E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
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"We have voluntarily withdrawn a small number of chicken products for cats.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
Leave a Comment:
US pet food companies have killed and sickened just as many dogs and cats... Natures Recipe, Diamond Pet foods, Science Diet... Remember the lack of Taurine killing cats? Didn't think so...
Rocky Ford Colorado Cantaloups anyone? I'm buying!!!
You people have such selective memories!
JIm I do remember that. My cat was one of the victims, He was on Science diet MD for felines, it contained tainted wheat glutnen. it was tainted with Melamine. All his major organs were enlarged. My vet said he 's never seen anything like it. within 4 -6 months of feeding him it he died. The key here was they purchased the filler from china. I guess you didn't know that.
Any WELL EDUCATED pet owner knows that Science DIE for it is pure GARBAGE. Laboratory concocted NON-FOOD crap. Wise up. You contributed to your pet's demise by being ignorant and not caring for it properly by feeding a CARNIVORE a biologically appropriate diet. Dogs and cats DO NOT EAT BAGGED CEREAL & CHEMICALS.
Unfortunately you contributed to your pet's demise by being the typical misinformed/ignorant pet owner and not caring for it properly by feeding a CARNIVORE a biologically appropriate diet. Dogs and cats DO NOT EAT BAGGED RANCID CEREAL GRAINS, MILL FLOOR SWEEPINGS, ROAD KILL/EUTHANIZED ANIMALS & CHEMICALS. Yes... the crap you feed by LAW must be 'denatured' w/creosote and/or carbolic acid to prevent it from (god forbid) ever getting into the human food chain. Try reading FOOD NOT FIT FOR A PET by Wendell O. Belfield DVM or FOOD PETS DIE FOR by Ann Martin.
Well, who are they getting to write headlines? Cat jerky would be jerky made from cats. Ugh. How about jerky for cats? Also while we are boycotting bad food, we better not forget the peanut butter from the filthy factory in Georgia.
If you’re looking for SAFE, Real ‘American Made’ chicken jerky for dogs or cats, we started making our own Chicken Jerky for our 3 dogs after we ran across the FDA warning of 2008 about Chinese chicken treats making dogs sick or killing them. It turned into a cottage “Mom & Pop” business and we now sell our TriPom Chews online and in 20 stores in the New England area. Our products are the only homemade, handmade, ‘Maine Made’, ‘American Made’ Chicken Jerky produced from whole, restaurant-quality chicken breasts containing NO Additives and NO Preservatives. Our 3 Pomeranians (our babies!) taste test every batch for quality.
You know how dogs eat things with little chewing? Ever look at some of these chicken jerky pieces? They're hard as rocks and some have sharp ends like daggers. Is it possible these sharp ends are puncturing colons, intestines, etc? The FDA keeps looking for toxins, perhaps there aren't any.
My dog's kidney function tests were abnormally high until I stopped giving her Canyon Creek chicken jerky treats - made in China. My vet is now spreading the word to his clients. I buy Blue brand, made in the USA, now. More expensive? Yes. Worth it? Oh yes! IF Petsmart was responsible, they would take those things off the shelves, but they're still selling the stuff. If everyone boycotted "Made in China" pet treats, they'd have no choice but remove it from the shelves.
Hmmm, ... it wasnt immediately CLEAR whether they wuz made here in USA of Meheeeeco or the ones thaa wuz nade in SHINNAAH!!! ??? GIMME A BREAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK NBC nottt so newsworthy!!!
UNO thaa our FDA is/wuz bought and paid for by SHINNAAH, a longgggggg time ago to facilitate their MERGE into Meximerica (of the usa, - - - subsidiary). Also uno thaa the rest of the parts of FDA are owned by the DRUG companies, >>> LOCKKKK, STOKKKK & Barrell.
Lee2...ethylene glycol is anti freeze...but propylene glycol is dry gas. I don't buy any food products from China...human or pet...just don't trust them.
I have a construction crew at times they are not the sharpest tact in the box. One day I left my truck at the job site to run a errand. In my truck was an open large bag of Waggin Train chicken treats for my Border Collie. When I returned the crew of three were eating the Waggen Train Chicken treates. At the end of the day I told them what they had eaten. The crew said the treats were good. p.s. That was five years ago and we are still together. I do not buy those treats for my Gus any more.
Cat jerky by Dogswell, I wouldn't trust it if I was a cat.
I can't believe people pay 20 - 25 dollars per pound(2.50 - 3.00 for a 2 oz bag)for treats for Fluffy and Fido. What chumps! If you want to give your pets a tasty, nourishing, as well as cheap treat, buy a ten pound bag of chicken leg quarters. They are frequently on sale for 69 - 79 cents per pound. Toss several of them in a slow cooker along with some chicken broth before you go to work. If your cooker is adjustable, set it on low. When you get home, take them out of the cooker, let them cool, and watch your pets destroy them. They are cooked so thoroughly even the bones are soft enough to be eaten safely. And no chinese ingredients.
Unfortunately, animals have no "economic value" under the law, as does "economic distress" of people, and companies and many others take advantage of the very limited legal recourse. In any case, as an animal rescuer/dog "Mom"/animal lawyer, I can tell you to just avoid any of the mfr treats. Also, it is a good idea to at least filter the water. I live at the end of a cul-de-sac, and our water company admitted those at the end of a line get lousy water. It is like letting your oil or gas tanks run down below the 1/8th mark. Same thing with filter pitchers. We also boil their water. Sounds extreme to do all this but I was getting hammered with referrals and stopped doing this and all 4 rescues presented with ALL kinds of health issues. I went back to filtering-lots of progress. Then I went back to boiling a big batch of filtered water the first cooler evening of each week using every spaghetti pot I have and I cannot believe the difference. The bumps stopped, som went away, no new ones, itchiness abated, signs of Cushing's Disease abated (TWO dogs)...The vet I use (eastern and western) has accomplished many amazing things in many dogs (the rescuers stay connected) so I trust him and have seen his work. He only allows us to buy marrow bones at the butcher for "treats" and to help with their teeth. It sounds gross, esp since I don't eat meat after seeing what goes on in slaughterhouses, and you have to put a blanket down and toss in the wash afterwards. They get their supplements through the vet or plain old Costco. Again, same problem with running out of Gluc/Chond/MSM-within a few days, problems came back. Re-stocked, and back to normal.
Oh, and you save money by giving pets the better stuff, not just peace of mind knowing you are doing the best for those who rely on you and love you unconditionally. BTW, as someone known for Animal Law (which doesn't even pay as much to cover vet bills so I do Foreclosure Defense, Family Law, etc.), I receive info on these things long before they come out in the open. Reporters call, animal rescuers and pet owners call and e-mail...I just have to watch what I post on the website and when doing stories for the news. However, speaking as Carol the animal rescuer, not as a lawyer or someone pretending to be a vet, the info I have received and things I have experienced with my own rescues and foster dogs leads me to eschew any mfr "treats", be extremely careful with the food and water, etc. And, remember, that pets are like canaries in the mine-what they experience is a harbinger of what we will suffer that may accumulate and get us. For example, the water situation I discussed.
Cat chicken jerky? What is a cat chicken? Is that like a manbearpig? Half man, half bearpig? Is cat chicken jerky made from a cat chicken?
I also quit giving my dogs Puparoni because that also has antifreeze in it!
oh those little yellow bastards (CHINA) we let them in & they will never leave! I am not a racist its a joke but everyone whated cheap everything & thats what you get ( JUNK) even dog & cat food!
i don't despise anybody of any particular race, i just loathe their system of government and their malevolent attitude concerning our red-blooded, patriotic, "liberated" way of "American" life. you would not want to live their and be told how many kids you can/not have? imagine not being allowed to listen to certain styles of rock music, wear opinionated clothing. view a raunchy comedy, use hard language, and dare i say, listen to a death metal band names cannibal corpse nor deicide or practice atheism? imagine being told what to think, how to feel and what you can/not do with your life. only in America can we do these things under mild regulation in public, while being quietly looked down upon by some. the one freedom we do have in America which is socially taboo is being an out-right racist and having to hide under a political ostracized rock and still be seminally free. most other countries won't even allow this, well maybe Norway were a certain varge "burzum"vickernes lives. even on America's most worst day, "we the people" of the United States of America ARE the free-ist people's in the world and have the GOD given right to love or hate whomever we choose so long we do not violate each others overt civil rights, liberties and freedoms. feels so darned good to be an American, even today. anybody whom has a problem with THIS, go right-ahead and move to china and see how long you last. same thing goes for cuba. GOD BLESS AMERICA!
most products from china are either unsafe for children, inferior in quality, poisonous to consume, or just out right unfit for the American market-place. the only products i would and have purchased made in china are movie DVDs, music Cd's and cleaning devices for smoking tools like pipes. other than this, i don't trust china for anything and really wish our us government would go back to our 1980s standard of market discrimination toward this overtly communist country, where the Internet is heavily censored and most counter-culture/extreme-ist entertainers are prohibited. if you live in china, in most cities possession of many death and black metal records and most American horror films are banned and will get you jail time. china doesn't even allow its citizens to mate freely without government permission due to its population control laws.china is very much culturally repressed and severely regulated. child neglect in china is punishable by jail time too. south Korea is a little worse. everybody in china are not allowed to have long hair nor beards or mustaches, very conformist country. even southern country comic kathlene madigan despises both the chinese the Korean governments.
i wish they would quit producing this crap in china, i read the lables of the stuff i buy but a lot of the stuff doesn't say anything about getting it from china
If it doesn't say where it's made, then I generally don't buy it. But fyi, if it says "manufactored in USA", the ingredients could have come from anywhere. It was just put together in the US. I learned that from looking through cat toys - most of which are made in China. However, one series was very proud to have theirs "manufactures in USA". But then it said in small print on the back, made in China. After that I made a point to learn the difference. It's very hard to find American made goods (food or toys) for cats. And near impossible for rabbits! Very depressing, really. I wish someone would start up a company producing American made pet goods only.
I've spent a lot of time looking up pet food for cats, and it's been very hard to select a decent food to feed them, especially if you want it to be affordable. I choose to feed them grain free canned only. However, I also don't want it to contain meat by-products. That in and of itself eliminates most of the options on the market. Then, I need it to be low-salt (and not ridiculously high in fat... which tends to be the trade-off) - I have a cat with a heart problem, so both of those are no-nos. I also have a cat who is allergic to chicken and possibly to beef. This all limits the options further. I don't have the time to prepare raw food, so a the end of the day, I find myself left between Weruva/BFF and Wellness. At first I ordered a case of Weruva, then noticed it that it came in a box plastered with MADE IN THAILAND. This is before I realized my cat was allergic to chicken, so at the time I thought "what's wrong with American chickens?" and "How do I know the FDA is monitoring the factories there, after all it's much further away than here, and here doesn't necessarily have the best track record..." So I grudgingly fed them the food from Thailand. Since then, I've fed them only canned Wellness and rotate between turkey and turkey/salmon. But I'd love to include something else in the mix or try a different brand. Unfortunately, there is a distinct lack of quality and misguiding packaging in the pet food world.... and the vets aren't very well educated on the topic either.
Don't get too pissed at China, most of these companies are American owned! (look it up!) Stop buying the crap. Maybe, just maybe if enough people did it they would close up shop over there,and bring the jobs back home. It's all about the buck,you know that. I found American made trears. they are much more expensive,but if people buy enough of them it will help bring the costs down. China doesn't single us out,hell they poison their own people. God bless the 2% (NAH!!)
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.
Sounds like someone is covering Chinese Butts! History tells me the affected products are from China. You know,"if it clucks like a anti-freeze chicken then it must be China!"
Isn't it time to move production back to the USA?????? Maybe with some lawsuits, companies won't find manufacturing in China cost effective.
stop making your @!$%# in china!!! start acting like americans again.
Free trade = American jobs go leave the country for dirt cheap labor.
Corporate profits increase.
Their drugs and food kill us and our pets.
I took my last two bag of WagginTreats back to Sam's. (They still sell them.) I started buying Purina's Beneful Baked Delights, but I'm suspicious of those now too because nowhere on the package does it tell you where they are made.
I guess we will never learn. Stop buying junk from china. Our own government should stop this poison from entering in the country. We deserve to be poisoned. We have to buy the cheapest junk on the market and here we are today.