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US Pet Food/Treat Distributor told Chinese Supplier to add Melamine

US pet owners have believed that Chinese companies are solely to blame in the numerous cases of tainted pet foods over the last several years.  New information provided to TruthaboutPetFood.com tells a slightly different story.  It has been reported that one US pet food and pet treat distributor instructed a Chinese manufacturer to add melamine to dog treats.

 

I was one of those US pet owners; I believed the deaths and illnesses of thousands of US and Canadian dogs and cats were due to reckless Chinese manufacturers.  The more Chinese recalls that occurred (toothpaste, tires, drywall), the more it seemed to me that China had no quality control of any type of product manufacturing. 

 

This morning I received an email from a Chinese pet treat manufacturer; the sole supplier of dog and cat treats for a US company most pet owners would be familiar with.  The US company sells many different types of dog and cat treats and several different varieties of dog and cat foods.  I corresponded several times with this representative of the Chinese manufacturer; he answered every one of my questions directly and openly.  Knowing more information than I can report (because of lawsuit risks) of the US pet treat and pet food company, I believe the Chinese manufacturer.  Below is a direct quote from his emails; the US company name and company owner has been XXX-ed out due to legal threats.  You decide who you believe.

 


Subject: XXX is unsafe and not as advertised
Question/Comment: My family has been producing the XXX brand of dog treats in China for the past 4 years and recently they terminated our contract after we were told to report all irradiated pet food products to the Chinese government. This was an unfair blow to our business after following exact directions by the owner and founder Mr. XXXX, to 1. Irradiate the chicken and product as needed, 2. for financial reasons, use only 65% chicken and the remainder to be non-fowl filler ... including
melamine, peanuts, bone fragment powder, etc ... and 3. even though they advertised to use vitamins and herbs for stronger bones, etc., we never were allowed to include these because the cost would be too much.

XXX recently acquired 80% of the company for almost $20mm USD in December of 2008, and knew the product produced was in fact not as advertised. XXX was the lead investor for XXX and he was fully aware of the false advertising and potentially dangerous products being used. As early as January they were
informed of the full ingredients used and in fact informed our factory to continue shipping up until this past week when our contract was wrongly
terminated.

We followed our directions from Mr. XXX and now we are paying the price so he can retain his face and destroy the reputation of our family. XXX is and has been a false product from the beginning. Please feel free to communicate with XXX and XXX further as we are being threatened to keep quiet by legal means.

Thank you,
XXX

 

Reply from my follow up questions…(The first sentence is response to my question if his family was at risk from Chinese government action due to putting melamine in the dog treats.  I told him I know little of China other than media reports in the US and was concerned that by reporting this issue to the FDA, USDA, and my reporting on the issue, my concern was if perhaps he and his family would be at risk.) 

 

We are not at risk and we have full documentation from XXX and XXX informing us to apply the fillers, irradiate the chicken and not add any vitamins and herbs to the product.

 

The Chinese government is the one who asked us to come forward. XXX and XXX informed us that they would destroy our family’s business opportunities in the future in the United States if we did talk. To be honest, we would rather this be told to the public than worry about what might happen to us. The US manufacturer instructed us to produce what we did and they sold that product for many years and made a lot of money from a false product which we do not want to be associated with.  The current inventory for XXX made by our company will be on the shelves until at least July (2009).

 

The US company that sells this dog and cat treat (as well as other treats and a line of foods) emphasizes the word ‘natural’ in their advertising.  If it is true what the Chinese manufacturer reports (again, from what I know of this US company, I believe it to be completely true), the dog and cat treats sold as ‘natural’ all over the US should be relabeled as ‘deadly’.  The ingredient list is apparently completely false, and the treat is very likely permanently damaging the kidneys of countless dogs and cats as you are reading this.

 

I urged the Chinese company to report this to the USDA and to the FDA; they agreed and shared with me they will report it immediately.  I have reported the US company to the FDA as well, forwarding all of the correspondence between myself and the Chinese company to the FDA.

 

I am not able to report to you the name of this US company nor the name of the treat because of legal threats.  Until the FDA investigates (if the FDA investigates), or until the Chinese media reports the story and provides the documentation publically, the best advice I can give you is to continue to avoid all pet foods and treats with ingredients from China.  However, this time when I give you that advice, it’s because of an apparently unscrupulous US company, not a Chinese company.


Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,


Susan Thixton

Truth about Pet Food

Petsumer Report

www.TruthaboutPetFood.com


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Comments (23)

alphadog
Said this on 4-20-2009 At 08:56 pm
Why am I not surprised?
Reply to this Comment
val lindahn
Said this on 4-20-2009 At 09:58 pm
Hey Susan
Thanks for the article that tells us nothing, except the Chinese are no longer scary because an American product told them inclusive ingredients that were not supplied according to directions. You must realize how you are relating to people.
You are telling American pet owners that the Chinese are OK now. But that American Pet Food Industries are very, very evil. With out naming them. Are you sure you want to do this ? How is that going to help you sell pet food ?
Aren't you selling fear... "we are in the orange state" as they inform us at airports. I love your product, my puppy may last a few more months because of it.
You might be more thoughtful in your warnings. Our country needs to recover. And not be scared by everything. I would say shame on you, but you have important things to focus on.

Thanks for your time.

I invested mine for this letter.

Sincerely, Val Lindahn
Reply to this Comment
Susan Thixton
Said this on 4-20-2009 At 10:07 pm
Val,
Unlike big business, I don't have a full time legal team protecting me. I do the best I can alerting pet owners to risks; too bad you can't understand the plight of small businesses that are trying to help others. And by the way, I don't sell pet food nor do I take any money from pet food/pet treat manufacturers for writing or speaking about their products.
Susan Thixton
Reply to this Comment
Wild Handyman
Said this on 4-20-2009 At 10:34 pm
Susan, whether or not you have a legal team backing you up, you don't do anyone a service, including yourself, unless you can name names. If you cannot name names, then you should just sit on the alleged story rather than spread an unverified sensationalism that says nothing.
Reply to this Comment
Angel
Said this on 4-20-2009 At 11:33 pm
I agree with the rest. This article does nothing but makes the reader paranoid and worried about which company produced such rotten product.
Reply to this Comment
alphadog
Said this on 4-20-2009 At 11:41 pm
Huh? Did you read the same article I did?
Reply to this Comment
Ann
Said this on 4-20-2009 At 11:50 pm
Before you jump to any conclusions here, consider only the implied
warning: Chinese ingredients could still be dangerous. I was mauled
by pet food companies in recent pet food litigation. So were a lot of other real injured pet owners. I don't blame Susan for not naming names, lacking a legal department and a great deal of money to defend herself. The fact is she had the courage to step up and issue
a possible warning to all concerned consumers. So while I'd like the
names as much as the rest of you, I understand the position Susan
finds herself in.
Reply to this Comment
Kellie
Said this on 4-20-2009 At 11:56 pm
I think what Susan is trying to say is that we should do our homework. She is telling us to avoid foods containing products from China. Yes, that involves reading labels and looking at packages. Of course it would be great if she could name names and give it to us easy. As soon as it is safe to do that I am sure Susan will. Would you rather live in fear and live in ignorant bliss?
Reply to this Comment
Susan
Said this on 4-21-2009 At 12:04 am
Why is this company in China suddenly crying victim when THEY AGREED TO MAKE these products in the first place. As long as the money was coming in, they were happy to make something they KNEW was dangerous. This fact damages any credibility they may have had in blowing the whistle now.
Reply to this Comment
M. C. Reichard
Said this on 4-21-2009 At 02:25 am
I think it is a good idea to let the American pet food companies know that they will be exposed too. They think they can hide behind our flag just as wall street etc. has in years gone by.
Reply to this Comment
Carol
Said this on 4-21-2009 At 09:22 am
The point of this story to me is that the possible adulteration of foods is still alive and well. I appreciate someone exposing possible problems. The truth is the truth and if indeed there is a paper trail of documentation...we will eventually see it... but not if this is not made public and kept under wraps...either way I think it is a good idea..
Reply to this Comment
David L.
Said this on 4-21-2009 At 11:50 am
There is a special place in HELL for those responsible for putting greed over pet safety, and their legal team will be right there with them. None of them can wash their hands of guilt at this stage of the crime. As for how helpful this article is: many people need to be reminded that it is better to keep your head out of the sand and use it.
Reply to this Comment
Sandra
Said this on 4-21-2009 At 05:08 pm
As someone who's pet was killed as the result of toxic pet food in 2007, I appreciate the effort Susan makes in trying to warn pet parents of what goes on behind the scenes.

I worry every time I feed my pet and if you arent, you should be. The PFC's have no guidelines they have to follow, if they learn their product is tainted, they dont have to publicize, they dont have to notify FDA. All of this can be done in secret without anyone knowing about it. FDA has no recall authority over PFC's.

My take on this situation is that a rat (the China person) might be outing another rat (the pet food company). All this does is reveal the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what does and doesnt go into pet food. I'd say if one PFC is doing it, you can bet many others are too, substituting ingredients for cheaper things shouldnt be a surprise to anyone who has done their research on the making of pet food and the short cuts many companies take. To those that criticize, how bout sending a message to your congress rep demanding safe pet food legislation that was supposed to have gone in effect 1 year ago or more and hasnt yet. Susan is not the problem here and is only trying to make people aware and change things for the better.
Reply to this Comment
Deborah
Said this on 4-21-2009 At 06:18 pm
I appreciate the warning.
Reply to this Comment
Matt
Said this on 4-22-2009 At 05:20 am
Excellent work, Susan.

Wow, this should be investigated and if true, the CEO AND the Pet Food Company involved should have their figurative heads placed on the figurative chopping block and the figurative ax should come crashing down.
Susan was right for letting us know this. There are enough cover-ups being done by the government, Pet Food Industry bigwigs, etc and we dont need any more.
This CAN be investigated and those guilty can be punished as a result. Susan just needs to tread carefuly to avoid lawsuits. I wish I had advice on who she should go to with this, but I am unsure myself.
Maybe the media?
Reply to this Comment
Matt
Said this on 4-22-2009 At 05:26 am
As for who Susan should share this info with....nevermind. LOL I should have read the last couple of paragraphs.
I dont think that the FDA (Federal Do-nothing Administration) will do anything about this, but Susan made a good choice, because it is the FDA's job to handle these kinds of things.


Maybe they will.....(can I say this?)....actually do their job for a change?
Reply to this Comment
Harris
Said this on 4-22-2009 At 09:32 pm
Susan,
Just because you don't make money selling pet food does not mean you don't have a responsibility to try to report the truth (especially for someone who puts "truth" in quote marks in her blog title) to your readers. What I find so irresponsible is you've blindly taken the word of some Chinese company as the 'truth' without even talking to the other party involved or doing any digging into the validity behind these allegations...and then blatantly implied that your readers should do exactly the same. I understand you're just trying to warn consumers about the potential dangers in the marketplace, and that's a noble pursuit. But for someone who's touting the plight of 'small businesses' like yours, you sure failed to consider the plight of the US business in question here in order to rush a juicy story up on your blog that may or not be true. You may not want to consider yourself a true journalist, but with a reader base comes a certain journalistic responsibility that you've failed here.
Reply to this Comment
Annieray
Said this on 4-22-2009 At 09:39 pm
Seems like this can be only one company....one you've dealt with before and defended? If so, it's a huge violation of trust by a major player in the pet food industry and one that should result with the end of the company and multiple lawsuits from customers with sick pets. If this report from the Chinese Manufacturer is on the level, very bad things should happen to this pet food company and the marketing scam they have perpetrated on the pet industry and the consumers who have used their bogus products under the guise of healthy, natural and enhanced treats for their dogs.
Reply to this Comment
Kelly
Said this on 4-23-2009 At 12:14 am
Exactly.
Reply to this Comment
Kathleen in CA
Said this on 4-23-2009 At 11:35 am
Susan, I took this article as a "head's up", not an exoneration of chinese imports. This was to tell us our american mgf's might have to take some of the blame for crap in pet food.
I'm just dying to know who the U.S. mfg. is, but I respect the legal issues you face. The OVERALL info you give us is priceless, so slamming you for not risking the tearing down of this site or risking losing your home in a lawsuit is really very, very silly. In case others haven't noticed, the "big guns" are out for you so you are smart to not put yourself at risk!
Reply to this Comment
Mary
Said this on 4-23-2009 At 01:18 pm
Susan,

Thanks very much for posting this info. I don't view it as evidence that something is wrong with the treats, but as more of a "heads up".

In a global market place, we need to stay alert.
Reply to this Comment
Sara
Said this on 4-24-2009 At 03:06 am
Wow I'm so glad you are at least giving us heads up. I am very weary of anything made in China. If I see that on the label, I don't buy it for my pet.
Reply to this Comment
Char
Said this on 4-29-2009 At 01:37 pm
GOOD FOR YOU SUSAN. As an pet owner I appreciate the information you posted on the Chinese allegations. In fact, I copied and pasted the informtion you furnished and sent to both my senators and congressman, demanding that the follow up on this allegation and to force the FDA to not let it sit by idly on someone's desk as they usually do. Everyone reading this, please do the same.
There is power in the number of voices and we can force the FDA to either investigate and punish this pet food manufactor or give us proof it is not true. Americas pet owners deserve protection from our government but we won't get it unless we demand it.
And it is my understanding that reading pet food labels is absolutely no assurance that Chinese ingredients are not present so this is the road to protecting your pets by forcing your elected officials to follow up!
Reply to this Comment
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