Pet food recall...Heads up!

Cassie · Mar 17, 2007

I generally only post in the cat forum but since this effects dog foods too, I figured I should cross post it here also.

From: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070316/...et_food_recall

Menu foods said they'll be posting a more comprehensive list of products effected on their website (listed below) sometime tomorrow.

Pet deaths prompt recall of pet food

By ANDREW BRIDGES, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 25 minutes ago

A major manufacturer of dog and cat food sold under Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger and other store brands recalled 60 million containers of wet pet food Friday after reports of kidney failure and deaths.

An unknown number of cats and dogs suffered kidney failure and about 10 died after eating the affected pet food, Menu Foods said in announcing the North American recall. Product testing has not revealed a link explaining the reported cases of illness and death, the company said.

"At this juncture, we're not 100 percent sure what's happened," said Paul Henderson, the company's president and chief executive officer. However, the recalled products were made using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, since dropped for another source, spokeswoman Sarah Tuite said. Wheat gluten is a source of protein.

The recall covers the company's "cuts and gravy" style food, which consists of chunks of meat in gravy, sold in cans and small foil pouches between Dec. 3 and March 6 throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

The pet food was sold by stores operated by the Kroger Company, Safeway Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and PetSmart Inc., among others, Henderson said.

Menu Foods did not immediately provide a full list of brand names and lot numbers covered by the recall, saying they would be posted on its Web site — http://www.menufoods.com/recall — early Saturday. Consumers with questions can call (866) 463-6738.

The company said it manufacturers for 17 of the top 20 North American retailers. It is also a contract manufacturer for the top branded pet food companies. Its three U.S. and one Canadian factory produce more than 1 billion containers of wet pet food a year. The recall covers pet food made at company plants in Emporia, Kan., and Pennsauken, N.J., Henderson said.

Henderson said the company received an undisclosed number of owner complaints of vomiting and kidney failure in dogs and cats after they had been fed its products. It has tested its products but not found a cause for the sickness.

"To date, the tests have not indicated any problems with the product," Henderson said.

The company alerted the Food and Drug Administration, which already has inspectors in one of the two plants, Henderson said. The FDA was working to nail down brand names covered by the recall, agency spokesman Mike Herndon said.

Menu Foods is majority owned by the Menu Foods Income Fund, based in Ontario, Canada.

Henderson said the recall would cost the company the Canadian equivalent of $26 million to $34 million.
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DMikeM · Mar 18, 2007

It is amazing how many brand names are effected by this recall.

http://www.menufoods.com/recall/

Even Nutro is on the list.

tuttifrutti · Mar 18, 2007

I hope it doesn't wind up affecting dry food...all my animals are on Nutro.

Cassie · Mar 20, 2007

RECALL UPDATE!

It appears that they have added more foods and more batches to the recall list, so be sure to check the site again. www.menufoods.com/recall. And a page for direct contact/questions.

It's still limited to wet canned and packet foods though.

Samsintentions · Mar 21, 2007

Thats horrifying...

Purina..thats why i stick to PRO PLAN!!!!

Cassie · Mar 24, 2007

Another important update:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=29...page=1&US=true

March 23, 2007 — ABC News has learned that investigators have determined that a rodent-killing chemical is the toxin in the tainted pet food that has killed several animals.

A source close to the investigation tells ABC News that the rodenticide, which the source says is illegal to use in the United States, was on wheat that was imported from China and used by Menu Foods in nearly 100 brands of dog and cat food.

Watch "World News" for full details on the extent of the poisoning.

A news conference is scheduled for this afternoon by experts in Albany, N.Y., where scientists at the state's food laboratory made the discovery a week after a massive recall of 60 million cans and pouches was issued.

The chemical is called aminopterin.

What investigators can't say so far is whether this is the only contaminant, if it is in all of the recalled food, or if it's in enough quantity in to sicken more animals.

There is some good news according to the source. Knowing the chemical should aid veterinarians who are treating animals that have been sickened by the pet food.

Aminopterin is used in the United States in, of all things, a cancer drug, according to the source.

For a week, investigators have been looking for a cause behind the 15 confirmed pet food deaths tied to contaminated pet food. Many animal doctors, including those at New York's Animal Medical Center, suspect there will be a much larger rash of cases after they learned about an additional 200 reported cases of kidney failure in animals.

Doctors at the hospital, which is considered the Mayo Clinic of veterinary medicine, say they noticed the kidney failure while studying sick animals from last Friday to Monday, and traced the cases back to the 60 million cans and pouches of recalled food from Menu Food.

"I was shocked and surprised — acute kidney failure is not a common problem," veterinarian Cathy Langston told ABC News. "I've already heard about 200 cases, and so I bet that there are probably going to be thousands."

So far, the government and the pet food maker, which sells food under 91 brand names, have confirmed 15 deaths. But the investigation to locate the toxic contaminant that caused the kidney failure in animals had not pointed to a cause until today.
Quote:
"This is very much like finding a needle in a haystack," Don Smith of the Cornell Veterinary School said earlier this week. "We're going to keep working at this until we find the cause."

Investigators had already begun looking at the possibility that a pesticide or chemical may have been on the wheat used to produce the Menu Foods dog and cat food.

The Food and Drug Administration, which was notified of the tainted food one day before the recall, said it's frustrated and realizes the growing crisis is an emotional one.

"This is tragic," said Stephen Sundolf of the FDA's Veterinary Medicine group. "It is certainly uncommon. We expect pet food to be safe."

And it's a crisis, if the New York hospital is right, that may not end for weeks.

"I'm worried that there are more deaths to come from chronic renal failure over the next several months," Langston said. "It's not over."
Click to expand...

Very scary stuff

honeybears · Mar 24, 2007

What I find that versy disturbing, is it came from China, and I wonder if they dont have the same stringent requirements we do and that they are usign a pesticide thats banned here.

Whats very scary is whats to keep this from happening in wheat gluten in our food?

Cassie · Mar 24, 2007

What concerns me is that it's rat/rodent poison. And the wheat that is being imported from China is trickling into your food sources. Right now we're noticing it in pet food...No doubt it's in human food as well.

My question is why the FDA allows the import of wheat (when we're supposed to be the 'bread basket') that can be tainted by products that are banned here in the USA?

AND both the FDA and pet companies are down playing what's going on.

Very scary situation.

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