Pet Food Poisonings – wheat gluten

Recall of Menu Foods
The recall of pet food continues across the entire U.S. This may be the largest recall ever—even larger than undertaken when Diamond foods were found contaminated with aflatoxin in late 2005 and early 2006. With this recall, officials suspect that contaminated wheat gluten in foods sold under 50 different labels is cause of acute kidney disease.

Gluten
Gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, and barley, helps bread rise and adds a springy texture to cakes. Some varieties of wheat have a high gluten content and some have a low gluten content, and bakers choose high gluten wheat for cakes and bread and low gluten wheat for pies. When making pet food, manufacturers add gluten for texture and for protein, although gluten provides a lower quality protein than is provided by meat and fish. It is also added to "meat and gravy" style foods because it forms chunks that soak up the gravy and look like meat.

Gluten intolerance and celiac disease
Wheat is a staple in many cultures, but there are a large number of people who become ill if they eat it. One of the illnesses caused by wheat is celiac disease. With celiac disease, the immune system recognizes proteins in wheat gluten as foreign. The immune system sends white blood cells (WBCs) to attack the foreign protein, and the WBCs release their destructive enzymes. If people with celiac disease continue to eat wheat, what began as an enzyme attack becomes an all-out intestinal war with innocent bystander casualties. Entire sections of the small intestine fall into disrepair or are destroyed.

Symptoms of gluten intolerance
Those with celiac disease develop diarrhea and malabsorption that leads to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The intestines become too inflamed to absorb nutrients so that undigested material passes out of the body in large, foul-smelling, pudding-like stools called steatorrhea. If this were not enough, the gluten-intolerant also develop seizures and neurological symptoms.

Pets inherit gluten intolerance
Pets with celiac disease suffer just as humans do. And pets, just as humans, appear to inherit this tendency to react to wheat gluten. Dog breeds with a known genetic intolerance are Irish Setters, German Shepherds, and perhaps Border Terriers. Many other breeds belong on this list, but veterinarians have not concluded their research into this genetic illness.

How oats can cause wheat gluten intolerance
In addition to wheat gluten causing illness, if milling companies grind other grains, such as oats, after grinding wheat, the oats can contain enough wheat protein to trigger an episode of intestinal warfare. With this episode, though, the family often has difficulty detecting the cause because the pet’s food does not contain wheat in any recognizable form.

Contaminated gluten causing kidney failure
In the case of the recalled pet foods, gluten is suspected to be the culprit. Gluten is not killing pets because it’s triggering celiac disease or a wheat intolerance. Instead, gluten is likely contaminated with mold or chemicals that cause kidney damage. Everyone involved is intent on identifying the contaminant because this will help us select more targeted treatments for affected dogs and cats.

Many moist “meat and gravy” style foods are not healthy
Pet families feed moist “meat and gravy” style foods to provide special, delicious meals. We feel good serving these foods because they look like human food, and they're expensive. Unfortunately, “meat and gravy” style foods are often of poor nutritional quality. They may appear to have lots of meat, but those chunks are actually filler. This is possible because the pet food label law says a when a label that reads “Roast Beef Flavor Pet Food” the food does not have to contain any beef meat at all. The beef flavor can be derived from beef by-products and gluten can be used to provide chunks that look like meat. A label that reads “Pet Food with Roast Beef” can legally contain 97% filler and 3% beef. A label that says “Salmon and Shrimp Dinner for Cats” can be 75% filler and 25% salmon and shrimp. Disappointing, isn't it.

What’s in your pet’s food?
As you’re inspecting your pet’s food to see if it is on the recalled list (printed in yesterday’s blog), read the label and look at the ingredients. If the food contains anything other than meat, vegetables and whole grains, it is not a blessing for your pet. Period.

Many pet foods, especially those in cans and pouches, have such sweet, smiling dogs and luxurious cats on the label that we fall in love with the food without considering the ingredients. This is a good opportunity to think again. If your pet’s food, whether it’s canned or dry, contains ingredients other than meat, vegetables, and whole grains, find a better food.

What to avoid in pet food
Avoid foods with flour, gluten, and cornmeal because they do not provide whole, nutritious grains. Avoid foods with citric acid because it is associated with an increased incidence of bloat in dogs. Bloat is a swelling of the stomach so that the stomach twists. It is frequently fatal. Avoid foods with any form of sugar (glucose, dextrose, fructose, propylene glycol) or salt. Avoid foods with chemical preservatives or dyes, which are associated with cancer and neurological conditions. Instead, choose foods with meat or fish, vegetables, and grains.

Benefiting from tragedy
Pet food poisonings are a tragedy, and we cannot bring back the cats and dogs that have died of kidney failure. For your pet, though, this may be the opportunity to reconsider nutrition, choose new foods, and make the single most important step you can make to promote your pet's health—good food.