E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
courtesy the Mawaka family
Toby, a 6-year-old Boston terrier, died in May after his owners say he was sickened by chicken jerky pet treats made in China. At least 360 dogs and one cat have died in the past 18 months after eating the treats, according to reports to the FDA.
At least 360 dogs and one cat reportedly have died in the U.S. after eating chicken jerky pet treats made in China, even as claims of illnesses tied to the products have topped 2,200, federal veterinary health officials said.
Food and Drug Administration officials this week issued the first summary of reports of pet deaths linked to the jerky treats in the past 18 months, along with the strongest suggestion to date that owners might want to avoid the products all together.
“The FDA is reminding pet owners that jerky pet treats are not necessary for pets to have a fully balanced diet, so eliminating them will not harm pets,” agency officials said in an online report.
At the same time, the FDA said it will begin testing treats to see whether irradiation of the products may have contributed to reports of treat-related problems ranging from diarrhea and vomiting to kidney failure, Fanconi syndrome and death.
In 2009, the Australian government halted irradiation used to sterilize cat food after reports of paralysis and other problems appeared to be linked to the process. Ninety cats were sickened, of which 30 died, according to press reports at the time.
U.S. regulations allow pet food, including pet treats, to be irradiated up to a maximum of 50 kiloGrays to provide microbial disinfection or elimination of other pathogens. By contrast, most foods for human consumption are limited to far lower levels, 1 kiloGray maximum for fresh foods and 3 kiloGrays for fresh shell eggs to eliminate salmonella, for instance. The upper limit is 30 kiloGrays for spices or dry dehydrated seasonings -- except for frozen packaged meats for astronauts, which may be irradiated at levels up to 44 kiloGrays.
It’s not clear whether or how irradiation may contribute to illnesses in pets. The process is widely regarded as safe and even necessary by food safety experts such as Christina Bruhn, a researcher in food science and technology at the University of California at Davis.
Keith Schopp, a spokesman for Nestle Purina PetCare Co., confirmed that his firm's Waggin' Train brand products are irradiated.
"This is similar to what is used in sterilizing spices, apples, tomatoes and meat for human food," he said in an email to NBC News. "The extra precaution is taken to assure pet owners the treats they buy are safe and healthy."
FDA officials indicated they would ask NASA -- which has expertise in the effects of irradiated food -- for help in their analysis.
Investigating irradiation's effects on pet treats will be the latest avenue for an agency stumped by rising reports of deaths and illnesses in pets. The treats are part of an estimated nearly 86 million pounds of pet food imported to the U.S. from China each year.
In China, people mostly prefer the dark meat of chicken, leaving a large amount of light meat products available for export. Much of that has been funneled into pet treats, including pet jerky treats that are considered the fastest growing segment of the pet food market, the FDA indicated.
Courtesy Susan Rhodes
Susan Rhodes of Port St. Lucie, Fla., believes her dog, Ginger, developed kidney failure after eating chicken jerky pet treats made in China. The Food and Drug Administration has received some 2,200 reports of illnesses or deaths tied to the treats.
Since 2007, the FDA has received growing numbers of reports of illnesses and deaths in pets fed the jerky treats. Repeated tests at FDA laboratories, at the agency’s Veterinary Response Laboratory Network, and by other animal health diagnostic labs across the country have failed to detect any microbiological, chemical or other contaminants in high enough levels to cause the symptoms in the pets.
“To date, none of the testing results have revealed an association between a causative agent and the reported illnesses,” the FDA said.
Most of the complaints concern treats made of chicken, including chicken tenders and strips, but the FDA also has cautioned consumers about treats made of duck and sweet potato and products where chicken or duck jerky is wrapped around dried fruits, sweet potatoes or yams.
The situation has frustrated pet owners who blame the deaths and illnesses of their animals on tainted treats. Several lawsuits have been filed against the firms that sell the treats and the companies that make them, including Nestle Purina, which makes the popular Waggin’ Train and Canyon Ranch jerky treat products, and Del Monte Corp., which makes popular Milo's Kitchen Home-style Dog Treats.
Last month, Food & Water Watch, a consumer advocacy group, along with pet food safety advocates Mollie Morrissette and Susan Thixton, delivered a letter to the FDA and a petition signed by 18,000 consumers urging the agency to take stronger action, including recalling the treats.
"I could not believe FDA was being pushed around by the Chinese," said Tony Corbo, the Food & Water Watch lobbyist for safe food. "That infuriated me. This is the impotent FDA."
The pet treat manufacturers have repeatedly said their products remain safe to feed as directed. The FDA has said it cannot recall products based on consumer complaints alone.
The agency sent inspectors to five plants that make pet treats in China in April, but Chinese officials refused to allow the investigators to take samples of the treats for analysis in a U.S. lab. Instead, Chinese officials insisted they be tested only in China.
The FDA released inspection results for four of the plants, but not for the fifth. In their latest update, FDA officials said one firm had falsified receiving records for glycerin, which is a primary ingredient in nearly all jerky treat products. After that inspection, the Chinese authority, the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, or AQSIQ, told FDA it had seized products and suspended their export until the problem was corrected.
FDA officials declined to tell NBC News the name of the firm, the levels of glycerin detected or the volume of pet treats seized and banned from export. An agency spokeswoman said that information would be available only through a public records request.
For his part, Corbo said he plans to attend the last Pups in the Park event of the season at the Washington Nationals vs. Milwaukee Brewers baseball game on Sept. 22. He'll hand out leaflets warning pet owners about the dangers of jerky treats because he believes FDA isn't doing the job.
"If the FDA wants to join me, they're welcome to," Corbo said.
Related stories:
- China stiff-arms FDA on jerky pet treat testing, reports show
- 3 big brands may be tied to jerky illness in dogs, FDA records show
- Jerky treats from China blamed for pet deaths; owners sue
Leave a Comment:
Anyone who buys anything, especially food for animal or human consumption ought to have their heads examined. Look at how much food was poisoned and sent to us to eat? Is China trying to kill Americans quietly to gain control over the U. S.? Don't have to worry about that since our latest president is catering to that government by sending our jobs there.
You do mean Mitt don't you? Isn't he the biggest job sender over person in this country. I just plain don't trust him or his pick for V.P. What a pair to draw to.
These items are being imported by American companies which employ Americans the only reason that the products have been found dangerous is because of job killing regulations by our evil oppressive government. When we have a businessman as President these nosey inspections will be done away with and it will no longer be a problem.
Judsi, did you just awake from a 10 year coma?!!That IDIOT BUSH sent our jobs to china, NOT OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't know if it's intentional but the evidence is both alarming and overwhelming. Products from China - baby toys, drywall, pet treats, etc. are all deadly.
When buying ANYTHING from China we are feeding the monster. STOP buying Chinese products when possible!!!!!
By the way - if you're wanting a political debate there are threads to stories covering that topic - geez.
Wait a second! Didn't MSNBC run this article like 4-5 months ago and it was 360 dogs that died. Then a couple of months ago, think it was June, it was updated to almost 1500 dogs getiing sick/dead?? Seems they run the same article a few months later, like it is a new thing!
so no one is going to do anything?
...King Obama continually kisses China's and Islam's asses!
Judsi:
Are you really suggesting that we all stop buying food to eat?
I do however have absolutely no idea how people can be so stupid as to not bother to spend the 15 seconds it takes to look at a label to see where your dog food or dog treats are manufactured. And then if you see China, why the hell would anyone not immediately drop the product, and look for another one made somewhere that doesn't have the absolutely dismal track record that China has created in the last 20 years or so.
Who's job is it to cut them off, "China that is they are freaks of nature, they have always been this way", their beliefs, the way they think, a weird bunch..
The FDA will recite what ever the government tells them to. They are more interested in protecting corporations then the people they are supposed to serve. Just read the results of the "tests" they performed on the treats in question. They checked for water content, protein content, sodium, etc. but at no time did they ever look for toxins.
Come on people, you know darn good and well the US has been outsourcing jobs overseas for decades. You can easily blame BOTH parties.
Only thing worse than sheepeople is partisan sheepeople.
People are stupid. Read the d@#n label! If it's made in China trash, leave it on the shelf. There is very little Chinese trash of any kind allowed in this house. I read the label. It's a pain, but it's a necessity in these times.
After becoming aware of this, we began to make our own dog treats from salmon, oatmeal and eggs, baked in the oven. Better spend a little time than kill one of the family with this poison.
WTF? People's dogs are dropping dead, and you think it's the fault of "job killing regulations by our evil oppressive government"?
Just goes to show that you push the RWNJ button and one of four standard phrases is played!
Yes, but to put a stop to it, there's only ONE party we can vote for right now.
The GOP wants foreigners to take our jobs HERE, too:
Did you know that the House of Representatives has passed a bill that completely eliminates the caps on skilled foreign workers coming into this country?
It is now in the Senate. We need to speak up NOW and put a stop to this garbage! These are American jobs!
WHAT THE FU^* is wrong with the god damned world? Why Is it legal to irradiate food for pets OR people? You know last time I chacked COOKING your food kills anything in it. I am sick of this bull@!$%#. They put all kinds of chemo @!$%# in food and say its because it makes it cheaper to produce but buying extra @!$%# to put in it can only make it cost more. They irradiate it supposedly to disinfect it, but if you arent a moron you cook your food so..... Why do we all go along with this @!$%#. There is no longer any shadow of a doubt in my mind that they are TRYING to give people cancer and whatever else they can. Dieing people stimulate the drug industries profits. And the drug industry, like gas and oil is owned mostly by government officials.
The FDA is not doing their job. They approve drugs, like Viox, that have killed hundreds of people from strokes and heart attacks. The FDA is bought off by the big drug companies.. China does not allow America to inspect their facilities. We just have to take these communist's word that everything is being done properly. It's not difficult to find out whether a product is made in America all you have to do is call the number on the product. Many times they are made in America but the ingredients are bought from other countries. That's what you call 'spreading the wealth'.
Nuking the food makes it last longer on the shelf...longer on the shelf gets it sold...getting it sold means more money in the manufacturers pocket. In this country the MONEY and profit is ALL that is important.
So the rich "donate" to the congressmen to pass the laws to allow them to do anything to us that will increase their profit. "Our" lawmakers do what they are paid to do and get rich.
We pay the price.
China is secretly killing our pets through cyanide treats, babies through glycol lased diapers and adults through chinese food....run fa ya lives folks...
"Repeated tests at FDA laboratories, at the agency’s Veterinary Response Laboratory Network, and by other animal health diagnostic labs across the country have failed to detect any microbiological, chemical or other contaminants in high enough levels to cause the symptoms in the pets."
Why all the anti-China bashing when there's no evidence linking the China's pet food and pet death? All these labs are in the USA. Sounds like there's an ulterior agenda from a special interest group.
When i go to the store to buy anything and everything, "I AVOID ANY AND ALL FOOD MADE IN CHINA, Human food, pet food etc. If it does not say MADE IN THE USA, I just don't buy it AND NEVER WILL! I'M SICK OF THESE BASTARDS KILLING OFF OUR ANIMALS AND IF THEY HAVE KILLED ANY HUMANS I HAVEN'T HEARD ABOUT THIS, IT'S VERY SIMPLE PEOPLE, BOYCOTT ALL FOOD FROM CHINA IF YOU HAVE ANY BRAINS AS IT'S OBVIOUS THEY WILL PUT ANYTHING IN THE POT TO FILL IT UP WITH PRODUCT!!!!! Years ago i have seen programs warning not only their country but anyone who did buisness with them that they use contaminated water and other things as well, when are we going to gain some wisdom and STOP LETTING THEM SEND THIS NON-EDABLE CRAP HERE FOR OUR DEMISE IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER! For anyone who doesn't like the capital letters, TOO BAD BECAUSE I'M ANGRY!!!!!!
This is a bunch shlt. Next time, I will absolutey read every part of the packaging. I started buying this crap 2 years ago for my little dogs and last year, my little girl had to be euthanized. She had some of the symptons mentioned in the article but she was getting a bit old (13 1/2 yrs) and had some health problems to begin with, so I thought nothing of it. Looking at the label right now: chicken breast and vegetable glycerin. Lower right hand corner: "Treated by Irradiation for Freshness and Health." Yeah - "health" - right. Upper right hand corner as stated by Chris and Gena (Waggin' Train founders): "Because we're passionate about dogs." FVCK YOU Chris and Gena, you miserable CVNTS. May you burn in hell, getting raped by a rottweiler for all eternity. Also, Judsi, TYVM for politicizing this crap, because during NO OTHER time in American history have we ever sent jobs to China or accepted their products except during this administration. The fault lies with Nestle-Purina. You are a fvcking sped who sucks rancid, pus laden elephant jizz from your dad's cancerous azz. FVCK YOU for trivializing my dog's death. t('_'t)
Oh BTW, Judsi, most people would rightfully construe my "NO OTHER time " comment as sarcasm. You, being a MiMR and all, well - I thought I'd clarify that for you. Also, again, "FVCK YOU."
If it isn't good enough to put in YOUR mouth, then it probably isn't good to put in your pets mouth.
It doesn't matter. Corporatist/communist Chinese will keep manufacturing garbage so long as corporatist/communist Americans will pay for it so they don't have to pay patriotic, middle-class working Americans to manufacture it. And Americans will continue to buy this garbage at Wal-Mart and elsewhere because it's "cheaper." You get what you pay for when you buy it from a corporatists/communists. Your doggie died? TS. You bought it because it was "cheap" and gave it to Fido. Start supporting Americans while boycotting Chinese and maybe things will change.
When Wal-Mart employees are unionized and start making salaries at 15 bucks an hour with full benefits, paid for by the communist corporation, and keeps its prices the same (after all, 18 member of the Walton family earned more income than over 1/3 of the American populace, so it can well afford it), I'll shop there.
Be an American patriot. Purchase only goods made by unionized Americans. If you won't because you hate unions, you're a communist and, therefore, un-American and a traitor. You should be rounded up under the Patriot Act and sent to Gitmo.
So, Jerry, YOU don't eat chicken breast or anything that has vegetable glycerin in it? If you buy a boxed or canned food item in the store, it will tell you that this food was manufactured in a facility that also processes soy, nuts, etc., if applicable, RIGHT IN THE VICINITY of the list of ingredients. As a consumer who spends a not inconsequential amount of money on food for my family (remaining doggie included), I should be able to expect a product that is safe for consumption. PERIOD. I should not have to participate in an Easter egg hunt. Also, those treats - not inexpensive as compared to other treats. So, I did did not buy them merely to save a couple of dollars.
Actually, most of the jobs that have been outsourced went overseas during Bush's 8 years.
I'm very sorry about your dog. But be sure you're aiming at the right enemy.
Furthermore, Jerry, nowhere did I state that I'm anti union. 3 years doing crap custodial work at Cornell, I gladly paid my union dues. Otherwise, I would have been paid crap wages for cleaning up disgusting things like: the fecal matter literally smeared up and down a stall door at the engineering quad OR the time I had to clean up a bloody mess in one of the girls' bathrooms located near the McGraw bell tower. And those are only two small examples. RealAmericansFirst, thank you for the sympathy. It's been slightly over a year, but she still ellicits pain. Four times times across the country with her and a lot of terrific memories; she was one of our kids years before we had our first human kid.
Here's the chart on outsourcing by year:
Cumulative Change in Jobs Overseas by US Corporations
Is China poisoning Americans to "gain control over the US"? Are you nuts? When has anyone other than a pet died from eating Chinese food?
I would be remiss if I did not mention - the thousands of miles I've driven with my dogs, and not once did either ride on the roof. You suck too, Romney.
Apologies to Jerry, BTW. During my hate fueled rant, I meant for the "you don't eat chicken breast" diatribe (1.25)to be directed at Trust (1.23). Time to go now and pretend to be the type of person that my little do thought I was. GN
I don't care who was at fault for sending jobs overseas. It's the entire government that is corrupt. It's not just the dems and it's not just the reps, it's the whole shabang!!! Why do you people waste precious time arguing who is at fault?? It's ALL of them!!
Man against man; brother against brother. It won't be long now until the whole earth of people kill each other.
What I want to know is, why can't we all get along. If we could, then WE could be the ones to STOP this insanity by refusing to buy the carp and standing together at the ports and stop the carp from coming into our land. But for that to happen, we would actually have to be willing to HELP EACH OTHER, and work TOGETHER, and that seems utterly impossible for this country.
Really people. Complain and keep buying, or pull together and stop the greedy government from letting this kind of thing happen to us.
How perposterous for the FDA to think we'd believe they would be strong armed by China! Get a grip America! If they don't want to cooperate, tell them to go to h3II and bring our jobs back home!
I read many many labels and I love our pet pup as we consider him to be one of children too. I am an intelligent and educated person and it is really challenging to determine what is made overseas, regardless of the cost when it comes to dog food. We had a next door neighbor who lost their pup to some of this crap some time back. I suspect that many of these companies are mincing words between legal terms like 'assembled' or 'packaged' on some of these labels. Just sayin...it seems like it is sort of deceptive out there. Labels are not as clear as they should be...has anyone else noticed this trend?
RealAmerican )ha ha)
You think Mitt Romney is the champion outsourcer? Take a look at what our prestegious Preseident has outsourced.. if you dare. A FEW are listed in the following web site. Take a look and then stop spreading lies ..
http://www.obamanomicsoutsourced.com/
The government should contain a big warning on the package telling consumers that the product contains ingredients imported from China that may kill your pet.
I do not understand why we are importing food items from China as if we cannot produce enough food for our own people and their pets. Out trade deficit is what is killing the economy.
The FDA's food inspections to protect the public health, monitor bacterial counts in restaurant food services, check on livestock and to inspect the agriculture and produce we buy at the supermarkets would barely exist under a Romney Administration.
Under Romney/Ryan, ...you're on your own.
If you get really sick and die of food poisoning, you won't be in a position to be a choosy, capitalist consumer and just buy your groceries somewhere else, or choose other makers of that food product ...you'll be dead. Adam's Smith's "invisible hand" will have dealt you and your family a fatal blow. And if you're not dead, then under Romney/Ryan, how are you going to afford health care to get well?
Too bad, so sad. You voted for these two Republicans.
@ReallypoorexcuseforanAmerican-
It's called currency manipulation and that is how China gets to be the lowest bidder for most everything manufactured. It is not a political argument because both sides have not stood up to China in this matter or any other. If China attacked Japan tomorrow or tensions continue to rise in the China Sea I wouldn't doubt if Obama actually sided with China and asked Japan to back off and that is pathetic. China is destroying the worlds economy by CURRENCY MANIPULATION so before you start spewing your puke liberal hatred all over a food poisoning thread look up some real facts and try to see past your own partisan tunnelvision and stop being such a dooshbag troll.
Smackwhackle,
I'm so sorry for your loss and the pain that you and your special little friend have gone through. Wish I could help as I have been there as well.
The fact the Chinese would not allow independent testing of their product should speak volumes. If their products are not contaminated, it should be no problem.
Please, who is the idiot who tried to spout that a President is who outsourced jobs? Seriously, do you not know anything economics? Yes agreements were signed for global trade and such, but the companies make their own decisions, you know the people making 3-5-10-20 million a year, at low capital gains taxes (i.e. mostly not salary). And some genius a couple posts above actually said that Obama personally outsourced jobs.....smh
I NEVER buy anything from China-ever! Remember a few years ago when thousands of babies died in China because a baby formula maker put powdered plastic in the formula to increase profits? Then shortly after that, thousands of American pets were sickened or died because they put the same stuff in dry dog food? If they poison their own babies for a profit gain, you know they'll do it to anyone or anything else. There is not one thing in my home made in China, and never will be!
Wasn't there another product from China that was found to be responsible for the death of pets also? In any event, why do people buy food for themselves or for their pet that is made in China? Very sad that these animals have died and more sick and all related to something that came from China.
One of the latest tricks is that they only list "distributed by" on the package and not manufactured. Sure, it's distributed by an America company but try to find out where it's manufactured. I've gone to company web sites with no luck and tried a search using "where is xyz manufactured" which still doesn't give you answers so if I can't identify where an item is being manufactured I just don't buy it since it sounds like they have something to hide.
Howard, your sympathy is welcome, thank you. A good night sleep always helps put things into perspective. Plus it doesn't hurt that I'm lucky enough to have a healthy family to spend time with. I'll always miss my first girl, but I still have her ashes that I plan to disperse at the places we took her across the USA. It still does nothing to mitigate the anger I feel regarding the companies who merrily take our money in order to furnish us with unsafe items. From cars to accelerator problems, tires that virtually distingrate on the road, to the treats that kill our family members, I'm just tired of playing Product Death Bingo. "Ooh, B14! Bingo! I just won...tainted peanut butter, yay!" Even if you try to be safe...I haven't eaten at McD's for nearly a year because I wanted to try to be healthier, then I learned about the so called pink slime... But for every person who stops buying a product how many more people continue to to boost up the company providing the item? It's a bit overwhelming.
What jerk would feed jerky to a cat?
Actually, my cat really likes the jerkey treats. I don't feed them to her, but she's able to sneak one now and then.
I know I shouldn't admit this, but I feed the Wagin Train chicken jerky to my dog daily. As a matter of fact, I am the cookie lady at the dog park and regularly feed them to an Airedale, a Lab, a Pit Bull, a Golden Retriever, a German Shepherd, a Yorkie, a Chihuahua, two standard Poodles and a boxer. All different-sized dogs. Not one of them has ever gotten sick or showed any signs of illness at all.
I suppose I should look into a food dehydrater and make my own and not continue to take any chances. Sure would be cheaper.
We as Americans really need to double think our purchasing strategies from the core. First off, yes China goods are cheap and we can get a lot more for each dollar we spend. But remember, everytime you buy Chinese goods, you are simply putting a nail in the coffin of another American company producing American Made goods. Each and every one of us Americans can make a difference by simply looking at the labels while we are shopping and trying to stick with the 'Made in America' or 'Made in the USA' labels.
Think about it this way, materials and chemicals used in the production of goods can cause health problems way after the fact of having used that product. Now, here in the USA we have rules and regulations to keep our citizens safe, China does not have such strict laws governing industry. So it could very well be years before we find out that X product from China made around XXXX year was laced with a cancer causing form of X chemical, but guess what, too late what's done is done. I for one rather pay a dollar or two more for an American Made product knowing the chances of it causing my pet, livestock or self to die or to be sickened.
Then again, that's just me.
LMG - you're exactly right. We all foam at the mouth and point fingers at politicians of all stripes for allowing wholesale outsourcing of American jobs. But spend an evening, a weekend day, at your nearest Wal-Mart: the parking lot is slammed and the aisles overflow with our countrymen and women elbowing each other to snag the cheapest foreign goods at the lowest prices.
Then we go home, unload the plastic baggies, take smug comfort in the money saved, but wake up the next day and scream about "what happened to American jobs, American wages, American expertise, and American goods??!"
We demand it but insist that everyone else pay for it.
It's almost comic if it weren't so tragic. We vote once every 4 years for a new president, but we vote every single day with our dollars and our spending. Collectively, we race to the low bidder, to the bottom ... not American ... and get outraged and self-righteous when the whole thing blows up in our face.
And this is someone else's fault??? The Christmas we get, we deserve.
@grammer freak
save your money and not buy a food dehrydrator because you can make jerky treat in your regular conventional oven at the lowest cooking temp.
I have three Germman Shepherds and i always make my own jerky for my three little friends. It's a lot cheaper too.
I have 7 cats and dogs. They all LOVE jerky treats but I only buy from reputable companies that use ingredients sourced in the US.
MONTHS ago I was telling everyone that I bet the deaths had something to do w/the fact that the food was IRRADIATED because the FDA could not find an evidence of any ingredients being contaminated or finding anything toxic. I've NEVER purchased anything w/a Radura emblem on it and I don't feed ANYTHING from China... EVER which makes it super difficult to find pet treats. My dogs like RAW treats anyways. They're healthier and 10x cheaper. My dogs go nuts over raw chicken feet, turkey necks, gizzards, lamb ribs, etc. You can buy them for PENNIES in your local market and you know exactly what you're getting AND that it's healthy.
Here's info on irradiated food and a photo of the symbol to look for.
http://organicconnectmag.com/wp/food-irradiation-for-food-safety/#.UFRBsa6s9dA
The FDA toothlessness began under anti-regulation Reagan. Thirty years later, there are even fewer safety laws and next to nowhere near the number of agency employees necessary to monitor food stuffs for humans or pets that pour into ports around the country every day, filled in giant containers aboard shipping supertankers from around the world. The engine of that is Corporate America; the enabler the American public. There have been plenty of politicians, govt. agency employees, consumer watchdog groups and journalists who've been singing from the treetops the enormous folly and degradation of safety standards due to the unfettered Wall St. approach to global commerce that has taken jobs overseas and to Mexico, removing restrictions and endangering the lives of all in the U.S.A.
Most everything at WalMart, other Big Box stores and the dollar chains is made in China or SE Asia. The culprit is the American corporations who subcontract their manufacturing and supply chain to those 2nd and 3rd world countries. These are not civilized or highly moral countries. It's all about the cost point, as they have too many mouths to feed and can't seem to stop breeding. For heaven's sake, China is the same country responsible for still buying ivory tusks and rhino horns - resulting TODAY/THIS WEEK/THIS MONTH in the wholesale massacre hacking deaths by the thousands of African elephants and rhino - on the pretext that all their superstitious little men can get a better erection, as if the planet needs more of that.
You are right. You see how the FDA "protects" humans...we all know there are MANY more of this type of problems but animals can't speak and tell us, they don't get dragged to the ER, for the most part (and the ER vets usually are not comparable to a regular specialty vet-just a stabilize and wait until the regular specialty vet opens in the morning). I remember the first time I found out how they now test drugs-they are, like many other things, outsourced. Why keep paying poor people here with few other choices in this economy $1K to possibly kill or seriously harm them when you can do it to someone for $50?
And this is the country that is building our new infrastructure projects over highways and rivers, hope that goes well - lowest bidder, ethics and all those variables. They gave us the BPE laden water bottles and who knows what else.
PEOPLE!! Let's STOP buying ANY type of Food from CHINA! I have lost track of the number of deaths/ recalls of food (pet and human) products from China. Irridation is another issue altogether, but please, use the power you have as a consumer and stop this nonsense.
It may cost a bit more to buy products that aren't from China, but you will feel good about it. Start the boycott NOW!!!
People jump at the chance to blame everyone but themselves. I regularly come across people who don't know what is and isn't toxic for dogs, from food to medicine to everyday yard and house plants. One person I know continues to give her dog grapes even though they are listed as causing acute renal failure. When I ask why they continued they said "he loves them".
Last night someone was talking about giving beer to their dog. Alcohol is toxic for dogs. But should something happen, they'll blame China or the FDA or the dog food company.
As I've said on similar articles, we've never stopped giving these treats to our toy poodles and we've never had a problem. One lady was blaming these treats on the renal failure of a dog that had lived two or three years past the normal life-span of its breed. Kidney failure is common for aging dogs. But again, it's much easier to blame someone or something else than to look up some facts.
Information today is literally at our finger tips. It only takes a few minutes on the Internet to find out how to protect dogs from KNOWN toxins and KNOWN causes. Most people would be surprised at how many things are in our homes and yards that can kill our pets. That's if they took the time to look them up. So stop being xenophobes and become responsible adults. If you don't know how to look stuff up ask your 12 year old.
@ Grammar Freak-
Are you serious? So you're telling me you're completely aware of this issue, and the fact that hundreds of dogs have been sickened/died from this jerky crap made in China, and you continue to feed it to your pets? Wow, you're worse than the pet owners that aren't aware of this issue. At least they may be acting innocently when purchasing this product since they don't know it's not safe.
If I could ask you one question, I'd ask if you'd risk your life buying a product that has made a lot of people sick. Bet you wouldn't take that gamble with your life, would you?
This is why we never feed our pets ANY treats made in China. If people would take the extra step and look where these products are made, the manufacturers would get the message and stop their imports from China. It's NOT difficult. Good old fashioned Milk Bones are still manufactured here in the US. Just go online and do a Google search to find out where exactly your preferred pet food and treats are manufactured. And stay away from any of the Walmart brand pet foods! Low quality AND manufactured in China!
Not all Milk Bones are manufactured in the US. I've noticed Milk Bones sold in Dollar Tree stores are manufactured in China as recently as 2 months ago.... read ALL labels, even trusted brand names.
Great Choice is an American made product as well! jfyi
I just checked the box for the Milk Bones I purchased at the local grocery store. It does not say where it was made it only says distributed by Del Monte Pet Products. How do you find out.
grandma987 call the 1800 number
Yes, a lot of American companies are trying to sneak cheap Chinese products into customers' hands by only printing "Distributed By" on the label.
I had to search and search for the "Country of Origin" information on a pack of shrimp the other day. There was a big label on the front said "Distributed by Pacific Seafood, Spokane, WA".
I figured no shrimp ever came from Spokane, WA, so I kept looking until I found the tiny "Country of Origin" line - right on the package fold at the bottom. "Farm Raised - Product of Thailand".
You know there is a real simple solution to all of this 1. dont buy any food for you or your pet that isnt verifiably 100% natural 2. stop voting for politician scum. NO POLITICIAN rep or dem is doing ANYTHING AT ALL for you, EVERYTHING they do is to stimulate their own corporate interests. So dont vote and press to nominate the smartest local nobody you know instead. If they dont like that then they dont need to be government anymore. 3. NO GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO HAVE ANY TIE TO ANY BUSINESS, so then they have no reason to bend the law in their favor. The government probably wouldnt want to roll over and take this, but somehow I bet that if the people of the military had to choose between supporting politician douche bags or the people who are their families and friends I am sure the massive majority choose their family and friends. I mean really war is not a good answer, but telling them NO and THIS IS WHO I WANT RUNNING MY COUNTRY is. If you dont give them power they have none.
Are you aware that the popular chicken jerky treats only appeared on the market when the China ordered all those chickens killed all over the nation because of the bird flu epidemic scare?
The Chinese showed pictures of the birds being killed and buried. But we all know how wasteful that would have been...So it was a grand move to remove the China-chicken from human eating...but I wonder if someone came up with the idea that they could dry it...irradiate it...and send it to the stupid Americans who feed treats to their dogs; dogs that are considered FOOD in china!!
The Chinese are a smart people. Why waste all that chicken if they can make millions off of the dead birds then Why Not??!!! All that crap about "they prefer dark meat is only a cover...and a stupid one at that.
grandma 987 - It looks like most del monte products are still produced and distributed in the US and I looked it up myself because we have been feeding our cat Meow Mix. They did sell Starkist a tuna maker that was owned by Del Monte to South Korea. The reason? Pelosi put a bunch of pressure on Del Monte to pay their workers more and Del Monte didn't want to destroy the local economy so it was forced to sell the product to an Asian company. So there you have a first hand account of a democrat responsible for us losing jobs and money by being stupid. You see both parties are responsible. We need to stop picketing and be happy to have a job and stop buying things in China or any Asian market.
What a bunch of made-up BS.
Here is the reason given by Del Monte:
Del Monte also got $300 million out of the deal. And StarKist was based in PITTSBURGH.
It didn't have SKIPJACK to do with Nancy Pelosi. But just keep making up those GOP lies.
You might not want to EAT Starkist tuna, though.
Meow Mix, no matter where it's made is going to slowly kill your pet. That stuff is nasty stuff that isn't normal for pets to be eating (gluten this, gluten that, cats are supposed to eat 95% meat protein).
Costco too - that's where I got the jerky treats that made my dog sick (and cost us $2300 in vet bills). She was getting sicker and sicker for 3 weeks until finally she was almost dead. She revived when I took her to the vet for intravenous fluids and antibiotics, but she had been in liver and kidney failure when I brought her in. She didn't even know where she was. I had brought her to the vet previously, but he wasn't smart enough to figure out what might be wrong with her (he had said, instead of her being in pain, that she was getting senile. Duh, she was getting up at night and pacing because she was in PAIN. She was in PAIN because her liver and pancreas had severe problems). He did do bloodwork and the values came back horribly wrong, but by the time he called me she was almost gone.
Incredibly, she is now still alive and kicking and eating stuff not from China - at age 16 (1.5 years later). So, it wasn't old age, she's still fine.
we make our own treats problem solved!
@RealDooshbagFirst-
It's not a political argument stupid, it's an article about how China imported some bad pet food that caused deaths. The facts are they are not nearly regulated enough hence all the lead laden products and farm raised chemically infused fish, and poorly made everything else that slips past our own FDA because the sheer volume of it is overwhelming and it is impossible to inspect everything. Both parties have shipped jobs overseas, and both parties have made terrible free trade agreements, and neither side has stood up to China and its currency manipulation and our own citizens not the presidents are the ones with the power to change anything. All of you political extremists that are so blinded by your faith to your party make me sick and have been doing it so long you don't even know how to act normal. It is possible for everyone to work together to solve a problem, and it is never only one parties fault for the countries problems, only a completely naive moron would think that way. So get over yourself and your self righteous left wing partisan tunnel vision to try and have a normal discussion without anger, accusations, and political nonsense. Thank You,
A REAL AMERICAN
realitychuck - You were the one who brought up Nancy Pelosi.
Don't lie and then make personal attacks on people who point out the fact that you're lying.
@realitychuck
I was going to question your Pelosi statement, but RealAmericansFirst beat me to it. Starkist was sold because it was a money loser and nothing more. It presented an opportunity for Dongwon (a South Korean company) to make inroads in the American market for canned tuna. So much so that they purchased Starkist and all of it's debt.
source
as simple as , DON'T BUY ANY TREATS FROM THAT COUNTRY..... but the FDA should stop this crap coming from China. WTF....... everything from china is a piece of crap......
Agreed - I NEVER Buy pet products made in China and I try VERY hard to buy AMERICAN!
I quit buying them (jerky treats) all together because some US companies buy ingredients from China and who knows how safe they are. China's track record with product safety leaves a lot to be desired
tru Dat; i stopped buying seafood products from companies who couldn't even say WHERE they came from! Can you believe that.
China is a petri dish of disease and chemicals- read the labels!
If you still can't tell- don't buy it!
fact is we the consumer have the say it is our purchasing dollars keeping it all going... STOP buying from China and they will go away.Real solution to the China problem.
too bad the FDA is not as aggressive and progressive as the EPA.
Big business owns the FDA, just like big Pharma. GREED.
And they own the lawmakers...dems and repubs. All of them think first of their own greed and making fortunes at our expence.
Yeah, but the EPA is causing all of our utility bills to double because they think phasing out coal power is more important than affordable energy for people.
They're phasing out coal because it's FILTHY, TOXIC and DESTROYS the environment, besides being an extremely dangerous environment for the workers and causing serious health problems. Ever seen a photo of what Mountain Top mining does? The DAMAGE and POLLUTION caused ? SCREW destroying the planet and our children's futures to make a f*cking dollar.
This is very important to seniors like myself. With my 401k gone due to the crash, medicare payment reductions required by Obamacare, and, most likely, social security cuts to prevent its bankruptcy, all I'll be able to eat is dog food. And then only the cheap stuff, not Iams or Nutro.
Iams is garbage.
And Iams kills dogs in experiments to see if their food is helping muscle growth.
Do you have a CLUE what all that cheap commercial dog and cat food is made out of ? Rancid oils, diseased, cancerous ,tumorous , parasite infested meat from dying and downed livestock, roadkill, euthanized pets / service and zoo animals, moldy grains ( aflatoxin anyone ?), eyes, hair, teeth, and who the hell knows what. Then it's loaded w/tons of carcinogenic preservatives, food coloring, artificial flavors, mill floor sweepings, grain hulls and whatever other GARBAGE and WASTE PRODUCTS they can get their hands on. And then.. the best part. ...so it can't be sold for human consumption... BY LAW... it must all be "denatured" with CARBOLIC ACID or CREOSOTE.
And you people really feed this CRAP to your pets ? Don't you read the damned labels ? Don't any of you know that DOGS and CATS are CARNIVORES... not COWS ! They need a MEAT BASED DIET ... 70% and UP for dogs... 90% and UP for cats. Anything made by P&G, Purina, Beneful, Iams, Eukanuba, Nutro, Hills, Mars, ... ie anything you can buy at your local corner store, box store, super market etc is GARBAGE... NOT FOOD and you're KILLING your pets by feeding this stuff to them.
gemini618, so what do you feed your dogs and or cats? I do feed my dogs nutro natural choice my bostons seem to do well on it and its not very cheap when buying it from petsmart. now i do feed my cats friskies and it says its made in usa. i try to read the pacages but maybe i need to know more info about what to look out for.
I go to a local butcher and buy food for my dog from him- he is 12 years old and is healthy; lots of energy, good teeth and a good coat too.
Baloney! Turn off Fox Entertainment channel!
Use only dog food and treats made from quality ingredients and buy no food products from China, pet or human.
This same thing happened a few years back with the same product from the same country. Just stop buying @!$%# made in this country and start buying American! We need the jobs. It starts with Americans buying American.
This is not something that happened years ago...it is the same incedent that has been ongoing because our government will do nothing that might upset the Chinese. It has been killing dogs for YEARS. The same treats!!! But it takes time to see if the claims are true...can buy a lot of time to allow the chinese to get away with murder and make their profit. Don't forget american businessmen made a lot of profit getting those treats over here and putting american names on them.
I was feeding my Jack Russell these chicken treats for years. He became very sick and then I read about the Chinese product.
I complained to the FDA just like many of you.
To this day I STILL see the same treats sold at Sams Club.
I would think that retailers should get the messege.......
My dog is still alive but has serious medical issues.
He no longer get the crap from China.....
Steve in Arizona
Spend the extra money and buy your pets holistic dog food and treats made here in the US! Everything made in China is cheap and of poor quality! My dog gets Life's Abundance dog food and treats.
Yup. I feed mine food from Merrick - the grain-free variety. I compared the ingredient list on Merrick and Life's Abundance and found they are comparable and both are holistic. With a growing puppy (she just turned 2 today) I didn't want to rely on food I could only get via online order. My cats have been on Blue Buffalo Wilderness and now BG (before grain) from Merrick.
I only feed Blue Wilderness, Nature's Variety Instinct, Merrick BG, Innova Prime, Acana, Orijen, and they also eat raw, frozen raw and I homecook for them a lot.. they get fresh chicken, beef, pork, lamb, fish, bison,rabbit or venison etc w/a dehydrated raw fruit/veg/herb mixer like SoJos or whatever produce I happen to have in the house. Then it gets supplemented w/Salmon oil, EV Coconut Oil, Hemp Oil , Raw ACV and Missing Link. Same goes for the cats.
I just bought a convection oven w/a dehydration feature so I'll be making my own jerky and treats like dried yams and bananas which they love.
That is the reason I feed my dog Nylabone. It is made in the USA. Please read labels and do not buy anything made in China. Those poor dogs.
You all have to realize: If it says Marketed by, that means they bring it into port and slap their labels on it.. You have to read MADE IN THE USA or AMERICA..
Nothing Marketed by....or Distributed by....only Made in !!!
When you call the 1-800 numbers they will try and make you believe its OK, but don't fall for it.. I know people that work at the ports..
Also this is the same for Food we Consume too.
You will find there aren't many out there that are made in the USA.. We have to start buying our own. This will also make a huge statement.. We don't want your crap!!
Check the label cause not all nylabone products are made in the usa! The rawhide braids are one product from nylabone that are made in china.
Jean... it can still say MADE IN THE USA but that DOES NOT mean the INGREDIENTS were sourced here. They can still import ingredients and make the finished products here and legally/technically they ARE "Made in the USA".
For crying out loud people!!!! Quit buying (especially food) from China. They have no health laws or regulations and this is not the first time dog food has been the poison deliverer. It is so easy to make your own dog treats at home...2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup milk (all organic ingredients please)and 1 tablespoon baking soda. roll out dough, cut into little bone shapes and bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes....dogs go nuts and you can sleep without fear that Fidoe will drop dead...........
FYI - dogs should not eat wheat - it leads to cancer.
Yeah, but what if your dog is allergic to wheat like mine?
you rock voodoo12 ty! and yes i know many dogs (pitbulls especially) are allergic to wheat products...it makes them itch and their eyes get gunky...but im sure there are veggies that could replace the wheat. Or rice! my dogs love beans and rice with a litlle ground meat as a treat
Thanks! I'm gonna start doing that!
everything will give you cancer if you eat to much. moderation is they key Sacerine (sorry cant spell it) causes cancer in rats if you give them to much or in our case
over 1 gallon a day will cause cancer. DDT causes cancer BUT only if exposed in large amounts. MODERATION. But anything from CHINA is poison.
.
TheQ...first off... your pets should be eating a HIGH PROTEIN, HIGH FAT , GRAIN-FREE food. Then as far as treats go...t here are HUNDREDS of treats out there that are wheat/corn/soy and gluten free. Better yet... find some recipes and MAKE YOUR OWN.
Hard to picture the chinese making something good for animals when they love to eat them for dinner.. Just saying...
Why would they want to poison their dinner? I'm guessing the products are sold in China as well as the US
OMG.. did you ppl read the frigging article ? There are no "poisoned" ingredients. It's because the products are being IRRADIATED when they get to THIS country. The food is NOT irradiated in China therefore no Chinese pets are affected.
Why is our government always so damned slow when something like this happens??? Is it because they don't want to hurt China's feelings?? But if people don't know by now that they shouldn't buy these treats from China, then it's their own fault. In my opinion we shouldn't be buying ANYTHING from China.
Our Government is run by a bunch or morons who couldn't care less about the 300 million people they SERVE nor our pets!
They have no choice, WE owe them BILLIONS of dollars almost everything we buy comes from there and all these international companies rely on them (apple, all electronic items, car parts, clothing, aircraft overhauls) everything you have comes from there, I suppose we could give up our cell phones tvs and cars. Its really sad or we could just bring it all back and own ourselves again.
Yet the GOP voted DOWN the bill to encourage companies to repatriate their factories to the US.
Don't vote for enemies of the American people this November.
Do we really need an Outsourcer-in-Chief?
Romney still gets $21.6 million a year in "deferred compensation" from his time at Bain. Do we want him to profit from this garbage? Because any time Bain saves money by outsourcing to China, Mitt gets more money.
Hey RealAmericans First, take your political propaganda else where, there are places to talk politics. Your way off topic. No one wants to hear your opinions on Presidential canditates. Your only hurting your far left side by looking like a tool.
The problem is that a lot of stuff isn't marked as coming from China. Remember IAMS poison canned dog/cat food? The poisoned grain came from China, but there was nothing about that on the cans.
Iams is garbage. I read labels and spend more on my dog products. I would never buy anything made in China. To them, dogs are disposable not family.
Wok yo dog Yankee?
I don't buy ANYthing edible from that @!$%#hole China. I also don't buy any produce from any other country but the USA. I know Jose can piss on my lettuce here in the USA, just as well as he can in Mexico, BUT I bought it locally. There is no reason why we need to transport produce and/or food from any other country but here.
I live in CA, close to the garlic capital, and where does Ralph's, Von's and Albertsons buy their garlic? why CHINA, of course. WTF!
the buyers for these stores needs a lobotomy. I will gladly pay more for locally grown produce and food products!
You may GLADLY pay more to buy from a local source but some of us don't have that luxury. Why is it that these stores can get it cheaper from halfway around the world and don't say it's all labor. Shipping is a huge part of the cost.
We should be able to be at least competitive but we can't.
not only that but after time these american products will go down in price due to supply and demand.
Yes, we buy local food for our pets (& kids& us!). It's crazy expensive though, that is not currently a reasonable option for many people. I kind of justify the expense knowing that my pets will have fewer health problems in the long run (that also costs a ton, omg, vet care prices are crazy $$) but I can understand how others cannot afford that luxury.
SGal...that's a fallacy. EVERYONE can afford to eat high quality food. Once you stop buying all the CRAP you normally buy... chips, sodas, Little Debbies, Energy drinks, processed garbage.... there is PLENTY of money to buy REAL, HEALTHY food , for you AND your pets. Then you have to also weigh in how important your HEALTH is to you and your children/pets. REAL FOOD is MEDICINE. REAL FOOD leads to GOOD HEALTH. Therefore you save in doctor's visits, Rx drugs for food related illnesses from eating cheap garbage. I guess it depends on if you VALUE your own life and health.
I suggest people who think like that watch the documentaries :
Forks Over Knives
Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead
Supersize Me
Food Matters
There are MANY MANY MANY other great docs on how people are literally killing themselves because they want to eat "cheap" and "fast". Same goes for their pets.
What is wrong with these American companies? Why can't they employ our citizens, use our products, and avoid being poisoned by the Chinese?
do people not realize this is war with China? Their weapons of choice are poisoning our baby formula and toys, our pet food and eventually us. They know exactly what they are doing.
Our FDA can "warn" against this, yet somehow hundreds of these little family members have succumbed to death unnecessarily. Unbelievable. I'm so angry and saddened!
There ARE a number of treats that are out there that are actually made and not just manufactured in the US, although I'm beginning to not even trust those these days. It looks like I'm going to have to start making my own treats naturally for my dogs.
Also remember the fiasco with sheetrock for our homes......not to mention the baby food/formula that made babies sick and KILLED LOTS OF CHINESE KIDS....guess they were experimenting with their kids..........
BOTTOM LINE........DON'T BUY ANYTHING FROM CHINA AND TELL THE STORES WHERE YOU SHOP THAT YOU WON'T BE BUYING THEIR CRAP FROM CHINA!!!!!!!!!! If we back up our words with our wallets.........the stores WILL get the hint and not only will we have AMERICAN GOODS AGAIN....WE WILL HAVE AMERICAN JOBS!!!!
Greedy businesses and corporations sent all our manufacturing to China. And with all the insurance premiums going sky high, plus all the regulations and workman's comp, it costs so much to build that same product here. You know what? I would GLADLY be willing to pay more to keep my neighbor employed, and know that the AMERICAN made product I bought, is probably better built, safer to eat.use and that money goes into OUR economy!
again, supply would go up once we started demanding the products come from our own country, therefore, after time the price should fall.
Finally, I'm seeing and reading what I have been preaching for a few years. Buy nothing from China. Other vendors in Wal-Mart -- Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the list goes on. I am sick of it too. We have to take a stand on foreign goods.
I don't know why people don't read the packages to find out where things are made. If you or your pet are going to ingest anything, you better make sure it wasn't made in China. They are notorius for putting anything and everything in their food. They'll eat anything! Including dogs and cats. Let them eat the friggin jerky treats.
FInally! Pulling teeth would be easier than getting the FDA to admit it really should look at the irradiation process, mostly because it's also used on human foods and they REALLY don't want to rock that boat.
Take the situation, Chinese irradiating pet treats and analyze: The Chinese are worse than negligent in processing their products; radiation is a highly dangerous and delicate process; and their idea of what to do with a dog involves making a purse. Get it, FDA?
When are we going to learn to quit buying inferior crap from China. They are knowingly sending tainted garbage to the USA - and you can bet on that. The Chinese calculate everything. You ever watch them in Reno or Vegas?
"When are we going to learn to quit buying inferior crap from China."
When people like Romney quit outsourcing production to China.
Gee, what a surprise!!??!! CHINA...let's see...they slaughter COUNTLESS dogs and cats every day, actually, kill anything that can be eaten.....hummmmm.......
Plus they throw away female babies and have forced abortions, who said this is a civilized country ????????????
Chinese people will quit eating dogs to pacify Americans when you quit eating cows to pacify Indians.
I am so heartbroken by all these stories I hear directly from people and in the press. It also kills me about all the other things done to our pets. It is at the point you cannot figure out what to give them but I know of any of these treats that are acceptable so I don't use them-period.
You can try people food you know is safe/safish (who knows these days-you stand there in Costco and ponder if the salmon was farm raised or wild...). I have one dog (piggy LabPit) who will eat carrots so I can use that for her to chomp on but our 3 other rescues won't. My vet recommends marrow bones from the butcher. As someone who doesn't eat meat (I practice Animal Law in addition to other things so I know what goes on to “make” the meat) that grosses me out but I still do it for them as a treat that helps clean teeth. My vet uses western/eastern methods and has done magic for my dogs over the years and in the animal rescuer “community” so I trust his judgement.
I was a rescuer long before becoming a lawyer; in fact, I did so because I got sick of what I saw (esp when the shelters or nursing homes I took Therapy Dogs to didn't know I was there) and not being able to do much, at least on any scale. This vet (in Hamptons) also treats pets of many celebrities and people who will shlep there for hour, 2 hour trips. I made him my PC vet even though it takes 50 minutes each way. He must be doing something right so in our house, based on his recommendations and my knowledge, we use none of these treats no matter what they write on the label.
I know this is no major consolation but there are attorneys doing a class action suit on this. Unfortunately, pets have no “value” under the law but maybe a class action suit(s) and the press will shine a light on what is going on. Maybe some people can extract donations from these companies to help shelter dogs, and/or animal needs for veterans and service members (whether PTSD dogs, Service Animals or pets-they all aid service people and their families somehow in countless ways so we are setting up a non-profit as soon as the bar assn class taught by a white shoe law firm on proper set-up and running of a non profit is done so everything is done properly and people can feel comfortable with volunteering, donating, etc.).
I also post info on the website about animal law, problems (like sicko poisoning dogs in Manh parks), recommendations, such as filtering water for everyone in the house, pets included, and even for rice and pasta. I didn't filter for a while-busy in fed court and such and a3 of our 4 rescues developed under-skin bumps and lesions. We went back to filtering and then boiling the dog's water and they went away except for maybe 10% here but much smaller. I did some digging and the SC Water Authority admitted to a breast cancer fdn (Carol Baldwin, is from here and a breast cancer survivor) that being at the end of a water line is bad. There are other issues with our water we d/k or they won't tell us but many suspect. Some of it out here is from mfrs dumping chemicals, and some from the farm chemicals leaching into the aquifers. We live at the end of a cul-de-sac before a nature preserve starts so the water here is like the stuff at the bottom if you let your oil or gas tanks go too low, something we don't do, btw, for that reason.
I just came across "Ham Jerky" made in China (Waggin' Train brand) at BJ's . Wonder how many dogs will succumb to tainted pork from China. Remember the Cadmium scandal?; In jewelry for children also made in China? Yes, I think it's either a sinister attempt to make us all sick (or dead), or they are just too unaware of all the poisons hidden in their sloppy manufacturing processes. Can't these foods/treats be made in the USA or some other more enlightened country???
The Chinese are a smart people. They know damn well what they are doing. We on the other hand just flit like fairies into the traps. How they must laugh at us!!
We also elect lawmakers who work together just enough to make sure laws are passed to protect out of nation products...and the profits.
Boycott all food imports from China. I make it sure that what I buy is not made in China. Problem solved.
BRAVO!!!
Poor Kitty!