The Healing Connection

Deadlines for filing claims for the largest pet food recall and one of the saddest events in companion animal history, are approaching.  The dates for filing forms are November 24th, 2008 in the U.S. and January 2, 2009 in Canada.  The web-site to reach for claims information, forms, guidelines, and deadlines for both countries is: http://www.petfoodsettlement.com.  This web-site also contains the lists of recalled foods and defendants in this huge class action suit.

 

Although some VERY good things have come from this horrific event, we are not out of the woods.  Recalls continue to happen.  PLEASE memorize and pay attention to possible pet food toxicity signs.  More on what to look for and what to do about it, appear later in this Announcement.  Also, PLEASE feed your pets the highest-quality, freshest, whole foods you can.  We will soon be distributing more information to help you with this, too. 

 

Our animals have not died entirely in vain.  The investigations into the pet food recall situation opened up an entire scandal involving Chinese food manufacture. Read on.  And more and more of you are choosing whole, healthy food diets for our animal friends.  So there is some good here. 

 

Contaminated pet foods killed many of our animal friends in 2006 and 2007.  Menu Foods Income Fund, who are a major Canadian-based manufacturer of dog, cat, and other pet foods sold in the United States & Canada, along with several other pet food manufacturers, beginning in March 2007 and over the course of 2007 even unto the present, have announced massive recalls ultimately implicating over 150 brands of pet foods and 5,300 individual pet food products.  Most foods were manufactured between November 8, 2006 and March 6, 2007.  

 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration states it has received reports of approximately 8,500 animal deaths, including at least 1,950 cats and 2,200 dogs who died after eating contaminated foods.  Most U.S. State Veterinary Associations estimate the number of deaths to be much higher. 

 

Early investigations showed that the foods were contamined with the industrial chemical melamine.  The melamine was added by Chinese suppliers of wheat gluten, a vegetable protein. Melamine was added to affect the chemical nutritional analysis of the food.  The presence of melamine chemically makes any food product under analysis appear richer in protein than it actually is. The Chinese were in a serious surplus situation with melamine in 2006 and 2007 and were looking for places to "dump" the surplus.

 

Melamine was not the only ingredient of contamination.  Cyanuric acid was also found.  Melamine, along with cyanuric acid, combines to form crystals in those eating it.  Crystals lead to kidney disease.  In a number of cases, this leads to renal failure and death.  

 

One month after the initial recall in March 2007, contaminated rice protein from a different source in China was also identified as being associated with kidney failure in pets in the United States.  At the same time, contaminated corn gluten also from China was associated with kidney failure with pets in South Africa.

As a result of investigating the 2007 pet food recalls a broader Chinese protein export contamination investigation unfolded, raising concerns about the safety of the human food supply. Melamine is a frequent additive to live stock foods, and humans eating such live stock or products from them, have become sickened.  Melamine is also used by the Chinese as an ingredient in baking, including cakes and other baked goods, and baby formula, again, to raise the chemcial analysis of the foods' protein content. As of this writing, over 53,000 Chinese babies were sickened, 6,000 were hospitalized, and four died as a result of melamine in their baby formula.