For the Dogs

Well folks, this whole pet food recall fiasco is getting more ridiculous by the day. Awhile back, the FDA recalled several canned dog and cat foods, due to a contaminated batch of wheat gluten. Originally, people speculated that some rat poison accidentally got mixed in with the wheat gluten, which seemed plausible enough. What was interesting at the time was the sheer volume of dog foods that were affected by the recall. The list included Wal-Mart's budget-friendly Ol' Roy, which I understand costs about $0.25/lb, but also its pricey competitors which often cost 4 or 5 times that. You had to wonder, was it all the same stuff?

For my part, I was not particularly concerned about the recall. When my dog was a pup, he often had stomach issues, which led me to conclude that he was allergic to wheat. Unfortunately, most dog foods contain sizable amounts of wheat, in some shape or form. After some research, I settled upon Blue Buffalo brand dog food, a super-fancy-pants natural dog food which was free of wheat, corn, and soy. Unlike most dog foods, which have all kinds of fillers and by-products, Blue Buffalo contained only the best ingredients. It was free of all steroids, antibiotics, artificial preservatives, and by-products. Indeed, their ingredient list was better than that of most things I consume! Of course, with that came the steep price of $1.33/lb. Yikes. Still, if I could avoid the hassle of having to wake up at 3am and again at 4:30 am to let my dog out, it was well worth it. Plus, I had the peace of mind in knowing that my dog was eating well, which is especially important for a dog that will live forever.

Meanwhile, the FDA would periodically expand the recall. Now included were certain dry foods and dog treats. A few days ago, the FDA found contamination in certain Rice glutens and proteins. Again, I was not worried, because my brand of dog food, for which I pay an arm and a leg, did not contain such things. Only the best ingredients, remember? You can imagine my surprise when I logged onto the FDA website this morning to find that my pup's doggie biscuits were being recalled for rice gluten contamination. This had to be a mistake, I thought. First of all, to be technical, they weren't even biscuits. They were 'health bars' of 'unsurpassed nutrition.' They were even BAKED for crying out loud! But more importantly, they didn't contain any rice gluten... or wheat gluten... or the gluten of anything. I read the label. I re-read the label. No glutens! Phew, for a minute there, I felt like i was an irresponsible parent. But wait...

I went to their website to find this notice: The attached press release reads, in relevant part:

It should be noted the "BLUE" canned dog and cat food products were not formulated or labeled to contain rice protein concentrate, and that the manufacturer, American Nutrition, Inc. added the rice protein concentrate to these products without Blue Buffalo Company's knowledge or consent. For this reason, Blue Buffalo Company is concerned that it can not have any faith in the integrity, or the accuracy of the ingredient labels of any of its products manufactured by American Nutrition. Therefore Blue Buffalo is withdrawing all products manufactured by American Nutrition, including products that American Nutrition claims do not contain rice protein. The FDA investigation into the inclusion of the rice protein by American Nutrition in Blue Buffalo's products is ongoing.

I'm sure there's a healthy round of blame gaming being played throughout the dog food industry these days. Frankly, I'll never know whose fault it is that my dog treats are potentially fatal. I'm thankful that my dog isn't exhibiting any symptoms of illness to date. I've decided to take back both the biscuits and the unopen bag of dry food I recently purchased. With the recall continually being expanded, you never can be too sure. I've further decided to make my dog a home-diet for the next 4 to 6 weeks or until the dust settles from this melamine contamination scare.

But just when I thought I had matters under control, I came across a NY Times article suggesting that the melamine-contaminated rice protein has found its way into chickens at 38 Indiana farms. These chickens were marked for human consumption. At the same time, 8 pork producers in 7 states have been potentially contaminated with melamine after their pigs were fed contaminated dog food. In another report, it appears that melamine is openly and intentionally added as a filler in animal feed in China; "What? Poison? I eat this stuff by the fistful!"

At this rate, dog food may soon be the safest thing for us all to eat.