Wal-Mart removed two brands of chicken jerky treats manufactured in China from all of its stores in July after consumers reported their dogs were falling ill. The company released a statement reporting melamine was found in the products.
“The latest advice from our testing laboratory shows trace levels of melamine,” the statement reads. “Because of the low levels that were found, our laboratory has recommended additional testing.”
Although all products were removed from store shelves, as an additional precaution Wal-Mart placed a computerized block on the dog treats so employees could not mistakenly sell items if a product remained in the store. The dog treats taken off the store shelves on July 26, 2007, were Chicken Jerky Strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co., and Chicken Jerky from Shanghai Bestro Trading.
“Since then, the product has remained off shelves while we have carried out 17 different tests to determine the cause of the small number of complaints we received,” the statement reads.
Wal-Mart has not confirmed the number of complaints received, or specific illnesses pet owners were reporting in their dogs.
Melamine was the chemical implicated for the massive pet food recall that was responsible for 16 confirmed pet deaths, with hundreds more reporting illnesses. Melamine has been linked to kidney failure in pets.
At this time, the FDA has not issued a recall of the products. “The FDA is aware of complaints from consumers about some chicken jerky pet food products,” said Laura Alvey, an FDA spokeswoman. “We are actively investigating the matter and conducting testing. To date, our own testing has not found any contaminant(s) in the products, however, testing is ongoing.”
Consumers may return any of the products to the store for a full refund, or call 1-800-WALMART with questions.
–Heidi Hatch, Associate News Editor for DogChannel.com