Sugar Substitute in Some Nut Butter Products Toxic to Dogs

Sugar Substitute in Some Nut Butter Products Toxic to Dogs

By Cathy Siegner | June 25, 2015

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/06/sugar-substitute-in-some-nut-butter-products-toxic-to-dogs/#.VZhGdUYYOAg

An Oregon veterinarian is waging an educational campaign to inform dog owners about the dangers posed to their pets by xylitol, a sugar alcohol-derived sweetener with one-third the calories of regular sugar that is being used in some nut butter products.

Dr. Jason Nicholas of The Preventive Vet in Portland, OR, may be making headway since he said that his recent blog post about the issue has attracted nearly 500,000 visitors.

“My biggest concern with this and what prompted me to write this article is that awareness is crucial,” he said.

Most dogs like peanut butter and seem to enjoy licking it off a spoon or trying to get it out of a rubber toy. However, xylitol is extremely toxic to them, Nicholas said, and there are no warning labels on the products alerting pet owners about the problem or telling them how much xylitol the product contains.

The nut butter products using xylitol for sweetening are not like regular peanut butter but are actually high-protein nut butter spreads with added whey protein isolate and flax seeds, chia seeds and other ingredients. They include P28 peanut spread from a company in Syracuse, NY, Nuts ‘N More from Providence, RI, and Krush Nutrition’s Nutty by Nature brand from Wellington, FL.

“The thing with all of these is that they seem oriented toward the nutrition, health food, muscle-building crowd,” Nicholas said.

It takes very little xylitol to create serious problems for a dog. Ingestion causes a massive surge of insulin release much more than from the same amount of sugar, he said.

“That surge of insulin drops blood sugar and causes hypoglycemia and, as a result of hypoglycemia, there’s not enough glucose in the blood and it causes weakness, ataxia (like staggering or drunk walking), and can cause collapse and, because the brain isn’t able to get the energy it needs, it can cause seizure and coma,” the vet said.

His blog post and the table posted here indicate the scope of the problem:

•  Ingestion of as little as 0.1 gram (g) of xylitol per kilogram (kg) of body weight (0.1 g/kg) can cause a rapid and dangerous drop in a dog’s blood sugar (a condition called “hypoglycemia”). Hypoglycemia can show as staggering, appearing disoriented, collapse, weakness, and seizures.
• Just slightly more than that, approx. 0.5 g/kg xylitol ingestion, can lead to debilitating, and sadly often deadly, destruction of a dog’s liver cells.

However, if the situation is recognized and caught early and appropriate therapy is instituted, most dogs that get hypoglycemia will do fine, he added, unless the particular dog is elderly, has epilepsy, diabetes, or some other pre-existing condition that might complicate things.

Other common household products containing xylitol that dogs may ingest are sugarless gum, mints, chewable vitamins, toothpastes and mouthwashes, and sugar-free baked goods.

“If a 20-pound dog gets into some Advil or something, we know what the dosage is. With xylitol in a product like this, we don’t know and have to assume the worst,” Nicholas noted.

The worst can involve thousands of dollars in vet bills because a dog had to be hospitalized for treatment. But if the pet owner called a poison control center or a vet within an hour of the dog ingesting a xylitol-containing product, it’s possible that the situation might be averted.

Krush Nutrition has posted this warning on its website: “Xylitol, which is a natural sugar alcohol, is safe in humans. We ask that you please keep all xylitol and xylitol-containing food products out of reach from dogs. Even small amounts can be toxic to dogs. If you do, however, suspect your dog has ingested a xylitol-containing food, we suggest you immediately contact your local veterinarian.”

Nicholas said it shows the company is aware of the problem and “is at least doing something.” However, he said it won’t do much good for people shopping in a store.

His hope is that such manufacturers, whether under a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirement or not, will put a warning on their products to show that they care about pets.

FDA issued a consumer warning about the issue in 2011, and Nicholas said it would be good if label warnings were required “now that more products are having xylitol in them.”

Generally, he said it’s OK to give peanut butter to dogs in small amounts as an occasional treat.

“Every now and again, if I’m making a peanut butter sandwich and my dog comes over, I might give her what’s left on the knife — not with xylitol, though,” Nicholas said. However, it’s not advisable to give nut butters to a dog that’s overweight, or to one that has a sensitive stomach, due to the risk of pancreatitis and obesity.

He said the best advice for a pet owner is to carefully read ingredient labels and not to assume that what is safe for humans is also safe for pets.

Peter Pan (peanut butter)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan_%28peanut_butter%29

Peter Pan is a brand of peanut butter produced by ConAgra Foods and named after the J.M. Barrie character.

Planters

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planters

Planters is an American snack food company, a division of Kraft Foods, best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them.[1] Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gentile for a 1916 contest to design the company's brand icon.[1] His design was perfected by a commercial artist and has changed over the years.

Skippy (peanut butter)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skippy_%28peanut_butter%29

Skippy is a brand of peanut butter manufactured in the USA. First sold in 1933, Skippy is currently manufactured by Hormel Foods, which bought the brand from Unilever in 2013.

It is the best-selling brand of peanut butter in China and second only to The J.M. Smucker Company's Jif brand worldwide.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Michael R. Taylor is the deputy commissioner for foods for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and was the VP for public policy for the Monsanto Company.

Note: Russell Group is the lobby firm for the Monsanto Company, the Hormel Foods Corporation, and Mondelez International, Inc.

Kraft Foods Group was a subsidiary of Mondelez International, Inc.

Planters is a Kraft Foods Group brand.

Ann M. Fudge was a division president for Mondelez International, Inc, is a director at Unilever PLC, and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Unilever Group is a member of the Unilever PLC.

Skippy peanut butter is a Unilever Group brand.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Committee for Economic Development, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Mark B. McClellan was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory A-Z (Past Research)

Tuesday, December 17, 2013       

http://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2013/12/commercial-club-of-chicago-members.html

William Wrigley Jr. II is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was the chairman for the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company.

Richard K. Smucker was a director at the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, is the CEO & director for J.M. Smucker Company, and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.

Donna S. Morea was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and the EVP for the CGI Group Inc.

CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.

Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.           

Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative is Obamacare, and was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.

Sidley Austin LLP was the lobby firm for the Monsanto Company.

Michael R. Taylor was the VP for public policy for the Monsanto Company, and is the deputy commissioner for foods for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

R. Eden Martin is counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Valerie B. Jarrett is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and her great uncle is Vernon E. Jordan Jr.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP is the lobby firm for the Monsanto Company.

Jessica Tuchman Mathews was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), is a director at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Ed Griffin’s interview with Norman Dodd in 1982

(The investigation into the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace uncovered the plans for population control by involving the United States in war)

http://www.illuminati-news.com/110106a.htm

Donald Kennedy was a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), and a commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Margaret A. Hamburg is the commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the VP for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank), and David A. Hamburg’s daughter. 

Warren E. Buffett is an adviser at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank),

Howard G. Buffett’s father, and the chairman & CEO for Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Howard G. Buffett is Warren E. Buffett’s son, a director at Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and was a director at ConAgra Foods Inc.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. was an investor in the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company Mars acquisition.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) was a funder for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank). 

David A. Hamburg is an adviser for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank), Margaret A. Hamburg’s father, and the president emeritus for the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), and the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Newton N. Minow is an honorary trustee at the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.                    

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Sidley Austin LLP was the lobby firm for the Monsanto Company.

Michael R. Taylor was the VP for public policy for the Monsanto Company, and is the deputy commissioner for foods for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Mark B. McClellan was a commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Ann M. Fudge is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a director at Unilever PLC, and was a division president for Mondelez International, Inc.

Russell Group is the lobby firm for Mondelez International, Inc, the Monsanto Company, the Hormel Foods Corporation, Washington University in St. Louis, and the National Pork Producers Council.

W. Patrick McGinnis is a trustee at Washington University in St. Louis, and the president & CEO for the Nestle Purina Petcare Co.

Policy Directions was the lobby firm for the National Pork Producers Council, is the lobby firm for the Nestle Purina Petcare Co, and Nestle USA.

Nestlé Purina, Hills join pet food recall

Updated 3/31/2007 2:24 AM 

By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-30-pet-food-recall_N.htm

A recall of pet food expanded Friday to include the first dry product, which is available only through veterinarians' offices.

Meanwhile, the FDA now says the contamination in wet pet food that has injured and killed pets across the country may not have been the pesticide aminopterin but possibly a fertilizer and plastics agent called melamine.

In a news conference Friday morning, the Food and Drug Administration announced that its labs had detected melamine in samples of the pet food, in the wheat gluten used to make it and in the urine and kidneys of cats who were injured by it.

FDA investigators are not certain how melamine would sicken or kill dogs and cats; there is little scientific information available about melamine exposure in animals.

ON DEADLINE: What is melamine?

Hills Pet Nutrition announced that it is recalling its Prescription Diet Feline Dry Food, Friday evening. The company said the food contained wheat gluten provided by a company that also supplied wheat gluten to Menu Foods, the firm that initiated the earlier recall. It did not say whether any pet illnesses had been associated with the food.

Nestlé Purina PetCare also late Friday said it was recalling all sizes and varieties of its Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with specific date codes.