Don't feed your dog jerky treats. Some are speculating the treats contain arsenic. "With over 3600 dogs affected, including at least 580 deaths, the cause of the jerky pet treat-illness remains a mystery."

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Decoded Science - Thursday, October 24, 2013

FDA Issues Update on Jerky Pet Treat Investigation

By Dawn M. Smith

With over 3600 dogs affected, including at least 580 deaths, the cause of the jerky pet treat-illness remains a mystery.

Many pet owners are upset that the FDA hasn’t issued a recall, but, to date, labs haven’t determined any specific ingredient or contaminant to be the cause of the problem.

Without a cause, the Food and Drug Administration can’t issue a recall, so pet owners, you’re on your own.
Products From China Implicated in Pet Deaths and Illness

Pet owners should be cautious when purchasing and feeding chicken, duck and sweet potato jerky treats, particularly those manufactured in China. And, while the majority of the cases have involved dogs, at least 10 cats have been affected as well.

The FDA update notes that it has inspected a number of Chinese manufacturing facilities, resulting in the Chinese inspection agency seizing products and suspending export at one facility. The FDA is also seeking collaboration from pet food and treat manufacturers in resolving this mystery.

Pet Treat-Related Illnesses: Products

All reported incidents involved chicken, duck or sweet potato jerky treats manufactured in China. The FDA report notes that the number of complaints dropped sharply early in the year after the New York State Department of Agriculture and Marketing (NYSDAM) found unapproved antibiotic residues in some of the treats manufactured in China. Since these products have been unavailable, fewer pets have gotten sick.

To date, the three most commonly reported treats have been Waggin’ Train (Nestle Purina PetCare), Canyon Creek Ranch (Nestle Purina PetCare) and Milo’s Kitchen (Del Monte Corporation). Chicken, duck and sweet potato jerky treats have been implicated so far in the U.S.

Dog and Cat Symptoms After Eating Contaminated Treats

Owners have reported both gastrointestinal and kidney/urinary symptoms have been reported, along with lower activity levels suggesting the pets don’t feel well. Digestive symptoms include decreased appetite, vomiting and diarrhea (sometimes with blood). Increased water consumption (polydipsia) and urination (polyuria) have been linked to kidney and urinary problems.

Where vets have taken blood tests, they have noted signs of kidney failure, including increased urea nitrogen and creatinine. Vets have also found Fanconi-like syndrome, or acquired proximal renal tubulopathy, and in other cases, abnormal blood results have included elevated liver enzymes.

FDA Testing Submitted Samples For a Number of Potential Contaminants

The FDA testing program is looking at a broad range of potential contaminants. According to the FDA website each test run look for one or more of the following contaminants: salmonella, metals and elements such as arsenic and lead, markers of irradiation level (such as acyclobutanones), pesticides, antibiotics (including both approved and unapproved sulfanomides and tetracyclines), mold and mycotoxins (toxins from mold), rodenticides, nephrotoxins (such as aristolochic acid, maleic acid, paraquat, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, toxic hydrocarbons, melamine, and related triazines), and other chemicals and poisonous compounds (such as endotoxins).

Buy domestic products.

Have a couple of cats to get rid of if you're cooking.

Thanks for the alert, SciFi.

I was just online looking for certain dog chews - the kind that are good for their teeth. I'm sticking to the brand the vet recommended, Tartar Shield. http://tartarshield.com/

Made in the USA from American stuff. I always avoid any product from China when possible.

Long article. The rest is at the link.

Vets, pet owners demand to know: Why can't FDA solve jerky treat mystery?

When Zoe, a 3-year-old pit bull mix, showed up sick last week at a Coral Springs, Fla., animal hospital, veterinarian Sofia Morales said there was no mystery about what was wrong with the dog.

The first clue was that Zoe had all the signs of Fanconi syndrome, a rare and often fatal illness that arises from kidney problems. The second was that she’d been eating jerky pet treats made in China, which have been linked to the disorder.

“Fanconi is so rare, that when you see it, your mind goes, ‘boom,’ the treats,” said Morales, who has treated three dogs with the problem in the past year, far more than one vet should expect.

“I have never seen so much Fanconi in my life. The only common denominator among these dogs is jerky treats," she said.

Morales is among thousands of frustrated animal experts and pet owners nationwide who say that if problems with Chinese-made jerky treats are obvious to them, they should be obvious to the Food and Drug Administration, the agency that oversees pet treats, too.

“I tell every dog owner I meet: Do not feed these treats,” she said.

She and others are wondering why, after five years of testing, reports of nearly 600 animals dead and more than 3,600 sickened after eating the treats, according to a recent FDA update, the agency still hasn’t solved the puzzle that has spurred multiple warnings — but no industry-wide recall — since 2007.

“The FDA pulls drugs as soon as there’s a reported increase in reactions,” she said. “I’m not sure why they can’t pull something that’s more benign.”

But FDA officials and veterinary experts who’ve been tracking the problem say it’s just not that easy. The FDA can’t force product recalls without a reason, said Martine Hartogensis, a deputy director at the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. And so far, the FDA and a network of veterinary labs have failed to find a specific problem.

“To date, testing for contaminants in jerky treats has not revealed a cause for the illnesses,” Hartogensis told NBC News.

It’s not for lack of trying, said Lisa Murphy, an assistant professor of toxicology at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine, one of nearly a dozen labs nationwide assisting the FDA. Since 2007, but especially in the past two years, the Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network, Vet-LIRN, has been riveted on the issue, she said.

“It’s extremely frustrating for everybody involved,” Murphy said. “A lot of really smart people with a lot of expertise are looking at this. I can tell you a lot of things that this is probably not, but to the general public, that’s not a very satisfying answer.”

Experts have tested hundreds of treats for dozens of substances, from bacteria and heavy metals to rat poison, melamine and mold. They’ve looked into the effects of irradiation, and into whether the glycerin used to the make the treats is dangerous. They’ve asked veterinary hospitals to investigate whether there’s a genetic glitch in the pets that get sick.

So far, nothing.

http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/vets ... at-mystery

Can we feed our dog jerks (there are a few in Ottawa)?

Sure, go ahead. But not if they're from China.

Nice to know that these vets are caring health care professionals. It almost seems like there is someone or some group who has $$$ and is paying the professional group to back off.


Pet mystery deaths: Vets group won't say no to jerky treats

Amid ongoing reports of animal illnesses and deaths tied to pet jerky treats, the nation’s leading veterinary association says it won’t warn owners not to feed the popular chicken, duck and sweet potato products to their dogs.

The American Veterinary Medical Association, or AVMA, rejected a resolution this month that would have discouraged use of the jerky products until further evidence about safety is available.

“The resolution as presented is basically dead,” said David Kirkpatrick, an AVMA spokesman. “We don’t have the scientific proof to say, ‘Don’t do it.’”

Instead, the AVMA’s house of delegates recommended that the group tell its 85,000 members to report jerky-related pet problems to the federal Food and Drug Administration and to work with the FDA to safeguard animals through “quality control of pet food and treats.”

That comes as a blow to some AVMA veterinarians and scientists who already have been warning owners to avoid the jerky treats linked to nearly 600 animal deaths and some 4,500 illnesses since 2007.

“Do I think animals are getting sick because they’re eating jerky treats? Yes,” said Kendal Harr, a Seattle vet and a clinical pathologist who helped push a petition for the resolution at the AVMA’s house of delegates meeting Jan. 10-11.

And it adds to confusion for pet owners trying to decide whether to feed their animals the strips, nuggets and other treats that many pets love, but that have been linked to gastrointestinal illnesses, kidney failure and a dangerous disease called Fanconi syndrome.

The FDA has cautioned pet owners for years about a “potential association” between the treats and the illnesses, but the agency has stopped short of a warning to avoid them.

The AVMA, like the FDA, says that while it’s clear animals who’ve eaten treats have become ill or died, there’s no conclusive proof of the cause. The FDA has been testing jerky products for more than five years, to no avail.

The AVMA resolution came just weeks before two of the nation’s top pet jerky treat makers announced they would return revamped products to store shelves starting next month. Nestle Purina Pet Care plans to introduce new versions of its Waggin’ Train products in February, while Del Monte Foods Corp. said it would offer new versions of its Milo’s Kitchen treats in March.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/pet-jerky ... 2D11988775

As incredible as it sounds, the infamous Waggin’ Train brand accused of sickening and killing thousands of dogs is back.

Purina just launched a new campaign with three new jerky pet treats, one of which is sourced from China.

The announcement comes one month after import documents revealed that Nestle Purina had continued to import millions of pounds of pet treats from China despite the discovery of illegal drugs in the treats which led to their complete removal from the market last year.

One year later, after thousands of pets became ill and hundreds died after consuming contaminated treats imported from China, Purina is attempting to convince consumers that this time their treats are safe.

http://www.poisonedpets.com/theyre-back ... ison-pets/

Could always feed Purina executive jerks to our dogs.

In 2007 chicken jerky dog treats were implicated in causing illnesses and death in dogs in several countries. Effected dogs were diagnosed with Acquired Fanconi syndrome which is characterized by kidney malfunction. Known causes of this condition include a chemical assault by various contaminants including certain drugs. For this reason investigations into possible causes of the illnesses included antibiotics that may be used in animal husbandry. Targeted analyte screens of individual imported chicken jerky dog treats using LC/MS/MS detected six illegal antibiotics in imported products of several brands. Trimethoprim, tilmicosin, enrofloxacin, sulfaclozine and sulfamethoxazole are not allowed in chicken at any level and were found as high as 2800 ng/g (ppb). sulfaquinoxaline was found in chicken jerky treats as high as 800 ng/g which is well above the U.S. FDA tolerance of 100 ng/g. While there is no evidence these contaminants were responsible for the dog illnesses, their misuse could contribute to antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf405458m

Sulfa/trimethoprim (Bactrim Rx, Tribrissen Rx, Ditrim Rx, Sulfatrim Rx, SMZ-TMP, other generic names are some of the sulfa drugs on the market that can cause serious medical afflictions in Dobermans, and Rottweilers and is implicated in immune mediated thrombocytopenia (IMT) in many dog breeds Miniature Schnauzers, Airedales, many sporting dogs and sight hounds. Thrombocytes are the platelets in the blood, responsible for blood clotting. Thrombocytopenia
is a decrease in the number of platelets. Obviously, if they get low enough there is a great risk to the pet.