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!Warning! Feeding Grapes! (1 Viewer)

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nuttybulldog

Active member
Just thought i had better add this here as i know we all like to help out our little furry friends somtimes and leave food out for them.

It has recently been discovered that grapes contain a chemical/toxin/acid (not sure which) that is poisonous to mammals and causes kidney failure. This is in all grapes whether they are seedless or not.

The discovery came about after 2 friends of mine lost their 2 pet skunks after they broke into the fridge and ate all the grapes in there. After their death they had a post mortom (sp) done and it was discovered that the grapes had caused the failure. After further investigation by the vet and others it was discovered that the grapes were indeed toxic to our furry friends.

It isn't just skunks that this affects but all of our little furry mammal friends including cats, dogs, ferrets, squirrels, rats, mice and has now even been named as the cause of death of some captive birds.

So please take note as i know it sounds a little wierd and far fetched but it is 100% true.

P.S I have put this in the "mammals" section aswell but thought i'd add it here also as we all get the odd squirrel from time to time.
 
That's a shame as I always put out any old grapes for the birds. The Blackbirds, Jackdaw and Magpies LOVE them.Are you sure that this applies to all grapes??
 
Grapes can be toxic to most animals. Humans are one of the few creatures that can actually eat them. This is one of the reasons why vineyards have few pest compared to other crops.
 
This is quite worrying since I occasionally feed my bunnies grapes too. People on the rabbit forum have never mentioned that grapes are harmful to rabbits. Although I'd never feed them more tha a couple in a sitting. Are you sure it wasn't just that they ate too many? Also I can't imagine that they are harmful to all different types of mammals as rabbits and dogs have completely different digestive systems (for instance).
 
there is a page on wiki which tells you the weight in grapes to animal weight saftey ratio but not sure if this applies to all mammals or just dogs (which is the only animal stated)

it was just thought to be myth up untill 2004 when it was eventually proven and is now being accountable for thousand of pet/animal deaths per yer. before this was proven vets would just say it must have been something they ate in the garden/roaming area. post mortoms have proved what is now really happening
 
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Are you sure it isn't the fungicide or pesticide that makes the grapes toxic. Vineyards can lose a lot of grapes to starlings and other birds and carcasses have not been found. I'm a little skeptical on this one.

Granted that table grapes probably have different spraying protocols. There is a lot of chemical residues not allowed in wine production.
 
I think the birds will probably be fine. Besides, birds aren't mammals.

Most wild animals know what not to eat. It's a pretty fail proof system built in.

Domestic animals have a tendency to gorge themselves on anything when given the chance.

There are a lot of foods which are bad for animals in large quantities.
 
The toxic compound in question is Ochratoxine A, a nephrotoxic compound produced by black aspergillus species. It is certainly quite toxic for people. People would not eat mouldy grapes, which dogs might devour. The biggest risk for people is related to grape juice consumption. Small children bear the highest risk consuming occasionally comparatively large quantities of juice and raisins. The toxin is found preferentially in grape products from more southern locations.
 
ortolan10 said:
The toxic compound in question is Ochratoxine A, a nephrotoxic compound produced by black aspergillus species. It is certainly quite toxic for people. People would not eat mouldy grapes, which dogs might devour. The biggest risk for people is related to grape juice consumption. Small children bear the highest risk consuming occasionally comparatively large quantities of juice and raisins. The toxin is found preferentially in grape products from more southern locations.
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Can we take this as an authoritative summary of the situation? ie. not found in green grapes, not found in black grapes per se, only if they are mouldy, and even then large quantities need to be consumed for toxic poisoning? Rather like warnings over Peanuts? In other words, can we nip a 'panic' in the bud here?
 
I don't think so. I use to work for a winery and birds can consume a large portion of the vineyard, and they seem ok. If this was a problem, be sure someone would have raised a red flag toward the industry.

PS. Aspergilosis is found in soil.
 
deborah4 said:
Can we take this as an authoritative summary of the situation? ie. not found in green grapes, not found in black grapes per se, only if they are mouldy, and even then large quantities need to be consumed for toxic poisoning?

In other words, can we nip a 'panic' in the bud here?
Click to expand...


Think this sums it up.

Grapes have been grown and eaten since ancient times. Wasn't the whole of ancient Mediterranean civilization based on the successful cultivation of grapes, wheat and olives?

I think we can all relax!!!
 
For the most part, birds that eat berries are much better equipped to deal with toxins than us mammal-types as they have a working appendix. Mammals can't eat holly berries, but you should see the blackbirds go at them. In fact, if it wasn't for that holly would have died out long ago as it relies on part-digestion of the seeds to activate them, thus ensuring that the bird will have flown some way before depositing the seeds.
 
joannechattaway said:
Think this sums it up.

Grapes have been grown and eaten since ancient times. Wasn't the whole of ancient Mediterranean civilization based on the successful cultivation of grapes, wheat and olives?

I think we can all relax!!!
Click to expand...

what in gods name has the ancient mediterranean civilzation being based on the cultivation of grapes, wheat and olives got to do with the original post, and who are you to tell people to relax when this in fact a very serious matter.

this is a real problem which has affected some of my close friends first hand and HAS been scientifically proven. telling people we can all relax is going to give them faulse security and cause them to keep feeding grapes to their mammal pets.

if you dont have any mammal pets then you need not worry about the whole thing but those who do have mammal pets should be aware of this FACT and should very much worry about it unless they want their beloved pets dying of a very painful kidney failure.

please dont give people faulse security based on what you believe to be or not be true just because its your opinion. its not fair on them or their pets.

if it had been proven that this was causing 1000's of bird deaths im pretty sure nobody on here would be saying "we can all relax" would they
 
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I think that Ochratoxin A represents an issue of concern. It may be present in variuos food products as a result of improper storage conditions. There are diseases known to be related to the exposure to Ochratoxin A such as fatal Balkan endemic nephropathy, a non-curable disease, and chronic interstitial nephropathy in Tunisia. Ochratoxicosis plays a role in poultry and pig industries. Ochratoxin has been isolated in 1965. Ochratoxin is genotoxic and thus cancerogenic. Genetic predisposition to be involved is likely. There is intense ongoing research (about 80 papers alone in 2007). The difficulty is that very little is known about the long-term effects of exposure to low doses.
 
nuttybulldog said:
what in gods name has the ancient mediterranean civilzation being based on the cultivation of grapes, wheat and olives got to do with the original post, and who are you to tell people to relax when this in fact a very serious matter.
Click to expand...


My point is simply that grapes have been grown and eaten for a very long time. It's not a new unknown/untested product. They have been around for centuries. I believe that in some wine producing countries the solids from the pressings are fed to pigs.

Some earlier posts have implied that this problem is to do with toxins in a mould. Obviously mouldy food of any sort should not be fed to any animals.

I'm sorry about your friends pets but I do think we need to keep a sense of proportion here. I do have mammal pets but have never thought of feeding them grapes, don't really think I'm alone on this either.
 
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