As you know, the pet food industry has seen better days as a recall was recently issued for contaminated pet food that was lead to pet deaths. Here is an update on the situation.

The pet food industry is one of those business niches that fall into one of those odd regulatory black holes. The FDA is responsible for regulating the industry and the products it produces. While that sounds comforting, the simple fact is the FDA barely does anything in relation to the pet food industry.

This isn't willful negligence. It is a matter of budgetary considerations. The FDA focuses on human issues and has little left over for regulating pet situations. Frankly, it is surprising there have not been more problems with the industry, but the companies involved are usually very good about regulating themselves.

Over the last few months, it has become apparent that there was a problem with certain pet food products. Simply put, pets were getting sick and dying. The FDA stepped up and issued a recall of certain pet foods in an effort to solve the problem. Now, the agency is making headway in backtracking the problem. The first problem seemed to be with Wheat-Glutuen products, but now there is a second product under examination.

The offending food product appears to be a rice protein concentrate. The protein has been found to contain melamine, which is toxic to cats, dogs and such. The FDA has found the product was originally produced in China by Binzhou Futian Biological Technology and imported by Wilbur-Ellis into the country on April 2, 2007. The problem appears to be that the shipment of rice protein bags also included at least one bag of melamine, to wit, there was some type of cross-contamination.

So, what happened to the rice protein concentrate? Well, you have to understand the pet food industry. Pet food products are something of a double blind situation. While there are many different brands, the actual ingredients used for the brands originate from a very small number of importers. It is much like the gasoline industry where the gas you buy is all the same, but different companies add different additives to come up with their basic brands.

In this case, the FDA has identified seven different pet food producers that received the offending rice protein concentrate. The agency is testing the products at these producers and will not release their identity until it is verified their products are contaminated. That being said, one company has come forward to issue their own voluntary recall. The company is Natural Balance Pet Foods. The products are Venison and Brown Rice canned and bagged dog foods; Venison and Brown Rice dog treats; and Venison and Green Pea dry cat food.

The FDA obviously will continue the investigation into the pet product problems. It is important to understand, however, that the problem has moved beyond wheat to rice products. Make sure you check your pet food accordingly.

John Grimes is with All Terrain - makers of natural pet products.