Dangers of Chicken Jerky Dog Treats from China
Regulators from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are today investigating chicken jerky dog treats made in China after claims that pets are falling ill from consuming the treats. Yesterday, September 26th 2007, the FDA stated that they had received more than 70 complaints involving more than 95 dogs that became ill after eating chicken jerky products. The products under suspicion are Chicken jerky strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co. and from Shanghai Bestro Trading.
The American Veterinary Medical Association issued a statement after receiving reports from vets that numerous cases were appearing of dogs suffering from a rare kidney disorder after eating chicken jerky dog treats. The disorder is called Fanconi Syndrome and is a disease that damages the kidney tubule. First described by Swiss paediatrician, Guido Fanconi, it results in a decreased re-absorption of electrolytes and nutrients into the bloodstream. Instead they “spill” into the urine. Symptoms of the disease are:
- Excessive thirst (polydipsa)
- Excessive urination (polyuria)
- Glucose in the urine (glucosuria)
The earlier the disease is detected, the less damage occurs. Spokesman Michael San Filippo from the Association said:
“We want people to know what we are hearing, to pay attention, and to monitor their pet’s health. We can’t stay quiet, putting our fingers in our ears and ignoring the situation”.
Dog owners should certainly not ignore the situation after the massive pet food recall earlier this year that caused thousands of cats and dogs to become ill or die as a result of contamination of the pet food ingredients by the industrial chemical melamine. However the American Veterinary Medical Association has not advised people to stop buying the treats and veterinary investigators are asking owners not to panic.
Testing is being carried out on most likely toxic ingredients including melamine.
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer has ‘quietly’ withdrawn both products from their shelves although there has been no official recall. Spokeswoman Deisha Galberth said:
“When we took it off the shelves at the end of July, we pulled it based on the customer feedback so we could do testing prior to announcing anything publicly. That’s why we didn’t make a public announcement-it was still going through the testing stage.”
Wal Mart has quietly withdrawn another product this year namely Baby Bibs. The bibs tested high for levels of lead and had also been imported from China. Wal Mart placed a computerised block on all cash registers to prevent the chicken jerky products being sold on July 26th 2007.
As yet, no official recall has been announced by the FDA.
Read our full report on the dangerous Chicken Jerky Dog Treats
Find out what’s in YOUR dog’s food, read our Commercial Pet and Dog Food article.