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Ask Yvette

Holy smokes - but there seem to be more pet food recalls each week. In an effort to keep readers informed, the following are some the additions you should look into.

Menu Foods has again expanded their recall. Cross contamination is the culprit. Products that do not contain the contaminated wheat gluten are on the list. So take care and check out menu food recall list.

http://www.menufoods.com/recall/PressReleaseUS05022007.htm


Royal Canin has placed both US and Canadian products on their list. They have proceeded with a precautionary recall on several items.

Their website is:

http://www.royalcanin.ca/index_en.php

Natural Balance has also recalled items. Their official press release is available at:

www.naturalbalanceinc.com

The FDA in the United States has listings of up to date lists. It seems about _ dozen new lines have been added in the past week or so. You can access this by going to:

www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html


Sadly, it seems that more problems arise just as we forget about the problem.

CBS news has reported that the Chinese government has made at least one arrest. It is alleged that the two toxins were deliberately added as a cheap substitute for protein.

In the US, there is a strong movement to introduce bills that regulate pet food better. These hopefully will prevent such a colossal mess from happening again. The senate has voted to standardize labels. Companies that do not report problems right away can be fined.

Up until recently, I knew that something bothered me about this scenario. Finally, I have managed to put my finger on that incessant nagging at the back of my mind.

What about Canada eh?

I have searched for government links to their position on this mess. At this point, I have found nothing. Why did it seem that Canadians were informed of tainted pet food after U.S. consumers? Do we not have any safe guards in place? Why is there no political commentary on this topic? At the very least, I would expect feed contamination to generate a political commentary on importing grain. What if this grain had made it into livestock feed? What if it had made it into food for human consumption? CBS News in the US, thousands of swine will apparently be put down because they consumed tainted feed.

When you go to the store, I think that every Canadian has the right to expect that foods are safe. You have a reasonable expectation that you will not be harmed by the food you eat or the water you drink. I do believe that this expectation is reasonable for pet foods as well. You should feel comfortable that there is a system in place to catch problems before they escalate. A system that allows problems to slip through the cracks is not good enough in my opinion.

It seems to me that consumer confidence has for many people been shattered. This is rightfully so. I am curious if any level of government is actually looking into what happened. I live in Canada, and I want Canadian processes to protect my family and companion animals. Right now, I just happen to be feeling a little helpless because we do not know if or when this might happen again. These recalls are in my opinion a wake up call we need to heed.

Yvette is an award winning pet writer and pet behavior columnist. She also is the author of Meeting Milo, a North American dog bite prevention program to reduce the approximately 2 million children bit by dogs annually. She is the owner of AwesomeDogs.ca and works as a behavior consultant in London, Ontario.

This column was originally featured in The Londoner
See more of Yvette... www.awesomedogs.ca
www.meetingmilo.com

Yvette has 2 dogs of her own, KIKI and KAYA. Take a look...

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