Euthanasia drug found in canned dog food; Washington dog dies and food recalled

[Emily]

http://www.seattletimes.com/life/pet...gton-pet-dies/

Euthanasia drug found in canned dog food; Washington dog dies and food recalled

Originally published February 8, 2017 at 5:25 pm Updated February 8, 2017 at 8:26 pm

Pentobarbital, a drug that is used to anesthetize or put down dogs and is used in the cocktail of drugs to execute prisoners, was found in canned dog food.

By Seattle Times staff A Washougal, Clark County, dog has died and three became ill after eating canned dog food that contained pentobarbital, a drug that is used to anesthetize or put down dogs. It is also used in a cocktail of drugs to execute prisoners in at least 14 states.
Evanger’s voluntarily recalled five lots of its food as a result, including its top seller — Hunk of Beef products — that were manufactured the same week, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Hunk of Beef is Evanger’s No. 1 seller, and more than 1 million cans are sold per year, the company said.

[Emily]

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2017/02/deadly-barbiturates-preceded-by-9-years-of-pet-food-problems/

Deadly barbiturates preceded by 9 years of pet food problems

Evanger?s Dog & Cat Food Co. Inc. no stranger to FDA warnings, enforcement actions

By Phyllis Entis | February 7, 2017
It was inevitable.
When I began eFoodAlert more than nine years ago, the first pet food safety problem that crossed my keyboard was Evanger?s brush with FDA...

[Emily]

http://www.petfoodindustry.com/articles/6292-drug-and-horse-meat-in-evangers-dog-food-still-a-mystery

By Tim Wall
on February 28, 2017
Drug and horse meat in Evanger?s dog food still a mystery

One Pug is known to have died from the pentobarbital tainted dog food.


Horse meat and a deadly drug were found in cans of recalled Evanger?s Hunk of Beef dog food, but how they got there remains a mystery. Evanger?s vice president blamed his meat supplier for allegedly using meat from horses euthanized with pentobarbital. Yet, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected the supplier?s plant and found systems in place to keep euthanized animals out of the food stream, reported Food Safety News. However, FDA officials did note health concerns in Evanger?s facility where the contaminated pet food was made.
?It [pentobarbital] was never on the radar screen,? Evanger?s vice president Joel Sher told Petfood Industry. ?It wasn?t an appropriate test in our industry, for what we do, to test for pentobarbital?I might as well start testing for radioactivity at this point. It?s certainly not on the radar screen, but if something ever happened you know someone will say we didn?t check for it.?
...
USDA response to Evanger?s

FDA officials asserted that the Hunk of Beef meat did not come from a USDA-approved supplier of human-grade meat.
?In its recent press release announcing a limited product recall, Evanger?s Dog & Cat Food Company, Inc. stated that the beef for its Hunk of Beef product came from a 'USDA approved' supplier. However, the FDA reviewed a bill of lading from Evanger?s supplier for ?Inedible Hand Deboned Beef - For Pet Food Use Only. Not Fit For Human Consumption? and determined that the supplier?s facility does not have a grant of inspection from the United States Department of Agriculture?s Food Safety and Inspection Service,? stated FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine representatives on their website.
?The meat products from this supplier do not bear the USDA inspection mark and would not be considered human grade. USDA-FSIS regulates slaughter of animals for human consumption only.?
Human-grade pet food claims challenged by FDA findings...

It should have been on the radar screen.

https://www.fda.gov/aboutfda/centersoffices/officeoffoods/cvm/cvmfoiaelectronicreadingroom/ucm129131.htm

During the 1990s, FDA?s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) received reports from veterinarians that pentobarbital, an anesthetizing agent used for dogs and other animals, seemed to be losing its effectiveness in dogs. Based on these reports, CVM officials decided to investigate a plausible theory that the dogs were exposed to pentobarbital through dog food, and that this exposure was making them less responsive to pentobarbital when it was used as a drug.

[Emily]

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2017/0...food-reported/

More pentobarbital-contaminated dog food reported

By Phyllis Entis | April 20, 2017 Two varieties of Party Animal canned dog food may be contaminated with pentobarbital, according to a test report from Texas A&M University released this week.
The report was provided to blogger Susan Thixton of Truth About Pet Food by a consumer who arranged for the testing after a family pet became ill. The consumer has not been identified. The test report was supplied by Thixton to the Food and Drug Administration April 17.
...
In 2015, Party Animal canned pet foods were manufactured by Evanger?s Dog & Cat Food Co. according to an interview published in Pet Product News. Earlier this year, Evangers recalled several months worth of three beef-based canned dog foods after samples from two different products were determined to contain pentobarbital. The recalled products were manufactured in 2015...

https://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm554771.htm

Company Announcement When a company announces a recall, market withdrawal, or safety alert, the FDA posts the company's announcement as a public service. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.
Party Animal Recalls Dog Food Due To Potential Presence of Pentobarbital

For Immediate Release

April 24, 2017

Contact

Consumers

323-207-4100

Announcement

The safety of pets is and always will be our first priority. We sincerely regret the reports of the discomfort experienced by the pet who consumed this food. As pet parents ourselves, we take this matter seriously. On April 13, a retailer in Texas notified us that their customer had presented samples of our 13-ounce-can Cocolicious Beef & Turkey dog food (Lot #0136E15204 04, best by July 2019) and 13-ounce-can Cocolicious Chicken & Beef dog food (Lot #0134E15 237 13, best by August 2019) to a testing lab, and that the results had tested positive for pentobarbital. We have requested those results. Pentobarbital can affect animals that ingest it, and possibly cause side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, excitement, loss of balance, or nausea, or in extreme cases, possibly death.
When we were notified, we immediately tracked the lot numbers of the food in question and determined that the food had been manufactured and distributed in 2015. We then contacted the two probable retailers that had sold the customer the food and asked them to isolate all remaining cans from these lots. If pet parents have cans with either of those lot numbers in their possession, they should return them to the place of purchase and will of course receive a full refund.
We also requested that the retailers send all of the cans from those lots to us so that we can forward them on to an accredited independent laboratory for independent testing. We expect to receive the receive the results in 7 to 10 days. We first saw the formal report from the lab at Texas A&M regarding the customer’s samples, today, April 17.
Out of an abundance of caution, we are retrieving the remainder of these two lots nationwide. We are working with our distributors and retailers to determine if any additional beef-flavored products manufactured during this 2015 production period remain on shelves and, if so, to retrieve them from shelves, immediately, as well.
Party Animal wishes to emphasize that we have submitted many recent lots of our beef flavors for testing and all have tested negative for any pentobarbital. We have also had extensive discussions with our manufacturer regarding the potential cause of the reported contamination of the 2015 lots, and we will continue with such discussions even as we await testing results for the 2015 lots. In order to ensure adherence to our commitment to the safety of pets, we are also actively re-examining our manufacturing processes. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n777250[/ATTACH]

[Emily]

http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20170628/wheeling-police-investigating-suspicious-death

Crime
updated: 6/28/2017 5:34 PM
Wheeling police investigating 'suspicious' death
Chacour Koop

Follow @https://twitter.com/chacourkoop


Wheeling police and major case detectives are investigating the "suspicious" death of a man found unresponsive Wednesday at Evanger's Pet Food, according to a news release.


Wheeling police and firefighters were called to the pet food company at 221 Wheeling Road about 7:55 a.m. Wednesday. Paramedics treated the unresponsive man and transported him to Glenbrook Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.


Wheeling police then asked for assistance from the Major Case Assistance Team, an organization of 22 suburban law enforcement agencies that investigates homicides, kidnappings and serious accidents...

http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20170629/initially-called-suspicious-wheeling-mans-death-now-appears-accidental-police-say

Crime
updated: 6/29/2017 11:22 AM
Initially called suspicious, Wheeling man's death now appears accidental, police say

Chacour Koop Follow @https://twitter.com/chacourkoop
After it initially was considered suspicious, the death of a 43-year-old man found at Evanger's Pet Food in Wheeling now appears accidental, police said Thursday.
...
The Cook County medical examiner's office performed an autopsy Thursday, and the cause of death is pending further toxicology analysis.