FRIDAY, April 20, 2007 (HealthDay News) -- The massive recall of pet foods expanded again Thursday, this time for products containing a tainted rice protein concentrate imported from China.
Blue Buffalo, of Wilton, Conn., said it was recalling more than 5,000 bags of Spa Select Kitten dry food because the foods are contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical used to make plastics and fertilizers.
Melamine is the same chemical that was found in pet foods manufactured by the Canadian company Menu Foods. That recall began March 16 with moist dog and cat foods made with contaminated wheat gluten from China and has since been extended to more than 60 million packages of food, including dry foods and dog biscuits.
On Wednesday, Natural Balance Pet Foods, of Pacoima, Calif., recalled all its venison dog products and dry venison cat food after discovering they were contaminated with melamine. The company believes the melamine was in the rice protein concentrate.
At a late afternoon teleconference Thursday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's chief veterinarian, Dr. Stephen F. Sundlof, could not say how much food was involved in the new recall.
But he did say that more recalls of pet food are expected and that consumers should check the FDA Web site before buying any pet food.
The rice protein concentrate involved in this week's recall was imported by Wilbur-Ellis Co. of San Francisco from Binzhou Futian Biology Technology Co. Ltd. in China. That is a separate company from the one that shipped in the tainted wheat gluten.
Wilbur-Ellis told the FDA it had shipped the rice protein concentrate to five U.S. pet food manufacturers in Utah, New York, Kansas and Missouri and was recalling all of it. The FDA declined to identify the three other manufacturers during the Thursday teleconference.
"Natural Balance tested the food after customers reported dogs and cats suffering kidney failure," Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, told reporters.
In its own recall notice, Wilbur-Ellis said it began importing rice protein concentrate from Binzhou Futian in July 2006, had received a total of 14 containers holding 336 metric tons from the company and had distributed 155 metric tons as of Wednesday.
So far, the FDA has not said how many cats and dogs have become sick or died from contaminated food. To date, Sundlof said, the agency has received more than 15,000 calls on sick or dead pets.
The FDA continues to sample all wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate coming into the United States from China, Sundlof said. "Additional products will be added as we receive information," he said.
The contaminated rice protein concentrate has also made its way into hog feed, Sundlof noted, adding that the extent of the problem isn't known.
It's also not known if hogs fed the contaminated food have made it into the human food chain, he said.
"We do understand that one of the companies that was manufacturing pet food had some pet food that was unfit for pets and it made its way into some hog feed," Sundlof said. "We are following up on that."
The Associated Press on Friday reported that California state agriculture officials had placed American Hog Farm in Ceres under quarantine after melamine was found in pig urine there.
Officials are investigating American Hog Farm's sales records to determine who may be affected by the quarantine, said Steve Lyle, a spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The farm operates as a "custom slaughterhouse," which means it supplies meat only to those who want a whole pig, the AP reported.
The FDA believes that the pet food product contamination might have been intentional. Melamine can make it appear that the protein content of the wheat gluten or rice protein concentrate is higher than it actually is.
"We are aware that melamine can increase protein content," Sundlof said. "It's still a theory, but it seems to be a plausible one. The motivation would be economic in that you can take a product that is low in protein and would not qualify for the designation as protein supplement and make it appear that it has a high protein content so it can be sold at a higher price."
He noted that in the shipment of rice protein concentrate to Wilbur-Ellis, one bag was pink and was stenciled with the word "melamine."
FDA representatives are hoping to go to China to investigate the manufacturers of these products. However, they have not yet been able to clear the diplomatic hurdles that would make the trip possible.
In South Africa, meanwhile, a third ingredient imported from China appears to be involved in a major pet food recall there.
Melamine has been found in the Royal Canin pet food company's Vets Choice and Royal Canin dry dog and cat food, which are sold exclusively in South Africa and Namibia. The melamine appears to be in corn gluten imported from China, according to published reports.
And the Humane Society of the United States said Thursday it had established a pet food safety information hotline for up-to-the-minute recall information. The number is 1-800-Humane-1.
More information
For more information on the pet food recalls, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
