Pet Food Recall Alert Expanded - The FDA has broadened the import alert because of the dog and cat food recall and the deaths of more pets. The alertnowincludes wheat gluten, rice gluten, rice protein, rice protein concentrate, corn gluten, corn gluten meal, corn by-products, soy protein, soy gluten, proteins, and mung bean protein. The full text of the import alert is here. Here’s the recommended action (or “guidance”): Districts may detain without physical examination, all Vegetable protein products from China.

Pet Food Recall: FDA Expands Alert Due to More Cat and Dog Deaths

The alert notes that as of April 26, 2007, FDA had collected approximately 750 samples of wheat gluten and products made with wheat gluten and, of those tested thus far, 330 were positive for melamine and/or melamine related compounds. FDA had also collected approximately 85 samples of rice protein concentrate and products made with rice protein concentrate and, of those tested thus far, 27 were positive for melamine and/or melamine related compounds. FDA’s investigation has traced all of the positive samples as having been imported from China.

Or, simply stated, nearly half of the wheat gluten samples tested and nearly a third of the rice product samples tested contained melamine i.e. were deliberately or inadvertently fraudulent.

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The FDA also notes that in recent weeks, there has been an outbreak of cat and dog deaths and illness associated with pet food manufactured with vegetable proteins contaminated with melamine and melamine related compounds. In response to this outbreak, FDA has been conducting an aggressive and intensive investigation. Pet food manufacturers and others have recalled dog and cat food and other suspect products and ingredients. This has been one of the largest pet food recalls in history, a recall that continues to expand.

Thus far, 18 firms have recalled product, 17 Class I and 1 class II, covering over 5,300 product lines. As of April 26, 2007, FDA had received over 17,000 consumer complaints relating to this outbreak, and those complaints included reports of approximately 1950 deaths of cats and 2200 deaths of dogs. The Agency is working with federal, state, and local governments, academia, and industry to assess the extent of the outbreak, better understand how melamine and melamine related compounds contributed to the pet deaths and illnesses, and to determine the underlying cause of the contamination.

The FDA does not know how widespread the problem in China might be.