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Subscribe to RSSSome 500 dogs and nine cats may have died after eating chicken jerky pet treats made in China, according to updated complaints logged by federal veterinary health officials.
A new tally of reports filed with the Food and Drug Administration shows the agency has received 2,674 reports of illness involving 3,243 dogs, including 501 deaths. The agency also has received reports of nine illnesses in cats, including one death, the FDA said.
That’s up from an estimated 2,200 reports of illness, 360 dog deaths and one cat death reported last summer. So far, though, FDA has not been able to confirm a link between the treats and the ailments.
The new figures come less than a week after two of the largest retailers of pet chicken jerky treats issued voluntary recalls of several popular brands after New York state agriculture officials detected unapproved antibiotics in the products.
Nestle Purina PetCare Co. recalled its popular Waggin’ Train and Canyon Creek Ranch brand dog treats, and Del Monte Corp. officials recalled their Milo’s Kitchen Chicken Jerky and Chicken Grillers home-style dog treats from shelves nationwide.
In addition, two more firms have recalled their treats as well, including Publix stores, which recalled its private brand Chicken Tenders Dog Chew Treats and IMS Pet Industries Inc., which withdrew its Cadet Brand Chicken Jerky Treats sold in the U.S.
The voluntary recalls effectively remove the pet treats from store shelves nationwide, but FDA officials say they still haven’t solved the mystery of what’s been making animals sick. They say tests by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets found trace amounts of antibiotic residue, but that the levels don’t pose a threat to animals or people.
“Based on the FDA’s review of the NYSDAM results, there is no evidence that raises health concerns, and these results are highly unlikely to be related to reports of illnesses FDA has received related to jerky pet treats,” the agency said in a statement.
The New York agriculture agency used a common test to detect chemical contaminants in foods, said Joe Morrissey, a department spokesman. They relied on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, or LC-MS/MS. The tests revealed four antibiotics not approved for use in poultry in the U.S. and one antibiotic that may be used, but is limited to nearly undetectable limits in the finished product.
FDA officials will continue to investigate animal illnesses tied to jerky treats. Since 2007, the agency has warned consumers several times that jerky treats are not necessary for pet health and that eliminating them won’t harm animals.
The agency last spring inspected five Chinese plants that made jerky treats. Officials weren’t allowed to take samples for testing. Now, inspection reports released about the fifth site, Yantai Aska of Yantai, China, shows that plant officials falsified records regarding imports of glycerin, a key component in the jerky treats.
Officials with China’s regulatory agency, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, or AQSIQ, suspended the firm’s export certificate as a result of the March 2012 inspection.
Related stories:
- Firms withdraw chicken jerky pet treats over antibiotics
- 3 big brands may be tied to chicken jerky illness in dogs, FDA records show
- China stiff-arms FDA on jerky treat testing, records show
Leave a Comment:
We lost our boxed mix to these treats about 2 years ago.. it's crazy they still offer them on shelves and I won't touch Chicken Jerky treats with a 40 foot poll..
Why did our government allow trade with China in the first place. They are communists. We dont trade with North Korea or Cuba. That is where alot of our manufacturing jobs went, not to mention our money. They will own this country one day. Oh, and doesn't our government get loans from China also?
Thank Bill Clinton, Tracy. He opened the door for China to join the WTO. It's been downhill every since. Of course, if you were to look into Bill's stock holdings you'd find he did quite well with his decision making. And Al Gore? Well he just made a clean $100m of the sale of Current TV to Al Jazeera. If you want to know why our country is falling apart, look no further than Washington, DC, home of most of the worst treasonists our country has ever seen.
I'll say blame Nixon/Kisinger. Who do you think let them know what a great deal it would be for the Rulers of their Slave Population to surplant Our Leaders' soon to be Slave Population.
NAFTA, WTO, US seeks new global trade deal for services,
us china trade agreement 1999, united states trade agreements
China | Office of the United States Trade Representative
After Chinese cat food killed my older cat and I vowed to avoid anything made in China if at all possible but especially any food product for myself or my pets, or any item that would come in contact with our food including and especially plastic storage containers. Until China effectively regulates their industries we are all better off avoiding anything and everything produced there. And this holds true for industries in numerous other countries and the American corporations that support them. BUY LOCAL AND BUY AMERICAN!!!!
Only 2 percent of all human food imported to this country is inspected. And if the Republicans have their way -- the agency who does it will be eliminated. More of our food should be inspected, not less!
yeah, the repubs and their bosses are sending our job over their as well, so they can make MORE money for themselves.
People STOP buying food products for your pets or humans that is made in China. They don't care if they kill us or our pets!
Hopefully they were all pit bulls.
The antibiotics found in the treats are in the sulfa group. Many people and animals can be allergic to even the smallest amount of these drugs. Also, dogs tend to build the drugs up in there system. There may be a connection between these illnesses and deaths and the antibiotic found. It certainly is something that the FDA should look into.
I for one have my doubts about the chicken jerky treats.Our Golden Retriever who is almost 11 years old has been eating these brands since they first came out.She takes a mile or two a day walk with my husband.She goes to the Vet and is in supreme health.What she doesn't eat is dry dog food.She won't touch any brand of it.She eats canned top quality food,beef,chicken,turkey and lamb when I cook it.
Cleaning lady: consider yourself lucky and if you must feed your dog jerky treats, find a new brand! They made my dog deathly ill.
And why do we Americans buy Chinese? Price? Hmm, and then we complain when the quality and safety of foreign products is not the same as our products. And how many of us are buying prescription drugs from foreign suppliers? Do we also expect these to be of the same quality as our American pills? We buy cheap and then complain when the quality is substandard. Go figure. America we can't have it both ways.
FDA approves the sale of cigarettes to white trash - smoking must be healthy!
Let me see if I have this right. According to the article:
If they refused to allow the FDA to remove samples for testing then why not stop allowing them to ship jerky treats here until such time as they will allow it? What a novel idea!!
The FDA tested a few hundred samples and founded nothing except for a trace of anti-bionic, which is not harmful according to the FDA.
Right, the FDA doesn't lie to cover their own failures and incompetence.
I don't believe the FDA is lying to cover up anything (call me naive) but that doesn't mean they have the ability to detect every toxin that can sicken someone.
People, they have started back in the 70's up to present day with lead in toys that a 2 or 3 year old can put in their mouth. This causes the IQ to go down and the possibility of reproductive system harm according to studies.
It is pretty sad but, these treats have been known about since 2007 by our FDA. here is the link:
Think about what kind of paint is on that dog or cat toy and where it is made the next time you buy one of those?
Ok, I don't know why the administrator does not want the link posted to the FDA. I tried.
It is under http:// FDA .GOV/
AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation/ucm295445.htm?source=govdelivery
Jerky? Isn't that something you do in the bathroom alone?
I won't eat jerky, so I certainly wouldn't give it to a dog.
That was simple. Hundreds of best friends saved.
It's sad that we have to import dog treats from China. When will this end?
I watch the news & there was nothing on this at all, whats up with lousey news?
rawhide bones are bad as well. I buy nothing from China for my pets.
Last year I bought a large bag of Waggin Train Chicken Jerkey Treats from Sam's Club. Within an hour of feeding my dog the first one, she was throwing up. I returned the opened bag to Sam's for a refund.
Recently, I was in Sam's again and bought the new bag of Chicken Jerky Treats they now sell. It has "Made in America" in large letters on the front of the bag. Waggin Train treats were nowhere to be found on the shelves. I was very glad to see that Sam's noticed the outcry and took action to change to an American made brand.
I will take a closer look at the bag when I get home from work, just to make sure the products include American grown chicken as well (if it says it on the bag). However, I have already fed my 12-yr old dog half the bag with no problems.
These treats were probably made from human cadavers that died from toxic chemical poisoning and gases while working the deadly factory environments.....................
Yuck!
Why in hell are we importing pet food?
Why are we importing pet food? People here do not want manufacturing jobs...they would rather sit and whine then get a lowly job like making dog food...
A better question is why on earth is anybody still buying this stuf...I we do not buy they will not sell it.
feed my dogs chicken drumsticks and thighs from the supermarket. 99 cents a pound. Can't beat it. neckbones for chewing.
Even more disturbing are teething cookies for infants made in China. I found these at Target here in Illinois. Are you kidding me? I fully intend to write Target and complain.
It is very hard to NOT buy products from China but I try. I stopped shopping at WalMart. I read labels. I tried to buy my clothes from better stores but I found most clothing comes from China anyway. A $90 cotton blouse from Coldwater Creek is the same made in China garbage WalMart sells, only with a higher price tag. I stopped feeding my dogs packaged chicken jerky and started making my own. It's not difficult and my dogs love it. I can at least do that much for my pets.