Chicken Jerky Dog Treats: The Latest Word From FDA

December 30, 2008

As we wrote earlier this month, there appears to be a connection between kidney failure in dogs and consumption of chicken jerky dog treats made in China. The problem has been reported in Australia, where one brand of treats already has been recalled by The Kramar Pet Company as a precaution. The Kramar treats had been manufactured in China.

The US investigation into this mysterious kidney ailment has been in progress for more than a year. FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine issued a warning to consumers in 2007, and repeated the advisory earlier this month – shortly after the Australian recall was announced.

FDA posted a Consumer Update on its website on December 24th, entitled Caution to Dog Owners About Chicken Jerky Products. This update summarized the information contained in the agency's earlier 2007 and 2008 warnings, but provided no new information. Our curiosity was piqued, and we e-mailed the Center for Veterinary Medicine to ask some direct questions on the status and progress of the FDA investigation.

Earlier today, we received the following statement from FDA spokeswoman, Laura Alvey:

"FDA is actively investigating the matter and conducting analysis for multiple different chemical and microbiological contaminants. We have tested numerous samples of chicken jerky products for possible contaminants including melamine. 

The complaints received have been on various chicken jerky products but to date we have not detected any contaminants and therefore have not issued a recall or implicated any products. We are continuing to test and will notify the public if we find evidence of any contaminants."

What should we conclude from this statement?

• The problem is not linked to a single manufacturer or importer of chicken jerky dog treats.
  
• The problem is chronic and long-standing – not of short duration.
  
• The contaminant still has not been identified, but is probably NOT melamine.
  
• FDA is taking this problem seriously, and has not put it on the back-burner.
  

As for any possible recalls, FDA's hands are tied – understandably so. Before requesting a recall, the agency must have evidence that links a specific product and/or contaminant to the problem. Until FDA is able to pinpoint the source of the problem, it can do no more than issue generalized warnings to consumers – at it has done twice this month.

Until this mystery is solved, consumers can take certain actions to protect their dogs:

• Pay attention to the country of origin when purchasing dog treats.
  
• Only offer treats in very small quantities, and not as a substitute for a meal.
  
• Watch closely for any unusual behavior or symptoms.
  
• Report any adverse reactions to pet foods or treats to FDA.

We'll continue to watch for, and report, any new developments 

Stuffed Chicken Salmonella Outbreak - Follow-up

More than one week after Minnesota first reported the Salmonella outbreak, and more than one week after USDA issued its "Public Health Alert," the Wisconsin Department of Health Services is advising residents of the state "... to thoroughly cook raw chicken..."

According to a news release issued today, four Wisconsin residents are among the 32 people in 12 states who were infected by Salmonella Typhimurium after eating improperly cooked chicken entrées sold under the Milford Valley Farms brand name. The four victims, who live in three different counties, are described as two adult males, one adult female and one school-age male. 

The outbreak was detected and first reported by the Minnesota Department of Health on October 3rd, after 14 residents of the state were all confirmed to have been infected by a single strain of Salmonella. The offending foods included several production lots of two different varieties of "... raw, frozen, breaded and pre-browned, stuffed chicken entrees."

This is the sixth Salmonella outbreak associated with "ready-to-cook" raw chicken entrées that the state of Minnesota has tracked down in the last 10 years. The October 2008 issue of Journal of Food Protection includes an article that reviews four of those outbreaks, which occurred between 1998 and 2006. 

In the current outbreak, as well as in the older outbreaks described in the Journal article, most of the consumers who became ill reported cooking the entrées in a microwave. Many of the victims in the earliest outbreaks thought that the entrées were pre-cooked, and only required heating. As a result of the information obtained from those outbreak investigations, some companies modified their package labels to indicate more clearly that the entrées were raw. Also, instructions for microwave cooking were removed from the package labels of some entrées.

USDA does not consider Salmonella to be an adulterant in raw poultry. The agency's approach to this problem is to urge consumers to cook the entrées to an internal temperature of 165ºF, and to test the temperature of the entrée in several locations. This approach clearly is not working.

At the very least, package warning labels should be greatly strengthened. And producers of these ready-to-cook frozen entrées should be required to validate – and document their validation of – the cooking instructions printed on the packages.

Ready-to-cook raw entrées are convenience foods. It's too much to expect that the average consumer, who has paid a premium price to be able to simply pop a meal into the oven without any preparation, will spend time fussing with a meat thermometer. 

It's unlikely that USDA will succeed in reducing the incidence of Salmonella in raw poultry any time soon, so this problem isn't going to disappear. I'm not a big fan of irradiation as a solution to most food safety issues, but perhaps my arm can be twisted in this very specific instance. 

USDA Announces Recall In Massachusetts

It's so nice to know that USDA is on top of things and taking care of our safety. With all of the recent reported illnesses tied – or suspected of being tied – to ground beef, USDA finally made a recall announcement this evening.

But it wasn't the recall most of us were expecting. Instead, the agency's Food Safety and Inspection Service advised consumers that World Class Canapes, Inc., a Massachusetts company, had recalled 285 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken products after sampling by FSIS detected Listeria monocytogenes.

The canapes were produced on July 30th and distributed only within the state of Massachusetts. Consumers who purchased the recalled products should discard any unused portion of the food. For answers to any questions about the recall, contact the company's plant manager, Jim Palmariello, at (978) 253-6482.

Listeria: Lest We Forget

It seems almost ludicrous to mention a 130-pound food recall in the midst of a nationwide Salmonella outbreak, but today's announcement by USDA is a useful reminder that Salmonella isn't the only food-borne pathogen, and tomatoes not the only problematic food.

USDA reported this morning that Gourmet Foods, Inc. of Rancho Dominguez, CA has recalled 130 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken products after the agency detected Listeria monocytogenes in a sample of the products. There have been no reported illnesses.

The recalled products were available for sale in the Los Angeles area only, and are labeled with the establishment number EST. P-7738. Packages carrying "Sell By" dates of 06/04/08 through 06/07/08 are included in the recall.

If you have any of the recalled products, please discard them. If you have already eaten one of the recalled items and think that you are experiencing any symptoms of Listeria monocytogenes infection, please consult your doctor.

For more information on this recall, consumers are invited to contact the Gourmet Foods Quality Assurance Manager, Abelardo Rodriguez, at (310) 632-3300.

Discover Cuisine - Strike Three

USDA has alerted consumers to a third recall involving Discover Cuisine "Red Curry Chicken & Jasmine Rice". This time, Inovata Foods of Edmonton, Alberta has issued the recall notice, which covers 3,780 pounds of entrées.

The entrées were exported to the US by Inovata Foods and distributed nationwide. Please check the USDA recall notice for details.

The recalled product carries a risk of Listeria monocytogenes contamination. If you have purchased Discover Cuisine's "Red Curry Chicken & Jasmine Rice", please check the "Best By" date on the package. If it reads "12 18 08", return the package to the store for a refund.

Underdone Chicken Wings - UK

The UK's Food Standards Agency has alerted consumers to a recall by Iceland Foods Ltd. The company has recalled a batch of its "Buffalo Chicken Wings" due to possible under-processing. The 410g packages of chicken wings are labeled with a "Best Before" date of 14 February 2009.

Consumers should return this product to stores for a full refund.

Discover Cuisine - At Costco

Costco has announced a recall of more than 10,000 pounds of Discover Cuisine frozen chicken entrées, which may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The Red Curry Chicken & Jasmine Rice entrées were shipped to Costco Warehouse stores in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

As I reported yesterday, Michigan-based Meijer Distribution Center has recalled more than 2,100 pounds of this same Canadian-made product. The 12-ounce packages bear an inspection stamp from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and a "Best By" date of 12 18 08.

No illnesses linked to this product have been reported to date, but Listeria monocytogenes infections can be serious – even fatal – for the elderly, the very young, the immunocompromised and for pregnant women. If you have purchased this product, please either discard it or return it to the store.

Discover Cuisine = Discover Listeria?

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection System (FSIS) has just posted an update to its list of recalled food products. Meijer Distribution Center, a Michigan-based company, is recalling 2,184 pounds of pre-cooked frozen chicken entrees due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.

The Discover Cuisine brand "Red Curry Chicken & Jasmine Rice" was prepared and packed in Canada. The recalled product bears an inspection seal from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and a "Best By" date of 12 18 08. No illnesses have been associated with this product, which was distributed in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. The contamination was detected as a result of routine microbiological sampling by FSIS.

CFIA has been silent so far, but if this product was also distributed in Canada, I wouldn't be surprised to see a corresponding Canadian recall notice in the next few days.

Once "Bitten" . . .

I've been following with interest "Bitten", a New York Times "Dining and Wine" blog by Mark Bittman. Today's "Recipe of the Day" is Fast Roast Chicken.

My appetite for tender, juicy chicken was piqued by Bittman's opening paragraph. But my ardor quickly cooled as I read his instructions. My mental image of succulent poultry shifted to a more sinister scene – Salmonella.

Bittman's recipe calls for placing a whole chicken in a pre-heated heavy, oven-proof skillet, and roasting the bird for 30 minutes in a 450ºF oven. To his credit, Bittman uses an instant-read thermometer. But his temperature target of 155ºF is 10ºF too low for safety – especially if the cook elects to stuff the cavity. The USDA recommends cooking chicken to a minimum internal temperature of 165ºF.

Food columnists publish recipes with the expectation that people will want to try with them. Food safety information is readily available on the Internet. In my opinion, Mark Bittman and other food columnists have a responsibility to verify that the recipes they offer are consistent with generally recognized safe food practices.

Some readers might recall that I raised a similar issue with Martha Stewart last December. No one from her organization ever replied to my email.

Dear Martha,

You are recognized everywhere for your many talents - in home decor, landscaping, color sense and cuisine - and for your exquisite taste. Even my husband’s persnickety Westport, CT aunt thinks that you’re wonderful. But after browsing through the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of “Everyday Food” magazine, it’s very obvious to me that a course in safe food preparation is missing from your resume.

First, let’s talk turkey. Unless you have spent the last few decades living in an isolation booth, you must know that by USDA’s own admission, 20-25% of raw ground turkey meat is contaminated with Salmonella. Yet your recipe directions do not provide for a reliable “kill” step. For example, your “Whole-wheat spaghetti and turkey meatballs” recipe directs the reader to prepare the meatballs as follows:

“In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high. Cook 20 frozen Light Turkey Meatballs until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups store-bought marinara sauce and 1/2 cup water: Cook until heated through, 5 minutes.”

These instructions leave too much to the reader’s imagination. Browning alone is not enough to cook the meatballs completely, and “heated through” can mean different things to different people. Starting with hard-frozen meatballs increases the risk that the center of the meatballs won’t reach 165ºF, which is the “safe” temperature recommended by USDA.

I also take strong exception to your instructions for cooking chicken in the microwave. Microwave cooking is a notoriously unreliable way to kill bacteria, especially in a solid piece of meat such as a chicken breast. Customers who purchased ConAgra’s Banquet pot pies found that out the hard way. Cooking the chicken breasts until the meat is “...just opaque throughout...” is not a guarantee of microbiological safety.

A few weeks ago, when I was browsing eggnog recipes on-line, I came across yours. It sounded very tasty, but also very risky. It was completely inappropriate for you to publish a recipe that called for raw eggs without adding at least a precautionary statement about the possibility that the eggs might contain Salmonella Enteritidis. You could easily have recommended that pasteurized eggs be used in the recipe.

According to (now 10 year old) data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are approximately 76 million cases of food-borne disease in the US every year. That is more than one case of food-borne illness for every four people in this country every year. It is time that you, and others like you, shouldered some responsibility for teaching the public how to cook meals that are not only tasty and nutritious, but also are microbiologically safe.

Sincerely,

Phyllis Entis, MSc., SM(NRM)

Microwave Oven Safety

Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration released a "Consumer Update" about microwave ovens. This update covered a lot of territory - how microwave ovens work, the types of injuries that can result from their use, and how to operate a microwave oven safely. But they forgot to mention one detail. Microwave ovens are a very poor way to cook food safely.

Twenty years of research into cooking poultry in microwave ovens have led to one consistent conclusion. It is neither safe nor reliable. Any of us who have tried to cook a piece of meat or a chicken pot pie knows that food heats very unevenly in a microwave.

As long ago as 1989, researchers compared the performance of conventional ovens, microwave ovens, and convection microwave ovens side-by-side. They found that a whole chicken, when cooked to an internal temperature of 185ºF in a microwave oven, still contained live Salmonella. The chickens cooked to the same temperature (or lower) in conventional or convection-microwave ovens were Salmonella-free. Other researchers in other countries have confirmed this performance both with Salmonella and with other dangerous microbes such as Listeria monocytogenes.

We should be thankful that FDA took the time to remind all of us not to stand too close to the microwave oven while it's running, and to handle hot liquids with care, but it would have been even better had they told us not to use it to prepare our Thanksgiving turkey.