If melamine is poisonous, why is everyone's kitchen counter made with it?
-Lew
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17870750/
Updated: 4:22 a.m. ET April 1, 2007
WASHINGTON - A greater sensitivity of cats to a chemical found in plastics
and pesticides could explain why theyve died in larger numbers than have
dogs after eating contaminated pet food, experts said Saturday.
The small number of confirmed reports of pet deaths bolstered by a far
larger number of unconfirmed anecdotal reports suggests cats were more
susceptible to poisoning by the chemical melamine that tainted the now
recalled pet food, officials with the Food and Drug Administration and
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said Saturday.
I am concerned we have a situation where we have a sensitive species and it
is the cat, said Steven Hansen, a veterinary toxicologist and director of
the ASPCAs Animal Poison Control center in Urbana, Ill.
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Testing by the FDA and Cornell University has found melamine in samples of
recalled pet food as well as in crystal form in the urine and kidney tissue
of dead cats. Theyve also found the chemical, in apparently raw form in
concentrations as high as 6.6 percent, in wheat gluten used as ingredient of
the recalled cat and dog foods, said Stephen Sundlof, the FDAs chief
veterinarian.
There was a sizable amount of melamine. You could see crystals in the wheat
gluten, Sundlof told The Associated Press.
Feline sensitivity a mystery
Sundlof and others have not been able to explain why the chemical would have
caused the kidney failure seen so far in the roughly 16 confirmed pet
deaths, all but one in cats. There are anecdotal reports of hundreds more
pet deaths.
It has a very low toxicity, at least in rodents. The problem is, we dont
have information in cats, and that seems to be the most susceptible
species, Sundlof said of melamine. Sundlof also allowed that the tainted
cat foods could have contained higher concentrations of melamine than did
the dog foods.
NBC VIDEO
Toxic chemical in pet food
March 30: It's not clear that the chemical found in recalled pet food caused
animal deaths or illnesses, an FDA official said during a press conference
Friday.
MSNBC
Nestle Purina PetCare Co. said Saturday it was recalling all sizes and
varieties of its Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with specific date
codes. Purina said a limited amount of the food contained a contaminated
wheat gluten from China.
Earlier this month, Menu Foods became the first pet food manufacturer to
recall its products. It did so after cats began to fall sick and die during
routine company taste tests of its wet-style pet foods, sold under nearly
100 store- and major-label brands across North America. Other than in the
recalled products, melamine has not been found in other Menu Foods pet
foods, the company said.
Chemical an ingredient in plastic
Melamine is used to make plastic kitchenware, glues, countertops, fabrics,
fertilizers and flame retardants. It also is both a contaminant and
byproduct of several pesticides, including cyromazine, according to the
Environmental Protection Agency.
The United Nations Environment Program considers melamine of low potential
risk, as does the EPA. The agency has sent FDA the database information it
has on the chemical and will provide technical assistance as needed, EPA
spokeswoman Enesta Jones said Saturday.
Sundlof said the FDA hadnt found any studies of melamine in cats, and the
results of only a single 1945 study that tested it on dogs. That study
suggested the chemical increased urine output when fed to dogs in large
amounts.
That was pretty much it, Sundlof said.
Still, its well known that identical substances can have very different
effects on cats and dogs. For example, the flea killer permethrin is OK to
use on dogs but lethal to cats, Hansen said. The same could be the case with
melamine.
Cats are very sensitive to many different chemicals, whether drugs,
pesticides or plants. We certainly know they have some unique physiological
responses that make them susceptible in cases where we wouldnt expect it in
other species, Hansen said.
Click for related content
Purina release on the Alpo recall
FDA: Recall of pet foods by Menu Food
Q&A: What's really in your pet's food?
FDA finds unapproved chemical in diet pet food
Discuss your concerns about pet-food safety
Newsweek: Is pet food properly regulated?
Focus on wheat gluten
The investigation has traced the melamine to wheat gluten that Menu Foods,
Nestle Purina PetCare Co. and Hills Pet Nutrition bought from an unnamed
U.S. supplier. The latter two companies have recalled a limited number of
products since Friday. The wheat gluten, a protein source, was imported from
China.
Sundlof said the recall could expand further, depending whether other pet
food manufacturers also bought wheat gluten from the same supplier.
Were still in the process of tracing it at this point, Sundlof said.
There is no indication the wheat gluten entered the human food supply, he
added.
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