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FDA Warns Iams Co. About Chemical In Food For Overweight
Pets
AP - 3/29/2007 6:04 PM - Updated 3/29/2007 6:04 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Food and Drug Administration said
Thursday it has issued a warning letter to Iams Co. that says some of its
diet pet foods contain an unapproved substance.
Eukanuba Veterinary Diets Optimum Weight Control/Canine
dry, Optimum Weight Control/Feline dry, Restricted-Calorie/Canine dry and
canned, and Restricted-Calorie/Feline dry and canned contain chromium tripicolinate,
which is not an approved food supplement, the FDA said.
The warning follows a recall of nearly 100 brands of
pet food made by Menu Foods after animals suffered kidney failure. That recall
included some Iams products made under contract by Menu Foods.
New York state's food laboratory last week identified
aminopterin as the likely culprit in that recall, which involved ``cuts and
gravy'' style dog and cat food.
The new warning letter urged Iams to remove chromium
tripicolinate from the products but did not ask for a recall.
In 1996, the FDA said it would not block the use of low
levels of chromium tripicolinate as a source of supplemental chromium in
diets for pigs. But that did not apply to other animal food. Chromium can
affect the metabolism of glucose in animals.
Iams requested that that decision concerning swine be
extended to its products for overweight pets, but FDA said it denied the
request. It said a 2006 letter from Iams did not contain sufficient information
to address safety concerns.
Iams will remove the ingredient from its Veterinary Diets
cat and dog food, spokesman Kurt Iverson said. The products are sold by prescription
only for overweight pets. They have used chromium tripicolinate as a metabolism
enhancer, Iverson said.
The letter is part of an ``ongoing dialog'' with the FDA, Iverson
said.
The FDA considers chromium tripicolinate to be genotoxic, meaning
it can damage DNA and cause mutations and tumors.
The letter was dated Jan. 8 and posted on the FDA's Web site
Thursday.
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