I've been following this on and off since 2007 but did not realize until I saw a Salon article yesterday that the problem has persisted.
Almost 600 dogs and cats have died since 2007 after ingesting jerky treats most made in China.
As the US FDA states on its website:
Within hours of eating treats sold as jerky tenders or strips made of chicken, duck, sweet potatoes and/or dried fruit, some pets have exhibited decreased appetite, decreased activity, vomiting, diarrhea (sometimes with blood or mucus), increased water consumption, and/or increased urination.
Severe cases have involved kidney failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, and a rare kidney disorder. About 60 percent of cases involved gastrointestinal illness, and about 30 percent involved kidney and urinary systems.
The remaining cases reported various symptoms, such as collapse, convulsions or skin issues.
Most of the jerky treats implicated have been made in China. Manufacturers of pet foods are not required by U.S. law to state the country of origin for each ingredient in their products.
A number of jerky pet treat products were removed from the market in January 2013 after a New York State lab reported finding evidence of up to six drugs in certain jerky pet treats made in China. While the levels of these drugs were very low and it's unlikely that they caused the illnesses, FDA noted a decrease in reports of jerky-suspected illnesses after the products were removed from the market. FDA believes that the number of reports may have declined simply because fewer jerky treats were available.
Meanwhile, the agency urges pet owners to be cautious about providing jerky treats. If you do provide them and your pet becomes sick, stop the treats immediately, consider seeing your veterinarian, and save any remaining treats and the packaging for possible testing.
What is alarming is that they don't know what is causing these illnesses and a lot of testing hasn't revealed it, which indicates someone has put something in these intending to hide it and/or it's a little known toxin. Previous instances include
melamine in pet food to boost protein content and
oversulfated condroitin sulfate in heparin to cheaply mimic that drug's blood thinning properties and escape the test methods that were normally used at the time.
I had not realized until just know that even dried sweet potato was associated with the problem -- though since 2007 I've only bought Made in US dog food and treats. The supply chain is international and fact is, most of the active ingredients in your drugs come from overseas, particularly China and India. I'm not someone to over-react to things but this is worrying and so I'll signal boost and probably return the sweet potato treats to the store this weekend.
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