For more than seven years, chicken jerky treats imported from China have been linked to death and serious illness in an unknown number of dogs on two continents – the U.S. and Australia. The FDA recently provided more reports of pet illness and death believed to be related to the treats, but the cause of so much pet illness and death has yet to be discovered. There are clues…clues that the FDA seems to be ignoring. And the possible reasons why the FDA is ignoring these clues boils down to politics.
A few days ago, the FDA did a “data dump” of jerky treat consumer complaints. Blogger and Food Safety Activist Phyllis Entis states “What can we learn from this list of 171 consumer complaints? We can read about the pain and suffering – human as well as animal – that the mysterious jerky treat problem has caused.”
The website FoodandWaterWatch.org - a consumer advocacy organization – has been watching Chinese chicken for about as many years as pet owners, though this organization has been watching Chinese chicken for different reasons. FoodandWaterWatch.org has been watching Chinese chicken because of the political games being played at the risk to public (human) health. One of the FoodandWaterWatch.org folks recently shared a post on FoodSafetyNews.com titled “China Sneaks its Chicken in on Man’s Best Friend” - this story explains the political games that have been played – a Chinese chicken for U.S. beef swap game. Through Freedom of Information Act requests, Food & Water Watch discovered U.S. government agencies tried to push through approval of Chinese imported chicken, despite poultry facilities in China failing inspection time and time again, to gain export approval TO China of U.S. beef. (It is aVERY interesting read)
Poultry processing facilities in China have failed USDA inspection year after year, but…the FDA continues to allow Chinese chicken to be imported into the US for our pets. Further, although the USDA has failed human food chicken/poultry processing facilities in China for many years – the FDA seems to have stated the jerky treat facilities in China have passed inspection (though FDA will not release their inspection reports of Chinese jerky treat facilities). Can we really expect the dog jerky treat manufacturing facilities in China to be cleaner than human food processing facilities that have repeatedly failed inspection?
Veterinary Information News (VIN) has been reporting on the jerky treat situation since 2008. In a December 15, 2008 article titled “Fanconi-like cases continue in Australia” VIN News stated (bold added)“Dr. Kendall Harr, a veterinary pathologist in Florida, said she has not seen or heard of recent cases, but had more than 100 at one point last spring. Harr reported in July in a Veterinary Information Network discussion that she was involved in phone calls that led the FDA to recommend voluntary removal of jerky treats from stores including PetSmart and Walmart.”
‘FDA to recommend voluntary removal of jerky treats from stores including PetSmart and Walmart?’ FDA might have told Dr. Harr they would ask for a voluntary removal of jerky treats from retail outlets such as PetSmart and Walmart, however to my knowledge, FDA has NEVER publically asked retailers to pull the Chinese imported jerky treats. Thousands of consumers have asked retailers to remove the treats from store shelves – including me – but again…despite thousands of reports of sick pets in the U.S. – the FDA has not publically asked retailers to remove the treats out of precaution.
Dating back to 2007 (at least), Chinese chicken (and in recent months sweet potato and duck treats) are believed to be the cause of thousands of pet illnesses and deaths in the U.S and in Australia. Interestingly, to my knowledge there have been no reports of pet illness or death linked to the same jerky treats of pets in Europe. What does the U.S. and Australia have in common (besides the country of origin being China) with the treats? Irradiation.
What is irradiation? From Wikipedia.org “Food irradiation is the process of exposing food to ionizing radiation[1] to destroy microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, or insects that might be present in the food.” Problem is, science has shown that irradiation does not successfully destroy all bacteria and can alter the foods treated.
From the OrganicConsumers.org website: “Studies on animals fed irradiated foods have shown increased tumors, reproductive failures and kidney damage. Some possible causes are: irradiation-induced vitamin deficiencies, the inactivity of enzymes in the food, DNA damage, and toxic radiolytic products in the food.” Further, numerous websites mention FDA flawed studies on the safety of irradiation, one states “Public Citizen, the consumer group in Washington, concludes in an Oct. 2000 report that “the FDA legalized — and continues to legalize — food irradiation without testing it for safety.”
Unlike the U.S., in Australia there was a recall of the Chinese imported jerky dog treats (these chicken jerky treats were treated with irradiation – similar to the treats in the U.S.). KraMar Pet Company Pty Ltd. recalled its Supa Naturals Chicken Breast Strips in Australia and New Zealand. KraMar Pet Company“emphasized that it has no scientific evidence that its treats are causing Fanconi-like syndrome” but“decided to withdraw the product on the basis of the 15 cases reported to us.”
(Side note: Two years after KraMar recalled the irradiated Chinese imported chicken jerky dog treats,Nestle Purina purchased KraMar Pet Company (March 2010). And two years following this purchase, Nestle Purina purchased Waggin’ Train dog treats.)
Another interesting twist to the jerky treat investigation seeming to point to irradiation as the cause happened in 2009. Another dog treat, Veggie Dents made by Virbac, seemed to be causing similar kidney failure in dogs. The treat contained no chicken, however was treated with irradiation.
It appears the common thread in reports of sick pets from two continents spanning over 7 years is…glycerin and irradiation. Chinese imported chicken jerky dog treats sold in the U.S. and Australia from numerous manufacturers (importers) and Veggie Dent dog treats sold in Australia which are believed to be the source of kidney disease in dogs – have those two things in common – the ingredient ‘glycerin’ and irradiation treatment.
Where is the FDA investigation on the effects of irradiation on glycerin? From what the FDA has released on their testing of the jerky treats, it appears no investigation of the effects of irradiation to the glycerin ingredients in the dog treats has ever been considered.
Why is that?
Possible reasons circle back to two issues. One, the FDA is a huge supporter of the irradiation of food. Should irradiation be proved to be the link – chemically altering the glycerin ingredient (and components within the glycerin) to become toxic/lethal, the safety of food irradiation would be questioned by the public. Needless to say, the FDA does not want its irradiation methods proven to be toxic to pets.
Two, goes back to the numerous documents acquired by Food and Water Watch regarding the push by U.S. government officials to approve for human consumption chicken from China. If Chinese imported chicken was confirmed to be the cause of thousands of pet deaths and illness, the push for Chinese chicken for human food would suffer.
Pets are caught in the middle. And they are dying and suffering from kidney failure by the thousands – caught in-between a game of politics. It does not appear that the FDA is seriously trying to find the reason why thousands of pets have died or suffered believed to be linked to the consumption of chicken jerky treats imported from China. Phyllis Entis of eFoodAlert put it best…”In its efforts to appear “transparent,” FDA is doing a good job of making itself look ridiculous. Who does the agency think it is fooling?”
First off there have been more recalls of USA grown/processed chicken than of China sourced. Even USA grown/processed peanut butter, eggs, and cantaloupe have experienced huge recalls. Its time we wake up that our very own food system is not without faults.
Here are just a few recent gems of USA recalls:
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm323823.htm
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm322481.htm
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/239038.php
We should not be relying on our FDA. specially since Obama put the head lobbyist for Monsanto at the helm of the FDA… that was a great move for us ‘folks’. (sarcasm btw)
Here are some facts:
1. We have less FDA/USDA inspectors on our processing lines than many other countries.
2. DEHYDRATED TREAT! Did anyone get that part? i.e. NO MOISTURE
Chicken is not lethal for dog… lets be clear… “fresh chicken” is not lethal for pets… why? Because its HYDRATED! Why is it we forget about this fact? Hydration of any dehydrated meat must occur before digestion can start to take place.
Please do not tell me the mouth and chewing by the dog does this! I will really have to scream.
• The dog cannot move its jaws sideward! The fang teeth make it impossible, and the jaw joint is a stiff hinge joint, like your knee joint – it does not allow any flexible movements other than up and down. Dogs do not chew up their food, they just swallow it.
• Unlike us, dogs do not have enzymes in their saliva to start breaking down proteins. The dog’s saliva serves the purpose of being a lubricant for swallowing, and that’s about it!
• Their stomach takes care of all the digestion, without any support from the saliva. During digestion a dogs stomach will reach a pH between 1 and 2!
• When the stomach notices the presence of digestible material, it will start a huge production of digestive enzymes and other chemicals that assist the breakdown of the food. Some enzymes are produced by the pancreas, but many are produced by other small glands in the stomach wall itself.
What can happen when too many dehydrated treats are fed?:
• Large portions of un-hydrated treats in the dogs digestion system can block the intestine (colic) or cause bloating inside the stomach.
• Having a blockage in the intestine or stomach can cause toxemia resulting in a trip to the vet
So with all the above said, feeding dehydrated meat treats is really unnatural for pets, and we should reconsider feeding these treats to our animals regardless of origin.
Ok enough of my two cents worth, just had to jump in here being a Vet Tech from a major University Teaching Hospital where we pull balls of dehydrated meat treats out of pets often in colic SX. Tired of people not figuring it all out and pointing fingers at other countries when there are four fingers pointing back at them.
Nuf’said
A
Bob,
I don’t know why all dogs that eat the jerky treats haven’t gotten sick. It could be there is kidney damage in all the dogs – but it might not show for years later. It could be that other dogs – those that have died – for some reason were sickened quickly. But if you ever talk face to face with a pet owner who has held their precious pet in their arms and watched them take their last painful breath because they ate one or two jerky treats…I doubt you would feel the same.
Even if only some batches are bad as you suggest, all of the products should be recalled until it is discovered what happened to those batches. I’d have to guess if you got one of those bad batches, you would want the product to be recalled too.
Dear Susan,
What do you say to the fact that:
1. Hundred of thousand’s of dogs(I cannot confirm the actual number) still eat the Chinese chicken jerky treats and have not gotten sick. I have been to my local Sam’s Club and have seen the Wagin Train jerky treats pallets that are full at the start of the day and empty after 1 day so in my opinion there are many dogs that eat these treats that are not getting sick.
2. Shouldn’t ALL dogs who eat these treats be getting sick? Why is there only a small portion of dogs who eat these treats getting sick ?
3. Again, in my opinion I believe there are two reasons why some dogs have died or gotten ill eating these treats.
1. There most certainly have been bad processing batches when you take into consideration the millions of pounds of chicken that has been processed and the dogs that ate the bad batches have gotten sick and some have died. Salmonella poisoning comes to mind.
2. Some pet owner’s have seen their dogs really take to the snacks and have overfed their dogs these treats. These are the pet owners that do not realize that jerky is not a common food for dogs and should only be taken in moderation after a meal.
I myself have been giving Waggin Train chicken jerky treats to my dogs going over 4 years and have closely monitored their poops, etc and I do not over feed them these treats.
Thanks
Bob Smith
Bob, how can eating too much chicken be lethal for dogs? A good analogy is that a little bit of rat poison won’t kill your dog but a lot will – so as long as you feed a little, he will be fine. As for bad batches, if that’s true, are you willing to play Russian roulette with your dog?