Pet Jerky Treats, Fanconi Syndrome ~The FDA Update

It seems since the last update in October 2013 the  FDA has receive almost 1,800 more reports of sickness or death as it pertains to the Jerky treats that come from  China. According to the report  since May 1, 2014 they have received more than 4,800 complaints. In total there have been more than  5,600 dogs, 24 cats, and 3 people affected by these treats of which caused more than a thousand deaths of canines.

What is in these treats that cause illness is yet to be determined but the symptoms of reports  consist of  at least 60% of gastrointestinal/liver disease, 30 percent are kidney or urinary disease and the remaining 10  percent are various from neurologic to immunologic symptoms as well as dermatologic.

Nearly 15 % of these animals tested positive for Fanconi syndrome which is a rare kidney disease.    To read about Fanconi syndrome click here 

Veterinarians continue to send in letters of deaths reported to be from any of the possible diseases above and has given the FDA the opportunity to perform necropsies on at least 26 dogs. Half of which were not related to the consumption of pet jerky  treats and half of the 26 were not able to be ruled out as the possibility of jerky treats being involved.

The FDA has partnered up with the Center for Disease Control which tracks human illness and is asking their expertise in collaborating on case studies of sick dogs.

Studies are still ongoing and will be made public when results are completed.

Studies  in 2012 showed that there were low levels of  antibiotics in the tested jerky treats. Testing was done by the New York State Department of Markets and Agriculture (NYSDAM).   Testing of the China treats also showed the presence of the drug Amantadine (an antiviral drug for humans) in some of the chicken treat samples. This drug was  used as an extra label drug for dogs for pain control but the FDA began to prohibit its use in  chickens back in 2006.  However  it is not believed to be a cause in illness or death of the pets.

To see use of the drug  Amantadine dogs click here  

The FDA continues to caution pet owners regarding giving these treats. If you have given your pet any of these treats and illness/death occurred please contact your veterinarian as well as report it to the FDA as each report is very valuable to the investigation.

To report to the FDA click here

I'm giving a  4 paws up to the FDA for continuing this investigation and keeping the public informed!

Update 5/24/ 14  I just saw on the news the other day that PetSmart  will be removing all China made jerky treats from their shelves by March 2015.  I am not familiar with the process of pulling something from a chain store so forgive my ignorance , by why wait to complete this after a year? Why not just pull them off now so there are  none left on the shelves for people to buy? I have to wonder  where the jerky treats from China that they sell today will be?
PetCo however is pulling the treats and they hope to have them trashed by the end of the year.

Where's the problem here? Why can't you just take them off the shelves and dump them in the garbage or send them back to China for a refund?  Though I can understand it may take time for China to refund them their money I  don't understand   why American Consumers have to wait six months or more for them to be completely off the shelves.  I am a fairly trusting person, but I think they may still be trying to make a profit off of them. If it were a major Human Health concern (which secondary  it is )  the product would be off  the shelf that day of recall.      

FDA Digging Deeper into Jerky Treats

this pic was grabbed from
the net. It is not indicative
of the products that were tested.

It has been long known to some dog owners that chicken, pork, & beef Jerky Treats for dogs has been a problem and caused much illness and death. Though it would be remiss of me to think

that there are not still a few new dog owners out there that are not aware of the harm these products  can cause.  Right now Jerky Treats are being investigated even deeper  by the FDA and the FDA could use your help.

 If by chance you gave your pooch some jerky treats,  keep the package! If your pooch gets sick within a day or two of eating the treats take the dog to the vet for testing.  Mention to your Vet the jerky treats during your visit and ask  your Vet if  he/she would want to take some samples  of either blood , tissue, or urine to be tested  by the FDA.  It's free, the FDA is willing to cover the cost.  It could help get this product off the market!

Though Bully Sticks are not mentioned in this FDA investigation they too cause illness and this person would not recommend you give them to your dog. They are nothing more than dried uncooked penises  from slaughtered bulls and  steer. Since they are uncooked I can only imagine the bacteria attached to them.  Of 26 bully sticks that were tested from 26 different manufacturers at  least 8  contained bacterial contamination some showed E Coli and others came back as methicillin resistant  Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).   These contaminants can also cause illness to the humans handling them. There are safer ways to entertain your dog and use it's mind over giving bully sticks or jerky treats.  

We are a country of imports folks and the countries we are importing from do not have the same standards and regulations  that the US has.  And no offense but dogs are treated by the law as property so a lot of things harmful to them get tossed by the wayside because of that.  The biggest problems come from China, but I suspect problems can come from anywhere in which  rules and regulations are not put in place  and the goods are cheap!

At this link you can read the new FDA report.  Jump on board and lets wipe out treats coming from other countries. Countries I  might add that sometimes  kill dogs for human consumption!

Also this came in after I posted this article. Click Link here      This portal will take you directly to where you need to be to report an illness