Dog Food Recall List Concerns and Solutions

The dog food recall list raised some precautionary alarms in most of us, as we learned of the inclusion of tainted wheat and rice protein products from China found in common pet foods.

After researching this topic ( at CNN.com, the ASPCA site, and the FDA website plus many others), and listening to an NPR broadcast about the broadening concerns on the Diane Rehm show, the dog food recall list and the concerns that it brought up has me thinking about ways to keep my animals and family safe, should it ever happen again in the future.

My qualms about what I feed my dogs AND my human family members have settled somewhat, but this widespread incident provoked some changes in how I feed my dogs that I think are worth considering.

I thought I would share my current concerns, conclusions, and try to point to some information that might help you sort it all out for yourselves.

First, I must tell you that I have not been and am still not an alarmist regarding the dog food recall list and what has happened as a result of the 2007 scare. I believe that we should remain rational and calm in order to make the best decisions when any emergency situation arises, and can protect our pets by paying attention to the information at hand. But I do think that there are specific things we can do as pet parents to insure our dogs are kept safe from unsafe foods as we go forward.

I considered making 100% of my own home made dog food, and gathered many dog food recipes. I read books and articles on “making your own dog food,” and checked out some of my favorite brands of dog foods on the net to see what claims, if any, were being made about their safety and their possible relationship to the dog food recall list.

After learning that chicken, hogs and even some fish that had been raised for human consumption had been found to have been fed some of the tainted wheat products from China, my uneasiness grew stronger, not just for my dogs but for my human family as well. For a few weeks I avoided all chicken and pork, and was cautious about what fish I purchased, to try and keep everyone in my home as safe as possible. Cooking for the dogs was put on hold until I could find some safer protein sources.

1. Although the FDA tested chickens for melamine and later released twenty million chickens for human consumption that they had held back because of concerns, several panel members on the Diane Rehm Show airing May 8, 2007 had concerns that other chemical combinations may be the actual culprits in the previous pet deaths due to kidney failure after eating food that is now listed on the dog food recall list. It was discussed that since the FDA only tested for melamine, yet melamine is not able to cause kidney failure on its own, that there may be more to be concerned about than just the melamine itself. Perhaps chemical combinations that come about as the melamine breaks down, or other chemicals that we are not aware of yet could be the actual cause of the kidney failure. This caused me to be extra-cautious as I waited for more news to break on the subject.

The Diane Rehm broadcast was very interesting, and opened my eyes to learning more about the over-worked and under-funded FDA, and how both medicines and foods can come under fire.

The text below was copied from the WAMU 88.5 University Radio site to show you the panelists (and their qualifications) that were included in the Diane Rehm broadcast . Underneath the clip, you can find the link to the WAMU site and listen to a RealAudio recording of the broadcast, if you are interested in hearing more:

Safety of Imported Food and Medicine
Contaminated medicines are linked to at least eight mass poisonings around the world in the last two decades. We'll talk about recent efforts to monitor the safety of both food and medicine imported into the U.S.

Guests:
William Hubbard, former associate commissioner for the Food and Drug Administration

Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for the Center for Science in the Public Interest

Congressman Bart Stupak, D, Michigan, 1st District

Jeff Stier, associate director, American Council on Science & Health

Here is the web address of the site: The Diane Rehm Show- broadcast 05/08/07 at 10:00 AM

2. We cannot know up front what the long term possible effects might be for feeding tainted foods. I am still monitoring this story and watching for any concerns. I will report them if I find any.

3. For the most part, I feed my dogs dry Canidae dog food, which is available in pet food stores that carry natural and/or health food products for dogs. Canidae is not on the dog food recall list. I am in no way affiliated with Canidae. I just wanted to make people aware that there are foods out there that do not contain wheat gluten or rice protein concentrate, and there are dog food companies who do not import any of their ingredients from China (Canidae is one of the companies who does not import from China). Do some research yourselves on the internet, in health food stores, and in natural pet food stores, and make sure that no WHEAT GLUTEN OR RICE PROTEIN CONCENTRATE is on the list of ingredients.

4. As you may have heard, one of the main thoughts about why dogs and cats died after eating food that contained the toxic ingredients is because of their lack of food variety. Most animals get fed the same thing every day, so if the food was tainted, they are getting the dangerous dose over and over again. It might be a good idea to add some variety to your dogs diet, keeping in mind that sudden changes can sometimes cause stomach upset. Make any changes to their diet gradually, but I would recommend that to be entirely safe, do not feed them any foods that contain wheat gluten or rice protein concentrate and check the dog food recall list on the FDA site or subscribe to the RSS feed to my blog for updated information. I personally have added home made dog food into my own dogs diet, and mix it with the dry kibble food that I feel is safe. The home made dog food ingredients vary, but primarily contain meat protein sources, such as beef, pork, lamb and fish.

5. I am committed to learning how we, as people who love animals, can get more involved in protecting our dog's food. I personally feel that we will probably need to lobby for stricter regulations regarding the production of dog and cat foods. I intend to get involved, and will report more about this in my blog as I learn what we all can do to help.

To be insured of getting the most updated information on changes to the dog food recall list, other pet food concerns or the addition of new recipes to my site, I welcome you to subscribe to an RSS feed from my blog on the left navigation bar.

Return to Home Page from Dog Food Recall List