Dog Ate Packet in Beef Jerky

It's one of those "Oh sh*t" moments.

Yous turn your back and your dog has inhaled the entire 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 in that location to keep stuff fresh.

You're thinking, simply what in the *bleep* is in those damn numberless anyhow? Could it injure my domestic dog? Heck, come to think of it – could it be contaminating the jerky treats with something horrible?

Your mind races.

You Google it.

Google results: Nothing much, except a agglomeration of other hysterical pet parents.  Some say information technology's but harmless silica, others swear information technology's got something magnetic in it. Some say it is iron. Some say the iron could actually be scrap metallic, some go farther and say that flake metal could be contaminated with radioactive fabric.

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

Is the info on the packages?  Oh please, don't waste your time.  You lot know you'll never get a straight reply from the manufacturer anyway, and if the production is from China – information technology's a crap shoot.

Nonetheless, you tin can be sure to become the truth here on Poisoned Pets, considering excavation upwards stuff to rake the pet food industry over the coals with is my favorite thing to practise.

While feverishly poring over article later on article, report later study about the furnishings of irradiation on food until I idea my caput would explode, I came across the respond to your question:

Just what, in dog'south proper noun, is in those freshness packets anyhow and more chiefly, will that stuff kill my domestic dog?

The answer: It ain't good

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

Then, fair alert pet parents, the numberless are bad and I don't just mean the hasty, just those ubiquitous little pouches of toxicant tin make your pup sick, very sick.  If he eats information technology, that is.

Now, what happens to atomic number 26 when it's irradiated?  I don't know and I'll bet yous 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 do, they're non talking.

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

Atomic number 26 intoxication in a dog consequent to the ingestion of oxygen absorber sachets in pet treat packaging.

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

We present a case of canine ingestion of an oxygen absorber from a bag of dog treats that resulted in iron intoxication necessitating chelation therapy.

A 7-calendar month-old female Jack Russell terrier presented for evaluation of vomiting and melena 8-12 h after ingesting ane-2 oxygen absorber sachets from a parcel of dog treats. Serum iron concentration and ALT were elevated. The dog was treated with deferoxamine and supportive care. Clinical signs resolved xiv h post-obit treatment, but the ALT remained elevated at the 3-calendar month recheck.

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

To our knowledge, no cases of atomic number 26 intoxication following the ingestion of oxygen absorbers accept been reported. The lack of ingredient information on the packaging prompted analysis of contents of oxygen absorber sachets. Results indicate the contents independent 50-lxx% total iron. This case demonstrates that iron intoxication tin occur following the ingestion of such products. Man and veterinary medical personnel need to exist aware of this effect and monitor serum iron concentrations equally chelation may be necessary.

Source: J Med Toxicol. 2012 Mar;8(ane):76-9, Brutlag AG, Flint CT, Puschner B; PMID: 22190175 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

What'south in those little sachets, anyway?

In the packaging industry, those little packets or sachets, as they similar to call them, inhabit the fascinating world of "agile 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 "active" ingredient in the sachet was iron.

Iron is a natural oxygen scavengers, and iron oxide powders are enclosed in the itty bitty sachets to control the oxygen environs in the package.

Inside the sachets is powdered iron, and as the iron rusts, oxygen is removed from the surrounding atmosphere.  Oxygen scavenging is one class of widely used agile packaging technology, for case, whereby iron-based pouches or sachets are inserted into private nutrient packages to retard oxidation and spoilage.

Fascinating, huh?

Niggling bit o' trivia: Did you lot know where this system of preservation originated? The military! Those poor boys needed to be kept live with military rations, otherwise known as Meal, Ready-to-Consume (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 take reached them until one or ii years afterward its appointment-of-pack had to withal be edible, at to the lowest degree sort of.  And what meliorate way to keep nutrient indefinitely? Just remove all the  moisture and oxygen.

The upshot?

Trouble is, knowing Prc's frightening history of counterfeiting you-proper noun-it and downright spooky industrial processing plants; we can only hope it actually is iron and not some freak mixture of lord-only-knows.  Think most the contempo scare involving Petco'due south stainless steel dog bowls contaminated with radioactive scrap metal containing Cobalt-60.

Not that y'all need one, but, at present yous take i more reason to exist scared sh**less of annihilation from China.

Poisoned Pets | Pet Nutrient Safe News remains free (and advertising-free) and takes me hundreds of hours a month to research and write, and thousands of dollars a year to sustain. Even if all you can spare is $1 it volition  help keep the website live. If you find whatever value in what I practise, delight consider a donation of your choosing. Cheers!

PLEASE DONATE

hansonburem1949.blogspot.com

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