Wheat gluten & RPC actually wheat flour?

jennyjen

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I'm sorry if this has already been posted, but has anyone read this?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapc...ood/index.html

"Original reports cited tainted rice protein concentrate and wheat gluten as the suspected compounds. But authorities said Tuesday that tests have shown simple wheat flour was the culprit."

Nice, huh?
 

sharky

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HUmmm then why DID FORMULAS with NO WHEAT test POSITIVE??
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by sharky

HUmmm then why DID FORMULAS with NO WHEAT test POSITIVE??
That's only with no wheat in the recipe or on the label....right? If the food mfg *thought* they were putting RPC in the food...but it was really wheat flour, then it would test positive, right?

Am I misunderstanding? The chinese co. sold wheat flour as RPC.
 
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jennyjen

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Originally Posted by beandip

That's only with no wheat in the recipe or on the label....right? If the food mfg *thought* they were putting RPC in the food...but it was really wheat flour, then it would test positive, right?

Am I misunderstanding? The chinese co. sold wheat flour as RPC.
That's what I'm guessing. I've read a few articles on this new claim, stating that the rice protein concentrate and wheat gluten were not gluten at all, but rather wheat flour that had been altered (contaminated) to increase the protein content so that it could be sold as gluten. I think it's messed up that wheat flour could be confused for RPC, but I am DEFINITELY not convinced that this is the ONLY substance manufactured by this company that has been contaminated. When I went to their website, they had several type of flour and gluten that they manufactured, so I don't see any reason at this point why it shouldn't be assumed that ALL of it could very well be contaminated. This is the first I've heard of it though, so who knows what they'll be saying tomorrow?
 

sharky

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If that is the truth.... then NOTHING IS SAFE... I hope that article is wrong...
 
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jennyjen

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Oh yeah, here's another quote from the article that I should've put with the first one.

"Tian Feng is the manager of Binzhou Futian Biology Technology, which U.S. pet food distributors have identified as the company that sold them wheat flour -- mislabeled as wheat gluten or rice protein concentrate -- containing melamine and related products."
 

sharky

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OHHHHH ... EXPECT a MUCH BROADER RECALL.... But how do you mis take wheat gluten for wheat flour... Evan I can tell the difference .... No idea on RPC since it aint a common human thing
 
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jennyjen

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At this point, I seriously think that the vast majority of pet food makers simply don't care. It's almost like their only concern is what's stated on the label on their supplies. Even if they can tell the difference, they're just like, "Oh well. The bag says it's wheat gluten, so that works for me!" I don't think ALL pet food manufacturers are like that, but the bigger they are, the higher the likelihood of something breaking down in the process. Yet another time that the lovely concept of capitalism ends up screwing the masses.

*growing more and more bitter every day...*
 
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jennyjen

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Another thing that really sucks about this is even if you're very diligent about reading pet food labels, that's still not even CLOSE to a guarantee. Now we can't even know if ingredients are mislabeled or simply omitted altogether.
 

felyne

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I was reading Dr Martin Goldstein's book about pet nutrition and what's in pet food. Yuck! Even without wheat, they use the '3 D's': Dead, diseased and dying animals in it. They used euthanized animals, from pets from circuses, and the drug they euthanize the animals with, (pentobarbital), doesn't break down over time. So our pets are basically being euthanized slowly over time.
There are no standards for pet foods, and I think it's a great idea to write to our reps and get them to co-sponsor a bill to watch over this area. Now's the time to get it going in light of what's happening. Our little guys need some kind of protection!
 

marishka

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Originally Posted by JennyJen

At this point, I seriously think that the vast majority of pet food makers simply don't care. It's almost like their only concern is what's stated on the label on their supplies. Even if they can tell the difference, they're just like, "Oh well. The bag says it's wheat gluten, so that works for me!" I don't think ALL pet food manufacturers are like that, but the bigger they are, the higher the likelihood of something breaking down in the process. Yet another time that the lovely concept of capitalism ends up screwing the masses.

*growing more and more bitter every day...*
Agreed 100%, especially the bitter part...
I mean, some companies have not lost as much of their 'fan base' as I would have thought. I was at the pet store and overheard one man saying how he couldn't wait until a certain brand of food was back on the shelves. I mean, would you really want to risk it? There are a lot of people who are more worried about how this is an inconvience for them, rather than looking at the bigger picture. That is why these companies continue to do what they do...there are just too many people who rely on these foods for whatever reason, and it is hard to get people to change...
 

misty8723

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Originally Posted by Marishka

Agreed 100%, especially the bitter part...
I mean, some companies have not lost as much of their 'fan base' as I would have thought. I was at the pet store and overheard one man saying how he couldn't wait until a certain brand of food was back on the shelves. I mean, would you really want to risk it? There are a lot of people who are more worried about how this is an inconvience for them, rather than looking at the bigger picture. That is why these companies continue to do what they do...there are just too many people who rely on these foods for whatever reason, and it is hard to get people to change...
There are so many people who think 'if it's on the shelves, it's safe' and don't even bother to look at the whole picture. Not that they don't care about their cats, just that they are clueless and don't care to get informed. There really isn't much about it in the newspapers, and it's always buried somewhere. I didn't even see the article on the original recall, I heard about it here first.

I'm so depressed about this whole mess. Everytime I feed them, I worry I might be poisioning them, but I don't know what to do about it. Nothing feels safe, not even home cooking. What if the chicken I use is contaminated? Or I don't get the right blend of vitamins and minerals they need? It just gets worse and worse and never ends.
 

ping

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No No no tell me this ain't so. THe treats that Ping loves (the only ones by the way) are made with wheat flour. So I could be posioning him....Suddenly I feel real sick over this. I am not giving him any more of them. Nope.

If he is not showing any signs of being sick should I still be worried.
 

marishka

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Originally Posted by Misty8723

There are so many people who think 'if it's on the shelves, it's safe' and don't even bother to look at the whole picture. Not that they don't care about their cats, just that they are clueless and don't care to get informed. There really isn't much about it in the newspapers, and it's always buried somewhere. I didn't even see the article on the original recall, I heard about it here first.

I'm so depressed about this whole mess. Everytime I feed them, I worry I might be poisioning them, but I don't know what to do about it. Nothing feels safe, not even home cooking. What if the chicken I use is contaminated? Or I don't get the right blend of vitamins and minerals they need? It just gets worse and worse and never ends.
I know what you mean. I find myself thinking about the food I used to give her, back when she was "just a stray". I never thought twice about it...
I worry about my grandma...she's elderly, weakened immune system. Could her body fight contaminated food? I mean, it's spread to so many faucets of our lives.... : (
 

jean44

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Originally Posted by sharky

If that is the truth.... then NOTHING IS SAFE... I hope that article is wrong...


Unfortunately, the article seems to be accurate.

I've never seen wheat gluten or RPC but I fail to understand how the employees could not tell the difference when the bags were opened. Also, wouldn't wheat flour react differently than wheat gluten or RPC when mixed into the food formula? It just seems as though something should have indicated a problem. Unless, of course, complacency or not caring is the order of the day.


Given all the new information I am very glad that I went to a grain free and fish free diet for my cats. It's hard to find wet foods that meet the requirements but worth it in the long run.
 

jenniferd

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I am very angry. I don't even know what to feed my cats anymore. They've been eating Nutro natural choice before it's been recalled. I stopped that, but now seems like so many different kinds of food have been contaminated.
And apparently just because ingredient is not listed does not mean it's not there, and something that's called rice protein concentrate can actually be wheat flour.
Where does it end?
I've taken care of my cats not so they can develop kidney stones and die because they are being poisoned by their food.
 

strange_wings

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No idea about other plants but the description from the local one for RPC is

Color: Yellowish

Odor: Typical of rice protein

Uniformity: Each lot shall be of uniform color, composition, and texture.

Texture: Free flowing, fine granules, varies considerably among suppliers. Too much coarse material may mean low protein and high fiber.

(rather vague... isn't it?
)

chemical composition is tested as well.

In other words, at the very least I think they'd figure out that what they were testing wasn't RPC pretty quickly..
 

marishka

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

In other words, at the very least I think they'd figure out that what they were testing wasn't RPC pretty quickly..
Exactly...now, I am not at all a scientist or work with the FDA, so I do not know about the process involved to test this stuff...but if they were really doing very deep testing, of probably hundreds of cans of food and ingredients...wouldn't one test, or even person, have caught that it wasn't what they thought? Not one? Until now?
I just find it a little hard to fathom.
 

starfish

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Originally Posted by JennyJen

Oh yeah, here's another quote from the article that I should've put with the first one.

"Tian Feng is the manager of Binzhou Futian Biology Technology, which U.S. pet food distributors have identified as the company that sold them wheat flour -- mislabeled as wheat gluten or rice protein concentrate -- containing melamine and related products."
this guy out to go to jail.... in fact, if it were my choice, he'd have something worse coming his way



It's too bad we can't make him eat the "wheat flour" as punishment!
 
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