*** FDA Reveals What's Been Killing Pets: Melamine ***

[nicknameless]

The FDA Says It’s Not Aminopterin, But Melamine, In Pet Food Samples

Rat Poison Absent In Pet Food, Sources Say

By Karen Roebuck
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, March 30, 2007

U.S. Food and Drug Administration testing found a chemical commonly used in plastics, but no rat poison, in the recalled pet food that has killed and sickened cats and dogs nationwide, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review learned Thursday.

Testing by the FDA and at least one lab independent of the agency found melamine, a chemical used in plastics and household textiles, in samples of the recalled pet food and in one of its ingredients -- wheat gluten -- said an FDA official and another source close to the investigation. Neither wanted to be identified prior to the FDA's formal announcement this morning.

Whether melamine is the source of the animal illness is unclear, they said. The National Toxicology Program of the Department of Health and Human Services reports on its Web site, however, that melamine in rats caused loss of weight, marked reduction of food consumption and high mortality -- the same symptoms pet owners have witnessed in cats and dogs that ate the recalled food.

...

Neither the FDA nor the independent lab tests found aminopterin. The agency is expected to announce its findings at a news conference at 10 a.m. today but is not commenting on New York's findings or that lab's methodology.

The FDA has not determined how melamine got into the pet food. Melamine is used as a fertilizer in Asia and has several commercial and industrial uses.

Complete story at link: http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/rss/s_500296.html

The FDA will be hold a press conference this morning, at 10 AM Eastern, to address this.

Edited to add link

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

1. Rec. nt

[Wiley50]

2. I'm Tossing my melamine plates and bowls

been looking for a good excuse

fertilizer?

[nicknameless]

6. This would seem to be a VERY good excuse. .. n/t

[Tesha]

20. Perhaps you can ship them to the plante Melmac? (NT)

[madokie]

21. Melamine plates and bowls

aren't they the ones that are tougher'n boot leather but when they do break its kind of a violent break or something like that? real light in weight too

[Tesha]

22. A'yup. (NT)

[slampoet]

56. PLEASE DON'T TOSS YOUR MELMAC!!!!

I will take it if you want, but Don't throw them out!!!
Melmac dishes are an important cultural item.

You wouldn't toss a Frank Lloyd Wright house into a landfill just because it had lead paint would you? Herman Miller Chairs don't go into the grinder just because they are made of Fiberglass. Orange Fiesta ware plates have small amounts of radiation in them.

Mid-century modern collectors can easily make use of your melmac in ways that it will never enter the food chain and never get to a landfill either. Personally i display mine like wonderful neon china. I very rarely eat off them.

Contact me if you are going to toss any and I will take it even if it has some wear.


Also the melamine they are referring to in the poison article isn't the same. Melmac is a resin suspended chemically different but related material. Remember, if you change just a couple of atoms on the sugar in a dandelion you get petrol.

[AwakeAtLast]

3. Why is it used as a fertilizer?

That's just :scared:

[NJCher]

4. ever seen "Toxic Sludge is Good for You?"

The lengths they go to to take dangerous substances and call them "fertilizer" so they can get money for them (and thus not have to pay to dispose of them) is amazing.

Capitalism--when it goes berserk, is very dangerous.



Cher

[CrazyOrangeCat]

5. Damn.

It doesn't get much lower than that.

Good ole free trade . . . .

[Tesha]

23. Dod you know that some people actually use shit and urine...

> The lengths they go to to take dangerous substances and call
> them "fertilizer" so they can get money for them...

Dod you know that some people actually use shit and urine?
Can you imagine spreading that shit on food??? They can
just piss off with *THAT* idea!

(I just love the DU Amateur Chemistry club.)

Tesha

[Morgana LaFey]

37. and it is ALWAYS going berserk

in one way or another.

:hi:

[eppur_se_muova]

11. It's full of nitrogen. Reacts with water to make ammonia. nt

[peacebuzzard]

7. OMG! Could a weight gain in pets also be a link to this shit?????

melamine in rats caused loss of weight,

I have been fighting obesity in my dogs with the food I have been feeding them! Even though I fed them way below the recommended levels stated on the bags of the food.

Glad I have stopped giving them the menufoods crap. I am sure the research into this subject has just begun.

[momster]

13. Have you tried Green Beans?

My dog was overweight (15lbs) and the vet recommended the 'Green Bean' Diet. Half a cup of green beans, canned, frozen, or fresh, mixed with half-a-can of dog food (we use science diet sensitive skin). Then a measured cup of dry in the a.m. He's lost 6 lbs in just about 4 weeks and doesn't seem hungry because the beans make up in bulk what the other half can of food had. My dog prefers the frozen green beans thawed and well-mixed in. We crush up a omega-3/chrondrotin supplement and sprinkle it in...he's 11 yrs old.

[peacebuzzard]

46. thanks for the tip. I will have to try that.

[earth mom]

8. Plastic. Wow, just wow.

I've long believed that all this plastic crap is hurting the environment. Guess it's killing animals and probably humans too. :puke:

[Buck Laser]

10. I once had a dog that ate frisbees ... for 12 years.

Actually, it was a bit gross finding fluorescent green or pink bits in his stools. Just sayin' it may be that plastic isn't always and everywhere toxic. Nevertheless, it passed through the dog's digestive tract with color intact.

[Tesha]

24. Polyethylene is pretty inert, biologically.

I'm pretty sure that most Frisbees are made of polyethylene
and that's a pretty inert plastic, biologically speaking.

Lot's of poly is used in food-grade plumbing and containers;
consider just about *ANY* milk bottle (HDPE -- High Density
PolyEnthylene)...

Tesha

[AikidoSoul]

33. If you want to read about how plastics are a major health issue, go

to the site, "Our Stolen Future" -- named after the book by that name. Here's where scientists and researchers have compiled an amazing list of the latest research, thinking and even the politics on the subject of the chemicals that leach from plastics and what it's doing to our bodies:


http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/

[nicknameless]

36. Thank you for posting that. .. n/t

[Holly_Hobby]

9. K & R

Thanks for keeping us informed. It just keeps getting worse.

I think it's important not to use plastic for food storage or heating food in the microwave, I use glass (Pyrex). I use glass casseroles and Corning Ware for food storage. Even my pans for cooking are glass, Corning Visions. I couldn't get the food stains out of the plastic, so I went back to glass. When I found out that the fumes from heating Teflon kills birds, I threw them out too. My plates and bowls are glass. The dogs' water and feed bowls are glass. Do I have to clean up broken glass once in a while? Sure. But I think the benefits outweigh the cost and breakage.

[nicknameless]

12. Thanks, Holly. And you're right about kitchen plastics.

I use plastic for water storage, but know that I really shouldn't.
This story is strong motivation to replace the plastic jugs with pyrex ones.

[Holly_Hobby]

15. Just on MSNBC:

FDA found Melanine, not rat poison in food. The FDA is also investigating dry food, but won't name the maker.

[nicknameless]

16. I will: Iams.

[Holly_Hobby]

17. Yep, we're way ahead of them, as usual n/t

[hang a left]

38. bullshit

I called Iams today and they GUARANTEED me that there melantine was absent.

[nicknameless]

42. Bullshit, yourself. Link:

Whether or not *melamine* (not "melantine") is present in Iams is beside the point.
The FDA has received MANY complaints about dry foods, including but not limited to Iams.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20070324/pl_usnw/pet_food_recall__peta_demands_fda_investigate_possible_wrongdoing_by_iams__other_pet_food_companies

And first hand accounts:
http://www.itchmo.com/read/several-unconfirmed-reports-of-iams-dry-food-causing-illness_20070323

[hang a left]

44. Show me where Iams is a problem...

I was on the phone with them for several minutes. They assured me that they were not affected. If they are lying and my animals get sick; I have a reason to go after them.

[nicknameless]

47. You'd prefer to believe P&G over other sources who aren't making $ from the product?

I gave you two links that address reports of problems with Iams.

Here is more about this great company you're choosing to believe:
http://www.uncaged.co.uk/iamsexpress.htm

[leftchick]

51. I was going to post that link nick

thank you. I was wondering who the fuck even buys Iams anymore given their horrible history.

[nicknameless]

19. Actually, the FDA has admitted that they're receiving MANY reports about dry foods.

The original story we saw was about Iams, but I'm sure that other brands will also be implicated in this.

As Susan Peters was saying, a company's dry foods contain pretty much the same ingredients as their canned foods.

[Holly_Hobby]

26. Royal Canin suit filed last week......

for excess vitamin D killing and sickening pets since 2004 :mad:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x539933

[nicknameless]

27. Thank you for finding that.

:thumbsup:

[nicknameless]

34. And now, Science Diet Feline m/d Dry is being recalled too.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=543479&mesg_id=543479

[hang a left]

39. link? Please nt

[nicknameless]

43. Here:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Dog_Food_Safe_To_Feed_After_The_Dog_Food_Recall

17. Comment by AskSusanPeters -- 1 week ago

I would not suggest feeding any of the brands on the recall list. The companies use the same stuff to make the dry that they use in the wet. The dry has other fillers mixed in an may not cause as much trouble. We'll be seeing reports about the dry food, too. (I'm sure)

[hang a left]

45. That is a bs link nt

[nicknameless]

48. You clearly have more insight and hands-on experience than that pet expert.

:eyes:

I pity the animals in your care.

[nicknameless]

28. General info about plastic leaching

http://www.thenhf.com/articles_107.htm

http://www.planet2025news.net/ntext.rxml?id=3794

Many more articles available. (Google)

[eppur_se_muova]

14. Clarification of the term "melamine": describes at least two different substances.

Melamine is a nitrogen-rich organic compound which can, among other things, be used to make a type of thermosetting resin by reaction with formaldehyde. These "melamine resins" -- of which there is actually a large variety -- are, unfortunately, often referred to as just "melamine" (excessive abbreviation abounds in industrial chemical terminology). The compound found in the pet food is apparently simple melamine. There is no reason to suppose that melamine plasticware is a source of any toxicity, *assuming* it is made properly, etc.

The wiki entry is a little brief, but includes the basics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine

on edit:


Aminopterin



Melamine



Adenine, one of the DNA/RNA 'bases'. Many derivatives of these bases play a role in metabolism, including energy transport. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenosine_triphosphate

Note the common motif of -NH2 groups hanging off of 6-rings with at least two N's in alternate positions. This suggests that these compounds might be sufficiently similar to compete for binding to the same enzyme(s). Also suggests a test for aminopterin might give a false positive if melamine is present.

[hlthe2b]

18. Yes... this one is ripe for major confusion....

Concerns over the chemical compound are quite distinctly different than the melamine-containing end product "plastic-ware."

Nonetheless, I can relate to those looking for an excuse to toss out any melamine casual dinnerware....It scratches, fades with time, and can not be microwaved... I'll stick with the glass and lead-free pottery and porcelin, myself.

[Rhiannon12866]

25. K&R from me. My vet said that the aminopterin which was originally reported

to be causing the problem, found in the wheat gluten imported from China, which was used in the meat cuts in sauce and the foil packets varieties as a thickening agent, is a poison that is only used in Europe and China. He said that the rat poison that's used in this country causes liver failure, not kidney failure, as the aminopterin does. He said that rat traps, using this poison, are used in China surrounding the wheat fields there (He studied acupuncture in China) and he believes that some of the traps and the poisoned rats were caught up when they harvested the wheat. Sickening.

OMG, there was just a report on melamine on CNN, said that it was found in the urine of cats who died. Of course, they also said that there may be no connection. *sigh* Thank you for posting this important new information!

[nicknameless]

32. I even wonder if it is just melamine.

Royal Canin food has some problems now too, as Holly has noted.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x539933

[Rhiannon12866]

53. I do, too... Christ! My dog, Sara, was prescribed that brand by the vet...

But I never gave it to her because the prescription was for dry and I knew that she wouldn't eat it...;( I'll K&R this one too, thanks!:hi:

[Kurovski]

29. K&R.

Thank you, nicknameless.:hug:

[nicknameless]

30. Thank YOU, Kurovski

:hug:

[nicknameless]

31. ** NEW RECALL ** Science Diet: Hill’s Pet Nutrition recalls Feline m/d Dry Diet

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=543479&mesg_id=543479

[Holly_Hobby]

40. Thanks for posting this.....

Your dedication to this subject is appreciated. :hug:

[nicknameless]

50. Glad to do it.

I know I'm not the only DUer who has lost a little fur child to this nightmare.

:hug:

[nicknameless]

35. The PetConnection: over 2,600 deceased pets have been reported to their website.

"Update 3/30 (5:30 p.m. PT): More than 2,600 pets have been reported as deceased to our PetConnection database."

[Holly_Hobby]

41. And Menu Foods and our MSM is reporting 16???

That shows me that neither one has our fur babies' best interest at heart.

[Rhiannon12866]

54. I took my little guys to the vet this week and asked him about all this,

And the discrepancy in the numbers that we've been hearing. He explained the hoops that anyone has to jump through to report the death of a pet from this poisoned food. The pet has to have been treated by a vet, and the vet has to absolutely ascertain that the animal died from renal failure because of the food that he/she was given. The owner has to provide the container of the actual food that the animal was given and the pet has to have a complete autopsy, and the vet has to provide tissue samples, backing up his contention that this pet died of renal failure due to bad food. No wonder that the deaths because of this recall are being underreported. Who wants to go through all that when they have just lost their pet, and this is expensive, plus, vets are very busy, trying to save the pets that they can... A very sad commentary on the responsibility of those who produce pet food in this country.;(

[Truthiness Inspector]

49. I am not surprised

Sadly. I did wonder immediately about the numbers reported, because not all deaths/illnesses would be connected right away, plus strays, plus animals in shelters, and of course, sketchy reporting.

I've got a small herd of pets like many of us here, and it seems like with each passing day the news only gets WORSE.

Thanks for this thread, and to everyone here who updates with the latest information.

[femmedem]

52. Just last night a friend told me her cat had died from the poison.

A perfectly healthy cat, eight years old, who ate the canned food on the recall list, died from sudden renal failure. And she hadn't reported the cat, because she didn't know there was a place to report to.

How many more?

I'm sorry to hear about your cat. :hug: I didn't know that was why you're keeping us all so well-informed.

[Lorien]

55. Sick

using it as a fertilizer? How can that be healthy for anything?