Ask AP: Product Recalls, Obama's Faith

You've just gotten word of a product recall, so you grab the offending toy _ or packet of meat, or can of dog food _ and bring it back to the store.

What happens next? What does the future hold for a turkey sausage deemed unfit for human consumption?

That's one of the four questions being answered in this installment of "Ask AP," a weekly Q&A column where AP journalists respond to readers' questions about the news.

If you have your own news-related question that you'd like to see answered by an AP reporter or editor, send it to newsquestions@ap.org, with "Ask AP" in the subject line.

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What becomes of all the recalled poisonous pet food, lead-tainted toys and antifreeze-flavored toothpaste? Are they incinerated? Buried?

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U.S., Chinese companies charged in pet food case

A U.S. company, ChemNutra Inc., and two Chinese businesses were charged by a federal grand jury with manufacturing and importing tainted ingredients used in pet food that may have killed thousands of cats and dogs last year.

Top executives from the companies were also indicted. The U.S. accused them of importing 800 metric tons of wheat gluten poisoned with melamine, an unsafe food additive.

The shipments were mislabeled to avoid inspection in China, prosecutors said.

Last March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was alerted to the deaths of 14 cats and dogs that appeared to suffer from kidney failure after eating.

Ultimately, manufacturers recalled more than 150 brands of dog and cat food.

Consumer reports received by the FDA suggested about 1,950 cats and 2,200 dogs died after eating contaminated pet food, the Justice Department said.

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It's Back to Business as Usual !

It seems too quick to get back to business as usual. We’d rather hear that Diamond is helping people with their veterinary bills or starting a program to help people overcome their grief and anger. We’d prefer that the prize isn’t dog food, but some more compassion and understanding.

More on this story here.

That shows how most of these commercial dog food manufacturers just think and care for their profits and not for their customers.But we cannot forget the agony most dog owners had to go through and the grief for those who lost their beloved pets.
This last dog food recall should be a wake up call on how dog owners should be vigilant in what they feed their dogs.

Check out the best online dog food tips and ensure you feed your dog with healthy homemade dog food which are provided with ready recipes for easy cooking. Frequently pass by here to keep informed on any dog food recall news.

Fifth Contaminant Discovered in Dog Food Samples !

Another dog food recall due to Salmonella.
Doane Pet Care a Virginia company is recalling their dry dog food that they had sold to Walmart.They claim that the dog food may be contaminated with salmonella.There has not been any fatality reported and they have pointed out that this recall is not connected to the recent national pet food recall.

In yet another shocking story was the discovery of pain reliever acetaminophen in some dog food samples.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating a Texas laboratory's finding of acetaminophen in dog and cat food, an agency spokesman said.
The pain medication is the fifth contaminant found in pet foods during the past 2 1/2 months and can be toxic or lethal to pets, especially cats. It is not known if any animals became sick with acetaminophen poisoning, or died from it.

Be on the safe side and feed your dog healthy homemade dog food recipes which are readily available and easy to prepare.

Will the pet food recall ever end?

The dry dog food Nutra Nuggets, made by Diamond Pet Foods of Meta, Missouri has been recalled after samples have tested positive for melamine. Melamine is a chemical used to make plastics and fertilizers. It is not approved for use in human or pet food. A veterinary in Visalia, California became suspicious of the dog food after four of his client's dogs went into kidney failure. After some investigation he was able to find that all these dogs were fed with Nutra Nuggets dry food which had been bought from the same Costco store in Visalia, California sometime in mid April. The doctor had the dog food tested and those samples tested positive for melamine.

One dog owner from La Fontaine, Indiana, says her two dogs became sick twice after eating Diamond’s Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul. When asked if she could feed her dogs with commercial dog food she emphatically said No! Her advice is for dog owners to cook their own dog food.

This recall comes only days after another pet food manufacturer Chenango Valley Pet Foods had recalled more of their pet food to include those pet foods that do not contain rice protein concentrate but were manufactured during periods when rice protein concentrate formulas were processed to avoid cross-contamination.

The pet food industry through the Pet Food Institute have formed the National Pet Food Commission to investigate the cause of the current pet food recall and come up with recommendations for the industry.


We hope Pet Food Institute will get to the root of this matter but in the meantime your best solution is to prepare food for your dog.
Check this website for healthy homemade dog food recipes.

Stop Feeding Your Dog These Commercial Dog Food !

Are you still feeding your dog with these commercial dog food ?
Stop it Now!
Two days ago Royal Canin recalled an additional fifteen varieties of dry dog food and one additional variety of dry cat food.The company,headquartered in Aimargues in southern France, said it found trace amounts of an industrial chemical in a vegetable protein used in the products.
Another company Costco’s has also recalled their “Kirkland Signature Lamb and Rice canned dog food” because it may contain melamine, an industrial chemical that was found in other recently recalled pet foods.

Consumers should stop using these products with immediate effect.This nationwide pet food recall crisis should be a wake up call which dog owners must take seriously and seek alternative sources for their dog food.
Many owners are under the impression that preparing dog food is laborious and expensive.But that is not so.Dog owners are changing the way they prepare their dog food by making healthy meals at home.

Most of these recipes can be made in only 30 minutes and are affordable.One of the greatest advantage is the definite visible changes in the animal with the dog coat skin shining and the dog being more active after feeding them these homemade dog food recipes.

Recall of pet and dog food could expand

According to an article in USA Today more pet-food makers could join the four that have already recalled cat and dog food which set off a panic among pet owners throughout the country.The FDA continues to track where contaminated wheat gluten used in pet food went after it was exported to the USA from China. The contaminant, melamine, is not allowed in food but is used in Asia as a fertilizer, the FDA says.
The number of confirmed pet deaths linked to recalled food remains at roughly 15, but there are unconfirmed reports of many more.This is causing anxiety to many pet owners who are not sure what to pick at the supermarket for their pets.

If you have questions and need to talk to someone, the Menu Foods has a consumer hot line at 1-866-463-6738 and 1-866-895-2708. The FDA is asking those with sick or dead pets to call FDA state complaint coordinators. A list of contacts for such coordinators is available at http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html.

Here is a list of more deadly ingredients to look out for if you have to buy commercial dog food.
Otherwise homemade dog food are simple to make with easy dog food recipes available here.


Click here to see a video on Pet Food Recall Frustrations.