Rat poison found in tainted pet food

Rat poison found in tainted pet food

news.yahoo.com

Rat poison was found in the pet food suspected of causing kidney failure that killed at least 16 cats and dogs, but scientists still don't know how it got there, state officials said Friday.

The toxin was identified as aminopterin, which is used to kill rats in some countries, state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker said.

Aminopterin is not registered for killing rodents in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, though it is used as a cancer drug. State officials wouldn't speculate on how the toxin got into Menu Foods' now-recalled pet food but said no criminal investigations had been launched.

"Any amount of this product is too much in food," Hooker said.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
abcnews.go.com

The abc news article says the ingrediants were imported from China. First this country exports the jobs, then it imports products which kill the pets. There's a possibility it could get into people food as well. The rat poison was in the wheat.

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

First it was gluten an additive to many food items including human foods that was contaminated.

Now that is why I have been feeding my dogs food that I can depend on, Natural balance foods, made by a small family business.

Expensive but worthy and gluten is not in the ingredients for pets with allergy problems.

A source close to the investigation tells ABC News that the rodenticide, which the source says is illegal to use in the United States, was on wheat that was imported from China and used by Menu Foods in nearly 100 brands of dog and cat food.

abcnews.go.com...

This was in the abc article. The corporations/companies would rather go to China than our own farmers to get the cheapest wheat possible. Then our pets die as a result.

Folks, expect more of the same. Next time it won't be pet food - it will be YOUR food! In the never-ending quest to drive up profits, corporations are willing to gamble a little bad publicity from such fallout. What is even worse is that our own government, with agencies in place to supposedly protect us, are more subservient to their corporate masters than the people who pay the taxes to employ them.

We are gradually sliding down a very slippery slope. When was the last time you patronized your local farmer? Think about it. If you are seriously interested in helping the global environment, act locally. If your local farmer cannot afford to stay in business, then you are going to have to rely on third world countries providing your food. That means pesticides, mold inhibitors, flavor enhancers, genetically modified etc... and you won't even know that your eating it!

Whether I'm at the grocery or some other store, I always try to buy locally grown fruit and vegetables. I purchase meat from a local butcher who procures his product from local farms. I know the sources of my family's food and I can feel somewhat assured of what is or isn't in it and whether it is safe or not.

class action lawsuit that bankrupts the company and then goes after the companies in China for 50 Trillion dollars..... Then a criminal suit against the provider as well with the death penality if convicted... It's time to quit putting up with this crap and act... Stomp on the b..ta.ds!!!!

Does anyone here wonder why we are buying wheat from China??????
Don't we still subsidize wheat???

A source close to the investigation tells ABC News that the rodenticide, which the source says is illegal to use in the United States, was on wheat that was imported from China and used by Menu Foods in nearly 100 brands of dog and cat food.

abcnews.go.com...

Originally posted by kozmo
Whether I'm at the grocery or some other store, I always try to buy locally grown fruit and vegetables. I purchase meat from a local butcher who procures his product from local farms. I know the sources of my family's food and I can feel somewhat assured of what is or isn't in it and whether it is safe or not.

We don't have orchards around here. There's a guy who sits on the side of the road sometimes selling apples and other stuff and I try to buy from him.

I want to have a hunk of land somewhere so I can grow my own stuff.


mod edit, length of quote

[edit on 23-3-2007 by DontTreadOnMe]

I agree with kozmo, humans could be next. This thing is appalling, to say the least. Sometimes it pays to watch TV news, I reckon.
SoverignPatriot

Chinese agricultural standards are not in line with U.S. Food & Drug practices. While we store grains in silos which are by design intended as anti-rodent barriers, the Chinese store their grain in ways that are easily accessible to rodents. The use of poisons to safeguard storage has been a common practice since they became an industrial power.

The Canadian firm that makes the pet foods which have up to 95 different brands will likely be bankrupted by the end of this year. Class action law suits, government fines, and private sector bias will do them in.

The simple truth is that the U.S. agro sector has diminished (down-sized) so much that demand for grain is now out-stripping supply. This seems to be the real reason why this Candaina firm went to China for its wheat. That, and the fact that they weren't trying to buy the best "human grade" wheat. Vegetable gluton, regardless of type, is a filler. Cheaper is cheaper in the global economy.

The recent domestic spinach scare demonstrates just how vulnerable we are to the foods around us. The pet food scandal will no doubt give a terrorist some undesireable ideas. American politicians have been so busy making deals for a fast buck that they've sacrified the long-term health and well-being of their constituents, not to mention the security of hte nation.

Once upon a time, America fed the world. We did it cheaply and safely. Our politicians and diplomats benefited from the leverage and good PR that came from exporting food, fuel, and consumer goods ranging from Colca-Cola to Cadillacs. The safe manner in which we did all this enhanced our national security in numerous small ways that we no longer enjoy. In some respects, we have gotten nothing more than what we deserve from this pet food scandal.

If this food did get contaminated from imported wheat from china, can you imagine what would happen if they had used it in products consumed by humans?

Yet another reason why not to import stuff from china hell even their lead free toys are not lead free as they claim

This is horrifying.
Not merely because no one had any idea that the food was contaminated, among other reasons.
But, peoples pets DIED because of this!
Now, as an animal lover (and yes, I consider pets part of the family), I am APPALLED at the blatant disregard for health/wellness testing concerns for anything coming from overseas. Also considering that China has the highest rate of pesticide use in the modern world (or at least, so I'm told by my mother, who is an organic farmer, organic farming lecturer, and contributing member to her local cooperative extension and independent certifier of organic farming for the state of Virginia). So, who the hell allowed for contaminated products to come overseas, and more importantly, who the hell allowed for this stuff to be used in pet food?!?!
No criminal investigation???
No, damn it, what has happened, and was allowed to happen is thoroughly criminal, and if it were my animals that were hurt, I would be raising hell.

And, yeah, human food could be next, that's true.
But, human or not, creatures died because of this, and that is not to be forgotten or swept under the rug.

This is an outrage!


[edit on 3/24/2007 by wu kung]

Pets dying was only collateral damage. The real target of this NWO plot was the homeless.

I for one avoid any foods with gluten, because many people is not aware that gluten can cause allergic reactions no only on pets of on humans and in humans one of the side effects is unwanted weight gain.

So next time you go shopping look into the label of the food you buy specially cereals and also the food for pets.

What?
...what??

Um...okay...I'll bite.

Care to elaborate?
And perhaps provide proof?
And maybe some sources for this information?

If you're trying to make a joke, NOT FREAKIN' FUNNY!


(um, this was for thecomte, not you marg6043)

[edit on 3/24/2007 by wu kung]

My pets have allergies and one of the first items in the list of probable causes was wheat, gluten.

I also have allergies that used to required two shot per weeks also wheat and gluten were part of the allergens.

centerforfoodallergies.com...

[edit on 24-3-2007 by marg6043]

Actually, I go to school for nutrition and I'm starting to specialize in food allergies (mainly due to the fact that I have many severe food allergies) and yeah, gluten is a very common allergen.
Most omnivorous (non-human) animals are allergic to gluten.
But don't confuse an intollerance with an allergy.
An intollerance is the inability to produce the enzyme to break down a specific compound.
An allergy is an immune reaction to a protein where your body thinks that the protein is a pathogen and starts producing IgE (immunoglobin E) and could have various effects, ranging from minor to severe (even death).

But...I digress,
we're here to discuss how terrible this event is and how it could have been prevented and how it was allowed to happen in the first place.

Now, I for one don't think that it was some nefarious nWo plot to blah blah blah, but I do however, think that it could have been a nefarious cost-cutting plot to save a few pennies. At the very least, it's grossly negligent. I would be willing to bet that there is going to be a class action civil suit to be had here, and if there isn't, well...there should be!

www.allheadlinenews.com...

The toxin, which is identified as aminopterin, is used to kill rats in some countries but is not registered for that use in the United States. However, the officials from the manufacturer Menu Foods, which recalled the food some time ago, say it is still not able to find out how it got into the pet foods.

Aminopterin was reportedly found at a level of at least 40 parts per million in tested cat food samples provided by the manufacturer. The test was performed by New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University and at the New York State Food Laboratory.

Now, it's rather obvious this poison is most likely banned or restricted in this country. And, furtherstill, do you have any idea how much you'd have to dump in to maintain this type of detected consistency. Probably on the order of tons.

I think it's time, we ask for more from our gov't on explaining things. Rather than covering up potential "scary" things that affect the busyness wheels.


[edit on 3/24/2007 by bothered]

Sig."I will find you key-bunny, you're days are in y_our #'s"


[edit on 3/24/2007 by bothered]

when the recall first happened the website did not provide the names of all the recalled products. they only had two stated in the articles which were Iams and something else. It wasn't until days later when my brother asked me about it that i saw that my cat food indeed was on the list they didnt post until days later. Can someone reccommend a cat food brand that is made in the US?

Originally posted by lizziex3
Can someone reccommend a cat food brand that is made in the US?

I use for my dogs nature balance is made family own and made in the US.

Now for cats I don't know if they have but I imagine that they do.

Now you can go to a good pet store and the workers can tell you what food is safe, they should have the listings and banning of the tainted pet food.