More Melamine Tainted Milk Products Recalled

More Melamine Tainted Milk Products Recalled
By Susan Thixton
Published 10/14/2008

When will melamine ever go away? The FDA announced (October 10, 2008) the recall of YILI Brand Sour Milk Drink because it may be contaminated with melamine. YILI Brand Sour Milk Drink was distributed to New York City through Asian retail grocery stores.

The number two rated word on the anxiety scale for pet owners is melamine (number one would be recall). And now that melamine is being discovered in products from baby formulas to coffee creams, you wonder what’s next. Please be careful with every product you provide your pet – avoid foods and treats that contain glutens and soy and rice proteins. These ingredients are most likely to be Asian sourced and could be contaminated with melamine.

Melamine aside for a moment, on this recent recall announcement from the FDA, a bold red font message was posted at the top of the release. “FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.” We have no idea what action prompted the FDA to add this statement to recall announcements.

Even though I try not to, I guess I have somewhat of a bad attitude when it comes to the FDA. People products aside and looking at just one pet food issue, for the FDA to decide it is safe for our pets to eat a euthanized animal – and the drug used to euthanize the animal, I cannot have a good attitude about them. I hope I am wrong about this, but the only thing I can assume is that somewhere along the line, some company or organization has ‘encouraged’ the FDA to allow pet food to become the dumping ground for products that would otherwise be considered waste. Nothing else makes sense or adds up to be a plausible reason.
Back in the spring of 2008, as I watched the FDA’s pet food safety meeting, I saw no concern or worry on the faces of FDA and CVM (Center for Veterinary Management) executives. There was no air of ‘we really need to get this fixed to prevent another deadly recall’. In fact, quite the opposite was obvious. It was casual and relaxed, almost fun; unlike the feelings of millions of U.S. pet owners. This meeting, that pet owners waited a year for – hoping that finally the FDA would step up and take control of the foods provided to our pets, lasted only 90 minutes and the ONLY one there that showed any concern about our pets was Mike Floyd of DefendOurPets.org. The officers of the FDA and the CVM acted like it was just another meeting, just another day. Talk to any pet owner, their dog or cat is not ‘just another pet’. If only the FDA, CVM and AAFCO would understand this. Our pets are not a profit source for big corporations, they are our family.

Be careful out there!

Wishing you and your pet the best,

Susan Thixton
Truth about Pet Food
Petsumer Report
www.TruthaboutPetFood.com