Natural Balance pet food recalled...(linked to rice protein)

Source: USA TODAY

The industrial chemical melamine has been found in more pet food, and suspicion is falling on a second pet-food ingredient imported from China as the source of the contamination.
Natural Balance Pet Foods said Tuesday it found melamine in samples of some of its food, which led to a recall. The company suspects melamine was in a rice protein concentrate used as an ingredient, said President Joey Herrick in an interview.

Melamine is the chief suspect related to the Menu Foods recall, first announced four weeks ago for more than 60 million cans and pouches of wet dog and cat food. The melamine in Menu's products was in wheat gluten imported from China and sold to Menu and several other pet-food makers, which also did recalls.

The rice protein concentrate was imported from China by San Francisco-based Wilbur-Ellis. Herrick says the concentrate, which is being tested, is suspected to have melamine, as it was the only new ingredient. Recalled Natural Balance products include Venison and Brown Rice canned and dry dog foods, dog treats and Venison and Green Pea dry cat food.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/2007-04-17-premium-pet-food-recalled_N.htm

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Apparently it was expanded today to include their canned food and treats. Here's
a link to a great site keeping track of the situation. The rice protein was sent to FIVE
companies. Diamond Foods is the only one named so far! The FDA was told about this
one week ago!!!

http://www.itchmo.com./

Can't we grow enough stuff here?!

shipping costs. Still, I wish we had a trade policy that didn't screw us over or our pets. SO what if things cost more

we can expect nothing better.

may the chimperor's reign end in the Hague. :hi:

Thank you! I've been lurking for a long time. I've learned a lot on here. It's where I turn for my news.

I switched all my 5 cats and 2 small dogs over to Innova dry from Iams dry, after the scare. I was so secure in the fact that the food was pure. But all of my animals especially the cats are acting different. I was equating it to changing their food which I did about 3 weeks ago now.

I have to go look at the ingredients. But, damnit, I think for sure that there is rice in both.

I really wish someone would speak up about this. I really don't know what to do.

My cats are not acting normal.

call the vet first thing (get to bed & set your alarm) and find out what's going on.

if you have the recalled food stop using it.

that's my opinion.

I switched out all my pet food to Innova dry from Iams dry after the Iams diet dry was recalled. I didn't want to take any chances at all. I thought that perhaps later recalls would have included the Iams brand I fed my animals.

There was a post in GD and this was a highly recommended food. I went to their website, researched their different foods, found a retailer, and changed over my food.

But, my cats seem different. I am weirding out.

The symptoms of kidney failure:

* Weight loss
* Excessive thirst and urination
* Loss of appetite
* Vomiting
* Obvious difficulty in urinating
* Dull or ill-kept coat


If your cats have any of these symptoms, get them to the vet ASAP.

or at least that's what they're saying. Rice itself should be okay.

it'd be nice if these people could figure their shit out in a timely manner

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/2007-04-17-premium-pet-food-recalled_N.htm



Heck of a job the FDA is doing! What kind of medal to they get for this level of screwing up?

last month thinking that it was safe. And it was great for one of my dogs who has an allergy. He was scratching all the time until I fed him that dog food and suddenly his itching stopped. Now, what do I feed him?

We had a Rott that could'nt eat corn or she would scratch herself bald.

There are also many links to access from this page. The media is covering up this story and the FDA is not going to do anything about it. Do not wait for any new recalls to be announced. Do your own research and spread the word about this to other pet owners. This is much bigger than they are saying. They will do nothing until this kind of crap from China ends up in the human food chain. I am feeding all of my pets raw/homemade diets and baking my own treats. I don't trust this situation at all. Here is the link:

http://www.dogaware.com/

Do any of these foods have anything in them that's made in the US??

Despite the assurances, one has to ask again how safe the food supply
is in general, especially the imported stuff.

Kick for the mid-morning & recommend

?

Not a stupid question, a good one!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_gluten_(food)

It's on some of the labels I've been reading lately.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x693580



also FDA workers not being allowed to inspect the plants in China-

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=693580&mesg_id=694094
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18173908/

A lawmaker said Wednesday the Chinese have refused to grant visas to FDA inspectors seeking to visit the plants where the ingredients were made. An FDA spokesman later said the visas were not refused but that the agency had not received the necessary invitation letter to get visas.

“It troubles me greatly the Chinese are making it more difficult to understand what led to this pet food crisis,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told The Associated Press after meeting with the FDA commissioner, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach.

A message left Wednesday with the Chinese Embassy in Washington was not immediately returned.

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BTW has anyone ever found out the human food companies that bought possibly contaminated wheat gluten as reported in the Boston Globe?
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/04/03/was_human_food_tainted_too/

???

My vet actually thinks it's great, although many vets would say it's not "scientifically balanced". That's bullshit from the pet food companies, IMO. I started making my own dog food right before the last scare, because my dog has cancer & I want her to have optimum nutrition. "The Whole Pet Diet", by Andi Brown, got me started. Right now I am basically making an organic chicken and liver stew for my girl. I haven't switched over my cats yet, although I plan to eventually.

I will admit, it can be an expensive and rather time consuming process, but beween my husband and I, this is the third dog we will lose to cancer. If you look at what is in most dog food- even premium brands- it consists of lots of slaughterhouse by-products, as well as fillers that animals can't digest well. It makes sense to me that by feeding them the same CRAP over and over, they don't get what their bodies really need. I mean, what canine eats dehydrated corn in the wild??

I do think there are a few good, (or at least better than most other), pet foods out there, but I still don't think they compare with fresh food. I will probably be supplementing my home made recipes with these foods in the future, but for now, Ella deserves the best I can do for her.