Ava / Sydney Uni Warning On Dog Food

[SteveBa]

FYI correspondance from a source;

The pet products are now public and both are being removed or have already been removed from the market by the companies. These are:

Orijen dog and cat food: Causes spongiform encephalopathy in cats. No dog cases reported but the company has removed both products from the market.

Chicken breasts strips (chicken jerky) treats. It causes acquired Fanconi-like syndrome in dogs. The brand has just recalled this particular treats from the market. I would avoid any other chicken product if it is outsourced in China.

[squeak]

FYI correspondance from a source;

Chicken breasts strips (chicken jerky) treats. It causes acquired Fanconi-like syndrome in dogs. The brand has just recalled this particular treats from the market. I would avoid any other chicken product if it is outsourced in China.

Are you able to give us the brand name of the chicken jerky treats?

[SteveBa]

FYI correspondance from a source;

Chicken breasts strips (chicken jerky) treats. It causes acquired Fanconi-like syndrome in dogs. The brand has just recalled this particular treats from the market. I would avoid any other chicken product if it is outsourced in China.

Are you able to give us the brand name of the chicken jerky treats?

No, it wasnt on the info I was given, sorry

[CooperDog]

Hi,

I live in the U.S.A. and we had what sounds like a very similiar incident in 2007 that did not get as much attention as it should have since the country was reeling with the melamine poisonings of our pets.

This UK web site has a good article.

http://www.k9obedience.co.uk/doghealth/foo...ydogtreats.html

"High dose applications are used to sterilise packaged meat and other products that are to be sold on shelves without refrigeration. The label on Waggin Train Brand Chicken Jerky Tenders reads, “Irradiated food” and on Bestro's brand it says, “Irradiated, not for human consumption”."

These experiments upon our pets must stop!

Edited May 12, 2009 by CooperDog

[Winterpaws]

According to an ABC new report the brand is Kra-Mar - this information is in the public domain now so no fear of law suits one would think......

KraMar pulls dog food after poison reports

Posted 1 hour 45 minutes ago

Updated 7 minutes ago

KraMar says the withdrawal is a precaution.

KraMar says the withdrawal is a precaution. (Supplied)

* Video: Vets warned of possible pet food poisoning (ABC News)

The importer of a Chinese-made chicken dog treat has today voluntarily recalled the product, after reports of kidney damaging illnesses in dogs around Australia.

The company KraMar has withdrawn Supa Naturals Chicken breast strips, which it says is one of Australia's highest selling dog snacks.

A statement issued by KraMar says the withdrawal is a precaution.

It says testing has been conducted on every shipment for bacteria and for the poison melamine, which has been connected with cases of kidney malfunction in pets overseas.

KraMar's chief executive Brian Fouche say a link has not been scientifically established.

"It is a mystery to us, but in the interests of animal welfare we have decided to take this decision," he said.

KraMar says it is considering moving the manufacture of the chicken strip to Australia.

The Australian Veterinary Association earlier warned dog owners to immediately contact vets if their dogs show symptoms of kidney problems.

Association president Mark Lawrie says dogs may be drinking and urinating a lot, be unusually lethargic or vomiting.

"We certainly think that there's some indicators perhaps that there may be some linkages with some dog-treats," he said.

The symptoms are similar to those seen after poisoning with the toxic chemical melamine.

There was a mass recall of melamine-contaminated pet food containing Chinese ingredients in the US and Europe last year.

Mr Lawrie says the extent of the problem is not yet clear.

"There's been some reports of a thing called Fanconi syndrome, which is where there's glucose in the urine. But the blood levels are normal, indicating that there's some renal tubular damage or some damage to the kidneys," he said.

"There are some reports out there, but it's hard to quantify at this point."

Research shows link

Researchers from the University of Sydney earlier connected a kidney damaging syndrome in dogs to the chicken snacks.

Dr Linda Fleaman says there are a lot of cases around Australia of the normally rare acquired Fanconi syndrome.

"The one thing that is common with all of the cases, is that the dogs have among other things, eaten a certain chicken treat that has been sourced in China," he said.

"Although we have no idea what the cause of this problem is, we are concerned there's a link between the feeding of the treat and the emergence of this clinical syndrome."

Link to report - http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/09/2441919.htm

[Winterpaws]

Wow I never realised Kramar was an aussie company? There is a recall notice on the right hand side of the page on this link

http://www.kramar.com.au/aboutus.html

[poocow]

Yep it's Aussie, just imports from China

[helen]

Hi,

I live in the U.S.A. and we had what sounds like a very similiar incident in 2007 that did not get as much attention as it should have since the country was reeling with the melamine poisonings of our pets.

This UK web site has a good article. Posters at itchmoforums.com (currently MIA) thought the trouble could be related to the irradiation of the treats.

http://www.k9obedience.co.uk/doghealth/foo...ydogtreats.html

"High dose applications are used to sterilise packaged meat and other products that are to be sold on shelves without refrigeration. The label on Waggin Train Brand Chicken Jerky Tenders reads, “Irradiated food” and on Bestro's brand it says, “Irradiated, not for human consumption”."

These experiments upon our pets must stop!

Great link CooperDog.

The night before this article came out I had been speaking to another breeder who has redued processed food to their dogs and has been feeding them meat & vegetables (but cooked) and commented on how much better they are doing. After work I decided enough is enough and went to the supermarket and made a HUGE batch of BARF. My dogs have eaten it before and really love it.

There is a product made in Australia for those who want to feed BARF but not do the work, complete mix by Vets All Natural. You just need to add meat and bones - http://www.vetsallnatural.com.au/ - producer says a home made BARF diet is the ideal but this is great for those without the time

[CooperDog]

They are calling it Fanconi-like syndrome here in the U.S., too, and it still seems to be happening. What could be going on?

http://www.epinions.com/msg/show_~threads/...m_id_~247/pp_~3

[havahug]

They are Kramar Supa Naturals Chicken Breast Strips available at most supermarkets. I have given them to my dogs in the past but never again

[poochmad]

What I find interesting is that they are only talking about the chicken breast strips...but what about all the other products? The chicken bits and the rawhinde twists with chicken wrapped around it? (Yep, we used to give him these treats...no more!!)

[~Archie~]

I was in the supermarket tonight and the breast strips have been pulled from the shelf.

There was no sign up or anything stating that the product had been recalled. Shouldnt they have a sign up notifying people?!?!

[larry]

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

there are probably other brands affected, if this media alert from the usa last year is any indication.....

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

[PoodleAntics]

KraMar recalls chicken treats for dogs

KraMar, the importer of Chinese-made Supa Naturals Chicken breast strips, says it has recalled the dog snacks as a precaution following reports of kidney damaging illnesses in dogs around Australia.

Testing has been carried out on every shipment for bacteria and the poison melamine. Brian Fouche, KraMar’s chief executive, says a link has not been scientifically established.

“It is a mystery to us, but in the interests of animal welfare we have decided to take this decision,” he said.

Dr Linda Fleaman from the University of Sydney says the normally rare Fanconi syndrome has been seen in a large number of cases around Australia.

“The one thing that is common with all of the cases, is that the dogs have among other things, eaten a certain chicken treat that has been sourced in China,” he said. “Although we have no idea what the cause of this problem is, we are concerned there’s a link between the feeding of the treat and the emergence of this clinical syndrome.”

The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) 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 said.

The AVA have told vets and small dog owners to look out for warning signs of increased thirst and urination, reduced appetite and lethargy, vomiting and weakness.

Vets have been urged to contact the University of Sydney Faculty of Veterinary Science via email [email protected] if they have suspected cases of the poisoning.

Source: ABC News & The Advertiser, Dec 2008

[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 couple of 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