By now you’ve
probably heard the great news that stores are pulling China made chicken treats
from their shelves. Over the past week, Nestle Purina issued a withdrawal (not
a recall) on their chicken jerky products. Milos Kitchen owned by Delmonte, Publix Super
Markets and IMS Trading all issued a voluntary recall of their chicken jerky
products due to possible contamination with antibiotic residue.
According
to a statement by IMS Trading Corp…“There is no indication that the trace amounts of antibiotic residue are linked to the FDA’s ongoing investigation of chicken jerky products. “The trace amounts of antibiotic residue (in the parts-per-billion range) do not pose a health or pet safety risk.”
While
researching the various recalls, I found a lot of interesting information on
the FDA’s website:
·
“Since 2007, the FDA has become aware of
increasing numbers of illnesses in pets associated with the consumption of
jerky pet treats. The majority of complaints involve chicken jerky (treats,
tenders, and strips), but others include duck, sweet potato, and treats where
chicken or duck jerky is wrapped around dried fruits, sweet potatoes, or yams”
(September 14, 2012).
·
“The
FDA has received approximately 2,200 reports of pet illnesses which may be
related to consumption of the jerky treats. The majority of the complaints
involve dogs, but cats also have been affected” (September 14, 2012).
·
“In
the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic increase in importation of pet
food from China. Human consumption of poultry in China largely consists of dark
meat, leaving a large amount of light meat poultry products available for
export.” (September 14, 2012).
·
“Based on the FDA’s review of the NYSDAM
results, there is no evidence that raises health concerns, and these results
are highly unlikely to be related to the reports of illnesses FDA has received
related to jerky pet treats” (January 9, 2013).
So, in summary,
The FDA still has not found the link between the China plants and the thousands
of illnesses and deaths related to China made chicken jerky. In my opinion, the
latest recall seems to be an easy way for the offending companies to save face
and recall their products without admitting fault to any of the previous claims.
But at least stores are not selling the product and that is a great start!
Ok, now one
little plug for The Yellow Dog’s Barn and Joey’s Jerky. Joey’s Jerky can be
purchased at TYDB store and other local businesses. It is made from good old
USA chicken and made fresh right here in New Hampshire! Check it out on
facebook: https://facebook.com/joeysjerky. I can tell you that my dogs love it and yours will
too!
