Food recall: An explanation of the "quarantine policy".
As there's been a bit of confusion--not to mention occasional umbrage and even accusations of paranoia on various threads I've been involved in re the pet food recall and my own list of "safe", "potentially safe" and non-listings of other foods--I figured it is time for an explanatory post on just WHAT criteria I am using.
I am operating here from primarily an epidemiological model--in essence, the model that doctors use to track down and stop outbreaks of human food illnesses and diseases. I am *not* acting as a nutritionist (I note this because people have criticised inclusion of certain pet foods as "safe" when they feel it's not the best thing in the world for kitty under normal circumstances).
I am operating from these paramaters, and I'll list why (and parallels in the medical world):
a) If a pet food is known to be made from a company that has reported contaminated product, consider the product suspect. (This is why I do not list any pet foods--even those not known to use suspect ingredients--from Menu Foods, Diamond or American Nutrition or which have been proccessed by Menu Foods, Diamond or American Nutrition. Yes, I know this includes a lot of brands like Eagle Pack and Innova and Wellness and so forth. This is also why I removed Blue Buffalo from the "safe" list, do not list any Purina products, etc.--those companies have had issues with their suppliers sending them contaminated ingredients.)
The specific reason I treat this with caution is because--even if a company's product does NOT use contaminated grain directly in its processing--there is a risk of cross-contamination if other contaminated product is made by the same company. (They use the same processing lines, thus there's the real risk it could end up in the food anyways. It's much the same reason as you would not use a toothbrush used by another person with a contagious illness.)
The reason for extreme caution has, sadly, been borne out by recent revelations that American Nutrition was adding rice gluten (including contaminated rice gluten) to pet food without telling even the pet food companies about it (and there's a real risk Diamond and Menu Foods could be doing this too). Blue Buffalo has had to recall its entire product line as a direct result of this.
b) If a pet food is known to be made using a product that is known to have been contaminated and I cannot confirm it is from a non-contaminated source, consider the product suspect. (This is why there is a "Presumed safe" category--this is involving companies that own their own facilities, but which I am confirming that they are in fact not purchasing from China.)
The specific reason for this is because cheap Chinese grain is widely used in pet food production and there is a lot of evidence at this point that suggests that most grain products from China may have been doped with melamine--quite likely deliberately to boost the apparent protein content. (The "real world" analogue is with bird flu quarantines that prohibit import of birds from countries suffering bird flu, or BSE-related bans on beef from certain countries.)
c) If a pet food company states that they had a problem with potentially contaminated product but have since changed suppliers and/or packing companies, they go under "quarantine" until it can be confirmed that non-contaminated product from that company is in the pet food retail chain and they do not have any potential sources of contamination listed in a) or b). (This is why, for instance, I still do not list Nutra and why Blue Buffalo was removed.)
I do realise that there are companies that have gotten contaminated through processor or ingredient source bugger-ups. This does not mean I'm going to risk my pet's health. I also do realise that at least two of the "recall-ees" are changing their packers and food processors as a result; however, I want to make very sure that they are not getting grain products from a potentially tainted source and I want to make very sure they are not using a company where there is a risk of cross-contamination. Once this has been confirmed and non-contaminated pet food is in the retail chain, they go "off quarantine".
Right now, the two brands that I do have "on quarantine" are Nutra products (including Innova) and Blue Buffalo. Nutra is on quarantine until it can be confirmed they are shipping product from their own facilities (they have reportedly dropped their contract with Menu Foods) and that they are not sourcing ingredients from China; Blue Buffalo is on quarantine until it can be assured that the snafu that caused contaminated rice protein to end up in their food will not recur. (The medical analogue of this is with people (during quarantines) being isolated until the "contagious period" has passed--just as people with SARS (and in the old days, measles and smallpox) were quarantined and isolated at home until the infective period passed and just as pets are kept in quarantine if suspected of being rabid until the period when rabies symptoms show up has passed.)
I am *not* at this point basing this on nutritional benefit of foods at the present time--just on "Is it using a potentially contaminated ingredient or made at a potentially contaminated company? If no, then put it on the safe list" categories. Yes, I realise there are readers who say "brand X is crap food"; it may well be under normal circumstances. (Unfortunately, at this point we are about a good month into "far from normal circumstances" and a lot of normally good pet food must be treated as contaminated and less desirable pet food (made under circumstances that are known to be safe) may need to be considered as alternatives until this is straightened out (preferably in the South African manner of banning gluten and grain product imports from China altogether--I'd even go so far as to suggest that Chinese food imports be banned altogether due to their food safety issues and refusal to allow investigators into the country to inspect potentially contaminated plants).
I am operating here from primarily an epidemiological model--in essence, the model that doctors use to track down and stop outbreaks of human food illnesses and diseases. I am *not* acting as a nutritionist (I note this because people have criticised inclusion of certain pet foods as "safe" when they feel it's not the best thing in the world for kitty under normal circumstances).
I am operating from these paramaters, and I'll list why (and parallels in the medical world):
a) If a pet food is known to be made from a company that has reported contaminated product, consider the product suspect. (This is why I do not list any pet foods--even those not known to use suspect ingredients--from Menu Foods, Diamond or American Nutrition or which have been proccessed by Menu Foods, Diamond or American Nutrition. Yes, I know this includes a lot of brands like Eagle Pack and Innova and Wellness and so forth. This is also why I removed Blue Buffalo from the "safe" list, do not list any Purina products, etc.--those companies have had issues with their suppliers sending them contaminated ingredients.)
The specific reason I treat this with caution is because--even if a company's product does NOT use contaminated grain directly in its processing--there is a risk of cross-contamination if other contaminated product is made by the same company. (They use the same processing lines, thus there's the real risk it could end up in the food anyways. It's much the same reason as you would not use a toothbrush used by another person with a contagious illness.)
The reason for extreme caution has, sadly, been borne out by recent revelations that American Nutrition was adding rice gluten (including contaminated rice gluten) to pet food without telling even the pet food companies about it (and there's a real risk Diamond and Menu Foods could be doing this too). Blue Buffalo has had to recall its entire product line as a direct result of this.
b) If a pet food is known to be made using a product that is known to have been contaminated and I cannot confirm it is from a non-contaminated source, consider the product suspect. (This is why there is a "Presumed safe" category--this is involving companies that own their own facilities, but which I am confirming that they are in fact not purchasing from China.)
The specific reason for this is because cheap Chinese grain is widely used in pet food production and there is a lot of evidence at this point that suggests that most grain products from China may have been doped with melamine--quite likely deliberately to boost the apparent protein content. (The "real world" analogue is with bird flu quarantines that prohibit import of birds from countries suffering bird flu, or BSE-related bans on beef from certain countries.)
c) If a pet food company states that they had a problem with potentially contaminated product but have since changed suppliers and/or packing companies, they go under "quarantine" until it can be confirmed that non-contaminated product from that company is in the pet food retail chain and they do not have any potential sources of contamination listed in a) or b). (This is why, for instance, I still do not list Nutra and why Blue Buffalo was removed.)
I do realise that there are companies that have gotten contaminated through processor or ingredient source bugger-ups. This does not mean I'm going to risk my pet's health. I also do realise that at least two of the "recall-ees" are changing their packers and food processors as a result; however, I want to make very sure that they are not getting grain products from a potentially tainted source and I want to make very sure they are not using a company where there is a risk of cross-contamination. Once this has been confirmed and non-contaminated pet food is in the retail chain, they go "off quarantine".
Right now, the two brands that I do have "on quarantine" are Nutra products (including Innova) and Blue Buffalo. Nutra is on quarantine until it can be confirmed they are shipping product from their own facilities (they have reportedly dropped their contract with Menu Foods) and that they are not sourcing ingredients from China; Blue Buffalo is on quarantine until it can be assured that the snafu that caused contaminated rice protein to end up in their food will not recur. (The medical analogue of this is with people (during quarantines) being isolated until the "contagious period" has passed--just as people with SARS (and in the old days, measles and smallpox) were quarantined and isolated at home until the infective period passed and just as pets are kept in quarantine if suspected of being rabid until the period when rabies symptoms show up has passed.)
I am *not* at this point basing this on nutritional benefit of foods at the present time--just on "Is it using a potentially contaminated ingredient or made at a potentially contaminated company? If no, then put it on the safe list" categories. Yes, I realise there are readers who say "brand X is crap food"; it may well be under normal circumstances. (Unfortunately, at this point we are about a good month into "far from normal circumstances" and a lot of normally good pet food must be treated as contaminated and less desirable pet food (made under circumstances that are known to be safe) may need to be considered as alternatives until this is straightened out (preferably in the South African manner of banning gluten and grain product imports from China altogether--I'd even go so far as to suggest that Chinese food imports be banned altogether due to their food safety issues and refusal to allow investigators into the country to inspect potentially contaminated plants).