Tuesday, March 6, 2012

(Not So) Tasty Tuesday March 6 2012

A lot of serious stuff lately....Heidi the Doberman, the fundraiser for the Doberman Assistance Network, and poor lost Blue in South Carolina. Today is another one: the FDA warning on chicken jerky treats.

This isn't a new warning, the chicken jerky thing, but somebody on Doberman Talk linked to an article on Dogs Naturally Magazine that included testimonials of "Waggin' Train Victims", and I thought it would be important enough to talk about. I used to buy Waggin' Train jerky for Elka, so this feels like a near miss for me. Not every dog gets sick from it, but it's still a serious deal. I stopped buying jerky products for Elka because I noticed that most of them are treated by irradiation, which kind of freaks me out. I'm sure it's technically safe, or that's what everybody wants us to think, and I'm not a scientist, just a paranoid consumer, and choose not to purchase such things.




So, the FDA warning includes the symptoms that sickened dogs share:

FDA is advising consumers who choose to feed their dogs chicken jerky products to watch their dogs closely for any or all of the following signs that may occur within hours to days of feeding the products: decreased appetite; decreased activity; vomiting; diarrhea, sometimes with blood; increased water consumption and/or increased urination. If the dog shows any of these signs, stop feeding the chicken jerky product. Owners should consult their veterinarian if signs are severe or persist for more than 24 hours. Blood tests may indicate kidney failure (increased urea nitrogen and creatinine). Urine tests may indicate Fanconi syndrome (increased glucose). Although most dogs appear to recover, some reports to the FDA have involved dogs that have died.

This FDA update was on November 18, 2011, and included this link, for if your dog exhibits any of these symptoms to complain http://www.fda.gov/petfoodcomplaints.

It's unfortunate that we have to be so careful with the products that we buy to consumer. Waggin' Train, I thought, was made in the USA, but that appears not to be the case. So far as consumables go, those Made In China have had a pretty terrible track record in the past few years. Infant formula recalls, lead of absurd level in children's toys, and now this, though "this" has apparently been a program for years now. Since 2007, it would seem. 


5 years (or 4 and change, if it isn't exact yet) is an awful long time for something like this to be going on. Of course, there aren't global standards or requirement for things like that. Better safe than sorry, truly. I can, in theory, even without a dehydrator make chicken jerky myself for Elka, if I so desire. Maybe that'll be next week's Tasty Tuesday!






18 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing this information. My girlz love to eat chicken jerky and it is just shameful that these products are still being sold. I just hate to read about these things. Like iyou said...even infant formula...and baby toys for heaven sakes! Let us hope that this nonsense will STOP! Elka is just beautiful!!

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    1. You're welcome!

      I'm always just shocked and disappointed when I find things like this out, especially that it's an ongoing problem. I understand that in the US we look at pets a little differently than in the rest of the world, but it's baby formula too sometimes, and babies = important is NOT a cultural thing!

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  2. I've started carrying my reading glasses with me so that I can read the fine print that might say "Made in China."

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    1. Really, I've all but stopped buying treats altogether, except for a few that I've checked before. Even then, it's hard to tell...some "made in USA" really mean "bagged in USA, made in China"

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  3. Hi Y'all,

    Wow, this is one time I feel lucky! to have food allergies! I don't get treats and stuff that aren't homemade from homegrown stuff.

    Y'all come back now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

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    1. Your food allergies definitely keep you safe! Funny thing to be thankful for, isn't it? ^^

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  4. This just gets more and more frightening. I am so glad that we so rarely buy treats and often just use plain ol' hotdogs. Who'd've thought cheap myster weiners could be safer?

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    1. It's funny, that hot dogs seem to be less life threatening than chicken jerky! I tend to do the same thing, though, especially when we're training a lot. I buy hot dogs more than "dog treats" anymore.

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  5. I am WHOLEHEARTEDLY with you on this one Jen! I have made a commitment to myself and to my dogs to pay the extra money to get products made in North America with North American ingredients or to make things myself. Last weekend I got a hot deal on a 4 kg case of frozen chicken at Costco and I'm turning the entire box into chicken chewies. The boys are thrilled. Thanks for adding this important reminder to this week's Tasty Tuesday Hop!

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    1. The extra money is definitely worth the peace of mind! I keep talking about it, but I'm going to look more into making treats for Elka. I already know she likes my cooking.....I just need to do some cooking for her specifically!

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  6. Scary huh? About a month ago I had just purchased a large bag of Waggin Train chicken tenders during my lunch break since they are made in the USA. That same afternoon I happend to receive an email warning. Checking further on the Waggin Train website I discovered these made in the USA were actually produced in China. Disgustingly sneaky!! I returned them and thanked God I didn't take them home and start poisoning Kirby!! Now ALL of his chicken jerky comes from my dehydrator!!

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    1. It seems criminal, that they can do that! Labels are supposed to mean something; if it's a lie, then they might as well not bother typing them at all!

      I envy you your dehydrator ;)

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  7. Thank you for this info! It's really scary that we have to be afraid of what we feed out pets
    Dachshund Nola's Mommy

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    1. It is scary! I never thought that I would have to be so careful about things.

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  8. We never fed the jerkey. We do not buy a lot of different kinds of treats for our dogs and try to make sure they are made in the USA.

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    1. When I got the jerky, I thought I was doing well, really. Single ingredient protein, no preservatives? What's not to like? Lots, apparently. Ah well, at least we didn't suffer from it the way some unfortunate dogs did.

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  9. We've been staying away from chicken. period. There have been so many scary recalls out lately, and a lot of them seem tied to chicken products, so we're just doing what we can to stay safe. This is one of the reasons I feed Arie Nutro, because it's American made, grain free, and natural, so I have much more hope in their products.

    Glad you saw the Liebster award, too. You beat me to the punch of telling you!

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    1. It seems like there have been so many more recalls in the past couple of years that I ever noticed before! Somebody needs to get paid more, I think, and then everybody will be more careful. Now that I've posted about this, I wonder where Taste of the Wild is made? I want to say USA, but I don't actually know. Hmm.

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