Michigan State University Study Finds Tainted Pet Food Killed More Than 300 Pets
Thanks to the Associated Press for this update.
Bad Pet Food May Have Killed Nearly 350
By KATHY BARKS HOFFMANLANSING, Mich. (AP) — More than 300 dogs and cats may have died earlier this year as a result of eating contaminated pet food, a survey released Thursday shows.
There were no accurate counts earlier on how many pets had died from eating contaminated food, although estimates had run from a few dozen to several thousand.The Michigan State University study showed the cause of death may have been related to melamine and cyanuric acid, two food contaminants that turned deadly when pet food manufacturers combined them.
“When combined, they form crystals which can block the kidneys,” said Wilson Rumbeiha, an associate professor in Michigan State’s Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health.
“Unfortunately, these crystals don’t dissolve easily. They go away slowly, if at all, so there is the potential for chronic toxicity,” Rumbeiha said.
Rumbeiha found that 347 cases met the criteria for what he called “pet food-induced nephrotoxicity.” The cases involved 235 cats and 112 dogs.
A request for comment was left Thursday with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which oversees pet food safety among its other duties.
Michigan State based its findings on data collected from veterinarians, veterinary technicians and pathologists from April 5 through June 6.
The survey was commissioned by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians.
The Michigan State study found that more cats and smaller dogs got sick than larger dogs, and that the most cases of animals sickened by the contaminated food occurred in Texas, Illinois and Michigan.
About a quarter of the affected animals already had a condition that made them more susceptible, such as kidney or cardiovascular disease.
“The good news is we are not seeing any new cases,” Rumbeiha said
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350? This gross underestimate of the number of pets who either died or suffered illness as a result of the tainted pet food is an insult to the TRUE number of pets–in the thousands–who were victimized by the pet food industry.
Once again, it appears the scope and impact of the 2007 pet food tragedy is being under-reported in order to soften the guilt of the pet food industry.
Maybe more like 300 A DAY !!! There were about 5 dogs that died from the food in our local shelter and my vet said that 1 dog and 2 cats from his clientele died. That’s 8 that I know of personally. As usual, just continuing to sweep it under the rug.
I’m absolutely NOT convinced that only 300 pets died from the pet food recalls. I’m still getting emails from people who have just recently discovered that the food they fed was on the recall list - after their pets have died with symptoms consistent with the poisoning.
Much of the reporting of pet deaths due to the recalls has been done online, but not everyone online and even of those who are, not all of them would know where to go to report their pet’s illness or death. And I’d venture a guess too, that for some people, their pets simply died and they left it at that, not even thinking it could be caused by their pet’s food.
There is no real way to know exactly how many pets have died from the recalls, but I’m certain it was more than 300.