Jerky Treat Settlement

April 6, 2015

The madness continues – some U.S. manufactured jerky treats are now being linked to acquired Fanconi disease in dogs – the same kidney disease linked to Chinese manufactured jerky treats.

Veterinary Information Network (VIN) released a story stating that the FDA has confirmed the agency “is aware of complaints related to USA made products”. FDA is stating that some of the reported US manufactured jerky treats contain ingredients “from outside of the US”.

However, Dr. Urs Giger – director of the Metabolic Genetics Screening Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine stated this lab has diagnosed recent cases of acquired Fanconi disease in dogs “that ate treats that ostensibly were not made in China or with ingredients from China.”

The brand of US manufactured treat mentioned in the story is Spot Farms – owned by Perdue. The company stated the chicken was raised in Kentucky and that all other ingredients “were sourced from U.S. companies”.

Note: This is a common trick used by pet food/pet treat manufacturers. ‘Ingredients sourced from U.S. companies’ could have a country of origin in China or anywhere in the world. This treat company only disclosed that they purchased the ingredients from a U.S. supplier. They did not disclose the country of origin the supplier purchased from. When you inquire about country of origin of ingredients – don’t accept this response. You want/need country of origin of all ingredients (not supplier origin).

It is also reported that the jerky related illnesses is spreading to pets in Europe – stating that two years ago cases of acquired Fanconi was unheard of. “Giger co-authored a report of the first jerky-related case of Fanconi in Europe to be recorded in a scientific journal. Involving a 5-year-old male border terrier, the case was published April 5, 2014, in Veterinary Record, the journal of the British Veterinary Association. Every day, the dog ate various beef and chicken jerky treats, some of which contained ingredients originating in China. His clinical signs improved four weeks after he no longer was given the treats. By 19 weeks after he first took ill, the owner reported that the dog was completely normal.”

Made in the USA on the label – per regulation – requires that “all or virtually all significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of US origin. That is, the product should contain no – or negligible – foreign content.” Unfortunately for consumers, this rule is rarely enforced.

If you are giving your pet a jerky treat – call the manufacturer and ask the country of origin of all ingredients in the treat and processing aids. Get to know the company you trust your pet’s life with.

http://truthaboutpetfood.com/some-us-made-jerky-treats-linked-to-sick-pets/

 

Information shared with TruthaboutPetFood.com is that the Purina Waggin Train/Canyon Creek Ranch jerky treat settlement has been finalized. Purina will pay – with no admission of wrong doing – $6.5 million dollars.

This settlement was for pet illness and death linked to jerky treats sold by Purina imported from China.

The U.S. imported $691 million of pet food in 2012 – nearly half of this would be (estimated) $350 million imported from China. Estimating that a conservative $200 million of the Chinese imports into the U.S. was jerky treats ($200 million in one year), and safely assuming Purina’s Waggin Train/Canyon Creek had the largest share of this – I’d say Purina got off easy settling for only $6.5 million with no admission of wrong doing for years of pet illness and death.

I would doubt – regardless to any legal settlement – that any pet owner who lost a pet or suffered with a pet’s illness linked to Chinese imported jerky treats – the issue will ever be settled in their hearts. There is no amount of money that causes one to forget.

http://truthaboutpetfood.com/jerky-treat-settlement/