Author Topic: Possible Toxicity in Jerky chicken treats in Canada  (Read 1554 times)

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Offline Shadow

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"Education is the key" to make informed decisions about the health of our pets

strykingbearmum

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Re: Possible Toxicity in Jerky chicken treats in Canada
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2011, 05:52:14 PM »
I read this on a dog forum I belong to, I'll bring information here as I receive it:


http://tinyurl.com/69hyj9y

Offline Lola

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Re: Possible Toxicity in Jerky chicken treats in Canada
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2011, 10:38:10 PM »
Snip...

Quote
The American Veterinary Medical Association sent out a notice to members yesterday alerting them to a problem in Canada with chicken jerky treats. No brand names have been given and there are no current recalls for the products.

Many different chicken jerky treats are sold in our local pet stores such as Pet Supplies Plus and PetSMART on Commercial Drive. Our local Walmarts here in the Utica/Rome area also sell a variety of chicken jerky treats as do many grocery stores such as Price Chopper and Tops.

The complaints about these treats seem to be asociated with a kidney problem similar to Fanconi syndrome. Affected dogs vomit, are depressed and quiet and lose their appetite. Changes show up in urinalysis and blood work for liver enzymes along with low levels of potassium in the blood. There was a similar problem noted in 2007 and chicken jerky treats were mentioned as part of the diets of many of the dogs involved. It is important to note that there have been no recalls associated with this syndrome and no definitive cause and effect shown.



Continue reading on Examiner.com AVMA notice about chicken jerky treats - Utica Pet Health | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/pet-health-in-utica/avma-notice-about-chicken-jerky-treats#ixzz1R6WSgAnC

http://www.examiner.com/pet-health-in-utica/avma-notice-about-chicken-jerky-treats#ixzz1QruQG4GP
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strykingbearmum

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Re: Possible Toxicity in Jerky chicken treats in Canada
« Reply #3 on: July 04, 2011, 12:12:11 AM »
Snip of what I posted

FOOD SAFETY
FDA admits supermarket chickens test positive for arsenic 6
 
BY TOM LASKAWY
8 JUN 2011 5:08 PM
 

Why is Big Ag playing chicken with our health?
Back in March, Tom Philpott wrote about the "insane" practice of feeding factory-farmed chickens arsenic:

The idea is that it makes them grow faster -- fast growth being the supreme goal of factory animal farming -- and helps control a common intestinal disease called coccidiosis.
The industry emphasizes that the arsenic is applied in organic form, which isn't immediately toxic. "Organic" in the chemistry sense, that is, not the agricultural sense -- i.e., molecules containing carbon atoms as well as arsenic. Trouble is, arsenic shifts from organic to inorganic rather easily. Indeed, "arsenic in poultry manure is rapidly converted into an inorganic form that is highly water soluble and capable of moving into surface and ground water," write Keeve E. Nachman and Robert S. Lawrence of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.

Inorganic arsenic is the highly poisonous stuff -- see the absurd and wonderful Cary Grant classic Arsenic and Old Lace, or the EPA's less whimsical take here and here [PDF]. The fact that the organic arsenic added to feed turns inorganic when it makes its way into manure is chilling, given the mountains of concentrated waste generated by factory poultry farms.
One way farmers add arsenic to chicken feed is through drugs such as Pfizer's Roxarsone. And the industry has (as with most of its worst practices) strenuously defended the use of such additives. While the USDA has by and large ignored the risks (mostly in the form of an unwillingness to look for arsenic in chicken), finally -- astonishingly -- the FDA has acted.

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