Stay out of my food bowl

File this under gross.

Your pet's food bowl could be making your children sick.

Here's an article in USA Today.

Dry pet food and cross-contamination after feeding a pet in the kitchen is responsible for salmonellosis outbreak in 21 eastern U.S. states between 2006 and 2008. The outbreak sickened 79 people, with almost 48 percent of the cases occurring among children under age 2, according to Casey Barton Behravesh, CDC veterinary epidemiologist and study's coauthor.

"This investigation resulted in identification of the first documented outbreak of human salmonellosis linked to the use of dry dog and cat food," Behravesh wrote.

The story also has links to the recall of several pet foods last week as well as what to look for if you suspect contamination.

Continued caution about chicken jerky products

The Food and Drug Administration continues to warn about a potential association between illness in dogs and eating chicken jerky products.

The entire warning can be seen here.

Complaints about sick dogs that their owners or veterinarians associate with eating the products — also called chicken tenders, strips or treats — continue to come in to the FDA. The products are imported from China. The FDA issued a cautionary warning to consumers in Sept. 2007.

Scientists have not been able to determine a cause for the reported illness.

The FDA recommends, if you choose to feed your dog chicken jerky products, to watch the dog closely and stop feeding them to your dog if it shows any of the following signs:

• decreased activity
• vomiting
• diarrhea, sometimes with blood
• increased water drinking or increased urination

Settlement in contaminated pet food trauma

The Associated Press is reporting there is an initial approval of a settlement that would compensate pet owners for costs related to deaths or illnesses of their dogs and cats.

The complete story is here.

According to the AP, pet owners in the U.S. and Canada are going to be notified of the settlement by June 16 and have until early December to submit claims. A final hearing on the $24 million settlement is scheduled for Oct. 14.

It's not all good news, though. The settlement doesn't pay pet owners for pain and suffering from injuries to their pets.

Last year, some of the products made by Menu Foods Income Fund were found to contain wheat gluten imported from China that was contaminated with melamine, a plastics chemical.

A lawyer for plaintiffs said more than 1,500 animals in the U.S. died after eating the food last year.

Check our the previous blog entries, here, here and here.

From the article:

The settlement allows pet owners to apply for expenses associated with deaths and illnesses, including the costs of veterinarians, time missed from work to care for sick animals, replacement pets, burial expenses and even property damaged because animals got sick.

Pet owners can request up to $900 for undocumented claims in case they didn't save all their receipts.

Owners can also be reimbursed if they had their dogs screened for contaminated food — even if they turned out to be healthy.

Dry dog food dangerous to human health?

FoxNews.com is reporting a story that links Salmonella to dry dog food.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, humans became infected with Salmonella in 2006 and 2007 from dry dog food produced by Mars Petcare in Pennsylvania. Dogs were not affected, but, officials say, infants were.

Health care officials recommend washing your hands after handling any dog food, treats or vitamins, as well as keeping young children away from pet food.

More from the Washington Post.

Now I'm going to give Kate her breakfast.

Pet food maker to settle in contaminated food case

The Associated Press is reporting that Diamond Pet Foods, of Meta, Mo., will pay $3.1 million to reimburse pet owners for the loss of their dogs, veterinarian bills and the cost of unreturned contaminated food.

The company acknowledged that its workers at the Gaston, S.C., plant failed to follow internal testing procedures to make sure its products were safe.

Read the complete story here.