Arlena asked:

>Are any of the various Ferret Food Brands on the National Pet Food
>List or any other recall list?

Follow this and other reputable resources given in recent past posts:
http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html

There are no ferret foods so far on the wheat gluten recall the last
time I looked. In fact, like other pet foods most ferret foods don't
contain any added wheat gluten, let alone wheat gluten from that one
source. (The large number of foods recalled comprise one percent of
all pet foods, and the number of animals eating those foods who were
affected to any degree so far spotted appears to be roughly 3 in every
10,000 who ate those foods, according to a recent resource I quoted
here.

I can't offhand recall what the problem was with a specific type of
Pounce Treats now on recall, so see recent past posts.

In relation to salmonella there are several treat items currently
recalled (See recent past posts.) such as some 8 in 1 treats, certain
dried pigs ears, etc. (BTW, to avoid blockage if pigs ears are given
they should be soaked first.) Salmonella is a bit of a tricky subject.
It is only one of multiple bacteria which can be found in foods, but
tends to be emphasized in references largely because infected companion
animals can infect humans even if the animals themselves don't really
get sick, and humans can be infected by handling the bad products and
not washing. In some animal products salmonella is not the most common
infection found, and it is not the most the serious, but is the most
easily transmissible to humans of the common bacteria. For ferrets
salmonella is usually not a real problem BUT in those ferrets in whom
it holds on and takes off it becomes a potentially fatal and very hard
to treat disease which is often antibiotic resistant.

In relation to getting the word out, that problem also exists for human
health emergencies, for example, the raw milk rabies concern from one
farm in a recent post. Remember that it appears that the marketing
companies were suddenly taken as much by surprise as the consumers
were when the original announcements happened by the company hired to
produce their foods.

In relation to inspections notice that the problem with lacks of
inspections is said by a couple who are a pharmacologist and a medical
anthropologist to also exist for a number of generic medications
(veterinary and human health):

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/joes_blog/index.asp

in
>Dog Food Disaster Casts Doubt on Generic Drugs
>Posted by Joe on April 2, 2007

including

>When the FDA approves a new generic medicine, the pill must go through
>rigorous testing to demonstrate that its active ingredient is identical
>to that in the brand-name product it mimics. The tests must also show
>that people absorb the ingredient properly, so that an appropriate
>amount gets into a patient's bloodstream. But once this careful
>approval process is finished, the FDA stops paying close attention.
>The agency does not routinely monitor the quality of generic drugs
>--or even brand-name medications. Drug manufacturers are essentially
>on the honor system.
>
>According to our calculations (based on extensive interviews with FDA
>honchos), only about one out of 10,000,000 pill bottles is ever
>actually tested by the agency in the course of a year. This leaves a
>significant temptation for the unscrupulous.

Related:

<http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/joes_blog/dog_food_disaster_casts_doubt_on_generic_drugs.asp#comments>

Sukie (not a vet)
Current FHL address:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html

[Posted in FML 5575]