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Orijen cat food recall update

Posted on Friday, November 28th, 2008

Here is an update on the Orijen cat food recall. This is a tragic situation as there are still many sick cats. See below is the great update from Tiffany Crawford of thhe Canwest News Service Published: Thursday, November 27, 2008

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“A Canadian company at the centre of an Australian pet food scare is blaming the Aussie government for an outbreak linked to a certain brand of its cat chow that has paralyzed and killed six cats and sickened dozens more.

Champion Petfoods, a family-run pet food company based in Edmonton, said Thursday it was pulling out of the Australian market after an independent study on its Orijen brand of cat food placed the blame on dangerous levels of irradiation.

At least six animals which developed paralysis have been euthanized, and veterinarians at the Small Animal Specialist Hospital in Sydney say more than 60 have been treated for symptoms of neurological disorders, including numb limbs.

“We’ve been getting calls from across Australia regarding new cases,” said Dr. Darren Foster in Sydney. “We estimate about 400 cats have been exposed to the food.”

Foster said some cats with little exposure may improve but many are progressing to complete paralysis and more will be put down.

“It is with our own pets in mind that we extend our deepest empathy to the Australian families affected by this regrettable circumstance,” said Champion Petfoods in a statement.

“While we will no longer sell any of our pet foods in Australia, we remain committed to ongoing research into this case with the hope that our findings can be used to better inform the international community on the potential effects of irradiation.”

Champion recalled the product in Australia as a precautionary measure on Nov. 20.

While the same brand of cat food is sold in Canada and exported to 50 countries, Champion said only Australia demands the chow be irradiated because the food isn’t cooked at the same high temperatures as other imported pet food.

Foster is concerned that other veterinarians in the world might be misdiagnosing the cats and euthanizing then for cancer or some other illness.

He said more tests are being conducted on the toxicity of the food.

Irradiation is a method of preserving food by dosing it with a type of radiation - cobalt 60 gamma rays - to reduce microbial hazards, in this case in imported pet foods containing fresh meats.

The company says studies show levels between 36 and 47 kilograys of cobalt 60 gamma radiation were linked to neurological symptoms similar to those found in the affected Australian cats. It claims Australia irradiated the food to a minimum of 50 kGY and in some cases reached 61 kGY.

“These are very substantial levels of irradiation,” the company said. Champion cited an American study that links high levels of irradiation with vitamin A depletion and the release of free radicals.

Irradiation of human food is considered safe at relatively low levels. According to Health Canada an absorbed dose of up to three kGY is usually sufficient to kill salmonella in fresh chicken.”

© Canwest News Service 2008

Tagged as + Categorized as Cat food news

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“Orijen cat food recall update”

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