Concerns grow over jerky treats from China
You’d think, scientific technology being what it is, that the Food and Drug Administration would have determined by now what it is about chicken jerky treats from China that seems to be continually sickening, and sometimes killing, dogs.
But after more than four years, the FDA still has not found a contaminant in the jerky products, or established a clear link between them and reported illnesses.
Nor has it taken steps to have any of the 15 companies selling them issue recalls.
A lot of customers, following the story, have stopped using them, including me — not that I bought them in the first place.
Instead, it was a neighbor and one of Ace’s admirers who bought a big bag of them from a discount store to dispense when Ace dropped by. And, boy, did Ace love them — by which I mean both the treats and the neighbor. The mere sight of the jerky treats, though, made my dog act like an addict in dire need of a fix.
Ace became ill in the month that followed, with what seemed to be a stomach ailment. I have no idea if the treats were the cause, and the vet diagnosed nothing in particular, but my neighbor and I — both having read of growing suspicions about the treats, and he having checked the label to find they were from China – declared a moratorium on them.
(Al still dispenses Ace the occasional treat, including the slice of pizza he brought home for himself the other day, but fed to Ace before he got out of his car — possibly so that Ace, who can sense a pizza a mile away, would let him out of his car.)
Concerns about the treats go back at least to 2007. The FDA has run numerous tests on them, all of which were inconclusive. (There’s an in-depth piece recounting all this in Food Safety News.)
So far the only step the FDA has taken has been to caution consumers. The latest FDA notice, last November, warned dog owners who purchased chicken jerky to monitor their pets for decreased appetite, decreased activity, vomiting, diarrhea, increased urination or increased water consumption, and to take their dog to a vet if any of those symptoms lasted more than 24 hours.
Since then, Food Safety News says, the FDA has received more than 600 reports from dog owners who say their pets have fallen ill because of chicken jerky products from China, and that calls for a recall are gaining momentum.
In February, Ohio’s Sen. Sherrod Brown brought the issue to the Senate floor, and later held a press conference, urging the FDA to accelerate its investigation into the chicken jerky treats.
Also last month, a Facebook group called “Animal Parents Against Pet Treats Made in China!” started up, quickly growing to about 2,500 members. And a petition demanding the ban of jerky treats from China has acquired more than 3,000 signatures.
Blogger Mollie Morrissette, who has been following the chicken jerky issue on her website, Poisoned Pets, says she continues to hear horror stories from readers.
“I get letters every day from broken-hearted pet parents — people who had to put down their beloved family dog or five month-old puppy,” she said. “They all fed their dogs chicken jerky.”
(Photo courtesy of Food Safety News: Sarge, a seven year-old chow-corgi mix who fell ill after eating a single chicken jerky dog treat. After nearly two weeks of treatment, Sarge was put down.)
Posted by jwoestendiek March 9th, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: ace, animals, chicken, chicken jerky treats, china, chinese, dogs, fda, food and drug administration, food safety news, health, jerky, jerky treats, made in china, ohio, pets, recall, safety, sarge, senator, sherrod brown, treats, warning
Comments
Comment from jwoestendiek
Time March 9, 2012 at 4:52 pm
Sharon, I’ve not seen a list anywhere, but if I do I’ll pass it along.
John / ohmidog
Comment from Barry Hines
Time March 9, 2012 at 5:20 pm
6 mos ago my dog started showing symptoms of a type of illness, vomiting, would not eat ect. I work in a food service company my job is to moniter food recalls. I read about this issue, my wife had ben buying the WAGGIN tRAILS BRAND at our local Wal-Mart I copied the recall notice and showed it to the Manager who told me when his main office notified him he would pull off shelf. I took my dog to the vet who preformed a series of test, shots, pills ect. Said my dog got to him in time to save him from from worse liver/ kidney damage. To this day this Wal-Mart in Vincennes Indiana still sells this item
Comment from Ken
Time March 9, 2012 at 8:15 pm
If you’re looking for SAFE, REAL ‘American Made’ chicken jerky for dogs or cats, we started making our own Chicken Jerky for our 3 dogs after we ran across the FDA warning of 2008 about Chinese chicken treats making dogs sick or killing them. It turned into a cottage “Mom & Pop” business and we now sell our TriPom Chews online and in 20 stores in the New England area. Our products are the only homemade, handmade, ‘Maine Made’, ‘American Made’ Chicken Jerky produced from whole, restaurant-quality chicken breasts containing NO Additives and NO Preservatives. Our 3 Pomeranians (our babies!) taste test every batch for quality.
When we’re not making Jerky, we spend our time at events handing out fliers on the FDA warning about Chinese treats, speaking to anyone who will listen about the dangers, and advocating for a ban on all Chinese chicken treats.
Comment from vida
Time March 9, 2012 at 8:25 pm
I can’t understand the lack of action, but then it seems par for the course in suspected animal poisoning. I try to feed only sourced in US organic but still doubt the safety.
Comment from Nancy Lea Matthews
Time March 13, 2012 at 6:46 pm
Recently my mini-schnauzer developed large, raised red bumps over various areas of her body. After awhile these bumps seems to flatten out. The vet has no idea what caused these. Has anyone experienced this when they fed chicken jerkey to their dogs. What about Boots & Barkley bacon strips?
While antibiotic seems to help somewhat,
the bumps have still not gone completely away.
Comment from Wendy
Time March 14, 2012 at 12:03 pm
I am a rep for a holistic Vet formulated pet food that has never had a recall and cost less than most brands to feed. Please check out a healthy alternative to feeding your pet. http://www.HealthyPetBizUSA.com
I promist you will not be disappointed!!
Comment from Trish
Time March 17, 2012 at 9:14 pm
Do a Google search for “American Made Pet Treats”. There are many other choices. Yes, the treats from China are always the least expensive, but at what real cost? We are losing our loved ones. If you feel you need to provide chicken treats, please buy American Made. It’s worth the extra cost. My neighbor was one of the first to lose their 5 month old puppy to the treats from China (about 3 years ago) and I don’t think I’ll ever completely get over it. Just heartbreaking.
Comment from Sharon
Time March 9, 2012 at 4:28 pm
Where can I find the list of companies who sell these? Elphie has been having issues off and on for awhile and she has chicken jerky treats. The bag is gone so I can’t look on it.