Things that make you go hmmm!!!

[OntarioGreys]

Canandian Pet food policy require that imported pet foods have a signed affidivat saying they contain no Specified Risk Material (SRM).

SRM includes tissues such as skull, brain, nerves attached to the brain, eyes, tonsils, spinal cord and nerves attached to the spinal cord. Which is meant to reduce the risk of mad cow disease ending up in pet food.

Wilder feels consumers will not see a big difference in product on the shelves as U.S. manufacturers have been re-quired to be SRM free since 2003 and the update to the regulation around the importation of pet food from the U.S. will be easy for exporters to meet

http://www.petprofessional.ca/featur...feature03.html


Now read this letter written by president Garth Merrick of Merrick Pet foods
dated July 2004

https://web01.aphis.usda.gov/regpubl...M2?OpenElement


Seems like the affidavits are not worth the paper they are written on

From the FDA site

BSE and the safety of pets


With the exception of cats, no pets (companion animals) are known to be susceptible to the infectious agent that causes BSE in cattle. No evidence of BSE has ever been found in dogs, horses, birds, or reptiles.


However, cats are susceptible. Approximately 90 cats in the UK and several cats in other European countries have been diagnosed with the feline version of BSE, or FSE. Before it was recognized that they were susceptible to the BSE agent, cats were exposed to the infectious agent through commercial cat food or through meat scraps provided by butchers. The number of reported cases of FSE in the UK and Europe has been declining annually since 1994 after implementation of feed bans in those countries.


Currently in the U.S. , animal products that are prohibited from cattle feed are acceptable for use in pet food. Such products include meat and bone meal, for example. However, FDA believes that the safeguards it has put into place (i.e. ruminant feed rule) to prevent BSE in the U.S. have also protected cats. To date, no case of FSE has been found in the U.S. FDA continues to review these safeguards to be sure they are adequate, especially in light of the BSE case found in Washington State in December, 2003.


Material from the BSE positive cow in Washington State did not pose a risk to cats in the U.S. because none of it was released into distribution. All firms involved with the incident in Washington State were found to be in compliance with the BSE rules.

[mummummum]

Scary isn't it ? I've been cruising the FDA and CVM websites lately as well ~ lots of "interesting" chemicals like pentobarbital ending up in petfood.

Makes me wonder if I shouldn't find some way of returning to raw/homecooked... :sad:

But, knowledge is power right ?

[x.l.r.8]

Funny I was jsut doing some cut a pasting from a site for follow up research.
http://www.1.ameri-petonline.com/ind...dd4c17b4288da7
Stuff already known but it's nice to have some other names and papers to follow up on. I was hoping that the list that was started on the dog food products that contained sodium pentobarbital, would be updated but I guess it got stopped.

[OntarioGreys]

However, FDA believes that the safeguards it has put into place (i.e. ruminant feed rule) to prevent BSE in the U.S. have also protected cats. To date, no case of FSE has been found in the U.S.

I wonder how many pet cats eating cat kibble with beef the US government was allowed to remove the brains from to test for FSE

I would think not too many cat owners would have a necroscopy done if their cat had what seems like a stroke and gradually deteriorated over the next few weeks. and whether the vet doing would even connect it to FSE if they have never seen it before