Expanding recall on foods

[Plexi]

I heard this morning they are expanding the recall on the recall foods to include all their "Dry" foods too. I just said the other day, if it's a bad wheat gluten why the dry foods weren't in the recall too.
Why wait so long now to recall the dry foods, now more dogs have eaten it to.
12 Dogs in our town alone are at the vets right now for testing cause they are sick. My heart goes out to all the poor little dogs!

[hairdevil]

the only dry food recalled is Science Diet m/d dry feline...so far. I just wonder if this imported wheat gluten was tainted purposely thinking it would get into our food chain..for humans not pets? makes me wonder thats for sure!

[ejmj30]

Scary that things you buy in your hometown are from so many different places. Boy things have really changed from when you used to buy things made in your town, or just what you grew yourself.

[SuziJ]

Funny Ejmj, My Husband said the same thing.

[Chuck]

Does anyone know why they use wheat gluten in pet foods?

Dogs are "Gluten Intolerant" . Did you ever see a dog shucking wheat and grinding it to turn it into flour and then seperate the wheat gluten and eating it? I really do not know if this is how you get wheat gluten but I do know that it is a by product of a wheat process.

Dogs and cats do not know what wheat gluten is. It would not even be in the bellies of their prey. It is totally foreign to them.

Some dry Dog food is made like this: A big pot of gruel (meat protein, (other dogs and cats) additives, perservatives, etc. It is then forced through a extruding machine like speggetti and a blade come down and cuts the speggetti like strands into kibble. But they need a starch to hold the "meat protein" together so the kibble does not fall apart. it is like the "Glue" that holds everything together.

That wheat gluten and corn gluten that they are not allowed to sell for human consumption is used for pet consumption.

We have the FDA to protect us and that is not working very well. Who is protecting our pets from the money mongering Giant Food Companies who make these pet foods outside our country?

Do you think the pet food hit squad wil come after me for saying these things?

We feed our children fresh foods, why do we feed our pets canned and bagged foods that are made to have a shelf life of two years plus for these large "Public Food Companies" bottom line and not for our dogs nutrition??

Chuck

[misscatahoula]

Sure makes you wonder how many of the companies used the same wheat gluten supplier for their dry. Nutro is saying they don't use wheat gluten in their dry pet foods, just the wet, but hills does. I've been trying to warn customers of the recall and sending them to the menufoods site to get info. It'll be a total nightmare if more dry foods keep being added to the list, and why the delay in getting the word out now?

[HoundLover]

also they just recalled the purina alpo prime cuts cans! well my mom got a coupon for alpo canned dog food for 3 cans for free. well i feed our dog raw and the cat is on innova evo. well...i can tell you THIS that the can in the fridge is being tossed and the other two are being friggen returned. this is ****! hm..now to wonder if the canned cat food we got awhile ago (happy tails is the jewel osco (only in IL and IN) is tainted also? but we bought it awhile ago...so i doubt it is...but i saw alpo...forgettaboutit! being returned for cash i dont want this **** now.
Hound

[Helly]

OK, gluten is simply a mixture of proteins found in the endosperm of grains. When you mix ground grain with liquid the proteins form long strands of protein. The more you mix it, the stronger the gluten is. It's what makes bread and cakes hold their shape when you bake them, and why you knead bread dough but don't over mix your cake batter. Without the gluten you'd have a really flat cracker.

Unless one's pet has celiac disease, the inability to digest the proteins that form gluten, gluten should not present a problem. Celiac disease has been identified in Irish setters, possibly a few other breeds and mixes there of. But it isn't all that widespread.

Dogs in their natural state do eat grains. I've seen them do it. When they chew the grain and it mixes with saliva, gluten is formed. Anyone who has had a dog and a horse will tell you how much dogs love to eat horse poop. Horses eat a lot of grain, much of which passes through their digestive system incompletely digested. Poop contains gluten. The stomach content of grain eating prey contains gluten. Deer poop, rabbit poop, sheep poop...they all eat grain, and their poop contains gluten.

Wheat gluten that has been washed repeatedly to remove the starch content is widely used in macrobiotic and vegan diets around the world. Because of it's protien content, chewy texture and it's tendency to absorb flavorings it is used as a meat substitute.

Wheat and corn gluten meal is produced from washed gluten and is used as a protein source in pet foods, especially in vegitarian dog foods. Dogs and cats need nutrients, not specific foodstuffs. Except in the presence of celiac disease, it doesn't matter what the source of the protein is, the body processes it the same way. Protein is protein, from a nutritional point of view. Of course, the smallest components of protein are amino acids, and in the case of cats, taurine, an amino acid found only in animal protein sources, must be supplemented because cats cannot synthesize it in their bodies. So cats cannot thrive on a completely vegetarian diet. Dogs, on the other hand, can.

What happened to the wheat gluten in this case isn't clear, as yet. New testing shows it's not rat poison, but melamine, a component of plastic manufacturing. It could have been intentional, or accidental...like the Firemaster (PBB) chemicals that was accidentally mixed in the cattle feed in Michigan back in 1973, that resulted in so many dairy cattle being slaughtered.

[Poodlefluff]

Helly where do you pull this info out of? You are like an encyclopedia of knowledge. I am so glad I wasn't feeding my dogs any of the recalled foods, I did at one time feed Nutro in the Pouch mixed with their dry.But I haven't fed them that in months. Now my dogs are on Bil Jac. They don't even need canned food for flavor they scarf this Bil Jac down they Love it. But my prayers are sent out for all pets who where involved in this mess.

[Helly]

Helly where do you pull this info out of? You are like an encyclopedia of knowledge.

I have a mind like a steel trap, lol.

Seriously, I'm a certified veterinary nutritional consultant. I'm also a vet tech. My brother-in-law is a vet, and I pick his brain every chance I get. And I grew up on a farm, watching the dogs eat horse poop, cow poop, pig poop, chicken poop, goose poop. I watch the local coyotes raid my tomato patch, my corn patch, and munching on heads of grain in the wheat fields.

I also have a college education, my field of study was medical assistant. We had to take some of the same classes as the nursing students, including nutrition, anatomy and physiology, and phlebotomy.

My brother is a chef...thus I've learned a lot about things like gluten, what it is and how it affects the outcome of my cakes and bread.

And I have a voracious appetite for information. On just about everything. The last auto mechanic who tried to pull a fast one on me was in for a HUGE surprise!

There's a saying that knowledge is power. I don't know how true that is, but it sure can come in handy.

[Chuck]

Again I bow to your knowledge.

Helly,

I stand corrected. My lab loved horse minure. Ate it till he threw up then ate some more. But I thought it was the digestive breakdown of the minure he loved.

Still do they thrive on wheat gluten or just survive. I know dogs will eat about anything at anytime but is this the optimum choice for them?

Chuck

[Bearmtn]

I have a mind like a steel trap, lol.

And I have a voracious appetite for information. On just about everything. The last auto mechanic who tried to pull a fast one on me was in for a HUGE surprise!

There's a saying that knowledge is power. I don't know how true that is, but it sure can come in handy.

Seriously Helly, with a brain like yours, I am not so sure I would be grooming.

[elliemae]

hmmmm.. i wonder how all these vets feel about their beloved science diet?? i know at one time it had plenty it had plenty of BHT and BHA (maybe it still does??), not to mention there was no shortage of corn..it sort smelled like corn to me...i thought i had opened a bag of chicken feed. as far as wheat goes, i'll stay away from that also, there are plenty of foods out there that don't use wheat or corn.

[Helly]

Seriously Helly, with a brain like yours, I am not so sure I would be grooming.

But if I stop grooming, I'd have to get a real job. LOL.

I have done so many different things in my life, from picking fruit to chiropractic assistant. Most of them held my interest for a time. Then they got boring. Grooming always calls me back. It's never boring, and the perks (puppy kisses, etc) are just too rewarding.

Everything else is just a job. Grooming is a passion.

[Helly]

Helly,

I stand corrected. My lab loved horse minure. Ate it till he threw up then ate some more. But I thought it was the digestive breakdown of the minure he loved.

Still do they thrive on wheat gluten or just survive. I know dogs will eat about anything at anytime but is this the optimum choice for them?

Chuck

Of course they can't thrive on wheat gluten alone. It only contains two protiens, gliadin and glutenin. Other proteins are also necessary, and I don't think I've ever seen a dog food that lists wheat gluten as the only source of proteing. In the case of dogs, all of these additional proteins can be supplied from vegetable sources. Other proteins can be synthesized in the body from the components of the dietary proteins.

If the proper balance of proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and micro-nutrients are provided in a form that can be assimilated, the source is irrelevant. If the food has been properly prepared and balanced, dogs can indeed thrive on a vegetarian diet.

Of course, I think the vast majority of dogs would prefer to thrive on a diet that contains some meat. It's the vegetarian humans who think vegetarian diets for dogs are wonderful, not the dogs. But I think that's more of a taste/texture preference.

I prefer to thrive on a non-vegetarian diet too, because I like meat. I like the way it smells when it's cooking. I like the way it tastes. I like the way it chews. Pass the salt, I'm making me hungry.