I'm curious, has anyone read anything about bird foods being tainted by the the same toxins that showed up in the recalled dog and cat foods?

I've not seen anything to date, Gary. I found this article from the folks at Beak Appetit in regards to the recalls. The only parrot food I could find that lists Wheat Gluten as an ingredient is Topper Bird Ranch. I would certainly hope (I know, stop being naive, Nate!) that by this point, in view of all the publicity, if there were any connection between Bird Food manufacturers and the tainted Wheat Gluten, it would have been revealed by now.

Here's an article from Science Daily that talks about the high levels of Aflatoxins and other Mycotoxins found in "wild" bird feed. I find it difficult to believe that many of the ingredients used in "wild" bird feed don't also find their way into "pet" bird food. Sort of makes you wonder when you read about people's birds dying from "unknown" causes, or "mysterious" diseases and no one can figure out how it happened, doesn't it?

I don't know if the same contaminates have been found in the various forms of pellets or not, but this makes me very glad I don't feed pellets of any type. I'm very surprised this hasn't happened sooner. We have got to get it through our heads that other countries and other cultures have very different ideas of what constitutes "pure food source" and "fit for consumption" mean. China has unbelievably lax food safety laws and the companies that produce goods for sale have only one guideline, the Almighty Dollar. Personally, I would like to see us cut off all food trade with China. But that won't happen, there is too much money, graft and corruption in place to ever make a real change in our policies and I guarantee you China has no interest in changing their policies. They do not care as long as the check goes into the bank.

I found this very interesting reading:

ABC News: China Probing Tainted Wheat Gluten Claim


A woman looks at pet food in a store in Beijing Friday April 6, 2007. China has denied responsibility for a slew of pet deaths in the United States that U.S. authorities blame on a batch of chemically contaminated wheat gluten from China, state media reported.

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After reading the below exerpt from the article I linked to, I can't help but be worried about the safety of what we buy. It would appear there seems to be almost an unspoken message that this problem will get worse, not better.

Is there a way we can safely see that every ingredient we rely on to feed our birds is safe? Even if make everything ourselves, is the wheat flour safe, the corn bread, the chili powder....

How can we be assured that an ingredient in what we are using is not from another country with less than optimal guidelines?

I also haven't found any other bird product with wheat gluten in it. This link has an ingredient list to the Topper brand foods;

Topper Bird Ranch Bird Seed Diets - Small Hookbill Large Hookbill

Thanks for posting that link to Beak Appetit. I think we're going to be seeing similar statements on packaged foods very soon. I feel a little better after reading their statement;

I think it is becoming very clear that we must read the labels very carefully and we might need to make calls to manufacturers about the origin point of any ingredient we're uncomfortable with. Of course, the real solution is not to use any food product from China until they bring their laws up-to-date to reflect American and EU food safety standards. Until then, China shouldn't be able to sell food products, either for human or animal consumption in the U.S. and EU. But that won't happen! Money drives everything and the USDA and FDA are deliberately hobbled by this Administration. The current administration began dismanteling the funding for the USDA and FDA the minute they stepped foot over the threshold of the White House. With the cooperation of a Republican dominated, rabidly anti-regulation Congress, both agencies have been stripped of any real power and have been reduced to mouthpieces for the Administration's policies. Believe me, THEY don't care if your food is safe to eat, your water safe to drink or if your dog, cat or bird are alive in the morning because they will never eat it or be exposed to possible contamination. THEIR food comes from safe supplies grown in the U.S., prepared by executive chefs with a great deal of training. And believe me, Shrub's dog Barney, doesn't eat Alpo Beef N'Gravy. Barney has a personal chef that prepares his doggy dish just for him. As far as these people are concerned, we, "the great unwashed", are dirt under their feet and barely deserve to eat at all, much less at the same standard as their table.

I agree with everything you said but Barney has nothing on my Annie. Annie has her own personal chef also- ME!

Gini, if my cat, P.K. were still alive you can bet I'd be cooking for him as well as Buster. P.K. ate only IAMS and toward the end of his life while he was battling the onset of diabetes and trying to loose weight, Science Diet and Purina's top brand vet dry food. You can imagine how horrible I felt when it was disclosed that the contamination reached throughout the food supply from the cheapest to the most expensive. Who can you trust? A pet owner tries to do the right thing and give his pet the best diet available or the best they can afford but when you discover something like this, the whole world kind of tips on its axis! I've had lots of friends over the years that cooked for their dogs, cats and even fish. Until recently, I thought they were going a bit "over the top" but now I'm not so sure. I cook for Buster because its really easy and I don't trust pellets, but now I think I would cook for all the animals.