http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu/
May 1, 2007
Pet Food Recall Update: The recent pet food recall, which started on March 16, 2007, has turned out to be the largest pet food recall in U.S. history. Although most of the contaminated pet food has been taken off the shelves, pet owners are reminded to remain vigilant by checking the FDA website (http://www.fda.gov) for the latest information on expanded manufacturer recalls.
Recalled pet foods appear to have been contaminated by at least four adulterants, including melamine, cyanuric acid, ammelide, and ammeline. The current hypothesis is that, although these contaminants are not very toxic individually, their potency appears to be increased when they are present together. Crystals recovered from urine have been shown to be composed of 30% melamine and 70% cyanuric acid.
The DCPAH Toxicology Section is now ready to accept samples of food (10 g), kidney (10 g), and urine (2 mL) for qualitative determination of melamine by GC/MS. The cost will be $150 per sample. We are continuing our work on a quantitative method for melamine by LC-MS/MS and on methods for identification of cyanuric acid, ammelide, and ammeline. Please use the toxicology submission form (Tox Form PDF) and indicate Melamine in the "Other Requests" section of the form.
We will update our website as new diagnostic tools become available
May 1, 2007
Pet Food Recall Update: The recent pet food recall, which started on March 16, 2007, has turned out to be the largest pet food recall in U.S. history. Although most of the contaminated pet food has been taken off the shelves, pet owners are reminded to remain vigilant by checking the FDA website (http://www.fda.gov) for the latest information on expanded manufacturer recalls.
Recalled pet foods appear to have been contaminated by at least four adulterants, including melamine, cyanuric acid, ammelide, and ammeline. The current hypothesis is that, although these contaminants are not very toxic individually, their potency appears to be increased when they are present together. Crystals recovered from urine have been shown to be composed of 30% melamine and 70% cyanuric acid.
The DCPAH Toxicology Section is now ready to accept samples of food (10 g), kidney (10 g), and urine (2 mL) for qualitative determination of melamine by GC/MS. The cost will be $150 per sample. We are continuing our work on a quantitative method for melamine by LC-MS/MS and on methods for identification of cyanuric acid, ammelide, and ammeline. Please use the toxicology submission form (Tox Form PDF) and indicate Melamine in the "Other Requests" section of the form.
We will update our website as new diagnostic tools become available
