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Food Focus August 2007

Petfood scare in US triggers NZ alert

In March 2007, a woman in Ottawa, Canada, allegedly ate some dog food, apparently to persuade her terrier to do the same. Soon after, both dog and woman were in hospital – one at an after-hours emergency room, the other at an animal hospital

This incident was one of the many that triggered a North American-wide recall of pet food after reports of serious illnesses and deaths in cats and dogs. The illnesses were linked to consumption of certain pet food products. One pet food manufacturer recalled 60 million cans and pouches.

The culprit was traced back to melamine-contaminated wheat gluten imported from China. The practice of adding melamine to chicken feed and wheat gluten products in China was, apparently, widespread. It was used to give the appearance of increased protein in the food, for much less cost than actual protein.

The melamine was suspected of combining with cyanuric acid to form toxic crystals in the kidneys of affected animals.

One month after the initial recall, contaminated rice protein from a different source in China was also identified as being associated with kidney failure in pets in the US, while contaminated corn gluten was associated with kidney failure of pets in South Africa.

However, it didn’t stop with pet food. A portion of the tainted pet food was used to produce farm animal and fish feed. US officials said that between 2.5 and 3 million people in the United States had eaten chickens that had been fed the contaminated vegetable protein.

Although there is very low risk to human health from consuming food from animals that ate tainted feed, all tainted pet food, animal and fish feed, and vegetable proteins continued to be recalled and destroyed.

This issue shows how important it is for manufacturers to know their supply chain and, when there is recall, to make sure none of the contaminated products remain in stock.

What did NZFSA do?

In May, NZFSA mo7ved to survey vegetable protein-based imports from China for the presence of melamine and cyanuric acid after the US raised concerns when melamine was identified as an unapproved ingredient in wheat gluten imported from China and used in the manufacture of pet food.

Investigations to determine the effect of unauthorised addition of these and other nitrogen-rich fillers in product are ongoing. (Melamine is a rich source of nitrogen.)

At that time NZFSA reminded importers of Chinese vegetable proteins and petfood importers in New Zealand of their obligation to ensure the safety and suitability of their imports. NZFSA also confirmed that none of the implicated US petfood was available within New Zealand and that no wheat gluten had been imported into New Zealand from the Chinese company implicated in the US product incident.

Checks on imported food

The bulk of imported food enters New Zealand without any restriction. This is because most food does not normally present a risk to consumers – it is seen as low risk.

There are some products however, that have the potential to impact on public health. These products are referred to as high risk, and are targeted for monitoring.

Wheat gluten imported into New Zealand can be used in feed or food but must comply with New Zealand regulations in either case, ie: it must be safe and fit for purpose. It is the importers’ responsibility to verify that this is the case. Investigations and testing completed to date have not suggested there is a problem with vegetable proteins in New Zealand.

NZFSA is coordinating its response to this emerging situation with Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), and is also in contact with Food and Drug Administration officials in the US.

NZFSA will continue to closely monitor developments overseas and, in coordination with FSANZ, take further action should this be warranted.

How is petfood regulated here?

Petfood is defined as edible material intended for consumption by animals and not intended for the human food chain. All petfood products sold on the domestic New Zealand market must comply with the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act (ACVM) 1997. In addition to this, there are requirements under the Animal Products Act 1999 (APA) with which operators who either slaughter and dress mammals or birds for animal consumption, or secondary process animal material needing official assurances for export, must also comply.

The APA is New Zealand’s legal framework for the processing of animal material into products such as petfood. It establishes a risk management system that requires animal products traded and used to be ‘fit for intended purpose’.

The ACVM Act 1997 allows for animal feed (including pet food) to be exempt from registration if it meets certain requirements. These include having adequate labelling, being ‘fit for purpose’ and only having additives that are included on the ACVM GRAS (Generally Recognised as Safe) list.

Melamine is not an approved feed additive on the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines GRAS list for oral nutritional compounds for animal feeds.