Toxic Pet Food

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January 2009
- Widening Peanut Recall Now Includes Pet Treats
  
  USA Today | Jan 22, 09 2:58 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Peanut-flavored pet treats are the latest addition to the recall list of at least 125 peanut butter products, USA Today reports. A salmonella outbreak at a Georgia peanut plant has so far sickened some 486 people and may have caused six deaths. Pets can get salmonella from the peanut treats, but the Food and Drug Administration warns that owners risk infection by merely handling the food. More »
October 2008
- Melamine Kills 1,500 Chinese Dogs
  
  Associated Press | Oct 21, 08 12:53 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - About 1,500 Chinese raccoon dogs, bred specially for their fur, have died after eating tainted food over the last two months, the AP reports, raising fears of rampant misuse of the chemical melamine. The discovery comes as melamine-tainted milk has sickened thousands of babies with kidney stones and been tied to four deaths. More »
September 2008
- Toxic Milk Poisons 6,000 Babies
  
  BBC | Sep 17, 08 3:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The toll from contaminated infant formula in China continues to mount alarmingly, with more than 6,000 babies poisoned and at least three killed, reports the BBC. Another 158 are suffering from acute kidney failure. The chemical melamine—which caused widespread pet deaths in contaminated food last year—has now been discovered in 22 brands of powdered milk. The chemical is used in plastics manufacturing, but it also makes the protein content of food appear higher. More »
- Tainted Baby Formula Kills 2 in China
  
  New York Times | Sep 15, 08 1:51 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Two Chinese babies have died, 53 are in serious condition and 1,253 others are sick from widespread milk powder contamination, the New York Times reports. The baby formula laced with melamine—the same additive behind last year’s US pet-food recall—was recalled just last week by Sanlu Group, though parents have been complaining since March. More »
- Made in China: Toxic Baby Formula
  
  USA Today | Sep 12, 08 2:26 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Baby formula made in China has been found to contain melamine, the same toxic substance that contaminated pet food and poisoned thousands of US dogs and cats last year. None of the formula is in the general US food supply—but some may be on the shelves in American Asian and ethnic markets, USA Today reports. More »
May 2008
- Tainted Pet Food Firms Settle With Owners
  
  Associated Press | May 23, 08 8:06 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Pet-food companies have agreed to a $24-million settlement with pet owners after their products were tied to the deaths of thousands of animals, the AP reports. Under the deal, pet owners can be reimbursed for financial losses, such as vet bills, burial costs, and the market value of their lost pets. Those who don’t have records of their expenses may get up to $900. More »
April 2008
- Europeans Cite China as Top Stability Threat
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Apr 15, 08 1:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Europeans see China as the biggest threat to world stability, a new poll says. In the wake of the Tibet crackdown, 35% of Europeans labeled China a bigger threat than any other state, reports the Financial Times . “The story of the last five years has been about economic opportunities," said one expert. "The story of the last six months has been about China as a threat in Darfur and in Tibet." More »
February 2008
- US, Chinese Firms Charged in Pet Food Scandal
  
  Associated Press | Feb 6, 08 6:16 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - US authorities today charged an American company and two Chinese businesses with manufacturing and importing tainted ingredients in pet food that killed thousands of cats and dogs last year, the AP reports. Las Vegas-based ChemNutra and its owners face a felony conspiracy charge and 26 misdemeanor counts for selling adulterated and misbranded food. The Chinese businesses face 26 counts each. More »
- FDA Plans to Open Outpost in China
  
  Reuters | Feb 6, 08 6:00 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - America's food imports from China are rising and the Food and Drug Administration is planning to start exporting American inspectors to protect the US food supply, Reuters reports. FDA officials hope to open a China office to help them raise food safety standards and to make it easier to act quickly when problems arise. Such an operation would allow a "boots on the ground" response, explained the agency's commissioner. More »
December 2007
- China OKs US Health Inspections
  
  Washington Post | Dec 11, 07 10:08 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - China will allow US health inspectors to monitor the country’s food and drug exports, the Washington Post reports, a big concession in heated high-level trade talks. China accuses the US media of tarnishing its reputation by overblowing safety concerns, and has in turn questioned US exports. China is the first of many countries the US hopes to station inspectors in. More »
August 2007
- Wal-Mart Owns Up to Melamine in Dog Treats
  
  Associated Press | Aug 22, 07 10:20 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Two Chinese brands of dog treats sold at Wal-Mart contain a toxic chemical, the discount giant confirms. Customer complaints about the products prompted the company to quietly pull them from its shelves last month as it waited for further tests. The results confirmed the presence of melamine, the chemical at the center of another recall in March. More »
- Household Chemicals Sickening Cats
  
  Los Angeles Times | Aug 16, 07 12:21 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Cats are falling ill with thyroid disease caused by toxic flame retardants found in household dust and some pet food, says the EPA. Chemicals known as PBDEs—polybrominated diphenyl ethers—found in consumer products and furniture are mimicking hormones which send a cat's thyroid into overdrive. Since humans are the only other mammal with a high rate of hyperthyroidism, the common chemicals could be affecting them, too. More »
July 2007
- Companies Cash In on Food Scare
  
  BusinessWeek | Jul 23, 07 6:05 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The contaminated-import crisis, set off when potentially dangerous products from China turned up on the shelves of pet stores, supermarkets, and drugstores, has meant bigger profits for clever companies. BusinessWeek looks at several strategies: using only fresh, local ingredients in premium products; finding ingredients from somewhere other than China; and touting ways to trace foods from source to market. More »
- Pot Calls Kettle Contaminated
  
  Associated Press | Jul 14, 07 8:19 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In an apparent retaliatory move, China has addressed concerns about food safety—by halting imports from several American meat processors. The country's inspection agency posted a notice on its website late yesterday saying that salmonella-contaminated chicken produced by Tyson and products from several other large US firms had flunked inspection, the AP reports. More »
June 2007
- China Shutters Scores of Food Factories
  
  Associated Press | Jun 27, 07 12:49 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Chinese government has closed 180 factories that were using dangerous and illegal ingredients, such as formaldehyde, in food products. The relatively large number of plants casts serious doubt on Beijing's insistence that the recent rash of tainted products originated with a small number of sources, the AP reports: A government official said the shutdowns were "not isolated cases." More »
- China Finds Fake Protein in IV Drips
  
  BBC | Jun 12, 07 6:19 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In yet another product-safety scandal, fake blood protein has been found in IV drips in 60 hospitals and pharmacies in northeastern China, the BBC reports. Albumin, or plasma protein, is administered to patients suffering from burns or undergoing open-heart surgery; the counterfeit contained no protein at all. More »
May 2007
- Trail of Chinese Chemicals Leads to Toothpaste
  
  New York Times | May 22, 07 8:02 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Dominican Republic is the latest country investigating the possibility that a poisonous chemical from China wound up in a consumer product. This time it's toothpaste that contains the industrial solvent diethylene glycol, which has already turned up in Panama and Australia, the Times reports. The Chinese government has tracked the toothpaste to factories in the Danyang region. More »
- Ban Chinese Ingredients? Easier Said Than Done
  
  Los Angeles Times | May 18, 07 8:46 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In the wake of the pet-food poisoning scandal, some of the biggest U.S. food manufacturers—Tyson and Mission Foods—have banned Chinese ingredients. But since China is the world's biggest supplier of the flavorings, vitamins and preservatives that are used in virtually all processed foods, the bans may be impossible to uphold, the LA Times observes. More »
- Second Toxin Found in Lethal Pet Food
  
  New York Times | May 9, 07 7:19 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Add cyanuric acid to the list of industrial chemicals found in the contaminated pet food that killed thousands of dogs and cats. Like melamine, it was used by Chinese animal feed producers to fake higher protein content in their wheat and rice products, the New York Times reports. More »
- Melamine Death Toll Passes 8,000 Pets
  
  Los Angeles Times | May 4, 07 12:17 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - More than 8,000 deaths of cats and dogs that may be linked to melamine-tainted food have been reported to the FDA in the two months since the pet food recall. The statistics come as the FDA tries to assure Americans that the tainted protein concentrates, also fed to hogs and chickens, aren't a human health threat. More »