Is Newmans Beef Jerky Dog Treats Oxygen Absorber Toxic if Consumed

It'southward 1 of those "Oh sh*t" moments.

You turn your back and your dog has inhaled the unabridged bag of treats, including that itty-bitty sachet of who-knows-what that are included in every package of treats.

You probably don't know much about them, other than the "Do not eat" warning on them.  The unscientific explanation is they are in there to keep stuff fresh.

You're thinking, just what in the *bleep* is in those damn bags anyway? Could it hurt my domestic dog? Heck, come up to retrieve of it – could information technology be contaminating the jerky treats with something horrible?

Your mind races.

You lot Google it.

Google results: Nix much, except a agglomeration of other hysterical pet parents.  Some say it'south but harmless silica, others swear information technology'south got something magnetic in information technology. Some say it is atomic number 26. Some say the atomic number 26 could actually be bit metal, some become further and say that fleck metal could be contaminated with radioactive material.

We know the production is irradiated – what happens when it, whatever "it" is, is nuked? What happens when you irradiate a radioactive textile?

Is the info on the packages?  Oh please, don't waste material your time.  You lot know you lot'll never go a directly answer from the manufacturer anyway, and if the production is from Mainland china – it's a crap shoot.

However, yous can be sure to get the truth here on Poisoned Pets, because excavation up stuff to rake the pet food industry over the coals with is my favorite thing to practice.

While feverishly poring over article afterward article, study after written report about the effects of irradiation on nutrient until I thought my head would explode, I came beyond the answer to your question:

Just what, in canis familiaris's proper name, is in those freshness packets anyway and more importantly, will that stuff kill my canis familiaris?

The reply: It ain't good

I tin't speak for all pet care for manufacturers, but in the instance of the poisoned pup (see below) the main ingredient of the oxygen absorber he ate was iron.  And in the case of the poor pup that swallowed the little sachet filled with atomic number 26 – it acquired a nasty case of iron poisoning.

So, fair warning pet parents, the bags are bad and I don't merely hateful the jerky, but those ubiquitous little pouches of poison can make your pup sick, very sick.  If he eats it, that is.

Now, what happens to iron when it'south irradiated?  I don't know and I'll bet you lot a-nickel-to-a-doughnut that  Purina, Milo's, Dogswell and all the rest of the treat importers haven't a clue either.  And if they exercise, they're not talking.

Here's the story that alerted me to the danger lurking in those ubiquitous oxygen absorber sachets:

Iron intoxication in a dog consequent to the ingestion of oxygen absorber sachets in pet treat packaging.

Oxygen absorbers are usually used in packages of dried or dehydrated foods (e.g., beef jerky, dried fruit) to prolong shelf life and protect food from discoloration and decomposition.  They usually contain reduced fe as the active ingredient although this is rarely stated on the external packaging. Although reduced iron typically has minimal oral bioavailability, such products are potential sources of iron poisoning in companion animals and children.

Nosotros present a example of canine ingestion of an oxygen absorber from a bag of dog treats that resulted in atomic number 26 intoxication necessitating chelation therapy.

A 7-calendar month-erstwhile female person Jack Russell terrier presented for evaluation of vomiting and melena 8-12 h after ingesting ane-two oxygen absorber sachets from a package of domestic dog treats. Serum iron concentration and ALT were elevated. The canis familiaris was treated with deferoxamine and supportive care. Clinical signs resolved 14 h following treatment, but the ALT remained elevated at the 3-calendar month recheck.

The ingestion of reduced iron in humans has been reported to crusade mild elevation of serum fe concentration with minimal clinical effects.

To our knowledge, no cases of iron intoxication post-obit the ingestion of oxygen absorbers have been reported. The lack of ingredient information on the packaging prompted assay of contents of oxygen cushion sachets. Results indicate the contents contained l-70% full atomic number 26. This example demonstrates that atomic number 26 intoxication can occur following the ingestion of such products. Human being and veterinary medical personnel need to exist aware of this outcome and monitor serum fe concentrations as chelation may be necessary.

Source: J Med Toxicol. 2012 Mar;viii(i):76-nine, Brutlag AG, Flintstone CT, Puschner B; PMID: 22190175 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

What'south in those little sachets, anyhow?

In the packaging manufacture, those footling packets or sachets, as they similar to phone call them, inhabit the fascinating world of "active packaging" (who knew).

The terms active packaging refers to packaging systems used with preserve foods, pharmaceuticals, and other products.  In the case of the poisoned pup, the "agile" ingredient in the sachet was iron.

Iron is a natural oxygen scavengers, and fe oxide powders are enclosed in the itty bitty sachets to command the oxygen surround in the package.

Inside the sachets is powdered fe, and every bit the fe rusts, oxygen is removed from the surrounding temper.  Oxygen scavenging is one class of widely used active packaging technology, for example, whereby atomic number 26-based pouches or sachets are inserted into private nutrient packages to retard oxidation and spoilage.

Fascinating, huh?

Little bit o' trivia: Did you know where this system of preservation originated? The military! Those poor boys needed to be kept live with armed services rations, otherwise known as Repast, Set up-to-Eat (MRE) or fondly referred to Meals Refused by Ethiopians (MRE) to the sorry recipients of such meals.  Their difficult-as-tack grub which may or may not have reached them until one or 2 years subsequently its date-of-pack had to still be edible, at to the lowest degree sort of.  And what improve fashion to keep food indefinitely? Simply remove all the  moisture and oxygen.

The upshot?

Trouble is, knowing Prc'southward frightening history of counterfeiting you-name-it and downright spooky industrial processing plants; nosotros can merely promise information technology actually is iron and not some freak mixture of lord-simply-knows.  Think about the recent scare involving Petco's stainless steel dog bowls contaminated with radioactive scrap metallic containing Cobalt-threescore.

Not that you lot need i, but, now you accept ane more reason to be scared sh**less of annihilation from China.

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Source: https://www.poisonedpets.com/the-dog-that-ate-the-oxygen-absorber-in-the-jerky-treat-bag-spoiler-alert-it-aint-pretty/

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