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Thousands of Hogs May Have Eaten Contaminated Feed

Pet Food Scraps Containing Melamine Fed to Hogs in Six States

By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com

April 25, 2007

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Thousands of hogs in the United States -- in at least six states -- may have eaten livestock feed contaminated with the chemical melamine, the Food and Drug Administration said.

And health officials are now investigating the possibility that humans may have consumed food containing the chemical that triggered a nationwide recall of pet food.

California officials confirmed hogs at a farm in that state ate the contaminated food -- described as salvaged pet food or pet food scraps. Officials were also trying to determine if hogs in five other states -- New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Ohio -- ate the tainted food.

The FDA has confirmed the urine of some hogs in California, North Carolina and South Carolina tested positive for melamine.

When asked if any of the hogs had entered the human food supply, FDA's Chief veterinarian Stephen Sundlof said: "At this point, I don't have a definitive answer other than to say that the issue is being addressed."

FDA officials are working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and several states to investigate the now-quarantined farms and determine if those hogs were slaughtered for human food.

"I don't have the numbers on that right now, but it potentially affects thousands of hogs," Sundlof said. "Some of the hog operations were fairly sizable."

USDA spokesman Steve Cohen, however, said the tainted feed was sold to smaller and independent hog farms.

Poultry Also Suspect

The FDA also said a poultry farm in Missouri may have received the melamine-tainted feed. Tests have confirmed the wheat gluten and rice protein used to make pet food in the United States -- and blamed for the deaths and kidney problems in scores pets across the country -- was tainted with melamine. Officials in South Africa also discovered the chemical in the corn gluten used to make pet food in that country.

Melamine is commonly used in plastics and fertilizers, but is not approved for pet food. The World Health Organization does not classify melamine as a carcinogen for people, but says there's little research about the chemical's effect on humans.

Also on Tuesday, the FDA said it discovered a second, related chemical called cyanuric acid -- used in swimming pool chlorination -- contaminated rice protein samples.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that researchers identified three other contaminants in the urine and kidneys of animals sickened or killed after eating the recalled pet foods. The paper identified those contaminants as cyanuric acid, amilorine, and amiloride -- all byproducts of melamine.

One researcher told The Tribune-Review that cyanuric acid is what most likely made the pets sick.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site described the long term or repeated exposure to cyanuric acid as: "When ingested in large amounts the substance may have effects on the kidneys, resulting in tissue lesions."

In related news ...

• The FDA said it would inspect six grain products imported from China and used to make everything from bread to baby formula for traces of melamine. Those grain products include wheat gluten, corn gluten, corn meal, soy protein, rice bran, and rice protein. "We're going to target firms that we know are receiving imported products," David Acheson, chief medical officer of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, told reporters on Tuesday. "The goal is obviously to sample as much as we can."

• The FDA said it's now sampling all wheat gluten, rice protein, and corn gluten coming into the United States from China for melamine;

• Another pet food company -- SmartPak -- has recalled products made with tainted rice protein. The company recalled a single production run of its LiveSmart Weight Management Chicken and Brown Rice Dog Food;

• The California Agriculture Department is trying to contact 50 people who bought pork that may have come from pigs who ate feed containing melamine. State officials recommended consumers not eat the meat, but said the health risks are minimal;

• The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CPSI) called for the U.S. to ban the imports of wheat gluten, rice protein, and other grain products from China until the FDA can certify the products are safe. The CSPI also recommended the FDA should evaluate whether a ban is needed for other foods or ingredients coming from China -- the source of the contaminated gluten linked to the largest-ever recall of pet food.

No Ban Planned

The FDA says it has no plans to ban the imports of wheat gluten, rice protein, or similar products from China.

"We believe the safety net is in place to make sure that no additional products are going to get into the commerce of the United States," David Elder, director of FDA's enforcement office, told reporters.

Several pet food companies -- including Menu Foods, Procter & Gamble, and Nestle SA -- have recalled more than 100 brands of pet food made with melamine-tainted wheat gluten since Mid-March.

And at least five companies have made pet food containing rice protein contaminated with melamine.

FDA officials say the chemical may have intentionally been added to increase the protein content.

The FDA says there were no direct shipments of those two ingredients to firms that make food for humans or for animals used as food.

Release the Names

Release the names of companies that received contaminated rice protein from China and identify and inspect all suspect pet food ingredients imported from all countries.

That's the message two U.S. Senators sent to the Food and Drug Administration on Monday.

The request by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Marie Cantwell, (D-WA) follows reports that rice protein and corn gluten tainted with the chemical melamine have been used in pet food and may have entered the human food chain.

Earlier reports identified the contaminated ingredient used in more than 100 brands of recalled pet food -- and linked to scores of illnesses and deaths in dogs and cats across the country -- as melamine-tainted wheat gluten.

A House committee heard testimony Tuesday that American food is at high risk for both natural and terrorist-related outbreaks and many in Congress are questioning whether the Food and Drug Administration can adequately protect Americans.

"Over the past week, shipments of imported rice protein and corn gluten have been discovered to be contaminated with melamine," the Senators wrote in their letter to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach. "In addition, we have learned that the human food supply may be at risk from tainted pet food sold to a hog feeding operation in California.

"Once again, our food supply has been put at risk by contaminated ingredients that originated overseas and were never inspected by the FDA."

Earlier this month, the Chinese company, Binzhou-Futian, sold rice protein to U.S. importer Wilbur-Ellis and a second, unknown, company. Wilbur-Ellis said it distributed that rice protein to five pet food manufacturers.

Three of those manufacturers have recalled their pet foods; the names of the other two companies, however, are not known.

The Senators say that's not acceptable.

"Given the strong possibility that these two pet food manufacturers also received contaminated rice protein and that they have failed to implement voluntary recalls, we believe the FDA should release the names of these manufacturers and require them to trace and recall any pet food made with the potentially contaminated rice protein," they told the FDA's Commissioner.

The Senators also asked the FDA to:

• Immediately start testing samples of rice protein and corn gluten imported from China. The FDA is already testing wheat gluten imported from that country;

• Identify and inspect all suspect pet food ingredients imported from China and other countries. "In light of the strong possibility that these protein sources were purposefully contaminated for economic purposes, we are concerned about the safety of other imported pet food ingredients and the possibility of them being contaminated," the Senators said.

• Study the feasibility of testing protein-based pet food ingredients imported from China and other countries for melamine;

• Work with the Chinese Government and other foreign governments to inspect their facilities and provide technical assistance to improve their food safety standards.

"The FDA owes the American public their best effort to prevent contaminated food from getting to store shelves and to remove contaminated food that is already on shelves before more pets die," the Senators wrote, adding 63 percent of Americans own a cat or dog.

Pet Owners Snarl

A pet owner in Florida told ConsumerAffairs.com that she's outraged by the FDA's refusal to disclose all the companies that received the contaminated rice protein.

"Family pets are being killed and the FDA is dragging its feet," said Marlene B. of Port Charlotte, Florida. "I want to know how the hell the FDA can refuse to name the other two pet food manufacturers that received contaminated goods from China.

"If it were a medicine for human consumption, they'd be the first to scream 'danger' and yank the products off the shelves, before any conclusive tests had been done. This is outrageous."

And it's happening at a time when pets across the country continue to develop kidney disease or die after eating the melamine-tainted food.

Kennel Destroyed

Consider the impact one brand of the recalled pet food had on the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels at a kennel in Texas.

"Our kennel has been destroyed by Natural Balance Dog Food," Dave and Jennifer S. of Victoria, Texas, said referring to the pet food recalled last week. "We are left devastated and desperately in need of help."

Several or their dogs went into renal failure -- and two died -- after eating Natural Balance's Venison and Brown Rice food.

"We had a total of 12 Cavaliers, two have died, four puppies remain in the hospital, as well as three adults," said the couple, who took their dogs to Texas A & M University's Small Animal Emergency Clinic for treatment.

"The three adults may not recover at all. It is still hopeful for the puppies. We have one adult Cavalier at home, one six-month-old puppy at home, and one puppy that is eight weeks old that has been able to come home. They still require follow-up testing to ensure that they are not going back into renal failure."

The couple added: "The doctors met with us and confirmed that it was the Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice Dog food that is the cause (of their dogs' sickness and deaths.) The autopsy on Abby (one of the dogs) confirmed the crystal formation that is seen in all the renal failure cases concerning the recent dog food recalls."

Natural Balance, they say, may compensate them for our vet bills.

But only if they sign a release "which basically makes it so they do not have to pay anything except the vet bill."

More about the Pet Food Recall ...

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