FDA Warns Pet Owners To Avoid Chinese-Made Chicken Treats

FDA Warns Pet Owners To Avoid Chinese-Made Chicken Treats
Sun-Sentinel | By Diane C. Lade


The U.S. Food and Drug Administration again is cautioning pet owners about feeding their dogs chicken jerky treats manufactured in China, as the agency continues to receive reports of kidney-related disorders in animals that ate these products.

The FDA has received 151 complaints about dogs falling sick after eating chicken jerky products since September 2007, when the agency issued its warning. Twenty-six of those pets died

California Department of Public Health Warns Consumers Not to Eat Fresh Ginger From China

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Sacramento, CA -- July 29, 2007 -- Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), today warned consumers not to eat fresh ginger imported from China after the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s residue monitoring program detected the presence of aldicarb sulfoxide in some batches of imported ginger. Aldicarb sulfoxide is a pesticide that is not approved for use on ginger.

The product is known to have been distributed to Albertson's stores and Save Mart stores in northern California by Christopher Ranch of Gilroy, California.

CDPH and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are tracing the imported ginger from the importer (Modern Trading Inc. in Alhambra, California) to determine the full distribution of the product and to identify other retail stores that may have received the product.

Currently, there are no reports of illness associated with the contaminated ginger.

Consumers who may have purchased this product from Albertson's stores and Save Mart stores in northern California should discard it.

Symptoms of aldicarb poisoning in humans are likely to occur within the first hour following exposure. Ingestion of foods contaminated with aldicarb at low levels can cause flu-like symptoms (nausea, headache, blurred vision) which disappear quickly, usually within 5 or 6 hours. However, at higher levels, ingestion of aldicarb contaminated food can also cause dizziness, salivation, excessive sweating, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle stiffness and twitching, and difficulty in breathing.

Individuals who may have consumed this product and have any of the above symptoms should contact their health care provider immediately.

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FDA's Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts Page: http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html

FOXNEWS: Possibly Tainted Fish From China Detained by FDA for Inspection

WASHINGTON — Imports of five species of farmed Chinese seafood will be detained until they can be shown free of potentially dangerous antibiotics, U.S. government health officials said Thursday.

The Food and Drug Administration said it would detain the catfish, basa, shrimp, dace and eel after repeated testing has turned up contamination with drugs unapproved in the United States for use in farmed seafood.

The announcement was only the latest in an expanding series of problems with imported Chinese products that seemingly permeate U.S. society, from its playrooms to its prisons.

Beyond the fish, federal regulators have warned consumers in recent weeks about lead paint in toy trains, defective tires and toothpaste made with diethylene glycol, a toxic ingredient more commonly found in antifreeze. All the products were imported from China.

FoxNews story

UPDATE: FDA Warning Expands List of Contaminated Toothpaste from China

Introduction: FDA has found a poisonous chemical, diethylene glycol (DEG), in certain toothpastes imported from China. The agency increased its scrutiny and testing of imported toothpaste and dental products after receiving reports in late May 2007 of contaminated Chinese dental products found in several countries, including Panama.

Q: Why are consumers being warned about toothpaste?

FDA is strongly warning consumers to avoid using any toothpaste labeled as made in China because we have found levels as high as 3-4% of a poisonous chemical, diethylene glycol (DEG), in Chinese toothpaste.

Q: What is diethylene glycol, or DEG?

Diethylene glycol (DEG), also known as "diglycol" is a poisonous chemical used in antifreeze and as a solvent. It does not belong in toothpaste even at small concentrations.

The agency is warning consumers to avoid using tubes of toothpaste labeled as made in China and, through an import alert, is stopping all suspect toothpaste from entering the United States.

FDA continues to investigate this problem and will take further action, as appropriate, to address this important public safety issue.

List of Toothpaste Products FDA has identified the following brands of toothpaste from China that have been found to contain a poisonous chemical called diethylene glycol (DEG). The products typically are sold at low-cost, "bargain" retail outlets.

Manufacturer: Goldcredit International Enterprises LTD Products: (MainStar America, Selective Imports, Donnamax)

Dr. Cool Coolmint Superdent Coolmint Cooldent Coolmint Cooldent Spearmint Cooldent Fluoride Everfresh Assortment BrightMax DentaPro Dentakleen Dentakleen Junior Brand - Strawberry Dentakleen Junior Brand - Blueberry

Manufacturer: Gold Credit International Trading Co LTD Products:

Bright Max Peppermint Flavor Clean Rite Toothpaste Clean Rite Toothpaste Kit Oralmax Extreme Action Kit Oral Bright Fresh Spearmint Flavor DentaKleen DentaKleen Junior DentaPro Manufacturer: Suzhou City Jinmao Daily Chemicals Co. Ltd. Product: (Gold City Enterprises/New Star, Miami, FL)

ShiR Fresh Mint Fluoride Paste ShiRFresh Toothpaste ShiRFresh Mint ShiRFresh Ice Mint Manufacturer Shanghai Light Industrial Products: Freshh Spearmint (Following up with Mandalay International, Ogden, UT)

MFR Unknown: Crescent Toothpaste (Dollar Ocean #4, Wheaton, MD and H&Y Trading Co, Capitol Heights, MD) Naturabella nino Dusanzo (Certejenas Inc., Cidra, PR)

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FDA has identified the following counterfeit products:

Manufacturer: Unknown

counterfeit toothpaste falsely packaged as "Colgate," manufactured in South Africa counterfeit tooth gel falsely packaged as "Colgate," manufactured in South Africa (may not contain DEG)

Flaw in the ointment

It was perhaps inevitable that at some stage China would trip, given the speed at which it hurtles towards economic supremacy. That fall, in the glare of the world's media, has come with the humiliating revelations that fake food and medical ingredients have been exported, triggering mass poisonings in the West. With the Beijing Olympics just over a year away, Chinese officials have been forced into frantic damage control.

Brisbane Times