China View reports:On Dec. 22, 2008, the agricultural authority received a report which said more than 300 dogs died at two shelters in Taipei county. Staff with the shelters said the dogs were extremely weak, jaundice, and had blood in their urine. The symptoms are typical of liver damage. According to Taiwan media, another 1,000 dogs, with … Continue reading Aflatoxin Kills 1300 Shelter Dogs in Taiwan
Category: pet food safety
Ultimate Smackdown Cage Match: FDA vs. Yellow-Bellies
Never fear: the FDA SWAT team is on da job. That's right, just when you were worried that eggs, baby formula, and other milk products were contaminated with the same toxins which killed thousands of pets in 2007, the FDA swoops in to save us all from the menace of [insert JAWS theme here] PET … Continue reading Ultimate Smackdown Cage Match: FDA vs. Yellow-Bellies
Orijen Dry Cat Food Problems in Australia: Answers
Champion Pet Foods, makers of Orijen, have posted a pdf explaining why the Australian cats developed neurological problems and some had to be euthanized as a result. In a nutshell, Australia required Orijen cat food to be irradiated at a very high level which knocked out the food's Vitamin A and caused the fatty acids … Continue reading Orijen Dry Cat Food Problems in Australia: Answers
Orijen Dry Cat Food Linked to Illness/Death in Australia
A number of cats in Australia have become ill and some have died. Orijen brand cat food is apparently the only thing these cats have in common:A cat neurologist, Georgina Child, has put down five cats over the past week and treated or consulted with other vets about more than a dozen others suffering from … Continue reading Orijen Dry Cat Food Linked to Illness/Death in Australia
Treats on the Internets
The FDA says people are getting scammed by callers identifying themselves as FDA agents. Can you imagine the poor sod who calls my number? Before he got a chance to try the extortion scam, I would have given him such an earful about food safety and the pharmaceutical companies' stranglehold on health, he'd be admitting … Continue reading Treats on the Internets
This is That Time of the Year
"The Holidays" are an annual excuse for all sorts of pet advice in the media. There are common sense suggestions, such as being watchful that pets don't slip out the front door amidst all the comings and goings of holiday guests, as well as good advice on preventing dogs from eating anything toxic, such as … Continue reading This is That Time of the Year
The Usual(ly Ignored) Suspects
Let's say you wanted to smuggle something rilly illegal - say assault weapons with silencers - into a war zone - say Iraq. You come up with a plan to stash the weapons on pallets, surrounded by something legal, then shrink-wrap the whole deal. You know you'd have to get past US Customs and obviously, … Continue reading The Usual(ly Ignored) Suspects
FDA Blocks Chinese Milk Products
Finally, some action from the FDA regarding the Chinese mela-milk scandal:The agency, in an alert posted Wednesday on its Web site, ordered the "detention without physical examination of all milk products, milk-derived ingredients and finished food products containing milk from China due to the presence of melamine and/or melamine analogs."The agency listed dozens of products, … Continue reading FDA Blocks Chinese Milk Products
Kibble Suggestions?
As you might guess, I'm in the market for suggestions on a kibble I can use as a supplement to my home prepared food for the dogs. I would like a food produced by a company who provides specifics on where their food is made, what country they buy their ingredients from and doesn't try … Continue reading Kibble Suggestions?
You Must Be Joking: Chafing at the Chaff
OK, as you might recall, I have been unlucky with my recent kibble purchases - finding thingies in two different brands. And as I said, I don't buy kibble that often so two bags of kibbles-n-mystery-bits in a row seems odd to me. Yesterday, with some hesitation, I purchased a bag of Natural Balance Sweet … Continue reading You Must Be Joking: Chafing at the Chaff