canidae? wth?

[grammie]

http://www.petfoodrecallfacts.com/lab.html

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NEW LAB REPORT ADDED SEPTEMBER 4, 2007

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A pet food sample believed to be a composite of Canidae All Life Stages Dry Dog Food - best by date RM 6/7/07, use by 6/7/08, and Canidae (All Life Stages) Lamb and Rice Formula Dry Dog Food - best by date RM 6/6/07, use by 6/6/08 tests positive for acetaminophen. A big thank you to everyone who has been willing to come forward to help make test results available to others. I don't think there is any way to express how critical this infomation may be in getting down to the root causes of the poison pet food epidemic. It is my understanding this food was purchased within the last month and has never been recalled.

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ACETAMINOPHEN

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According to the Merck Manual(12)an acetaminophen overdose in humans follows a 4 step pattern. The first 24 hours the symptoms are anorexia, nausea, and vomiting. 24 to 72 hours abdominal pain is added. At 72 to 96 hours liver and kidney failure may occur. Sometime after 5 days, you either get better or drop dead when your organs fail.

This article(13) also describes kidney failure in people from acetaminophen overdoses, although in language not in common usage by the layman. Renal means kidneys. Hepatic means liver. Necrosis means it kills the cells. Those three terms will help us layman through the high points in the piece. Unfortunately, the pattern on acetaminophen information seems to be the more credible the source, the more bogged down with technical jargon it becomes.

This site(14) describes some of what goes into handling and packaging materials shipped in bulk, and lists both acetaminophen and cyanuric acid as being substances they handle. I wish to stress at this point that this company, to the best of my knowledge, has absolutely no connection to the pet food recall whatsoever. I include the reference solely to illustrate that a wide variety of substances are handled at any given packaging plant.

While there are many references available which describe the symptoms and effects of a massive single dose acetaminophen poisoning incident, there does not appear to be any references on the effects of small doses received with every meal over the course of days. There also appears to be little consensus on what constitutes a lethal dose of acetaminophen in cats. One site gives half a 325 mg. tablet, or 160 mg., as being lethal, (15)while another gives a range of 50-100 mg. per kg. of body weight, which would be a dose of 200 to 400 mg. (16) The ASPCA quotes a figure of 10 mg. per kg. of body weight, which would be about 40 mg. for an average size cat, as being potentially lethal, and concludes, "Perhaps the safest way to look at acetaminophen toxicity in cats is that no dose is safe.".(17)

In addition to questions on dosage, symptoms appear to vary. For example, edema (swelling) of the face is viewed as a classic symptom of acetaminophen poisoning in cats, but in one study where 4 cats were given massive doses of the drug, one cat did not display this symptom.(18)

It is perhaps impossible to form a conclusion on exactly what symptoms would appear in connection with smaller, but repeated doses of acetaminophen in cats and dogs. More uncertainty is added if cyanuric acid affects the toxic effect of the drug. Much of the available information related to the pet food recall is consistent with acetaminophen poisoning. Dogs are less affected than cats. Lethargy, vomiting, loss of appetite and anemia are consistent with both kidney failure and acetaminophen poisoning. Elevated BUN and creatinine levels are also seen in both cases.

Dark urine associated with acetaminophen poisoning would likely be missed in the liter box if it occurs at all with lower doses. Acetaminophen is known to cause kidney damage in studies of animals and humans, both from heavy usage over a period of time and from overdoses. While it may be argued the symptoms of a massive acetaminophen overdose in cats is not completely consistent with the publicized recall symptoms, the publicized recall symptoms are anecdotal at best, and the situation is not one of a single dose poisoning incident.

The two things we do know with certainty is that acetaminophen is poisonous to cats in any amount, and, that independent tests are detecting acetaminophen in pet food samples.

 

[grammie]

more:

http://petfoodtracker.blogspot.com/2007/09/canidae-dry-dog-food-tests-positive-for.html

Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Canidae Dry Dog Food tests positive for Acetaminophen in Private Test
EDITED: The original dates posted were incorrect, showing July instead of June. Correct dates are below.

A composite of two different Canidae Dry Dog foods has tested positive for acetaminophen in tests done by Expertox. The food was sent in by a pet owner - samples from opened bags were sent to Expertox in ziploc bags. Additional tests on samples from sealed bags are expected to be done shortly. A copy of the test results can be found at http://www.petfoodrecallfacts.com/lab.html.

The two foods are:



Canidae All Life Stages Dry Dog Food
RM 6/7/07, use by 6/7/08
http://www.canidae.com/dogs/all_life_stages/dry.html


Canidae (All Life Stages) Lamb and Rice Formula Dry Dog Food
RM 6/6/07, use by 6/6/08
http://www.canidae.com/dogs/lamb-and-rice/dry.html

Both bags were purchased in early July, 2007. It is not known at this time whether one or both of these foods contain acetaminophen.

[Missy/Precious mom]

Yeah, you're back.  Was getting worried about you.  Thought we wore you out too bad.

[Patti]

What?? That is horrible. I'm glad we stopped the canidae about 3 months ago, but we were planning on going back at some point.

[BoxerPerson]

Well hello!  Another recall. this is really getting bad!!!

[Missy/Precious mom]

I switch back and forth between Canidae and Nutro Ultra.  I might just start giving her my food. ha ha.

[BoxerPerson]

Joking aside Joyce, it might be better if you did!  I have been feeding mine homecooked/raw since Hailey was diagnosed with DM. Well actually when Tyler was found to be diabetic, but then I kind of slacked off for a bit.

[Missy/Precious mom]

I'm going to start researching on home cooked and raw.  I am just afraid I'll screw something up or end up with ruined new carpeting.

[dogs4jen]

Oh no!  Lulu's on homecooked now, but we still feed the Susie dog Canadae.  The current bag is a month or so old, it's being used up much more slowly since just Susie is eating it.
Jen

[boxer pal]

Yep, I have a bag of that that's about half gone.  Damn - it's one of the least expensive of the premium foods too.  AND my dogs do well on it!  CRAP! 
Thanks for sharing that Grammie! 

[dogs4jen]

Okay, so what are we supposed to do if our bag has those dates?  Toss it?  Food is such a crapshoot now...grrr  I hate to waste it, but obviously I don't want to poison my dog.
Jen

[whitedaisy]

I just checked the Canidae site - the recall notice board was updated today and it has no info on this. Just makes me wonder if this info is accurate. It's so hard to know anymore, isn't it.

[grammie]

here's canidae's response and ppl's comments.  I'll do wait and see as far as legitamacy of the lab's claim.  I don't trust any companies word when it comes to my dogs health.  Information is too slow and comes after the fact in most cases.

http://www.itchmo.com/canidae-responds-to-acetaminophen-test-results-2654

Canidae Responds To Acetaminophen Test Results

Posted on Wednesday, September 5th, 2007 at 1:25 pm in News for Cats, Dogs & Owners, National Dog, Cat & Pet Info, Dogs, Cats, Pet Food Recalls & Safety.
By Emily Huh

Expertox, a Texas lab, claimed they found acetaminophen in a mixed sample of two different dry dog foods. Internet reports claim that the two dog foods that were sent to Expertox were Canidae.

We spoke to a Canidae spokesperson this morning. He said they received the Expertox lab results yesterday.

This morning the company sent out samples of the dry dog food kibbles in question, and individual supplements in their food to various independent labs for testing.

The Canidae spokesperson said the original email from the woman who tested the sample said the production dates of the two dog foods were July 6 and July 7. Canidae said they did not have any pet food with a production date of July 7 because it was on a Saturday after the July 4th weekend.

Yesterday, Canidae received a picture bearing the production codes on the tested bags of food to Canidae. The spokesperson said the production dates of the food tested were actually June dates instead of July dates as she originally said.

The Canidae spokesperson also said the tested sample is from Wyoming, and there is only one Canidae distributor in the state of Wyoming. He said the last shipment of Canidae to that Wyoming store was on May 29, so that means the lot codes that the store would carry would be in the mid-late May time frame and not in June or July.

He suspected the food sample was actually purchased in Colorado.

The Canidae spokerperson said no one has reported a pet getting sick from eating any of the company’s pet food.

UPDATE: We contacted Mary, the woman who originally posted about Expertox’s results. She is a friend to the woman who sent in the mixed sample to the lab. She declined giving us the woman’s contact information.


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54 Responses to “Canidae Responds To Acetaminophen Test Results”
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sandi says:

September 7th, 2007 at 6:07 am
If the woman will not divulge name of the complainant, how or why are we to believe this story? Also, could the acetominiphen been planted??

Till the woman comes forward, I think, it is an advertising gimmick by dog food vendors.

Sandi

javakitty says:

September 7th, 2007 at 9:02 am
I agree with Sandi. The woman is acting very suspicious and the whole story sounds like a finger in my chili!

E. Hamilton says:

September 7th, 2007 at 11:05 am
EXACTLY what good is a persons name in figuring out the truth of a lab report?
I admit that the PFI or some other pet food company or even a stupid troll would LIKE to know but it has nothing to do with the report.

Even the “spokesperson” for the pet food was NOT named. So does that mean that Canidea is ADMITTING to putting POISON in pet food? I don’t think so.

ellie says:

September 7th, 2007 at 11:20 am
E. Hamilton says:
EXACTLY what good is a persons name in figuring out the truth of a lab report?
———-

The issue isn’t the lab report per se. It’s what was sent to the lab for analysis, and by whom. A person perhaps with a vested interest in discrediting the company? With a vendetta and a desire to “prove” all pet food companies are evil?

Rumor and innuendo can do a LOT of damage to a company, and here we have someone who won’t even come forward? What’s the person’s motive? Truth, or just blackening the reputation of a company that has previously been unscathed?

It’s a matter of simple fairness for the person who submitted the sample to provide details and specifics–like why the heck she mixed two foods in the first place–if she wants to reach the truth. Unless of course that person has some reason to lurk in the shadows.

[whitepupzoe]

Ummm...I am so confused! I just bought a bag of Canidea Lamb and Rice last week! Should I stop feeding it? WTF! 

[steph0808]

I'm so confused! I think we threw out our bag a few weeks ago after transferring the food to our air-tight container, but I will have to check.  If it is just one bag in Wyoming/Colorado, I think we're safe.  I really don't want to switch to another food - Jax and Brody both love Canidae (Jax is super picky).  Argh! Canidae's website still doesn't say anything about it.