The PetFoodIndustry.com website reports that cats in numerous countries have died due to contracting an avian influenza from their pet food – the strain H5N1 was found. Three cats in South Korean shelters have died, several more have been have been sickened. In Poland, twenty-five cats tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza, fourteen cats were euthanized, eleven more have died.
About Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza: “a subtype of the virus. It can cause severe illness and high mortality rates in domestic poultry and wild birds. The viruses can devastate poultry industries and have economic repercussions due to trade restrictions. Some varieties, including H5N1, can cross species barriers and may cause severe illnesses in mammals.”
These cat illnesses and deaths mean that pet food manufacturers in numerous countries were including/are including poultry infected with the “highly pathogenic avian influenza” as ingredients.
How could this happen? Feed grade ingredients. Could this happen in the US? Yes.
U.S. federal law (the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act) declares that any food (human or animal) that contains any part of a diseased animal or animal that died other than by slaughter is adulterated – illegal. Federal laws prohibit non-USDA inspected and passed animals from being utilized as food/food ingredients in order to prevent avian influenza and other diseases being spread through food (human and animal food).
However, the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) directly ignores this federal law with pet food/animal food. The FDA CVM’s current position: “We do not believe that the use of diseased animals or animals that died otherwise than by slaughter to make animal food poses a safety concern and we intend to continue to exercise enforcement discretion.” When asked to provide scientific evidence to validate FDA CVM’s ‘belief that the use of diseased animals or animals that died otherwise than by slaughter’ poses no safety concern in pet food, the Agency failed to provide any science.
While FDA is the governing agency over pet food, the USDA is the governing agency over US poultry farms that supply pet food poultry ingredients. The USDA has multiple webpages and documents providing poultry farmers with assistance on what to do if their farm is infected. “If your flock is infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide indemnity and compensation for some of your losses and costs.”
Of concern to U.S. pet owners, the USDA states: “Disposal methods include composting, onsite burial, incineration, rendering and landfilling.”
Yes…the USDA allows culled flocks of highly pathogenic avian influenza contaminated birds to be rendered, and the FDA allows the diseased animals to be included in pet food/animal feed – with no warning or disclosure to pet food consumers.
Just like in the US, pet food is frequently used to dispose of sick, non-slaughtered animals in countries all over the world (feed grade ingredients). Though we cannot positively confirm, we suspect (highly suspect) the pet foods in South Korea and Poland (countries reporting sick/dying cats linked to contaminated pet food) were using feed grade ingredients (were not using inspected and passed poultry) which in turn infected the cats consuming the foods.
The Centers for Disease Control has maintained a database of highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks in the US. Since January 2022, 58,791,621 birds have been affected in the US. Forty-seven states have documented outbreaks.
Pet owners can safely assume some of these 58 million sick birds were rendered and ended up in pet food. Which pet foods? We don’t know. The FDA refuses to require pet food manufacturers to disclose this information to pet food consumers.
Rendering should kill the avian influenza pathogen, however just like with other pathogens (such as Salmonella) rendering or cooking of the pet food is not a certain guarantee of safety. Kibble pet foods that include rendered ingredients remain the most commonly recalled style of pet food due to pathogenic bacteria that survived the pet food manufacturing process.
Symptoms of infected cats (it is unknown if dog symptoms would be similar) were labored breathing, bloody diarrhea and neurological signs.
Personal opinion: It is beyond my understanding to how the FDA can be so acutely cautious about pet foods contaminated with Salmonella while at the same time the Agency blatantly ignores the many risks (including highly pathogenic avian influenza) of allowing diseased animals and animals that have died other than by slaughter in pet food. I personally put the FDA CVM in contact with two pet food manufacturing employees diagnosed with tularemia that the Centers for Disease Control confirmed were exposed to this serious bacteria from rendered pet food ingredients. The FDA CVM blatantly ignored that too. Are pets and pet food manufacturing employees considered ‘disposable’ by FDA?
The old saying ‘If you play with fire, you’ll get burned’ certainly applies here. For the FDA and government agencies all over the world to continue to allow diseased and non-slaughtered animals to be disposed of into pet food is playing with fire. Unfortunately, the ones who get burned are the pets and the manufacturing employees. Those that allow the fire – walk away unscathed.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Sally
August 18, 2023 at 1:39 pm
Well, this is disturbing because canned foods seem so processed, how could any pathogens survive? However, after reading up on the rendering process, which can be done with high or low temperatures, Wikipedia quotes from the Dept. of Agriculture (“FAQ on BSE”. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2017-01-28.), “Meat and bone meal in animal feed was one route for the late-20th century spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad-cow disease, BSE), which is also fatal to humans. Early in the 21st century, most countries tightened regulations to prevent this.” Did the U.S. change their regulations over BSE? If so, why not avian flu?
T Allen
August 18, 2023 at 3:58 pm
BSE is not killed by heat. USDA/FSIS has specific guidelines in the slaughter/processing of mature beef animals (30 mths or older, younger animals can’t spread the disease) for human consumption. Since most beef animals are butchered before 30mths of age the risk to us is low. There are tests that can be done on dead animals to see if they are infected as well. That said, there is no restriction on the use of infected animals for pet food through rendering as far as I know. https://www.usda.gov/topics/animals/bse-surveillance-information-center/bse-frequently-asked-questions.
aimee
August 18, 2023 at 6:46 pm
My understanding is that this virus would be inactivated (killed) by temperatures used in canning, rendering or kibble production. I’d suspect then, that even if materials from infected flocks were to get into commercial canned or kibbled pet food, those foods would not be a source of infection.
Apparently, according to the article, in Poland the source(s) of the infections have not yet been determined, whereas in South Korea, they were traced back to pet food from a company called Nature’s Raw. This leads me to believe, though the article does not specify this, that these infections were from an uncooked food. I believe the virus will transmit if an infected carcass is fed raw. The article did say the food was not sterilized because the equipment to do so was not functional.
Barbara Fellnermayr
August 18, 2023 at 9:34 pm
Can someone post a link to the article? The most recent I can find is from a month ago. At that point, they didn’t know the cause! tx
Mary Sue
August 22, 2023 at 12:07 am
https://www.petfoodindustry.com/news-newsletters/pet-food-news/article/15544223/cat-dies-after-eating-avian-influenza-contaminated-food
Sally
August 19, 2023 at 1:10 pm
Aimee, a raw food transmission makes more sense, and like Barbara, I would also like to read the article you have read. T Allen, your BSE detailed info is most appreciated–prions vs viruses or bacterium is definitely an apples to oranges comparison. I guess I was thinking, rules/laws can be changed–a devastating source is just that. But again, it comes back to corporate profit.
Barbara Fellnermayr
August 19, 2023 at 4:18 pm
I found the article.
https://www.petfoodindustry.com/news-newsletters/pet-food-news/article/15544223/cat-dies-after-eating-avian-influenza-contaminated-food?utm_source=Omeda&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=NL-Trending+Topics+Weekly+Pet&utm_campaign=NL-Trending+Topics+Weekly+Pet_20230819_0800&oly_enc_id=8464I7035034B5S
Why on earth are they making food without their equipment working? I find it unusual that only cats in that shelter were affected by the food. What about the other cats that consumed the food? Surely, this batch of food was not only made for the shelter cats?
Is it possible that these South Korean shelter cats and the Polish ones go outdoors? Picking up from the wild bird feces and bringing it indoors?
Why would the manufacturer be able to use contaminated birds???
There are so many unanswered questions!
Something SMELLS! Another dig at raw food?
aimee
August 21, 2023 at 8:38 pm
In the first line of this article Susan has embedded a link in red ,”petfoodindustry.com”, which takes you to the article with further information.
I also came across this article which reports raw meat as one source identified in the cases in Poland. https://bnonews.com/index.php/2023/07/raw-meat-linked-to-h5n1-bird-flu-outbreak-among-cats/
Shannon McDonough
September 5, 2023 at 3:36 pm
My young cat died 2 months ago. Anyone’s else young cat died?
Barbara Fellnermayr
August 18, 2023 at 2:47 pm
This just sickens me. It just proves that the companies that use feed-grade ingredients are just in it for the money. They don’t care who they hurt or kill.
The bigwigs at these companies should be forced to eat the ingredients they use in making their crapple and other forms of “pet food”. I do! We won’t use any ingredient that is not human-grade. If I can’t eat it, my Dusty can’t either! He’s my furbaby!
Stacey
September 9, 2023 at 7:47 am
BUT, how in the world do you get them to eat REAL meat??? I tried trout, chicken, beef…to no avail! I’d LOVE to be able to feed mine what I make so I know what they’re ingesting!
Lynelle Behler
August 18, 2023 at 3:20 pm
Yes it’s very disturbing! The FDA & govt. agencies should be held accountable. Are we to switch all our pets over to human grade food to avoid this? All for corporate greed it’s disgusting! 🙁
Samuel
August 18, 2023 at 4:07 pm
I’m sorry if I missed it, but do we know if the food that was fed was wet food, or kibble… Both?
Susan Thixton
August 18, 2023 at 4:57 pm
We don’t know what style the pet food was or if multiple foods/styles were fed to the cats.
Edgar
August 24, 2023 at 12:10 pm
It was a premium raw frozen food in a pouch. Website lists it as all domestic non-gmo, antibiotic free chicken.
https://smartstore.never.com/tosiltosilrestaurant/products/5929734216
Dianne & pets
August 19, 2023 at 2:05 am
So if this infection becomes widespread, will the government order a mass culling of pets? That would do wonders for the bottom line of pet feed corporations. Should help with the vet shortage though. I am reminded of the expression selling you the rope you use to hang them. I am beyond disgusted.
Barbara Fellnermayr
August 19, 2023 at 4:24 pm
Give them enough rope to hang themselves, does ring true. How would a pet food company be allowed to buy contaminated birds? Don’t they have to be destroyed? Again, it gets back to corporate profits. They must have bought these birds at such a low price that they would risk using them to feather their pockets.
WHY is it only cats getting sick? No reports of dogs getting sick?
I am beyond sickened.