A Rise in Kidney Stones Is Seen in U.S. Children

To the great surprise of parents, kidney stones, once considered a disorder of middle age, are now showing up in children as young as 5 or 6.

While there are no reliable data on the number of cases, pediatric urologists and nephrologists across the country say they are seeing a steep rise in young patients. Some hospitals have opened pediatric kidney stone clinics.

. . . . . . . . .

The increase in the United States is attributed to a host of factors, including a food additive that is both legal and ubiquitous: salt.

Forty to 65 percent of kidney stones are formed when oxalate, a byproduct of certain foods, binds to calcium in the urine. (Other common types include calcium phosphate stones and uric acid stones.) And the two biggest risk factors for this binding process are not drinking enough fluids and eating too much salt; both increase the amount of calcium and oxalate in the urine.

And they're also doing research on ingredients (kinda like me, but sciency-er) and possible health effects that could be linked to the chemicals they found. "

So, I really take consumer affairs with a very....very...small grain of salt. 

How many of those consumers actually contacted the company in question?  I'm sure that any company under fire would do whatever they have to do to make it right. 

Helen of Louisville KY (07/21/08)
UPDATE: I have been reading the posts concerning Nutro for awhile. I used to work for Nutro as a demonstrator. Not anymore. My confidence in the pet food industry is very badly shaken. Nutro products no longer holds my respect because of how they are handling these complaints. I have not seen this with other premium pet foods I've been in contact with.

Gee Don I guess I was including the denaturing process and chemicals already in the dead animals. One chemical I found is Birkolene b.

Also remember Ann Martin's book. Aren't chemicals added to this cooked mess of dead animals to make it palatable. I am not an expert just a concerned pet owner!!!

http://itchmoforums.com/news-recall-related/information-from-recallsorgvet-site-including-melamine-related-t1417.0.html;msg18473#msg18473

You are looking at rendered product, so you might want to consider part of the rendering process.  Since you've been referring to Nebraska and Kansas, I started with Neb. Dept. of Ag. and found this in their "rendering and pet food section" for regulations.  Interesting.

http://www.agr.ne.gov/regulate/bai/tilf.htm

009   Decharacterization.
All inedible meat and carcass parts shall be adequately decharacterized  with an approved agent except where federal meat inspection regulations allow shipment of inedibles to the contrary. The decharacterizing agent must be mixed intimately with all of the material to be decharacterized and must be applied in such quantity and manner that it cannot easily and readily be removed by washing or soaking. A sufficient amount of the appropriate agent shall be used to give the material a distinctive color, odor, or taste so that such material cannot be confused with an article of human food. All inedible meat or carcass parts four inches in diameter or larger shall be freely slashed or sectioned prior to the application of the approved decharacterization agent.

003.07   DECHARACTERIZATION shall mean the uniform application of sufficient quantities of dye, charcoal, malodorous fish oil, acid, or any other agent approved by the Bureau, upon and into freely slashed flesh of processed meat as to unequivocally preclude its use for human food. 

003.08   APPROVED DECHARACTERIZATION AGENT shall mean a decharacterization agent approved for use as such by the Bureau of Animal Industry.

If you are changing a formula and still have old packaging, and haven't quite gotten your new labels, you might go ahead and put a product that is changing to some extent in the old bags – so there could be potentially a short period of time that a product has changed but the labels have not caught up. That's actually not legal, but it certainly has been done.

...if a manufacturer has changed their product and has not quite gotten their new labels back yet, that does take a bit of time, they are supposed to sticker the bag to indicate such.

 
I guess I am kind of surprised at the lack of interest on this.  I kind of thought it was a little more info that helped to answer some questions we had at one point about the ingredients in pet food albeit it also raises questions too.  But, to me, the fact that it is in PRE-recall food at all and it has been proven, is kind of important.  It potentially shows that this ingredient was being brought in through another source rather than ChemNutra

Dr. K. called the company himself.  The rep denied there were any problems with the food, told him it was a big internet hoax, and in his words, treated him like a crackpot reporting an alien abduction.