Jerky treats could be killing cats and dogs
USA Today
The Food and Drug Administration is asking pet owners and veterinarians to help solve a mystery: Why have jerky treats coming mostly from China sickened more than 3,600 dogs and cats and killed at least 580 of them since 2007?
The number of illnesses and deaths — the vast majority of which have affected dogs — has risen since January.
“Much like us humans, these pets ought to be able to eat their food and not get sick from it,” says Michael Blackwell, president of the Humane Society University.
Blackwell says there is little the consumer can do.
“It you are dealing with a contaminant or an adulterant, it’s not going to show up on the label.”
The agency is not issuing a recall or naming brands of jerky treats. It says most have been made in China, but notes that manufacturers are not required to list the country of origin for ingredients on pet food labels.
There was no comment on the allegations in Chinese media on Thursday.
Wild Thing’s comment…………
Remember a few years back it was dog food and cat food from China that was killing pets. Now it is the treats.
Why on earth does our country keep buying things for our pets from these communists that keep killing our animals. We should stop buying from China!
In America we have the FDA inspectors checking how our food is grown and processed and we still have problems. In China, food they export is watered with sewage and processed in unsanitary conditions and we pay the price for it over here. We import inferior metal products from China all in the name of wanting to pay less at the checkout counter. If we Americans were willing to pay a little more money for products, we could get industry started back up in the US and produce safer and more reliable products.
I read recently that chikens are sent from America to China for processing. There they are mixed with who knows what and are sent back to America as processed chicken breasts and nuggets. All to save a few bucks. America, the former breadbasket of the world, now imports lots of our food. Not because we are short of food. No, it is to avoid govt. interference, save a few bucks and to evade the environmentalists.
I will not buy food from Walmart.