chicken jerky from China a world-wide danger

Have readers in other countries been warned about chicken jerky from China? I thought it was just an Australian problem but now I've seen a warning on Dog Blog for pet owners in the US, so I thought I would pass it on immediately. Dog Blog reports that the FDA issued a warning IN SEPTEMBER 2007 but does not have the authority to demand a recall.

I'm not going to feed Penny any sort of chicken jerky at all - unless I make it myself!

PS I've just found a chicken jerky recipe with clearer instructions.

more information on the KraMar recall of chicken treats

Today I received an email from the Darebin Dogs group about the recall of the KraMar treats suspected of poisoning small dogs. (Darebin Dogs is an email group for people who walk with their dogs in Darebin Parklands. If you are a local dog owner you can contact them at darebindogs@hotmail.com.)

It contained a link that advises people who've fed these treats- at any time in the past fifteen months - to get the dog's urine tested, because the dog could have kidney damage without showing any symptoms. Scary stuff!

Being a champion worrier I was planning to go to the vet tomorrow, but then I looked at the image on the KraMar site and realised, to my great relief, that I had been using KraMar Chicken Breast Bites and the product recall is for Chicken Breast Strips. Whew!

The Australian Veterinary Association is advising owners not to panic. But it's hard not to, when our beloved companions are endangered in ways that we can't foresee or prevent. I just don't trust the big dog-food companies any more. I'm glad that most of Penny's food is raw human-grade meat from a reliable butcher.

more on the recall of KraMar dog treats

Here is a link to the KraMar media release on the recall.

And here is the text of an email that is circulating. I notice that it seems to be by Miles Kemp, author of the article I linked to in my previous post, but the text seems to be somewhat different. I think it's worth posting here for the extra information it contains.

poisoned meat is causing kidney damage in small dogs


By Miles Kemp

The Advertiser

December 09, 2008


Poisoned meat

Alert ... hundreds of small dogs have been affected by poisoned meat as
experts try to track down its source.

* Hundreds of dogs hit in poison scare
* Experts try to track down source
* Meat from China suspected

UNIVERSITY experts are urgently trying to track down the source of a deadly
poison which has struck hundreds of small dogs, with pet food meat from
China the suspected cause.

The Australian Veterinary Association has issued a national warning to all
vets to report any serious kidney damage in small dogs in the past month.

"We have only become aware of this in the last three or four weeks, and we
need to make people aware there are some clear indications there is a
problem out there," AVA national president Mark Lawrie told The Advertiser
yesterday.

Mr Lawrie said the AVA had discussed the cases with a prominent pet-food
supplier suspected to be the source of the poison, which the AVA would not
name for legal reasons. Vets and small-dog owners have been told to look out
for warning signs:

INCREASED thirst and urination.

Related Coverage,

REDUCED appetite and lethargy.

VOMITING and weakness.

University of Sydney researchers have issued a national alert over the
kidney-destroying poison - but after a legal threat from the company, have
been banned by the university from making any public comment.

The AVA had also warned vets - in a national alert to all members to be
aware of the problem - against making comments to the media about the case.

One university researcher, who would not be named, said there was enough
evidence to recall the product but the safety message had been hampered by
threats from the company.

"We have not been able to call for cases and an open call to vets for cases
has just been made and we are aware of dozens of cases and suspect there are
hundreds," he said. "What is important is that the meat is sourced in China
and I think pet owners can trust the product if all the ingredients are
sourced in Australia."

The researcher said owners should be concerned about any breed but
especially dogs the size of a small terrier.

Studies of dead dogs are also being carried out to identify the cause, with
one brand of meat suspected of causing symptoms.

Vets have been urged to contact the University of Sydney Faculty of
Veterinary Science via email A.Arteaga@usyd.edu.au if they have suspected
cases of the poisoning.

KraMar chicken treats recalled - made in China

On the ABC news tonight there was a report that KraMar dried chicken treats are being recalled because of a suspicion that they are poisoning dogs.There is also a report on the AdelaideNow site.
Dogs who are affected may be drinking and urinating a lot, be unusually lethargic or vomiting.

I'm glad now that I'm a worrier. A couple of months ago I stopped feeding these great-looking treats because I like to read the fine print on things and I noticed they are made in China. Nowadays I don't feed anything to Penny unless I know all ingredients were sourced in Australia or New Zealand or unless the packet specifies no ingredients come from China.

I actually have a packet of these KraMar treats in the cupboard. I didn't want to feed them to her, but the treats appeared so healthy that it seemed a pity to throw them out.

Now I will throw them out!