Poisonous Pet Food
The story of the recall of tainted pet food just got worse. It turns out that the food was contaminated with a rat poison, according to tests conducted by the New York State Department of Agriculture. ABC news is reporting the poison has been identified as aminopterin, which is used in some foreign countries but is not licensed for use in the United States. The New York authorities are not confirming that report at this hour, however.
Spokeswoman Jessica Chittenden would not identify the chemical or its source beyond saying it was a rodent poison.
ABC News reported it was aminopterin that may have been on imported wheat used in the pet food. Aminopterin is used to kill rats in some countries but is not registered for that use in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The chemical, also a cancer drug, is highly toxic in high doses.
Officials from the agriculture department and Cornell University's Animal Health Diagnostic Center would not immediately confirm the ABC report but scheduled a news conference Friday afternoon to release laboratory findings from tests on the pet food.
The Food and Drug Administration has said the investigation was focusing on wheat gluten in the food. Wheat gluten itself would not cause kidney failure, but the common ingredient could have been contaminated by heavy metals or mold toxins, the FDA said.
State and FBI officials said they knew of no criminal investigations in the case.
This is pretty ugly right now. There are a number of different press conferences scheduled for later today, I'll update or put up a new post as appropriate.
Other Links to this Post
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Blue Crab Boulevard » Klepto-Rodent — Sunday, 25 March , 2007 @ 7:57 am
By feeblemind, Saturday, 24 March , 2007 @ 10:45 am
Drudge had a link that reported that tainted wheat was purchased from China, probably at a bargain price. Wheat sprayed with a liquid rodenticide, which means the tainted wheat was actually rat bait. If true, one wonders if it was sold this way on purpose or unknowingly? Either way, I bet the pet food manufacturer has little to no legal recourse if it came from China. On the other hand, word of this will get around the trade and could hurt Chinese grain exports.
By rootdoctor, Monday, 2 April , 2007 @ 10:47 am
The substance in the pet food is MELAMINE. This is a plastic which contains cyanide. For more info on this, go here:(http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic118.htm )
For information on antidote (injectable B-12), go here:
http://www.inchem.org/documents/antidote/antidote/ant02.htm
To make your own homecooked foods for pets, remember that they need nutrients other than what is found in tablescraps. I am making salmon for my felines….also I add fresh bee pollen, and soak chia seeds in the juice. Also adding food grade kelp.
For dog food, brown rice and chicken or chicken livers, or hamburger. Remember that meat or beans should be accompanied by rice so that it is a complete protein and these items must be consumed at the same time.
By Gaius, Monday, 2 April , 2007 @ 1:12 pm
There is a later post that covers the discovery of the melamine.