pet food recalls

The first recalls were announced by Menu Foods late on Friday, 16 March 2007, for cat and dog food products in the United States. In the ensuing months, many additional recalls were announced by Menu and other companies as the recall expanded throughout North America and to Europe and South Africa. Menu Foods acknowledged receiving the first complaints of sick pets on 20 February 2007, and initiated the recall following unexpected deaths after a regularly scheduled internal "taste test".

The recalls are related to contaminated vegetable proteins, imported from China in 2006 and early 2007, used as pet food ingredients. The process of identifying and accounting for the source of the contamination and how the contaminant causes sickness is ongoing.

affected animals

By the end of March, veterinary organizations reported more than 100 pet deaths amongst nearly 500 cases of kidney failure, and experts expected the death toll to number in the thousands, with one online database already self-reporting as many as 3,600 deaths as of 11 April. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received reports of approximately 8500 animal deaths, including at least 1950 cats and 2200 dogs who have died after eating contaminated food, but have only confirmed 14 cases, in part because there is no centralized government database of animal sickness or death in the United States as there are with humans (such as the Centers for Disease Control). For this reason, many sources speculate the full extent of the pet deaths and sicknesses caused by the contamination may never be known.  In October, the results of the "AAVLD survey of pet food-induced nephrotoxicity in North America, April to June 2007," were reported, indicating 347 of 486 cases voluntarily reported by 6 June 2007 had met the diagnostic criteria, with most of the cases reported from the United States, but also including cases of 20 dogs and 7 cats reported from Canada.The cases involved 235 cats and 112 dogs, with 61 percent of the cats and 74 percent of the dogs having died. Dr. Barbara Powers, AAVLD president and director of the Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said the survey probably found only a percentage of the actual cases. She also said the mortality rate is not likely to be representative of all cases, because survey respondents had more information to submit for animals that had died. A number of dogs were also reported affected in Australia, with four in Melbourne and a few more in Sydney. No legal action or repercussions have as yet occurred regarding these cases. Dr. Powers elaborated further: “But there absolutely could be more deaths from the tainted pet food.... This survey didn’t catch all the deaths that happened. In order to be counted in our survey, you had to meet certain criteria.... If someone had a pet that died and they buried it in their back[yard], they weren’t eligible for our survey. We had to have confirmed exposure to the recalled pet food, proof of toxicity, and clinical signs of renal failure. So this is only a percentage of the deaths that are out there. There’s no way to guess how many pets were affected.”

In a potentially related incident in China, on 22 February 2006, Xinhua reported at least 38 cats dying shortly after being fed with Xiduoyu, a brand of a "Tianjin-based cat food manufacturer". A veterinarian referred to in the story said "test results from Beijing Animal Hospital showed the dead cats had suffered from kidney exhaustion and that the sick ones have kidney damage." Suspicions at that time focused on lead poisoning though Gu Junhua, a chief engineer from China's "national feedstuff quality check centre under the Ministry of Agriculture", was reported as saying: "But at present, he said it was difficult to draw any conclusions because the country has not drafted any food safety criteria for pets in terms of the quality and quantity of each element of the ingredients." No mention of melamine was made.

Symptoms

Pet owners were advised to monitor their animals for the following signs of possible kidney failure that may be associated with the unknown toxicant: loss of appetite, lethargy, depression, vomiting, diarrhea, sudden changes in water consumption, and changes in the frequency or amount of urination. It was advised that pets exhibiting these symptoms should be taken for veterinary care as soon as possible, even if the animal did not eat any of the recalled pet food, as these signs may be indicative of other illnesses. Ultrasounds of animals who have eaten the contaminated food in most cases show cortical echogenicity, perirenal fluid and pyelectasia.

One of the largest veterinary hospital chains in the U.S., Banfield, has released statistics on the recent rates of pet kidney failure. Banfield's veterinarians treat an estimated 6 percent of the nation's cats and dogs, and their findings provide "the most authoritative picture of the harm done by the tainted cat and dog food," according to the FDA. Based on analysis of data collected by more than 600 hospitals and clinics in 43 states, out of every 10,000 cats and dogs seen in Banfield clinics, three developed kidney failure during the time pet food contaminated with melamine was on the market. They reported 284 more cases of kidney failure in cats than the expected "background rate," corresponding to a 30 percent increase. During that period, the Banfield vets saw 100,000 cats. According to Hugh Lewis, who analyzed the results for Banfield, extrapolating to the United States cat population may mean "several hundred cats a week across the country" were affected. No similar statistically significant increase was seen among dogs, suggesting the contamination was more toxic to cats