BREAKING NEWS: Melamine in Corn Gluten Linked to South African Pet Illnesses

[catgirl]

Source: Itchmo


The 29 cases of renal failure in South Africa has been linked to melamine in corn gluten used in pet food. Corn gluten is used extensively in the US.

Tests have confirmed that Vets Choice and Royal Canin dog and cat dry pet-food products contained corn gluten contaminated with melamine, says the manufacturer.

The contaminated corn gluten was delivered to Royal Canin by a South African third-party supplier and appears to have originated from China.

We were tracking cases of the South African pet deaths before and have heard rumors of corn gluten contamination.

At this point, we believe that all corn gluten should be considered at risk for contamination and should be tested by every pet food manufacturer and the FDA.

See link for more info.

Read more: http://www.itchmo.com/read/melamine-in-corn-gluten-linked-to-south-african-illnesses_20070419

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Although there haven't been reports in the U.S. of sick animals, I'd
be cautious seeing that the FDA is slow to announce their findings.
There are enough similarities to warrant caution. The corn gluten
came from China, as did all the contaminated gluten.

[youngdem]

1. Is there any reason to believe that this ISN'T in our people food gluten?

[catgirl]

3. I won't eat anything with gluten in it

The FDA mentioned that some tainted glutens may have
gone to facilities that manufacture human food. Since then,
they haven't stated that it hadn't.

[MADem]

4. You're not eating any bread, then.

Seriously, check labels. It's in EVERYTHING.

Only celiacs are pretty certain to be totally gluten free.

[catgirl]

8. I only buy whole grain bread from health food stores/co ops

I'm a label reader and yes, there is as much crap
in commercial bread as there is in commercial pet
food! In fact, I stopped shopping at the big grocery
stores when I became concerned about ingredients.

[MADem]

12. Whole grain bread has gluten in it. If it has wheat in it, it has gluten in it.

Ya gotta be eating THIS kind of bread to avoid gluten--whole grain bread is LOADED with it, sorry to say:

http://www.celiac.com/st_main.html?p_catid=41

[catgirl]

15. Gluten is processed from the wheat, corn...

If it says just wheat, it's okay. If it says gluten or wheat "protein", it's been processed.

[MADem]

18. Not if you're a celiac, though!! And I sure wouldn't trust a labeller not to cut a corner

and maybe add a tad of wheat gluten to some lousy flour to perk it up, and "call it even" even if it isn't...

[catgirl]

19. That's a good point

We need strct inspections-at the borders AND in the factories.

[kath]

49. Naturally occurring gluten in the wheat FLOUR is NOT the problem - it's the

processed ingredient called "wheat gluten" on labels that's contaminated. And now, also "corn gluten" and "rice protein concentrate"

[youngdem]

10. Or Crohn's sufferers

Spelt products have no gluten. They SUCK, but they are better than feeling like you are shitting glass nails.

There must be a manufacturer that processes lots of types of gluten that is contaminating the gluten supply. This must be a LOT of melamine though. How would this much melamine come in contact with a gluten processor? Would it be through using ground water for processing contaminated with melamine?

Does melamine contaminate ground water?

[MADem]

14. All good questions....I don't mind spelt, myself.

Can you eat rice products as a Crohn's sufferer? Those Chinese rice noodles are damned good.

[Gelliebeans]

27. I do

but I have to go on and off a low-residue diet and unfortunately that includes white bread, starches and white rice. Many Crohns' patients have varied diets due to sensitivities ie. lactose free if they are intolerant or low residue because of a stricture due to inflammation or high protein due to malnutrition. It gets a little tricky.

[alfredo]

29. My Crohn's has stopped bothering me. I can't remember the

last flair up. I've been able to eat anything I want now. My last scope showed no Crohn's. Could they have been wrong about it being gone, or about having it in the first place? I thought Crohn's was the gift that keeps on giving..... forever.

[Gelliebeans]

31. It does my friend

there is no cure however you could be a stable remission. I am one of lucky ones :sarcasm: that has an immune system that won't calm down without meds so I have some control but the symptoms still remain even after two surgeries. Go figure. I am thrilled that you are feeling good. In the last 13 years I have only had a span of two years remission in the late 90's. I chaulk my remission up to the Dems in the WH during that time. :rofl:

[alfredo]

45. Let's hope for relief in two years.

I have no illusions that it won't come back and kick me in the gut again. For now, I am enjoying the remission.

[MADem]

58. My sympathies. That's gotta be rough. NT

[Warpy]

11. The gluten in bread should be naturally within the wheat

not processed gluten ground into flour.

If gluten is listed as a separate ingredient, best to avoid it for now.

[Gormy Cuss]

24. Check the labels is right. ADDED gluten is at issue, not naturally occurring

And just because the loaf is all organic doesn't mean that there isn't added wheat gluten.

[catgirl]

65. Yup, gluten in the health bread from a local baker.

I'll look for the gluten free labeling from now on.

[Name removed]

44. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[still_one]

20. just what I was thinking /nt

[Ian David]

23. Because of the damn Liberals with all their regulations and government interference.

If we'd let corporations poison citizens, then market forces would correct the problem when consumers stop buying products from companies that kill people. It's bad for poor people, because it makes everything more expensive! Just so we're not poisined!

Or, as Sam Seder put it, "If you don't have diarhea today, thank a Liberal."

[Bitwit1234]

2. I read somewhere

where China deliberately put the melamine in the food. It causes it to thicken more, weigh more and they got more money because of this.

[catgirl]

5. All imports from China should be halted!

When Mad Cow came out beef shipments were stopped in various places.
The FDA seems to care more about the pet food industry than in our health.

[Ian David]

25. I thought it was because it keeps rats from eating it. n/t

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

42. I just read an article that said the melamine is added to boost

the protein levels when the nutritional testing is done.

I'll go find a link now.............

[Shallah Kali]

57. ChineseCo "sought to buy large amounts of melamine through Internet trading sites"

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/156967.html


Because both wheat gluten and rice protein enhance the protein content of pet food, "it certainly is suspicious" that melamine now is associated with both, said Bob Poppenga, a UC Davis veterinary toxicology professor.

Melamine isn't an edible protein, but it has plenty of nitrogen, which can be used as a marker for protein in chemical analyses.

So, if someone wanted to use less of the relatively pricey sources of vegetable protein, such as wheat gluten, and throw in cheaper starches instead, adding melamine to that mix would still make it look like a protein-rich product, numerous veterinary nutritionists and toxicologists have said. With such speculation swirling, the rice protein-melamine link further alarmed pet owners as it began appearing on Web sites Tuesday, said Gina Spadafori, a Sacramento-based author who runs a pet Web site.

{snip}

Later, the New York Times reported that the Chinese company that supplied tainted wheat gluten to Menu Foods sought to buy large amounts of melamine through Internet trading sites.

[MADem]

59. Jesus--that reads like "Sought to buy large amounts of Yellowcake...from Ahhhhfrica!!""

If they DID do this, that's pretty goddamned shitty. And we will never be able to trust them again. Baaaastids.

[kestrel91316]

6. This isn't latest breaking. It's been known for days.

[catgirl]

9. You need to do your homework Kestrel

Rice gluten was the latest recall, this just came
to the attention of a watchdog group, not the FDA.
Yesterdays news announced the second contaminated
ingredient...rice protein (gluten). The first being wheat.
This is CORN and it has sickened 29 animals so far.

[MADem]

17. And the FIRST recall was wheat, and they blamed that on rat poison! NT

[kestrel91316]

40. Only temporarily. That was due to lab error. But go ahead and blame me.

[CountAllVotes]

30. thanks for the info.

Now we have more. In the garbage it went (cats didn't like it anyway). Farewell Royal Canin! It was a brief encounter of the third kind. Corn now huh?

I guess soon no pet foods will be safe!

I heard some of the Blue Buffalo products are on the recall list now too!

Yikes!

:kick:

[jus_the_facts]

7. K'nR...

:grr:

[femmedem]

13. K & R. eom

[truthisfreedom]

16. NOOOOOOOO! Not Royal Canin! NOOOOOO!

Now they'll find it in the US version of Royal Canin. I KNOW IT. God. I'm so angry about this.

[catgirl]

21. Just checked my PetGuard ingredients again

The canned TURKEY dog and cat food is safe (no glutens). The dry
dog food is safe. The dry cat food, however, has corn gluten, as does
Science Diet Prescription K/D dry cat food.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

22. Ain't global free trade...

Just a wonderful thing? We are certainly doing well because of it, ain't we? :sarcasm:<---===In case anyone really needs it.

[OhioChick]

46. It Sure Is.

This is only the beginning of things to come.

[progressivebydesign]

62. And I just got another delusional reply from Trader Joes about their imported food.

I wrote to them again recently, asking WHY they are importing so much cheap food (and PRODUCE) from China, etc., and aren't they worried about food safety? They say they do it because consumers demand LOW prices.. and that the food safety in China is SOOO stringent.

Cheap food, not worth it.

[Raine]

26. What a disgrace this food "safety" is

and we hardly hear a thing about it, this is a HORRID scandal!

[tblue37]

28. Damn. Is *anything* safe for my pets? (eom)

[Auntie Bush]

34. Yes, people food.

My dog is doing better since we give him good people food...not all the junk leftovers. He doesn't get anything I wouldn't eat. He eats what we eat!

[kath]

52. Well, it's not clear that people food is safe either.

All this corn gluten, wheat gluten crap is in all kinds of foods.

[StarryNite]

32. Is there a safe list?

It would be easier if there was a safe list since it would be shorter than the unsafe list. Of course that would be subject to change too. This is frightening. It has to be in any human food where the wheat, rice, or corn was imported from China.

[catgirl]

37. Check the link I posted

It's a great site. You can sign up for regular updates on recalls, etc.

[NYC]

39. What link?

I'm sorry but I didn't see it.

I wish food would be labeled with country of origin. I don't plan to eat anything that comes from China.

[catgirl]

64. The link in the OP

It's a web site that sends out alerts/updates
on the pet food crisis. Here it is again

http://www.itchmo.com/read/melamine-in-corn-gluten-linked-to-south-african-illnesses_20070419

[april]

33. It is all to quiet/I I just know that FDA does not want us to Panic but I will venture to say its in

our food products as well/

[Auntie Bush]

35. Now that's what I call scary!

[StarryNite]

36. They haven't even been

forthcoming about the pet foods so you know they aren't telling all about the human food with roots to China.

[catgirl]

38. Blue Buffalo Spa Select Kitten dry food added to recall

It has the tainted rice protein in it. The FDA still isn't
giving out the other three companies that rec'd a shipment
of the tainted rice gluten.

[kath]

50. Did the FDA ever release the name of the one US supplier of the tainted wheat gluten? Did it turn

out to be Archer Daniels Midland?

Ain't it grand the way the FDA covers for these corporations?
Government of the corporation, by the corporation and for the corporation. What a fantastic system!!

[Shallah Kali]

55. Did the FDA reveal the Human Food companies that bought suspect wheat gluten?

either?

[kestrel91316]

41. Itchmo is not a legitimate mainstream news source. This does not

belong in LBN.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

43. Melamine added to boost protein rating ?

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/156967.html

Melamine isn't an edible protein, but it has plenty of nitrogen, which can be used as a marker for protein in chemical analyses. So, if someone wanted to use less of the relatively pricey sources of vegetable protein, such as wheat gluten, and throw in cheaper starches instead, adding melamine to that mix would still make it look like a protein-rich product, numerous veterinary nutritionists and toxicologists have said. With such speculation swirling, the rice protein-melamine link further alarmed pet owners as it began appearing on Web sites Tuesday, said Gina Spadafori, a Sacramento-based author who runs a pet Web site.
<snip>
Local veterinarians who've tracked kidney ailments nationwide have tentatively identified five more foods, not at this point under any recall, that they plan to have tested as soon as possible. The Veterinary Information Network, used by about 16,000 of the estimated 35,000 U.S. veterinarians, noticed the five foods kept recurring in vet-described disease reports, said Paul Pion, the Davis vet who co-founded the service. Pion said it would be premature to name the foods.

[grasswire]

47. corn gluten is used as a weed killer in the US, isn't it?

I believe so. You spread it in places where you don't want anything to grow. IOW, it has some kind of toxicity to it.

Are pets picking this up from garden use?

[wildflowergardener]

48. pre-emergent

It is used as a pre-emergent (meaning it will stop seedlings from growing). I used it in certain areas of my yard because it is not supposed to be harmful to wild-life and fish (I have a pond)and it's supposed to be safe for most established plants.

Meg

[kath]

51. Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula contains "corn gluten meal"

Lovely. It's what we've been feeding our kitties for years.

[StarryNite]

53. This might help

Hopefully they will be testing all of their gluten products.

http://www.purina.com/
~snip~
We also want you to know that our already rigorous evaluation and food safety program for our raw materials has been reviewed and enhanced to now detect melamine. Despite the fact that melamine is a completely foreign substance to food and should not be found in wheat gluten, we are now testing every lot of wheat gluten received for the presence of this contaminant. Further, we are implementing additional technology to further screen our pet food ingredients.

[Shallah Kali]

54. US Recall By Royal Canin - via Itchmo

http://www.itchmo.com/read/royal-canin-recalls-us-foods_20070420

http://www.royalcanin.us/additional.html

Which products are being recalled?

ROYAL CANIN SENSIBLE CHOICE® (available in pet specialty stores nationwide)

Dry Dog Food
- Chicken Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Puppy
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Adult
- Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Senior
- Rice & Catfish Meal Formula Adult

ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY DIET™ (available in veterinary clinics)

Dry Dog Food
- Canine Early Cardiac EC 22™
- Canine Skin Support SS21™

Dry Cat Food
- Feline Hypoallergenic HP23™

[Eurobabe]

56. Shit!! My boys eat Royal Canin made in Belgium

Guess I need to contact them and make sure THEY aren't importing corn gluten from China. Dammit to hell!!! :mad: :mad:

[Ghost in the Machine]

60. Cat Cafe' Gourmet Variety Cat Food from Sunshine Mills has corn gluten

listed as the third ingredient.. should I be worried? I bought it because it didn't have wheat gluten in it....

[Atman]

61. I started HOO Cares! several years ago...and it's turning out to be too true!

I thought it was all a big goof at the time. It's scary how true this shit it turning out to be.

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[Lone_Star_Dem]

63. Greed and profits

They go together like death and tyranny.