What Is This Petfood Crisis? (Part 1)
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Shortly after eating the poisoned food, the pets have been getting sick. The animals are having serious health complications, including lethargy, vomiting, kidney failure, and death in some cases. Although so far few animals have died (a couple dozen) the scare has affected many dog and cat lovers, and others.
At first, people were concerned that the problem was part of rat poison in the food supply, specifically the chemical aminopterin. Aminopterin is a chemical used for chemotherapy. However, while New York officials stated this, FDA officials never confirmed the matter.
At present, the view is that there was a quality control issue with the wheat gluten supplied by a Chinese food distributor. The dangerous chemical in the wheat gluten, melamine, is also used in pesticides, as well as in plastics.
Wheat gluten is the protein part of starches like those found in flour. It resembles gelatin, and is good for food manufacturing in that it adopts the flavor and texture of the food it is in. It’s used to add volume to products, and can resemble meat by taking on its texture and flavor as well. It can also add elasticity and chewiness to foods, plus works as a filler, binder, and gravy thickener.
