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Total Recall
Tamara wants to know -- "What's up with all of these food recalls lately? Spinach, peanut butter -- and now pet foods." I've been wondering the same thing! There have been quite a few food recalls in the past several months, which raises the question -- how safe is the food we eat? Are we doing enough to ensure the safe manufacture and sale of our daily staples? In today's health-conscious society, it's probably easier than it has ever been to be informed not only about nutrition, but also food safety. But what about the furry members of our family (and no, I don't mean Uncle Al!) ? With last week's massive pet food recall, it's hard to feel completely confident about the products we buy. As is the case with many recalls, our members were busy trying to get the word out to their communities. On the Pet Debates board, there were several conversations regarding the scope of the recall and possible affected brands. This conversation caught my eye, as developing news reports outlined the testing done by Menu Foods and outside sources did, in fact, result in several animal deaths:
"The FDA purposefully fed this food to animals knowing that it could cause death! I realize that they needed to find the problem, but OMG!!!!! If humans were dying, they certainly wouldn’t have conducted such a test on humans."
"It’s hard to know what to think. Pet food manufacturing is not regulated by any government agencies, at least here in Canada, so legally a pet food manufacturer can package and sell whatever the heck they want and call it food.But contamination can and does happen in human food manufacturing too, so unfortunately panicking about every little thing isn’t going to do me – or my cats – any favours."
After reading several discussions across the site, I unfortunately found out that some of our members' pets were affected by the tainted food -- including, sadly, some resulting in death. Do you think this recall was handled correctly? Or is it a case of too little, too late? Check in here and let me know what you think -- and if you ended up on the wrong side of this recall.
For more information on the pet food recall, be sure to read this message, which includes a link to some footage from The Today Show. To find out more about pet care, pet health and more, visit our Complete Pet Guide.
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The recall has taken too long and has inspired some pet owners to try their hand at creating their own pet food. Dr. Kidd of PetStyle.com recommends home cooking and providing your pet human-grade food. If you chose this route, the basic formula is one third meat, one third grain and one third vegetable to create a healthy balanced diet for your pet. There are more great tips on www.petstyle.com
Our dogs are on the B.A.R.F. diet, so it isn't an issue for them.
Sadie, my dog, is on a combination of dry dog food and table scraps, so we're always watching what she's eating to be sure it's good for her or not. And, most of the pet foods on the market are made by companies which make human food, too, (Nestle is a big one) so it all has to be safe for human consumption, just in case.
The comment mantioning testingon humans vs animals:
"The FDA purposefully fed this food to animals knowing that it could cause death! I realize that they needed to find the problem, but OMG!!!!! If humans were dying, they certainly wouldnât have conducted such a test on humans."
Let me say, no the FDA would not have tested on humans. They would have tested it on animals. DUH.
It's a no-win situation for our furry lab animal friends. But it does save lives - for one to give so that many more may live.