I hate one-sided media-attention crap like that. Sure she can sue, and hope they'd rather pay her than take her to court. But the FACT is simpleā at this point it is every company, not just theirs that has REPORTED issues. The FACT is that the FDA and independent labs have YET to find any problem EXCEPT with people overfeeding the product in some cases. The FACT is that unless they have proven an issue, they cannot be forced to pull off the shelves. Would I feed anything from China? NO, which is why I spent nearly an hour yesterday picking out the dog treats. But without proof, she is just another frivolous sue-happy person hoping to make a buck.
Chicken jerky treats
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http://www.coloradopettreats.com/shop/category.asp?catid=5 has all USA made ones. Sorry on recipe but I am not making my own
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No, not Wikipedia but a Pharmacy website and Pubmed. The FDA has been and is testing these treats. The FDA has a webpage cautioning owners about chicken jerky products: http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm280586.htm
Jennifer
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If you want a definition of Fanconi's syndrome, here it is:
Fanconi's syndrome
1. a rare hereditary disorder in humans, characterized by hypoplasia of the bone marrow, and patchy brown discoloration of the skin due to the deposition of melanin, and associated with multiple congenital anomalies of the musculoskeletal and genitourinary systems.
2. a general term for a group of diseases marked by dysfunction of the proximal renal tubules with multiple defects in reabsorption. Occurs as an inherited disorder in Basenji dogs. There is increased urinary excretion of glucose (in the absence of diabetes mellitus), phosphorus, sodium, uric acid and amino acids, and metabolic acidosis.Whether the problem is inherited or acquired, you are looking at the same issues medically. A difference that makes no difference is no difference!
And yes, maybe people fed too much of whatever to their pet. Still shouldn't happen. I would stay away from suspect foods and treats. -
I guess there are times that people need to agree to disagree. I believe the many Vets that have treated dogs with this (breeds across to board and mixes too) and the one think in common is the food/treats coming from Chinaā¦ so I will refrain from using those products like the chicken treats and make my own....
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No, not Wikipedia but a Pharmacy website and Pubmed. The FDA has been and is testing these treats. The FDA has a webpage cautioning owners about chicken jerky products: http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm280586.htm
Jennifer
And information at the bottom of the same page you quoted:
"FDA, in addition to several animal health diagnostic laboratories in the U.S., is working to determine why these products are associated with illness in dogs. FDAās Veterinary Laboratory Response Network (VLRN) is now available to support these animal health diagnostic laboratories. To date, scientists have not been able to determine a definitive cause for the reported illnesses. FDA continues extensive chemical and microbial testing but has not identified a contaminant.
The FDA continues to actively investigate the problem and its origin. Many of the illnesses reported may be the result of causes other than eating chicken jerky. Veterinarians and consumers alike should report cases of animal illness associated with pet foods to the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator in their state or go to http://www.fda.gov/petfoodcomplaints."
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It sounds the questions is "Is Fanconi defined by symptoms or genetics?"
Correct?
I believe cancer can be caused by many different sources - genetics, smoking, chemicals, etc. Why not Fanconi?
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First, ty Pat.. totally agree. Someone splitting hairs about food or contaminated food simply feels a need to be right. While the acquired Fanconi disease is NOT the same as the actual disease, the symptoms are the same.
One note on the irradiationā this article makes me concerned that killing bacteria might be a benefit, but the levels used can cause serious other issues.... now I have to start reading up on that.
And btw, nope, not from WIKIPEDIA:
http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=13936An outbreak in dogs of acquired proximal renal tubulopathy, also known as Fanconi-like syndrome, appears to have ended in Australia since two different kinds of dog chews and treats were pulled from the market.
The kidney conditions, sometimes fatal, were associated with the feeding of chicken jerky treats made by KraMar and grain-based dental chews made by Virbac. Analysis of both products revealed no contaminants or toxicants, however.
KraMar pulled two products ā Supa Naturals Chicken Breast Strips 150G and 110G ā in December 2008, after receiving more than a dozen reports of dogs having eaten the chicken snacks falling ill with Fanconi-like syndrome.
The illness is so called because it resembles Fanconi, a usually inherited condition in which the kidneys lose electrolytes and nutrients in urine rather than resorbing them properly into the body. Symptoms include excessive drinking and urination (polydipsia and polyuria, PUPD) and glucose in urine (glucosuria). Lethargy, loss of appetite and vomiting also are common.Dr. Linda Fleeman, a senior lecturer in small animal medicine at the University of Sydney who treated some of the dogs and has tried to track down the cause, reported that 99 dogs that were fed the Supa Naturals Chicken Breast Strips had confirmed cases. They acquired the disease between August 2007 and January 2008. Five of the dogs died (some through euthanasia). For the survivors, recovery took anywhere from less than two weeks to six months.
Once the chicken jerky products were withdrawn from the market, incidence of the disease declined significantly, Fleeman said, although a few new cases this year came up, associated with KraMarās Supa Naturals Chicken Breast Bites, which retailers sold at a discount because the line was discontinued.
Then in May, several more new cases of acquired proximal renal tubulopathy surfaced that were associated not with dried chicken treats but with VeggieDents, a corn-, soy- and rice-based dental chew that had been introduced in March by Virbac through veterinarians. Virbac pulled the product from the market in Australia on June 1.
Fleeman told the VIN News Service by e-mail that she is aware of only one new case since the Virbac recall, and that was associated with a KraMar product.
Although Virbacās laboratory analysis of VeggieDents could identify no link to the disease, the company is keeping the product out of the country for the time being, said Stephane Wojtkowiak, a spokesman in Virbac headquarters in France. āThey have not scheduled yet the return of products to the shelves as Virbac Australia is willing to work closely with the local authorities to better understand the reason of Fanconi-like syndrome,ā he told VIN News Service by e-mail.
No cases of Fanconi-like syndrome have been associated with VeggieDents outside of Australia, so the product is still available in Europe, Asia and the United States.
The chews are made in Vietnam. Virbac has said that the product in Australia, unlike those sold elsewhere, is irradiated as required by the Australia Quarantine and Inspection Service.
Pet food irradiation at the levels used in Australia has been linked to neurological disease, including ataxia and tetraplegia, in cats; dogs are not known to be affected. The Australian government in late May banned irradiation of cat food because of compelling scientific evidence that the sterilization process may harm cats. How irradiation may induce toxicity is unknown.
Outside of Australia, cases of Fanconi-like syndrome occurred in the United States in 2007 among dogs that ate various brands of chicken jerky that, like the KraMar products, were made in China. Authorities were unable to identify a cause.<<<<
Second, no the issue of acquired Fanconi-like disorder doesn't in any way have any know genetic components, happens to all breeds so it does not, imnsho, have anything to do with Basenjis and fanconi DNA testing. Two very different issues. It is like the difference between someone who has red hair and someone who dyes their hair red. Looks the same but it isn't.
Third, the FDA has stated there is no company connected. Newspapers blew the stats out of the water pointing out 3 companies with the major amt of suspected related major affected dogsā but failed to know they have a MASSIVE hold of the market. Without looking at the percentages it made it seem those 3 companies have a much higher rate when in reality, without those sales to problem stats, those numbers given are meaningless. Sensationalism and bad reporting.
Fourth, most vets who reported issues also stated there could be other causes INCLUDING simply over-feeding of the treats. NO CONTAMINATION OR CAUSES have yet been found, period.
So yeah, I do think there is an issue or that the likelihood is high enough that I have not fed China made food since last year. But there is a difference between suspecting a problem and proving it. Some of the dogs with issues may in fact be allergic to chicken or something else going on. But I'll continue to buy USA made til we know. Because while there isn't always fire where there's smoke, there generally is. And like the Australia cited above.. they never found the cause either.
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I do not think we are splitting hairs at all. It certainly does not have to become personal either.
As I mentioned, in a previous post if you want to be absolutely safe in a treat you give then do as Tanza has mentioned several times, Make YOUR OWN!
The point is there is no absolute scientific support or evidence for the exact cause of the problem or that links the product mentioned, Now that is not splitting hairs. This is also not an attempt to be right. It is a statement of what exists at the moment.
The article you posted is from 2009. Nothing wrong with that, but I would think there would have been more research done by the FDA and others since that time. We know there is an FDA report in 2011 but there still has not been any scientific study or evidence that supports the claims.
The fact is that there are people who have sensationalized the little information we do have in regard to dogs getting sick. Whether or not the treats they were given is the cause or not remains to be seen.
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Again, I am going to disagree. All the animals (including cats) that have developed Fanconi like conditions have had on thing in common and that was eating either the food (kibble) or the treats that have come from China. So, I would conclude that certainly it is a large factor. And I support the Vets, including ones that I know personally that are also breeders that support the claim.
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I do not think we are splitting hairs at all. It certainly does not have to become personal either.
The point is there is no absolute scientific support or evidence for the exact cause of the problem or that links the product mentioned, Now that is not splitting hairs. This is also not an attempt to be right. It is a statement of what exists at the moment.
The article you posted is from 2009. Nothing wrong with that, but I would think there would have been more research done by the FDA and others since that time. We know there is an FDA report in 2011 but there still has not been any scientific study or evidence that supports the claims..
If the source of the contamination is from the food, then yes, it is splitting hairs.
And I think you are missing a lot or choosing to. The 2009 study is fairly critical because when they removed the SUSPECTED, not PROVEN, products from the shelves, the cases dropped from 99 to none. That is very strong evidence.
And in a perfect world, I agreeā the FDA and Australia and Canada, all with a lot of cases, would pour whatever funds needed into determining the cause. Sadly they don't even throw that kind of money into HUMAN research. Furthermore, we may not have the technology yet to even determine it. I have massive liver damage, no hepatitis, no genetic disorders, no alcohol abuse. Best GUESS even with a biopsy is that it MIGHT be a medication (antibiotics or even diabetic pills) i took or even a virus. I suspect eventually they'll have the means to do a biopsy and determine, but that doesn't mean SOMETHING didn't destroy my liver, it just means we don't know. Not knowing does not mean not real. And I specifically used that study because it showed that removing SUSPECTED food resulted in dramatic drop in the fanconi-aquired cases.
As for personal, when someone says they assume you got your info from wikipedia, it's a personal jab about your ASSUmption of their intelligence/internet saavy, etc.. Maybe not a straight honest taking-responsibility for insulting you jab, but a jab.
However, if you want to learn to do better searches yourself so you could verify if you are the one lacking some info or if the person you are addressing is some idiot who only used wikipedia: http://www.searchedu.com/
As a freelance writer, I try to made damned sure my sources have validity. -
Glad I found this board and particularly this thread. Our dehydrator should be here today, and our new family member arrives on Tuesday (hoping he has a good flight).
Just read this article as well: http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/04/11022408-fda-inspectors-probe-pet-jerky-treats-in-china?lite
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Tell us more about your new family member???
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I should post a member intro so as to not hijack the thread, will do so when he gets here. We are very excited to meet him. He will be 8 in November so he is sort of "retiring" I guess you can say.
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We were in Menard's building and supply store and noticed they are carrying Colorado Naturals Chicken Jerky type treats. We did check the label and it said all USA Chicken Breast. They also had the pork and it was all USA as well. They each sold for $10.99 per bag but we did not pay attention to size of the bag. From what we remember it was pretty good size.
So if there is a Menard's near you, you might want to check for this all USA product if you happen to feed these treats.
Debra, thanks for the search engine tip. We sorry to hear that you have massive liver damage. We know currently that Byetta used to treat type II diabetics has been named in several law suits. Hopefully you were never on that drug.
