Pet Food Recall
Pet Food Recall leaves bitter taste
What they're not telling you

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“Neither melamine nor aminopterin are likely to be the real cause of the illness – the symptoms of toxicity don’t match either one,” says Dr. Hofve. “Toxicology data on melamine suggests that it can cause kidney stones and other chronic effects, but acute renal failure does not really accord with that. Some are calling melamine a ‘marker’ for something else that hasn’t yet been determined.” Theories abound as to how melamine got into the wheat gluten. Federal Drug Administration veterinarian Stephen Sundlof told CNN that it could have been added as a “cheap filler”. But according to Michael W. Fox, B. Vet. Med, Ph.D., D.Sc., M.R.C.V.S, melamine is “not cheap” and costs about 50% more than wheat gluten. “I believe the China contaminant is the tip of the iceberg, and could become the scapegoat,” says Dr. Fox. In fact, he speculates that the Chinese wheat was genetically engineered or modified (GMO), and this is the source of the problem.

“It most probably was,” he states, “since it was not imported for human consumption, and was possibly an experimental crop with anti-fungus blight and viral disease genetic insertions that could have gone haywire as a result of ‘overexpression’. Melamine, the parent chemical for a potent insecticide cyromazine, could possibly have been manufactured within the wheat plants themselves as a genetically engineered pesticide.” Alternatively, the culprit could be glyphosate, says Dr. Fox, an herbicide that is absorbed by crops that are genetically engineered so that they escape harm while the weeds in the field around them die.

To date, the FDA has not stated whether or not the wheat is GMO. Mark Ullman, legal counsel for ChemNutra, the company that imported the wheat gluten told Animal Wellness that the wheat gluten “was not supposed to be [genetically modified] but that ChemNutra did not specify non-GMO on its order” so in fact it may well have received a genetically engineered product. Thus far, GMO wheat has been frowned upon for human consumption in North America, but the FDA does not regulate its presence in pet food or animal feed. Furthermore, as with human products, genetically engineered foods do not have to declare their “altered” status on North American labels.

While the cause of animal deaths may remain a mystery, the crisis has put the pet food industry under a huge microscope. Clearly, pet food regulations and recommendations set out by the FDA and AAFCO failed to protect our animals. If the wheat gluten never entered the human food chain, can we assume it was not fit to enter the human food chain? And if it’s not fit for the human food chain, why would it be fit for our animal companions, the four-legged members of our families?

People also question why products such as wheat gluten are used at all. Surely, our dogs and cats don’t care what their food looks like. But mass market pet food companies use wheat gluten to create “cuts and gravy” types of food that simulate a beef stew like “mom used to make” at a fraction of the price. “Certainly there’s no particular need for pet foods that look like meat chunks, but there is demand,” says Dr. Hovfe. “And where there’s a demand, someone will supply it, and that someone will make a lot of money in the process. The major pet food makers are owned by or are themselves publicly held corporations. Their reason for being is to make money for their stockholders. So it is ‘prudent’ to make as much money as possible, to keep the stockholders happy.”

Of course, it’s also prudent to inspect food and make sure controls are in place to manage a crisis the size of the recent pet food recall. Most pet food purchasers are surprised to learn that the FDA does not require premarket approval for pet food products. According to the FDA’s website, “many ingredients such as meat, poultry, grains, and their byproducts are considered safe ‘foods’ and do not require premarket approval. Other substances such as mineral and vitamin sources, colorings, flavorings, and preservatives may be generally recognized as safe (GRAS) or must have approval as food additives.” The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) only issues a recall on tainted food after receiving consumer complaints and contacting the pet food company involved. They have no responsibility to contact veterinarians. “Veterinarians were universally infuriated,” says Dr. Hofve, “because they were typically notified by (a) watching the 11:00 news or (b) by their panicked clients calling on successive Monday mornings after new recalls went out each Friday night.”

Fury is a feeling that Dana Smith-Mansell can relate to. As this article goes to press, Kearsey continues to fight for her life. Dana will have to wait until her cat passes away to know for sure if her death is a direct result of eating recalled food. Even then, Dana’s unsure if she’ll proceed with a necropsy. “I don’t know if I could handle the truth,” she says, “and the possibility that, by trusting, I may have poisoned my cat.”

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Published in the June/July 2007 issue of Animal Wellness