For the past few weeks I have seen numerous news articles, blogs, and warnings on Facebook about an FDA warning on Chicken Jerky from China. I have looked all over the internet including on the FDA’s own website and despite these warnings cannot find one mention of a single brand that is causing illness in dogs. The FDA claims to have been looking into this for over 12 months and still cannot pinpoint one brand or multiple brands as the culprit just a vague warning. When I first saw the reports I got upset because I do give the girls treats with chicken jerky wrapped around pieces of fruit and vegetables which is why I looked everywhere for what treats or companies but that information isn’t available.
Don’t get me wrong if there is a problem as with a certain dog food recently that has been recalled due to aflotoxin then yes I agree the effected lots should be pulled from the shelves and a recall issued. I also think that the other food the company sells should be checked and not brushed off as their spokesperson as done.
EDITED TO ADD:
If you know the name of the treat or the company providing these tainted treats please leave the information in the comments. We will publish the name of any treat or food that has been found to be making pets sick.
As for what is going on here I am needless to say very confused the warning was issued in very vague terms and no one has been able to find the source or is it that the dogs are getting stomach issues and it is being blamed on a food or treat but. But why are the food or treats not testing positive for anything? Here is what I do know and it is something that I decided while living in Hong Kong and having access to foods from all over the world.When we first arrived we were told that we should be careful to not eat only foods from China and to try our best to diversify what we ate. I got to try some of the most amazing fruits from Japan, bought milk from Australia, our eggs were imported from the US, and the meat I served guests was from New Zealand.
So I truly believe that people and our pets should be eating foods from all parts of the world as each area has its own issues with food safety, toxins, and chemicals. If you are only eating foods from China or South America or other regions over time you will get sick. So my question is are the packages of chicken jerky tainted or is the issue that people not really paying attention to what they are feeding their dogs in general and so the dogs are only eating meat sourced from China day in and day out?
Not saying you need to home-cook your dog’s dinner I know I certainly don’t on a regular basis but I do know where the food and treats I feed the dogs comes from. We just need to be careful and thoughtful about where our pets food comes from.
Yes, I believe there is a problem with them. Our vet had seen cases of dog who got sick from them also. He wouldn’t say it if he didn’t believe it to be true – meaning that the dogs got sick from those treats.
But what treats where they? Does anyone know the brand so we can spread the word about the treats making the dogs sick instead of just saying chicken jerky?
I do find it strange that even the FDA doesn’t list actual products. Trying to find out.
I was thinking about calling a few treat companies who have their factories in China and ask about their FDA testing procedures. It just seems weird that they haven’t named a company or a group of companies yet put out a vague warning.
Hi Felissa.
Here is a link with some background information that may help explain things a little better: http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=19077 (It’s the last in a series of articles by the Veterinary Information Network News Service published in July.)
I’m not sure why the FDA chose to reissue this warning at the current time but this is not a new problem. It goes back to 2007. Unfortunately, no one has actually been able to figure out why the problem is occurring, only that it appears that it is occurring.
My understanding is that any chicken jerky treat made in China is suspect. And you have to read the fine print on the package because apparently some of them say they’re American products but if you look closely you’ll find they’re sourced from China.
I’m sorry I can’t give you specific brand names. The best advice I can give is to make sure the ones you’re feeding are not from China.
I’m not sure whether any of this helps or not but at least maybe it provides a little background and context.
Agree with Lorie”s advice, make sure the your feeding are not from China.
Maybe the animals are comsuming too many jerky treats. Sometimes, people will over feed their animals with treats and not enough of proper dog food.It’s a good idea to check labels when buying for your pet. I don’t load Biscuit up on treats, only once in a while will give a treat. I keep Biscuit,on Halo Spot’s Stew, dry, and she is doing great! So far have not had any problems with Halo.Also, i do not give Biscuit Jerky, because i hear that they are hard to digest.
I completely agree many people overfeed their dogs on both treats and food and that can absolutely lead to stomach upset. I also think that some people who know their dogs have sensitive stomachs forget that thy can be sensitive to treats and something little can really make them sick.
Kingdom Pets Dog treats. I believe their chicken jerky may be responsible for my Zorro’s death.
There is no one brand that seems to be responsible, though I would mention that co-packing (lots of brands made with the same materials in the same facility) is a common practice, so several brands could be affected even if only a single factory has an issue.
You are right that a part of the problem could be linked to over feeding, but the major issue (as I see it) is that in order to produce the treats at the price they do, they have to be using some pretty substandard ingredients. (Check out this post for a review of why the pricing doesn’t add up: – Personally, I think they were too conservative in this post. I know my local pet store makes things up 40% and I am sure most others turn a good profit on these treats, or they wouldn’t sell them.)
We all know that food and quality controls from China can be quite lax, particularly when it comes to pet food. Add that to the fact that all offshore treats goes through irradiation and you have a potential for widespread, difficult to trace illness. I make it a rule of thumb to only feed North America made treats. That’s not a guarantee that they are 100% safe, but to my view they are safer than the ones from China. Plus it’s soooooo easy to make jerky treats at home.
Wouldn’t you rather be safe than sorry? You can always find a North American treat. You can’t cure Fanconi Syndrome.
There are ongoing issues with ingredients being sourced from Asia, and especially China. The food recalls that seem to happen regularly are most often caused by Asian ingredients. It is much safer to stick to products only containing US ingredients.
My Bella is addicted to jerky treats. We don’t give her a lot and we’re giving her even less now but we still give her enough to make me take these warnings very seriously.
So I wrote the company who made the treats I was giving her. The bag said “American made” but the wording in the FDA warning made me suspicious of that language (nowhere on the package did it say where the chicken came from). The response I got from the company didn’t make me feel any better either: “some of” their meat comes from China and everything is “processed” in the US.
I have since found 2 companies who make jerky treats with human-grade, USDA-inspected, US-raised chickens: Blue Buffalo and Kona’s Chips. Jodi’s link to the boldraw analysis also mentions a couple of Canadian companies that don’t source their chicken from China.
These treats are more expensive but until we know exactly what is causing the problem, I won’t risk Bella’s health for a couple of dollars.
Thanks for blogging about this – it’s an important subject and we all need to be more aware of it.
I just worked a craft show over Thanksgiving weekend selling our TriPom Chews. I had flyers about the recent 2011 FDA warning about Chinese chicken treats and was giving them out and educating anyone I could stop who answered “yes” to the question, “do you have a dog or cat?”
A groomer I spoke with that weekend told me that she had a client whose dog just passed away from Chinese chicken. My dogs are my children, truly. I can only imagine how devastating that was for that family…
If you’re looking for a REAL ‘American Made’ chicken treat, we started making our own Chicken Jerky after we ran across the FDA warning of 2008 about Chinese chicken treats making dogs sick or killing them. It turned into a cottage business and we now sell our TriPom Chews in 20 stores in the New England area. Our products are the only ‘Maine Made’, ‘American Made’, chicken jerky produced from whole, restaurant-quality chicken breasts containing NO Additives and NO Preservatives. We had to make them super wholesome as our 3 Pomeranians (our babies) taste test every batch for quality.
Hi, Felissa! My friend up in Canada, Lesley Forsyth said this:
Yoji gets Smokehouse Brand Chicken Breast strips which are packaged in Sun Valley California but I noticed today they are a product of China. I rang the owner today. She says she is well aware of the FDA warnings but tests have been done and there has never been a conclusive indication that this particular product is tainted. She feeds them to her own dogs every day. Be aware that small dogs should only get a very tiny amount as it is extremely concentrated protein like biltong in South Africa. The strips I have do not look like the photo you posted. They look just like dried chicken breasts , slightly brown, no red colouring added just chicken and salt.
The picture is actually of a human Chili Jerky that is why it is Red.
As for your friend that seems to be the general consensus. The FDA issued this warning all dogs who have gotten sick recently cannot name the brand of treat they were feeding and no tests have come back positive for anything. Yes there was a big problem several years ago but the companies all learned their lesson and cleaned up their acts and do quality control. Plus the FDA has been testing ALL brands of pet food and treats here in the US because there is a big issue with contamination having nothing to do with China. So these treats are being tested and rested and they can’t pinpoint anything or call out a brand that is the issue.
I will only feed my dog treats that are made in the USA due to TOO many dogs getting sick from products made overseas. I try hard to watch what I eat myself, so why shouldnt I do the same for myself? I myself prefer Kona’s Treats to feed Bentley.