful" a job the others liars did in blowing off and insulting every single pet parent who had sick or dead pets.



The pet food companies bought em off pretty cheap, a lot cheaper than the staggering vet bills the pet parents paid. Are paying yet.

Will pay tomorrow and for years to come and the bills to end the suffering and the cremation to keep the bodies out of the next can or bag.

[Cathy]

There are still so many vets who refuse to believe that food was and still is the cause of renal failure in so many pets? Why? Because it wasn't recalled. I guess many of them are so busy treating renal patients, they don't have time to educate themselves on what is really going on. "It just happens to some pets and we don't know why" is not a good thing to tell someone with a sick animal.



Don't they get tired of having to euthanize previously healthy pets? Isn't it emotionally draining to have to tell family after family that their pet is dying and they don't know why? It's not about placing blame - it's about saving animals and keeping them healthy.



Where are the vets who are passionate about their work with animals and want to make a difference? Vets need to be proactive now that they know what has happened. They need to quit relying on national organizations who are funded by the PFI to distribute information.

[Evelyn]

Geez, why do I feel so alone when I go to Petsmart and Petco. Why do I get waited on right away. Just want to buy my usual kitty litter, that's all.



Maybe folks are not buying into the arguments of the big guys that the food is safe?



Something is going on.

[Trudy Jackson]

I was in touch with Elizabeth Hodgkins DVM a while ago. she feeds raw but for vitamins she uses Platinum performance feline wellness. You just sprinkle it on the food. I know cats have to have enough taurine in their dirt as well as other vitamins. I'll try the link but if it doesn't work ,look up Platinum Performance Feline Wellness.

http://www.platinumperformance.com/animal/feline

[catmom5]

I hear what you all are saying. My five have been eating California Natural and now there are some serious questions about Natura. My 11 year old cat has had ARF, surgery for bacterial peritonitis (likely from a diseased kidney from the ARF) along with "probable IBD", and feeding tubes twice for anorexia associated with her other medical problems. My cats will not eat cans (except for FF) and the Cal Nat was working for them. Now CJ (11) is eating more grass, not eating as enthusiastically as before, and a couple of the others seem a bit "punky". This is driving me absolutely crazy with worry, expense, wondering what is safe for them to eat. These cats have to eat something and it must be healthy and safe.



And the "big boys" provide luncheon for the vets. How nice!!!



Meanwhile, what can I buy that my cats will eat that won't kill them or make them sick?



And my otherwise wonderful vets continue to push the prescription diets . . .

[Evelyn]

catmom5:



No expert--but I recently switched from CalNat to Felidae wet and dry. The cats seem to like both. I do give them human grade tuna, turkey, and chicken, which they love. But I do not want to give them just dry, even though I have heard many cats prefer just dry kibbles.

[Evelyn]

I just e-mailed Nancy Pelosi's office and wrote just what I was asked to write above about HR2900, Ron Paul, and HR2117.



Thanks for telling me, Elaine.

[Evelyn]

The reasons I have for not wanting to give them just dry are many:



l. They get more moisure with wet.



2. The absolutely brilliant vet when I lived

in another state said they needed both wet

and dry.



3. There is less carbohydrates in the wet

food because more starch is needed to

produce the kibbles (my diabetic cat cannot

have too many carbs).



4. My cats can have a variety of foods.



There might be more reasons but maybe someone else can add to this list. However, each cat is different but as previously stated, they do like the Felidae, expecially the wet.

[MaKo]

Quote: Dr. Dru Forester from Hills called for “some system of notifying every vet instantly” so veterinarians can get recalled food out of the hands of pet owners, out of veterinary and hospitals, off the shelves.



Is that a joke?



First of all, like another poster already mentioned, a company that sells pet food to veterinarians for retail is looking for a system to reach said veterinarians? Yeah, right.



How about talking to your own sales department?



Secondly - Dr. Dru, as we have learned the hard way, pet food companies recall *only when they have to*, not a second earlier. If they can get away with it, they will not recall.



In my opinion, there are still un-recalled cans and bags out there, merrily poisoning pets. Do I trust the self-regulatory efforts of the PFI?



D'OH!



Another spin fest.



Just what I needed, after the resurgence of those (insert very juicy word) TV ads that show healthy, happy animals ... a lot like the untold thousands of animals were that are now dead because of the greed, shoddy manufacturing practices and unchecked add-ons of poisons by the PFI.



Care to sponsor the vet bills instead of a nice luncheon?



I thought so.



The veterinarian profession failed utterly to do their job, with very few exceptions. They are, to this day, still failing to do their job.



Yes, I will use veterinarians in the future, but trust them - think again. I will pour over each blood and urin test myself, and read up on whatever is available. I am not going to become a vet, but chances are, I can't fail my animals as badly as the veterinarian profession (with notable exceptions).

[Elaine]

This morning I received an urgent email message from Congressman Ron Paul's Washington, DC office. The bottom line: a newly introduced bill, HR.2900 should now be a focus of health freedom activities.



We need your help in getting a message through to the House leadership. Please reference HR.2900 and ask that HR.2900 be "brought up under a regular order" to be considered by the House WITH amendments. The bill is expected to be moved on Tuesday, so this is an URGENT matter.



Speaker Pelosi's office in DC is: (202) 225-4965

Eemail her at: [email protected]



Email the following message:



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

"I urge the House leadership to allow HR.2900 to be brought up under a regular order so it can be fully debated and amended. I support Ron Paul's Health Freedom Protection Act, HR.2117."

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



Currently the bill is scheduled for 40 minutes of debate and NO amendments, which means Ron Paul's important Health Freedom Protection Act, HR.2117 or other amendments, such as that proposed by attorney Jonathan Emord, would not be allowed to become an amendments to this bill. HR.2900 is the House companion bill to S.1082, the FDA "revitalization" bill that breezed through the Senate last month. That Senate bill was amended to protect Dietary Supplements and we want to make sure the House bill will also be amended to protect supplements and natural remedies.



To do that, HR.2900 must be "brought up under a regular order" so it can be fully debated and amended.



Please forward this widely.



Ralph Fucetola JD

www.globalhealthfreedom.org

www.healthfreedomusa.org

[Don Earl]

What vets need to get through their heads is that when a client asks, "Do you think there could be a problem with the food?", the automatic knee jerk reaction should not be, "No.".



Since most vets these days have a sideline peddling over priced pet food, they should drop the conflict of interest and just stick to doctoring. Maybe then when a client asks if it could be the food, they will be less motivated to do a fast shuffle in order to defend their secondary business lines.

[Donna]

Comment by E. Hamilton — July 9, 2007 @ 7:40 am



Gosh, I've so missed you and your posts!

[E. Hamilton]

When I saw the name Claudia Kirk, I knew it was just another spinfest, and it is no mystery to me why people walked out. They were too polite to vomit from disgust in public.



Who cares WHAT they say now? I already KNOW what they did not say or do, for months. They watched the suffering and did sweet sod all.



The PFI exists for one purpose and one only, screw every last dime from the suffering and death of the pets and the owners.



NO pet food company that is a member of the PFI can be trusted, no vet that buys into the party line from Hills can be trusted, no one who puts a penny into the pockets of the poisoners has a right to kick about the propaganda.



The dying is not over, the suffering will go on for years and with the exception of a few blogs , the entire pet industry covered itself with shame.

I have a charming collection of vet bills, cremation certificates, and a little pad I keep by my chair where I mark down the increasing TV ads and coupon offers by the poisoners, trying to lure new victims.

They have no right to pour money into ads while stiffing the pet parents who are still suffering staggering vet bills and sick or dead pets. They are doing it but they have no right.



Unless a vet spoke out during the storm of death, in public, telling the known symptoms and then pressured the pet food companies that sold a killing product to pay the bills, they have nothing to say that I care to hear.



A centralized system for lies and covering up?

Great idea. I bet the PFI gets right on that.

[Trudy Jackson]

Has anyone heard anything about Purina Dog Chow Healthy Morsels?

[E. Hamilton]

Look at one thing and you will know what you need to know about just what matters to a pet food company.

How much are they spending on marketing versus how much they spent on telling the truth to people across the nation who had sick and dying pets FROM FEEDING POISON and did not know.

Not a single pet food company has done the right thing YET!

Are pet parents still paying off vet bills for sick or dead pets?

Are pet food companies that sold POISON labeled as premium pet food doing the right thing?

Did they make sure that pet parents KNEW the signs of the poisoning in time to maybe save the pet?

Are they taking care of the vet bills?

Did any vet anywhere stand up and say , on TV , what the pet parents so desperately needed to know?



Knowing that vets and pet food poisoners are working together to get the spin straight for the next time makes me sick!

[explodinghed]

i think it's interesting that hills is calling for a way to contact vets about poisoned food and complaining they had incorrect contact info and encountered spam filtering.



i imagine they have no trouble contacting the vets who sell their products when it's time for said vets to pay the bill for the hills food they distribute.



give me a break.

[Linda]

Our site surveyed veterinarians and pet owners approximately four weeks after the recall began. Their answers are honest and revealing. You can see a copy of the survey questions and results by visiting http://www.vetlocator.com/newsarticles/pet_food_survey_results.php

[VJ]

Finally received a reply from Mi Senator Debbie Stanbenow regarding an email sent to her golly-geez can't remember now how long ago. Guess better late than never. Those senators you know are just so darn busy. Anyway, she emails that she is cosponsor of Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act S746. It provides grants to offer special training for veterinarians in order to improve public health on our farms and in our food supply. Currently pending in Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Senator Stabenow also supports mandatory country of origin labeling.

[Ann H]

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2007-07-10T033958Z_01_PEK11759_RTRUKOT_0_TEXT0.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-L1-RelatedNews-2



Hmm, China turned back US made sugar free drink mix for too much red dye.. These tit for tats are informative :)

[Kat]

What ~next~ with China? Fake water now!



http://tinyurl.com/2r2oap



One THANG after anudder...

[PM Hill]

Don't know if it's been mentioned before but Dr Hodgkins published her book in June: Your Cat, Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life. Up to date info from her practice and breeding Ocicats.



She builds an excellent case for a raw diet.

[Concha Castaneda]

On NPR news page today I see that that China FDA guy was indeed executed. Of course he was put out of commission in 2005...so whoever took the bribes "this time", and approved the massive poisoning of our pets "this time" is Not Him! Someone on this blog said "window dressing". It would be good if someone in this country who was perhaps even more responsible, at least got some jail time or a huge fine! Must be desperate to use an old news poisoning to appease our sense of justice. Until some heads roll in this country...I won't be surprised at what they do to their public officials in China. We pardon our people who engage in corruption and bribes!

[Schnauzer]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19709686/



U.S. consumers overwhelmingly support stricter food labeling laws, with 92 percent of Americans wanting to know which country produced the food they are buying, a consumer magazine said on Tuesday.



Consumer Reports said recent food scares, including worries about peanut butter and lettuce, have made Americans more interested in knowing not only how their food was produced but where it was made.

[Dave]

To notify vets quickly about a (potential) food recall, use the same system that tells vets they will get an additional 50% if they order 10 bags or more or dry pet food today. Also use the same system that lets them know that the first vet who sells 100 bags of dry food gets a free all expenses paid Island vacation....that system will work too.

[Gina Spadafori]

That's not true. Veterinarians need be licensed by their respective state to practice in that state. But they do not have to belong to their veterinary medical associations. And it's unfair and incorrect to say they are "controlled" by the associations even if they do belong.



Veterinarians will not lose their license by telling this clients about "bad food" as you indicate.

[Dave]

The vets belong to an association (like a union) and in order to keep their license, they have to follow the rules/guidelines and support those in leadership of their association. But guess who controls the vets or sets the rules for the association....you guessed it, reps from the big pet food companies and those that sell drugs, vaccines, pills, etc. So, in most cases, no vet would ever speak up about "bad food" or stop selling the association's food for fear of losing their license. There are a few vets who are stepping outside the "rules' or they have become "holistic" and taken addition nutrition classes. This is the type of vet you want looking after your pet.

[Alex Thomas]

It's really sad that so many vets are buying into the company line. We as pet parents really have no one in the whole chain that we can trust. The pet food companies have lied and continue to lie, I've noticed the increase in tv ads for those companies that poisoned so many pets. The stores that sold their poison and continue to sell it. and finally the vets that we should and need to trust blowing us off. Why didn't any of the vets attending this panel ask about the companies lousy treatment of pet parents trying to get reimbursement for vet bills ( I'm sure many of them treated pets that died from poisoned food)? Why are the vets continuing to recommend and sell the poison from these companies?