Chicken Treats From China Beware

[Lizzy06]

The brand I'm staying away from is KraMar Supa Naturals.

I now don't need to mention the brand.... Thankyou

Great i been feeding my dogs these's treats...

That is the only brand of Chicken Treats we gave squeak that caused her to go into renal failure.

It didnt effect our other dog, but we're getting her a full check up just incase! but she has a stomach of steel so she will eat anything thats on the ground.. haha, but its better to be safe than sorry.

We dont buy other chicken treats because squeak loves them, and have had to learn the hard way about what poorly made or imported food can do to your dog.

Is squeak a small dog? My vet told me that is is only the smaller breeds of dogs that it seems to affect. I guess they are so small and their organs are so small they cannot handle it? either way knowing what i know now i still wouldn't give it to a larger breed dog either!

How is Squeak now?

Also the vet said, that they get hooked on these treats, they tend to go off their food and the only food they will eat is these treats! It is so terrible, they better hurry up and take them off the shelves. I used to buy my lil Lizzy two packets a week. They were $5 a packet and stated they had no preservatives etc etc, i thought wow i cannot go wrong and she loved them, i pretty much only gave her those treats no others!

[westiemum]

Yep I used to give my guys the occasional chicken breast treat - you guessed it KraMar Supernaturals - got sucked in by the 'no artificial flavours, colours and preservatives'. Thank goodness they haven't had any for quite a while. Thanksk for posting the warning.

Reinforces for me the wisdom of a raw/barf diet where I know EXACTLY what is in it. (I don't trust canned/commercial dog food either - if treats can't be trusted neither can cans/commercial dog food as far as I'm concerned). IMO our quest for superfast feeding and convenience is hurting our dogs.

The only 'treats' my guys have had for a while is Blackmore's fish oil tablets - and they love them :D .

Cheers

Westiemum

[poocow]

Anthony - AQIS do not set the standards. Biosecurity Australia do - they do all the risk analysis of products and tells AQIS how to treat and product specifications.

[~Archie~]

Can someone please PM me the name, as my Mum buys Chicken Breast treats and i'd hate for them to be the same ones

[TeamSnag]

The brand I'm staying away from is KraMar Supa Naturals.

Can someone please PM me the name, as my Mum buys Chicken Breast treats and i'd hate for them to be the same ones

[~Archie~]

Thanks... I must have missed that!!!

[Guest Angel88]

How is Squeak now?

Also the vet said, that they get hooked on these treats, they tend to go off their food and the only food they will eat is these treats! It is so terrible, they better hurry up and take them off the shelves. I used to buy my lil Lizzy two packets a week. They were $5 a packet and stated they had no preservatives etc etc, i thought wow i cannot go wrong and she loved them, i pretty much only gave her those treats no others!

Yeah, squeak is a Maltese X Shih Tzu, shes doing ALLOT better now, but as I said before shes on medicine 3 times daily and still isnt her normal self, but shes getting there

Shes slowly putting weight back on, but while at the vet she lost so much weight that she was basically skin and bone, you could feel her spine completely so we are following the vets instructions to make her gain the weight she lost.

[MiniMum]

I got these for my guy thinking they would be okay. But within half an hour of having a small piece he started scratching and he kept it up for most of the night. It was the only new thing he had so it was easy to id what was causing the problem.

I don't buy treats anymore - I dehydrate chicken strips myself now.

I'm glad Squeak is doing better now

[westielover]

I have seen a lot of those 'dried chicken breast' treats and quite frankly I can't understand how anyone could think that something which is as bright orange as some of those treats are, could be natural or healthy for your dog. Then again, I have never been a fan of shmackos or rawhide either.

Why not consider buying treats like dried kangaroo jerky or dried tuna or something that's made here locally rather than imported from China. Check out ebay for dried kangaroo jerky, dired tuna and the like. Perhaps google dried turkey or dried fish treats and see what you can fnd. A lot of of the more boutique type pet supply stores have terrific healthy treats. Pet Barn & Pet Stock need to catch up where pet treats are concerned. Those greenies things are supposed to be somewhat dangerous too - I think a choking hazard. Raw hide can alo be a choking hazard once it gets moist in the dogs mouth and doesn't quite slide down their throat.

Think natural. You can't tell me that you can look at a schmacko and think it's looks like healthy nutritious treat ???

I am not having a go at anyone - I am just surprised I guess, as to what is perceived to be a natural looking treat. Are we sucked in by the big marketing campaigns of schmacko type maketing??

[koolietas]

I have seen a lot of those 'dried chicken breast' treats and quite frankly I can't understand how anyone could think that something which is as bright orange as some of those treats are, could be natural or healthy for your dog. Then again, I have never been a fan of shmackos or rawhide either.

Why not consider buying treats like dried kangaroo jerky or dried tuna or something that's made here locally rather than imported from China. Check out ebay for dried kangaroo jerky, dired tuna and the like. Perhaps google dried turkey or dried fish treats and see what you can fnd. A lot of of the more boutique type pet supply stores have terrific healthy treats. Pet Barn & Pet Stock need to catch up where pet treats are concerned. Those greenies things are supposed to be somewhat dangerous too - I think a choking hazard. Raw hide can alo be a choking hazard once it gets moist in the dogs mouth and doesn't quite slide down their throat.

Think natural. You can't tell me that you can look at a schmacko and think it's looks like healthy nutritious treat ???

I am not having a go at anyone - I am just surprised I guess, as to what is perceived to be a natural looking treat. Are we sucked in by the big marketing campaigns of schmacko type maketing??

To be honest westielover, I never once thought that the colour of the treats I fed ever looked bright orange - so I'm not sure which one's you are referring to??? The treats I fed smelled delicious too - literally just like roast chicken.

I am particularly fussy when feeding anything to my boy...when I used to feed Barf, I only bought organic fruit & veg. I've never once given him treats with any colours/additives/preservatives and I don't feed cheese/hotdogs/processed deli meats due to the salt content.

It is not always easy (for me anyway) to buy treats online - and there's few stores in Tas that sell acceptable treats. So the convenience of buying these treats at the supermarket was great.

I've never once fed my dog a schamckos or rawhide. I don't see how you can say that a dried chicken breast treat isn't healthy...I suppose if these treats are determined to have been the cause of these illnesses then we've been unlucky and have learnt a lesson not to buy treats that have been manufactured in China.

You'd probably be surprised to learn how much of the food that we buy (frozen veg, canned veg, prawns etc.) are imported from China and the like.

[Tzu_lover]

I feed my dog Fit N Flash dehydrated chicken breast, it is made in Australia, but isnt available everywhere, it seems to be select vets and is about $12 a packet

http://www.qcity.com.au/index.php?c=109&p=270

I just went to that site and noticed all the Chinese writing next to the products.Doesn't give me much reassurance...

I've e-mailed asking where their treats are made.

I think the best thing all of us can do is go out buy our own dehydrators! You can make all sorts of jerky and treats,such as chicken breast,liver,fish,sweet potato,the list is endless! And a much cheaper option too.

[~Archie~]

I feed my dog Fit N Flash dehydrated chicken breast, it is made in Australia, but isnt available everywhere, it seems to be select vets and is about $12 a packet

http://www.qcity.com.au/index.php?c=109&p=270

I just went to that site and noticed all the Chinese writing next to the products.Doesn't give me much reassurance...

I've e-mailed asking where their treats are made.

I think the best thing all of us can do is go out buy our own dehydrators! You can make all sorts of jerky and treats,such as chicken breast,liver,fish,sweet potato,the list is endless! And a much cheaper option too.

I have a packet and it says Australian Made on the packet!!

[MissMaddy]

I just bought a bag of chicken liver treats yesterday, then just found this today. Both my pets were also on orijen, so this is really destroying any faith I have in any food I don't prepare myself. I think both my dog and cat will be going onto home made barf now. And I'll do my own dehydrated treats. The way I'm going, anyone would think I'm purposely trying to kill my cat, he's had both the orijen food and now some of these treats.

[poochmad]

What a bugger! Henschke loves those chicken treats and we've just bought 3 bags! We were also feeding orijen and now we have to look for something else...sigh...

[larry]

i wonder what manufacturers in china were involved in this AVMA (USA) media alert from last year

http://www.avma.org/press/media_alerts/070...erky_treats.asp

there are probably lots of other companies importing chicken jerky treats into australia and the usa that are made in china under a range of brand names, however the common factor is that they are made in china....

it seems from dog food contamination problems in recent years that the smaller dogs are always worst affected, however just because big dogs don't always get chronic symptoms, it doesn't mean that they are getting internal damage....

Edited December 11, 2008 by larry

[cheekycairn]

Some additional information for you...

AUSTRALIAN company recalls chicken strips after dogs fall ill

10.dec.08

ConsumerAffairs.com

Lisa Wade McCormick

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008...pet_recall.html

An Australia company has recalled some of its Chinese-made chicken strips because the treats may cause illnesses in small dogs. And those illnesses sound similar to the ones dogs and cats have experienced after eating Nutro food, according to a regular ConsumerAffairs.com reader.

The KraMar Pet Company of Australia announced the recall today, saying it has received 15 reported cases of illnesses since it launched its Supa Naturals chicken breast strips 15 months ago.

The company acknowledged a possible linked between the treats and instances of Fanconi-Like Syndrome in small dogs.

Symptoms of that illness include:

• Decreased food consumption, although some may continue to consume the treats to the exclusion of other foods

• Decreased activity or lethargy

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea, sometimes with blood

• Increased water consumption and/or increased urination

In severe cases, blood tests may indicate kidney failure and glucose in the urine may indicate Fanconi-Like Syndrome, the company said.

KraMar officials said it may ask a veterinarian at the University of Sydney to investigate the recent illnesses in the dogs that ate its chicken strips.

The company, however, says there is no scientific evidence linking its chicken strips to Fanconi-Like Syndrome.

KraMar officials also said the company has tested every shipment of the treats for E.coli, salmonella, and melamine. To date, those tests have come back negative.

Nonetheless, the company decided to recall the chicken strips because "KraMar regards the health and welfare of all dogs as paramount."

"This precautionary measure has been taken despite the lack of scientific evidence because of our concerns for the welfare of dogs," said KraMar's CEO Bryan Fouche. "We have been in the market of supplying dog care products for over 50 years and our customers rely on us to maintain the care."

Fouche said his company is exploring the option of moving its production facility for Supa Naturals products to Australia.

KraMar's recall comes a little more than a year after the FDA warned pet owners to be wary of feeding their dogs chicken jerky products, including chicken tenders, strips, and treats.

"There is a potential association between illness in dogs and these products," the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) warned last September. "(The) FDA has received over 70 complaints involving more than 95 dogs experiencing illness that their owners associated with eating chicken jerky products."

FDA officials added, "To date, (the) FDA has not been able to determine a definitive cause for the reported illnesses. The agency has conducted extensive chemical and microbial testing but has not identified any contaminant. Many of the illnesses reported may be the result of causes other than eating chicken jerky."

The FDA said it also received information from The Pet Hospital, a network of pet hospitals across the country, that suggested a possible link between eating chicken jerky products and signs of gastrointestinal illness.

Some of those symptoms included: decreased appetite, decreased activity, or lethargy, vomiting and diarrhea, sometimes with blood, increased water drinking, and urination.

"An individual dog may show some or all of these signs," the FDA said. "Blood tests may indicate kidney failure (increased urea nitrogen and creatinine). Urine tests may indicate Fanconi syndrome (increased glucose). Although most dogs appear to recover, some dogs have died."

At that time, the FDA warned consumers who fed their dogs chicken jerky strips to watch their pets for any of these symptoms.

If their dogs showed any of these problems, pet owners were advised to contact their veterinarians and the FDA.

"Sounds familiar"

A regular ConsumerAffairs.com reader, who heard about this recall, told us today: "Sound familiar?...I can't help but wonder if this is related to the dogs in the US with these type of symptoms (unrelated to the Menu Foods incident)."

Reader Carol V. of Rhode Island was referring to the growing number dogs and cats that have experienced similar-digestive type problems after eating Nutro food.

Consider the problems Kristy V. of Scottsdale, Arizona, told us her dog suffered after eating Nutro food.

"My 18-month-old Weimaraner had been eating Nutro lamb and rice food since he was old enough to chew," she said. "We never had any problems until one day he started vomiting and having explosive diarrhea. Within a couple of days he started having blood in the mucous-filled stool and then he was basically just passing blood. He was very lethargic."

Kristy said her vet ran a few tests, but they didn't come up with any conclusive results.

"The vet suggested an allergy to the food, which didn't really make sense given the severity of his symptoms," Kristy told us. "We tried giving him chicken broth and white rice, which he would eat. But every time we tried to give him the Nutro he wouldn't eat it. It gave us an idea that there might be something wrong with the food, so we switched him to the Science Diet ID food that the vet has suggested."

"Our dog acted like he had been starved, and ate this food ravenously. Within days his stools were solid and he gained the energy that most young Weimaraners should have."

Kristy said she contacted Nutro, but the company failed to respond as promised.

"I am very disappointed with Nutro and the fact that they have not done anything to recall the products given the amount of complaints and similarity of the symptoms from dogs and cats eating this food," she said.

Nutro has repeatedly told ConsumerAffairs.com that its food is 100 percent safe and meets standards set by the FDA, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Association of American Feed Control Officials.

[larry]

i wonder what contamination factor they will find in this case.... ?

it was a pity that kramar didn't want to recall their product, and tried to threaten the vets involved first...15 sick dogs, so far...... seems like a significant problem ?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/09/2441919.htm

i would have thought that their customer's dogs welfare would come first ?

the problem is that if you get dog food made in china, even if a company has a haccp plan, this doesn't protect their customers. There have been many cases in the past 2-3 years where food companies in china have used lower quality and unsafe ingredients, and then hide the fact, and haccp auditors haven't found out......

China needs to really overhaul their food safety system, plus they need to also treat pet food as something deserving of similar safety standards as human food......

Edited December 11, 2008 by larry

[Lizzy06]

Some additional information for you...

AUSTRALIAN company recalls chicken strips after dogs fall ill

10.dec.08

ConsumerAffairs.com

Lisa Wade McCormick

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008...pet_recall.html

An Australia company has recalled some of its Chinese-made chicken strips because the treats may cause illnesses in small dogs. And those illnesses sound similar to the ones dogs and cats have experienced after eating Nutro food, according to a regular ConsumerAffairs.com reader.

The KraMar Pet Company of Australia announced the recall today, saying it has received 15 reported cases of illnesses since it launched its Supa Naturals chicken breast strips 15 months ago.

The company acknowledged a possible linked between the treats and instances of Fanconi-Like Syndrome in small dogs.

Symptoms of that illness include:

• Decreased food consumption, although some may continue to consume the treats to the exclusion of other foods

• Decreased activity or lethargy

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea, sometimes with blood

• Increased water consumption and/or increased urination

In severe cases, blood tests may indicate kidney failure and glucose in the urine may indicate Fanconi-Like Syndrome, the company said.

KraMar officials said it may ask a veterinarian at the University of Sydney to investigate the recent illnesses in the dogs that ate its chicken strips.

The company, however, says there is no scientific evidence linking its chicken strips to Fanconi-Like Syndrome.

KraMar officials also said the company has tested every shipment of the treats for E.coli, salmonella, and melamine. To date, those tests have come back negative.

Nonetheless, the company decided to recall the chicken strips because "KraMar regards the health and welfare of all dogs as paramount."

"This precautionary measure has been taken despite the lack of scientific evidence because of our concerns for the welfare of dogs," said KraMar's CEO Bryan Fouche. "We have been in the market of supplying dog care products for over 50 years and our customers rely on us to maintain the care."

Fouche said his company is exploring the option of moving its production facility for Supa Naturals products to Australia.

KraMar's recall comes a little more than a year after the FDA warned pet owners to be wary of feeding their dogs chicken jerky products, including chicken tenders, strips, and treats.

"There is a potential association between illness in dogs and these products," the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) warned last September. "(The) FDA has received over 70 complaints involving more than 95 dogs experiencing illness that their owners associated with eating chicken jerky products."

FDA officials added, "To date, (the) FDA has not been able to determine a definitive cause for the reported illnesses. The agency has conducted extensive chemical and microbial testing but has not identified any contaminant. Many of the illnesses reported may be the result of causes other than eating chicken jerky."

The FDA said it also received information from The Pet Hospital, a network of pet hospitals across the country, that suggested a possible link between eating chicken jerky products and signs of gastrointestinal illness.

Some of those symptoms included: decreased appetite, decreased activity, or lethargy, vomiting and diarrhea, sometimes with blood, increased water drinking, and urination.

"An individual dog may show some or all of these signs," the FDA said. "Blood tests may indicate kidney failure (increased urea nitrogen and creatinine). Urine tests may indicate Fanconi syndrome (increased glucose). Although most dogs appear to recover, some dogs have died."

At that time, the FDA warned consumers who fed their dogs chicken jerky strips to watch their pets for any of these symptoms.

If their dogs showed any of these problems, pet owners were advised to contact their veterinarians and the FDA.

"Sounds familiar"

A regular ConsumerAffairs.com reader, who heard about this recall, told us today: "Sound familiar?...I can't help but wonder if this is related to the dogs in the US with these type of symptoms (unrelated to the Menu Foods incident)."

Reader Carol V. of Rhode Island was referring to the growing number dogs and cats that have experienced similar-digestive type problems after eating Nutro food.

Consider the problems Kristy V. of Scottsdale, Arizona, told us her dog suffered after eating Nutro food.

"My 18-month-old Weimaraner had been eating Nutro lamb and rice food since he was old enough to chew," she said. "We never had any problems until one day he started vomiting and having explosive diarrhea. Within a couple of days he started having blood in the mucous-filled stool and then he was basically just passing blood. He was very lethargic."

Kristy said her vet ran a few tests, but they didn't come up with any conclusive results.

"The vet suggested an allergy to the food, which didn't really make sense given the severity of his symptoms," Kristy told us. "We tried giving him chicken broth and white rice, which he would eat. But every time we tried to give him the Nutro he wouldn't eat it. It gave us an idea that there might be something wrong with the food, so we switched him to the Science Diet ID food that the vet has suggested."

"Our dog acted like he had been starved, and ate this food ravenously. Within days his stools were solid and he gained the energy that most young Weimaraners should have."

Kristy said she contacted Nutro, but the company failed to respond as promised.

"I am very disappointed with Nutro and the fact that they have not done anything to recall the products given the amount of complaints and similarity of the symptoms from dogs and cats eating this food," she said.

Nutro has repeatedly told ConsumerAffairs.com that its food is 100 percent safe and meets standards set by the FDA, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Association of American Feed Control Officials.

My vet told me they cannot pin these treats on my pooches bad health. They said she had to have glucose in her urine and that this was never noted as being abnormal.

It states above that they may have a high urea level..... which is what she had.! It doesn't say they have to have an abnormal urine reading. Im so annoyed i just want answers as to what to do etc!

[CooperDog]

i wonder what contamination factor they will find in this case.... ?

it was a pity that kramar didn't want to recall their product, and tried to threaten the vets involved first...15 sick dogs, so far...... seems like a significant problem ?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/09/2441919.htm

i would have thought that their customer's dogs welfare would come first ?

the problem is that if you get dog food made in china, even if a company has a haccp plan, this doesn't protect their customers. There have been many cases in the past 2-3 years where food companies in china have used lower quality and unsafe ingredients, and then hide the fact, and haccp auditors haven't found out......

China needs to really overhaul their food safety system, plus they need to also treat pet food as something deserving of similar safety standards as human food......

There is a good link there for a treatment protocol for vets to use for Fanconi syndrome, whether genetic or induced by a toxin like these treats are doing.

http://www.zandebasenjis.com/protocol.htm

The testing that companies do on their own products is just so inadequate.

Edited May 12, 2009 by CooperDog

[Bisart Dobes]

Have found a way to help with this issue.

1. We have a large breed (dobermanns) - so please don't think that this will only affect small dogs.

2. We feed a totally natural diet (don't normally buy manufactured treats at all).

One of our bitches was baited at a show earlier this year, from which we were extremely lucky not to lose her. She ended up with stomach ulcers and took several months to regain balance in her digestive system. She had to be on a bland chicken, rice - digestive enzyme diet - the biggest no no for her was wheat and yeast. We dry liver for our dogs for treats but she couldn't have them because it was too rich for her. Finally I found a 'natural chicken breast' treat for her - bought one packet and she loved it - so ofcourse I bought some more for her (thankfully didn't give to our other dogs). Within about 3 weeks her system crashed again - she dropped about 10 kgs, all the symptoms listed etc etc. I took her off the treats straight away as that was the only thing that had changed. (Like most people I felt so bad when I heard it on Wednesday - the last thing my poor girl needed was to be given something that very nearly destroyed her digestive system again).

We have had the past six weeks stressing about her and trying to get her system rebalanced - the vets have no idea what to do (& I used to be a vet nurse) and so we have been to a Homeopath / Natropath (she has had alot of cases like this in the past 12 months but it has got far worse in the past 3 months).

Her diagnosis was liver, kidney, spleen, stomach and thyroid imbalance. The first session took about 3 hrs but it was worth it - tissue salts, digestive enzymes, calcium syrup 10ml for the past 4 wks, cod liver oil, vitamin c mega dose and 5 different homeopathic drop solutions. She was on the mend.

We have just had her 2nd session - follow up and diagnosis was kidney, stomach and thyroid - far better that first one. She is much happier in herself, putting the weight back on and her system in balancing out again.

If you have issues with your dog like the ones listed - take your dog to the vet and get the bloods done, then find a homeopath / natropath and get the dogs reading done and the system balanced - I have no doubt that this can kill dogs if not halted and treated.

Never buying another manufactured treat again,

Bernadette & Lexi

(DUAL CH (T) Bisart Diamond Spirit CGC CD ET WAC ROM