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Subscribe to RSSOne of the nation's leading manufacturers of pet treats has issued a voluntary recall of chicken breast treats because of the potential to cause health problems in cats. The recall follows reports of more than 1,800 dogs in the U.S. sickened or killed after eating chicken jerky treats from China.
Arthur Dogswell LLC issued a recall late Friday for its Catswell Brand VitaKitty Chicken Breast with Flaxseed and Vitamins treats because of potential contamination with high levels of propylene gylcol. High levels of propylene glycol in the treats could result in serious in serious injury to cats, according to the notice posted by the federal Food and Drug Administration.
The Los Angeles-based firm is voluntarily recalling 1,051 cartons of the treats packed as either 10 or 50 packages per case of the Catswell Brand VitaKitty with Chicken Breast with Flaxseed and Vitamins, the company said in a press release.
Health effects could include inducing anemia and making cells more susceptible to oxidative damage. The company said no illnesses have been reported to date.
Arthur Dogswell LLC also produces chicken jerky dog treats made in China. The FDA has warned about treats made in China, which have been cited in more than 1,800 reports of illnesses and deaths in the United States. Friday's recall is the first associated with chicken jerky pet treats since the FDA issued a third warning about the products last November.
A Dogswell spokesman, Brad Armistead, sent an email statement to NBCNews.com late Friday that said the company hopes to return the products to the marketplace in the near future.
"We have voluntarily withdrawn a small number of chicken products for cats. This is an isolated situation and does not affect any other products for cats or dogs," Armistead said. "We are committed to providing safe and healthy products to our customers and their pet companions."
The FDA has repeatedly said it has tested pet treats in the U.S. for the presence of many toxins, including propylene gylcol, but agency representatives said they found no levels high enough to urge a product recall.
The VitaKitty treats were distributed nationwide via retail stores and mail order from April 13th through June 14th, 2012.
This product is packaged in a re-sealable 2 ounce orange plastic bag with a clear window. The VitaKitty Chicken Breast with Flaxseed and Vitamins lot codes affected are as follows: SEW12CH032701/03c and SEW12CH032702/03c with a best before date of 09/10/13 and 09/11/13, respectively (UPC code 8 84244 00057 2). Lot codes can be found on the bottom right backside of the package.
“We are taking this voluntary action because it is in the best interests of our customers and their feline companions,” said Marco Giannini, CEO and Founder. “We will be working with the FDA in our continued commitment to ensure that we meet FDA guidelines.”
The recall resulted from a routine surveillance sample collected by Dogswell and the FDA. The firm has ceased manufacture of the affected item, though it's not clear if that action extends to other products.
Consumers who purchased the VitaKitty products are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. If the product was purchased online, consumers should contact the Internet retailer to pursue a specific return and refund.
FDA officials did not immediately return NBCNews.com calls for more information about how the recall may relate to the ongoing issue of contaminated chicken jerky treats made in China.
On the company website, www.dogswell.com, officials said that many of their products are made in the U.S., but some are made in China. It was not immediately clear where the recalled treats were manufactured. Dogswell brand chicken breast treats for dogs were among those tested by the FDA in 2007, when the agency first became concerned about reports of illness in pets linked to Chinese-made products. Those treats, tested in an FDA southwestern regional lab in August 2007, were found to be in compliance.
Related stories:
- FDA data dump shows few toxins in jerky treats
- Nearly 1,000 dogs now sick from jerky treats, FDA reports say
- FDA inspectors probe chicken jerky treats in China
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Too many of these recalls lately. Seems like there is one practically every month now. Fresh is best, not only for humans but for those feline and canine family members too.
Propylene gylcol is ANTIFREEZE. This is a company I would never do business with again.
Anyone who is producing ANYTHING that is eaten from China, whether by my family or my animals will never get our business.
And republicans want to reduce regulatory agencies... Under Romney/Ken Doll, they will.
I can see no regulation here at all with all the Importation from FREE TRADE, lets see lead paint on kids toys, drywall with bad for your health gypsem or what they call it, food from China from people who care less about Americans but for the money. Now killing off the American household pets with no disregard, with a third warning, gee does anyone care, it makes me sick just reading this, and I won't let my cat see the screen while I;m writing this, The Importation going on here in the UNITED STATES is nothing but Bad things going on here. Quick run for your lives.
Right Randy, you think we would learn after all the times we have found toxins in things imported from China. The dry wall thing was and is a disaster for anyone who has one of those homes. The home is worhless, after stripping out all the damaged materiels all that is left is a shell. Hundred's of thousands of dollars in damage. Even simple things like hardware are junk, screw heads twist right off. Then, we have poisoned FOOD! My daughter's little cat sickened and died of renal failure, in just 24 hours, after the last episode, and here we are again! Don't we ever learn? By the way, watch out for the candy you buy, lots of it is made in China. We go through the children's Halloween candy and throw that stuff out. Have to read the labels very carefully these days.
Sorry @Lee2-3538213...95% of the food, or ingredients comes from China...Read the labels...They are getting slick now just by saying it comes from southeast Asia...So unless you are growing your own food - check where your seeds are coming from too - and raising and butchering your own livestock, chances are it came or part of it came from China. I live by the ocean and cannot find any frozen seafood in the store that isn't from China or southeast Asia...and the local fresh seafood is about 3 to 4 times as much.
"We will take America without firing a shot…….We will BURY YOU! We can’t expect the American People to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism. We do not have to invade the United States, we will destroy you from within.”
(From an address by Kruschev to Western Ambassadors at the Polish embassy in Moscow on November 18, 1956.)
in china they ACTUALLY sell these chicken jerky for human consumption,you can find them next to the beer isle munchie depts at 7-11 and other stores in china
Lee2 - You need to learn some chemistry. Ethylene glycol is the traditional ingredient in antifreeze that is so toxic to animals. Propylene glycol is the main ingredient in modern antrifreezes that is much less toxic. Other uses for propylene glycol are makeup, shampoo, deodorant, styling mousse, cleansing cream, mascara, skin cream, bubble bath, baby powder, after shave, and baby wipes.
This is insane. How many kids on occasions, on a dare, when they're not being watched, nibble of pet food? We buy that Chinese poison, bring it into our kitchens, and handle it with bare hands. There should be an immediate ban on all food products, cosmetics, medications, personal hygiene products, albeit for humans or animals. Passively anyway, they are at war with our well-being.
It will be very wise to boycott all those so called treats and pet foods that do not explicitely list the nation of manufacture.
If the Chinese would poison milk products for children what in the name of capitalism would stop them from hurting or killing our pets. I do not buy food from china or Indonesia or other third world countries. My cats won't eat fish from those places. That should tell you something. But by all means you keep eating it.
The United States is China's garbage dump!!!!!! When will the people wake up and stop buying this garbage? You can buy products that are made in America if you look for them. In bar codes the first three numbers are from the country of orign. 690, 691, 692 are all from China so made in Asia can be uncovered .
any American distributor who does business in the pet food industry should cease and desist with any company in china. outsource of manufactured crap returns as incoming crap and then we as pet owners deal with the heartache and misery of putting our trust in these profit for business above concern for life.
I've started cooking food for my dogs. I know vets say it's bad to give them human food...but compared to what? What we're getting from China?
Next it will be our human food chain...
Donald McNaughton...how are you so knowledgable about the bar codes on dog treats? Funny, but none of mine started with 6's. But 791 was prominent. So how about telling us which ones are AMERICAN numbers if you know them all.
Conway,
Vets are taught that human food is bad in school. These schools are sponsored by HORRIBLE pet food companies like science diet and purina. Follow recipes and add supplements, and cooking your own dog food is fine. I personally feed my dog Natural Balance, a raw diet, AND make him food. Anything with corn, wheat, and soy is no good for dogs, and if your dog's food contains that crap, it's NO GOOD!
Anyone who eats anything from China, or feeds their pets anything, is just asking for trouble. We need to stop all foods from China. I wish we'd stop all trade with them completely. Their stuff is junk, poison, toxic, cheap and they should be punished with no trade.
Conway... vets know absolutely JACK S H I T about proper pet nutrition. The BIOLOGICALLY APPROPRIATE food for a cat or dog is RAW MEAT, BONES and ORGANS. Second best is home prepared muscle and organ meat w/about 20% veggies, fruits and herbs added. Low end mass marketed COMMERCIAL dog food... is the WORST food your dog/cat can eat. Dogs/cats need a HIGH PROTEIN ( 35-40% for dogs and 40-50% for cats ) MEAT based, GRAIN FREE diet to thrive.
Thanks for the input!
My dog is very healthy and he eats raw carrots, yams, sweet potato baked or broiled turky and chicken. He even enjoys a bit of apple.
WOW We/They need to find a local source for these treats. I would just hope that a local vendor in the USA would be upfront and keep it pure and free of any ingredients that could harm a pet, as the average pet is more than just something to feed and clean up after.
My dog is my life now and enjoy every minute with him.
Thank god for government regulation !!!!!!!
Hey Lee, how many animals have died because of the top notch govt agencies? FDA still doesn t have an answer about the dog chicken jerky treats
I read this article months ago,
and realized that my dogs were vomiting alot also.
I decided then and there to take them off Milo's
Chicken treats and the vomiting stopped almost
immediately. I couldn't believe I was poisoning my kids.
I started making my own pure treats for them. My youngest girl,
Olive (4 legged girl), suggested that I offfer these pure beef or
chicken treats to other pet lovers. Anyhow, if you don't want to make
your own treats, you can get 100% chicken and beef treats on ebay under
Olive's Favorite treats or Romeo's Favorite Treats. I make them with one
ingredient; either chicken or beef. Each 10 oz beef pack is around 2.25 pounds
if USDA Rump Roast before it's dehydrated..I also make shrimp treats for my 3 cats.
@stinkykitty, I have dogs myself and I had a dog that passed away after 16 years that was allergic to wheat flour used in dog food and treats. I went on a search and read tons of bags to find one with out wheat flouer and found IAMS in the green bag contained no wheat flour annd IAMS dog biscuits in the red box was mwde with out wheat flour. She also would barf after eating regular dog food.
Want a safe pet treat (or food)? All Virginia ingredients, made in Virginia, ingredients sourced directly from small, humane farms. No additives, no preservatives, nothing but whole foods. I know. I'm the owner of the company.
6Dogs... Iams is low quality JUNK FOOD... ie GARBAGE. I wouldn't feed my dogs that crap if it was the last food on earth. Educate yourself about biologically appropriate diets for CARNIVORES and quit feeding that s h i t to your poor animals.
Don't buy any consumables from China, even if they're for your dog, and definitely not for yourself. I buy dried out pieces of skin made from certain parts of a steer (don't ask). Dog loves them, they're cheap, and they're local. You can probably find something similar in your area if you look.
Bully sticks and they're dried bull penis'. I make my own chicken jerky...nothing from China is ever bought by anyone in this household.
Shoot, remember when they poisoned their own infants with dairy milk loaded with melamine? They put it in the dairy cows feed, and it was loaded into the rice sent to pet food manufacturers that subsequently killed our pets a few years back.
Mars and Diamond are two big pet food manufacturers that come to mind. A lot of big brand pet food has their formula's made by these manufacturers and then packaged and distributed under their brand. That's why I feed Merrick to my dogs, and home-made dog cookies, and chicken jerky made right here at home, too.
This is not the first time that our animal companions have been threatened by a faulty product from China. A non-food or drug item is one thing but something that is actually ingested, this time they've gone too far. When oh when, will our government ban ALL food items, be they for humans or pets from China? How many deaths will it take? Sadly, the Chinese have long put profits ahead of safety. So why is it that the U.S. trades with China, a country that has no respect for copywright or patent laws, but still continues a 50 yr. old grudge match with Cuba?
Make the Treats in the UNITED STATES!!! where they can be regulated properly... that would solve the problem. Toooooo much is made in china and elsewhere there is no quality control....china doesn't care if there is "quality" in anything they make for us as long as they make their money they could care less...Looks like they have a lot of OUR jobs and now they make edibles for our pets to....what has become of our "great" country.
we are wanting to be just like Greece a service country.
The Reason WE ARE FNCKING LAZY
Yeah we need to stop buying @!$%# from China. They were putting stuff in the baby formula killing their own infants you think they are going to care if they kill our pets.
Maybe someone could tell me why it's necessary to even be using propylene glycol in food, pet or otherwise. Unacceptable. Keep it natural, simple.
In the skin and hair, propylene glycol works as a humescent, which causes retention of moisture content of skin or cosmetic products by preventing the escape of moisture or water. Common uses for propylene glycol are makeup, shampoo, deodorant, styling mousse, cleansing cream, mascara, skin cream, bubble bath, baby powder, after shave, and baby wipes.
Next time you go through the supermarket ... randomly pick up any food item in ANY section of the store and 9 out of 10 will contain Propylene glycol as will just about 10 out of 10 beauty and personal care products. It's used as a humectant. (sp?)
To late,I ate the whole thing.
OK, MSN, if your title was "Pet Jerky recall heightened" I wouldn't have touched this story! Animal includes beef, pork, chicken. Just to get a wider hit, you play with titles...Nonsense!
That is the MSN standard.
Not only read it,but took time to comment. Nonsense.
Uh, What else is this post for? And what is the meaing of yours?
Made in china, need one say more.
Why do people keep buying this stuff after years of problems, hamburger is better and cheaper. think about it. Its a novelty, give them real snacks. they will continue to love you if they are alive to do so. sometimes I can buy steak at less cost then treats. my dog gets quality.
Propylene glycol? That's antifreeze.... sweet taste and dogs love it but very poisonous to any living creature that happens to ingest it.
For the life in me I can't imagine why it would be used in processing and that any level would be considered acceptable. People drain their radiators down the driveway and into the street. Animals drink it and die.
This is totally unacceptable. I quit buying any chinese animal treats well over 5 years ago no matter who produces it. Read the label before buying!!!
Propylene Glycol is not ethylene glycol.....now I do not like the idea of any type of glycol in my food or toothpaste...and there is propylene glycol in toothpaste...keeps products fropm freezing you see....propylene glycol is suppose to be non toxic...just like the additives in certain types of plastic containers is supposively non toxic and we know that is a total lie!!!.....but after all of the incidents of toxic products from China....why do we still buy Chinese junk!! Anything made in China!! What sets me off is when companies hide this needed info. So I look at suspect products....really look at the package well!! Not made in the USA....I really do put it back on the shelve!!
Now just for those curious....just because a box store doesn't carry a certain product you may want that is made in the USA...go online...yes this takes money out of local tax base usually...but to hell with them then!! If the box stores do not want to carry Made in the USA...I'll look til I find it...and if I cannot...I'll not buy the product/item.
That's a fact good Ol' Free Trade Capitalist Republicans!!
I suppose some of you hadn't heard about the Chinese sheetrock problems? Well that's costing the importers plenty!! I say fry em til the scream!! Damn traitors anyways.
Propylene Glycol is RV ANTIFREEZE - GOOD FOR YOUR PIPES , POOL ,AND NOT GOOD FOR YOUR DOG
How much money are the chinese bribing our lowlife senators to constantly get away with poisoning our food supply toothpaste and our pet food and just stealing american produced software and patented property? They are a race of thieves and lowlifes. If an American businessman did what this whole race does he'd be in jail. Why do these reptiles get a free pass?
How much are the chinese bribing our low life senators to keep getting away with poisoning our food supply? This is a joke! Why are these reptiles allowed to do business in the USA when they do nothing but harm? They steal our copyrights our patents with impunity. They kill our pets. An American businessman would be in jail if he pulled this crap. What is going on???
Here is some info.......google up propylene glycol and go to the Daily Loaf.....gives a great overview of what propylene glycol does to cattle (If beef cow looses weight...the cow is injected with propylene glycol on a schduled basis to reverse weigth loose into weight gain...cross ingestion without our knowledge??? Hmmmmmm.) and what foods we ingest that contains propylene glycol and the glycol doesn't have to be listed because it can be classified as a sub-ingredient......maybe it is time to stop this nonsense and start growing more of our own food!!
When are we going to learn, you can't trust any goods made in China, toys painted with lead paint, pet food with poisonous chemicals in them. China doesen't care about the health of our children or pets. I sometimes wonder if there doing this type of stuff on purpose. I wish we as Americans could just boycott any products made in China. Then watch how fast they change their tune.
I do boycott things made in China..though I have no control of what products I have to do repair with/thru at work....damn it!! I will say and I say it here...you get what you pay for...and I have to replace/repair items two to three times more often nowadays having to use Chinese made parts! I make this plain to those that I talk to about these problems...but the Head Honcho's...what are you gonna do.
But for my personal usage....I do my best to not buy anything not made in the USA....I've even put items back on the rack if it says Assembled in the USA with US and/or foreign made parts.
And you are correct in the statement on not buying Chinese junk!! Can you imagine how the CEO's would scramble to get production back in the USA if we stopped buying the junk made elsewhere? No sales...no stock options = AH S— — — !!!!!
Chinese Junk...
We learned about that in school. Oh, wait...that's what their boats were called. My bad.
Totally agree about NOT buying items made in China...BUT, I'm typing on a keyboard, working a mouse, staring at LCD screens, hooked to a box that contains, a motherboard, memory, video card and other silicon bits, most of which are made in China. Seems ironic and hypocritical to write anti-Chinese jargon using Chinese produced computer parts.
It is interesting to listen to those who want to "take back" our country. What they want is to weaken regulation by making government smaller. Okay regulation is a pain, it does increase the cost of doing business here but what we really need are fair trade agreements. Part of any trade agreement should ensure that the playing field is equal. When countries like China, India, Mexico...are allowed to abuse their populations by paying people a pittance, making them live in cubicles, mud-huts,shacks, don't have to worry about polluting their air, water, soil...the playing field is tipped in their favor. Low wages, not worrying about pollution, safety, or anything else, results in a much lower cost of production.
The take back crowd wants the same for America, less regulation, lower wages, less oversight of safe practices, longer work days, less time off, no health care, no vacations, no sick leave, no retirement plan. The America we are working toward will be another Mexico about the time generation X is ready to retire. That's roughly 30 years from now.
Fair trade = China, Mexico, India, and others like them bring their standards up to ours NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! This, I'm convinced is a huge part of what we are fighting. Perhaps if we can stop the partisan squabbling long enough to focus a unified voter base on fair trade that results in an equal playing field we can start finding our way back to the country we used to be and China, Mexico, India and all the rest can finally start providing a decent standard of living for their people with the added benefit of a healthy environment and healthy people!
Take back America INDEED, but that requires that we stand our ground, that we support decent wages, decent benefits, safe work environments, reasonable pollution standards (standards, based on science, NOT on how much they cost!) and that we make our competitors around the world do the same. Boycott everything we can from countries that are cheating us and their own people out of a decent life.
Buy American made, stop going to the dollar store, stop buying the least expensive item. Recognize the value of higher quality.
You get what you pay for! Paying less comes home to roost.
Yes indeed......as stated....you can't be screaming for jobs in America if you're standing in line buying Chinese junk at Wally World.
I stopped...sometimes I slip up...but not often...and I slip up usally when I get in too much of a hurry. But first act for anyone is stop shopping Wally World...and Target...shop online. I know it takes tax revenues out of a city/counties operating base...but damn it!! It won't take long to change things...let's just stop this insanity of buying products not made in the USA!!
We do control the purse strings...what is left anyways!! Make it count!! Let them know!! Just takes a few of us to change the entire picture!! And that's a true fact by the way.
How fast would Wally World S— — — a brick if oh say....30 percent of the shoppers that shop Wally World said no more!! No more Chinese junk!!
Can I say the Wally World traitors would hit the panic button and demand production be moved back to the USA pronto!! But you see.....miost people will not boycott Chinese made junk.....and as the shoppers scream for jobs while standing in line at you local Wally World!!!
It's not bad enough they tried to poison use with defective drywall. Now they want to kill our pets too. Maybe we just stop imports until it is found to be safe. China does not care about quality of products all they want is money. Better yet send them some screwed up rice. We send out quality products in turn we get junk back. Buy American if you can afford it.
We can....but will we?
I'm doing without more and more when I cannot find products not made in China. It isn't easy--China-crap fills the shelves of most stores. Please, do read labels carefully. They like to use very fine, faint print, or hide info in the cryptic date codes. And don't let the "Distributed by.." tags fool you. "Making" and "distributing" are two VERY different things.
Even if it is made here, where did the ingredients come from? Check your apple juice. Many U.S. brands are now using apple juice from China. What...we can't grow enough apples?! What happened to baseball and apple pie? And where the heck is Johnny when we need him?!
If it goes on or in our bodies, we pass it by. So, no food, cosmetics, hygiene products, perfume, toys, etc. Others who mentioned it are correct--China doesn't even care what it does to its own people. I'm certain it doesn't care about us, our kids, or our pets.
i stopped drinking juice a long time ago from this china made juice crap ,i will just stick with coke &beer if not drinking bottled water
Hey,its probably made with real cats and dogs.They been known for cooking and selling cats so dont be surprise but dont you notice that all defective stuff comes from china and we just keep excepting it like it no probably we dont fine them or have a embargo because i guess is that we owe them so much that if we do anything they will get mad and ask for all their money back and we be up crap creek without a paddle.
I went through this with my little dog being poisoned by Chinese food
and dieing from liver failure. Its not gonna happen again with my cat.
People please...avoid ANYTHING that the Chinese send over here that
can be consumedby cats ,dogs, or yourself.
The real problem is that we don't know that these foods have these Chinese
additives in them until our pets get sick or die. Are we not smart enough to make
pets treats our self without importing them from China?
I read this article months ago,
and realized that my dogs were vomiting alot also.
I decided then and there to take them off Milo's
Chicken treats and the vomiting stopped almost
immediately. I couldn't believe I was poisoning my kids.
I started making my own pure treats for them. My youngest girl,
Olive (4 legged girl), suggested that I offfer these pure beef or
chicken treats to other pet lovers. Anyhow, if you don't want to make
your own treats, you can get 100% chicken and beef treats on ebay under
Olive's Favorite treats or Romeo's Favorite Treats. I make them with one
ingredient; either chicken or beef. Each 10 oz beef pack is around 2.25 pounds
if USDA Rump Roast before it's dehydrated..I also make shrimp treats for my 3 cats.
Food & Water Watch has been monitoring food safety issues in China for the past 7 years. We posted this blog on our website two days ago on pet food imports from China and it explains why more of our pets are probably getting sick from eating pet food -- especially that pet food that is manufactured in China and exported to the U.S.
I check everything now. I quit buying pineapple because every store brand, and every brand name was made in Thiland, the phillipians,(I know it's spelled wrong, don't care) I call or email these companies and let them know that until I see "product of USA" on it, I will not buy it.
When are the people going to put a total boycott on any food from China.
This is happening too much. China could care less about us or are pets.
Look on Ebay under: Stinky's Favorite Treats 7oz All Shrimp Treats (No additives; only shrimp)
Made in Zephyrhills, Fl Ingredients: Shrimp
"The recall follows reports of more than 1,800 dogs in the U.S. sickened or killed after eating chicken jerky treats from China."
We're slow learners, are we not?