pet food recall

Pet food recall spurs demand for organic, more natural food

2007-04-01T18:52:00.001-07:00

CINCINNATI ---- Debra Tarter's 2-year-old boxer, Patchez, is just like a member of the family. That's why the national recall of the dog food that Patchez had been eating for two years prompted Tarter to switch to brands that cost twice as much, but contain organic and natural ingredients."My children are grown, and Patchez is our baby," said Tarter, 55, of Cincinnati. "We would pay anything to keep her safe."
And pay she does. Tarter, who has taken Patchez for tests to make sure that her kidneys weren't damaged by the recalled food, had been paying 84 cents a can for the recalled wet food she mixed with a dry food costing about $20 per 16-pound bag. Now she pays $1.69 a can and $40 a bag for a brand with more-natural ingredients.
Concerned pet owners such as Tarter are helping to increase already booming sales of organic and natural pet food, according to industry officials and store owners. An executive at Wild Oats Markets Inc., the specialty food chain that caters to health-minded consumers, says that it's still a little early to measure the recall's impact on the natural and organic food segment for pets that has been growing at 15 percent to 25 percent a year."People are extending their food ethic to their whole family, including the pets," said Rickard Werner, director of dry grocery for Wild Oats, based in Boulder, Colo.Daryl Meyerrenke, owner of Anderson Township Family Pet Center in suburban Cincinnati, will be stocking an extra brand of organic pet food this week, spurred by increased customer demand for organic and natural products since the recall."The demand for healthier pet food has been skyrocketing over the past few years, but since this recall, I've had a lot more people coming in asking for organic products," Meyerrenke said. "Sometimes it's not even organic they want ---- just a higher-quality food with more natural ingredients."Before the recall, Meyerrenke had carried only one brand of organic dog food costing about $15 for a 5-pound bag. He has added a second organic brand.Grocery stores charge as low as around $2 for a 5-pound bag of nonorganic brands.But Meyerrenke stocks more than 30 dog-food brands, many of which include ingredients such as carrots, rice, broccoli and even cottage cheese and often are geared specifically for dogs with sensitive stomachs or allergies.As far as taste goes, Meyerrenke said, "dogs don't turn their noses up at much. They'll usually eat what's there. It's the owners that sometimes decide what they think looks tastier or more appealing."Menu Foods Inc., which makes pet food for most of North America's top retailers, recently recalled 95 brands of products believed to be responsible for the deaths of cats and dogs around the country. A veterinarians information service said Tuesday that it had reports of 104 animal deaths. The maker of the recalled pet food has confirmed the deaths of only 16 pets.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that it found melamine in samples of the Menu Foods pet food, as well as in wheat gluten used as an ingredient in the wet-style products. The FDA was working to rule out the possibility that the contaminated wheat gluten could have made it into any human food, but was not aware of any risk to people.It wasn't immediately clear whether the melamine, a chemical used to make plastics, was the culprit in the deaths of the cats and dogs and the illnesses of hundreds more, said Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine.Shelley Gunton, co-owner of Clackamas, Ore.-based Castor & Pollux Pet Works, reported an uptick in orders from stores. She also reported that she has received 10 times the number of usual hits to the pet product company's Web site."This is going to reinforce to pet parents that there are choices," said Gunton, whose company makes organic and natural pet foods.Proponents of natural and organic pet foods and treats say that those products can help prevent disease in dogs and cats. Some products avoid chemical preservatives, fats, fillers, salt and sugar. Others are free of ingredients exposed to pesticides, herbicides or insecticides that also may harm pets.Dog and cat food sales in the United States reached more than $14.3 billion in 2005, according to the Pet Food Institute that represents manufacturers of commercial pet food. Surveys by the Organic Trade Association indicated that sales of organic pet food increased from $14 million in 2003 to $30 million for 2005.The fast growth of the organic pet food industry and disagreement about what qualifies as organic food led to the creation of an Organic Pet Food Task Force. The task force has proposed labeling standards that organic manufacturers would have to meet in addition to existing requirements that apply to all pet foods. A committee of the USDA's National Organic Standards Board is reviewing the standards that could go into effect by 2008."Hopefully, it will clear up a lot of confusion and let consumers know more what they are getting when they buy pet food," said task force member Rochelle Lavens, president of Heidi's Homemade Inc., an organic dog and cat bakery in Columbus.Meyerrenke, who has been in the pet store business for 34 years, said that pet owners have become much more selective."People have increasingly elevated pets to family member status," Meyerrenke said. "And that means doing what you can to keep them healthy."Associated Press writers Anne D'Innocenzio Dan Sewell contributed to this report.

Pet Food Recall Continues To Grow

2007-04-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Pittsburgh-based Del Monte Foods is adding some of its products to the long list of recalled pet food.
The company is voluntarily recalling several pet treats including Gravy Train Beef Sticks dog snacks and Pounce, Meaty Morsels Chicken Flavor cat treats.
Ol' Roy jerky strips and snack sticks have also been recalled.
Del Monte said it was recalling the food after learning that the wheat gluten supplied to it from a Chinese plant contained melamine.
No other Del Monte products are part of the recall.
On Saturday, Nestle Purina also added Alpo to the recall list.
Alpo's "prime cuts in gravy" wet dog food was pulled from store shelves.
A dry cat food was also added to the list of recalled items Saturday -- the first dry food on the list. Hill's Pet Nutrition said its Prescription Diet M/D feline dry food also included the tainted wheat gluten.

Pet food recall spreads, and so does confusion

2007-04-01T18:49:00.000-07:00

The exact nature of the contamination that has led to an expanding North American pet food recall and reports of thousands of sick pets is a mystery that's confounding toxicologists.
It's also confusing pet owners who were told two weeks ago that all potentially contaminated food had been recalled only to learn over the weekend that it wasn't so.
Since Friday, three other pet food makers have recalled small amounts of pet treats, more wet dog foods and one dry cat food. They join Menu Foods, which in mid-March recalled more than 60 million cans and pouches of wet dog and cat food.
The contaminant is now believed to be the chemical melamine, which is used in the making of plastics and as a slow-release fertilizer, the Food and Drug Administration says. It was found in wheat gluten imported from China and used by Menu Foods and other makers, the FDA says. But toxicologists question whether it is toxic enough to cause kidney failure in animals.
The FDA has not publicly identified the firm that supplied the contaminated wheat gluten to the USA. But on Friday, the agency issued an import alert — found on its website — saying wheat gluten from the Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. of Peixian, China, could be detained without inspection until it produced results from "the firm's investigation(s) into the problem of melamine contamination" and documents showing that corrective action had been taken.
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Since Friday, the FDA has tracked potentially contaminated wheat gluten shipments to Hill's Pet Nutrition, Nestlé Purina PetCare and Del Monte Pet Products. All three companies issued recalls of various pet food products.
The expanding list has pet owners reeling. "Consumers are now in a panic, and they don't know what to do," says Mark Witriol, co-owner of Pet Food Express, which has 31 stores in the San Francisco area.
Wheat gluten in wet pet foods is largely used as a binding agent. In dry foods, it's used as a cheap source of protein. Wheat gluten is also used in some human foods and is an important component of flour, allowing bread to rise. The contaminated batch of wheat gluten is not believed to have been used in any foods for humans.
Whether other pet food makers may have received wheat gluten with melamine is unclear. The FDA said Friday that it was tracking down companies that may have received contaminated wheat gluten.
A New York state laboratory first said it discovered a rat poison in samples of Menu's recalled pet food on March 23. The FDA's chief veterinarian, Stephen Sundlof, said Friday that the agency's laboratories had not been able to reproduce those findings. A statement from New York agriculture commissioner Patrick Hooker said her agency stands by its findings.
The FDA has registered 14 animal deaths, 13 cats and one dog, officially connected to the recall. By Friday, the agency had received more than 8,800 calls from pet owners but hasn't had time to investigate those reports, Sundlof says.
Though the industry expressed relief that the culprit appears to have been found, toxicologists are baffled. Scientific literature says melamine is not very toxic, says Steven Hansen, a veterinary toxicologist and director of the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center in Urbana, Ill.
Levels for the melamine were as high as 6.6% of the wheat gluten, FDA's Sundlof says.
That would mean if a wet pet food contained even 5% wheat gluten, it would have 3,300 parts per million melamine, Hansen says.
But a study on dogs in 1953 fed them 30,000 parts per million of melamine for one year and "nothing happened," says James Popp, president of the Society of Toxicology.
Hansen notes that cats are more sensitive to toxins than dogs.

FDA Finds Chemical In Recalled Pet Food

2007-03-30T22:07:00.000-07:00

RICHMOND, Va. -- Government testing of recalled pet food linked to dog and cat deaths has found a chemical used to make plastics. The recall also expanded Friday to include the first dry pet food.
The Food and Drug Administration said it found melamine in samples of the Menu Foods pet food, as well as in wheat gluten used as an ingredient.
Meanwhile, Hill's Pet Nutrition recalled its Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry cat food. The food included wheat gluten from the same supplier that Menu Foods used. The recall didn't involve any other Prescription Diet or Science Diet products, said the company, a division of Colgate-Palmolive Co.
Menu Foods officials Friday would not provide updated numbers of pets sickened or killed by its contaminated product.
Cornell University scientists also have found the chemical, also used as a fertilizer, in the urine and kidney of a sick cat.
Earlier results from a lab in New York had blamed a rodent poison and cancer drug called aminopterin for the deaths.
PETA Wants Bigger Recall
Meanwhile, some animal rights advocates say a pet-food recall does not go far enough.
The group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called on the government and pet food makers to expand the recall to include dry varieties, too.
Nearly 100 brands of pet food were recalled after animals suffered kidney failure. The recall involved "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat food. Some major brands, including Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba, were involved.
The Food and Drug Administration said it has no plans to suggest a wider recall and veterinarians said they've seen no trend of dogs and cats getting sick from eating dry food.

Pet Food Recall

2007-03-26T18:29:00.001-07:00

Dawn Wise's 3-year-old Shih Tzu died last week.
Wise says her veterinarian told her Daisy suffered kidney failure, likely caused by the food she was eating.
Daisy's and many other pet foods have been recalled after the company that produced the food received complaints about their foods causing kidney failure in dogs and cats.
A pet food recall was initiated recently by Menu Foods Income Fund, the leading North American private label/contract manufacturer of "wet" pet food products sold by retailers and wholesale outlets.
Menu Foods' recall includes several brands of dog and cat food it manufactured from last December to early March. The recall is limited to "cuts and gravy" style pet food in cans and pouches.
According to the Menu Foods Web site, www.menufoods.com, the company began a series of tests after receiving the complaints but has yet to identify any issues with its pet food products.
However, Menu Foods has discovered that timing of the production associated with these complaints coincides with the introduction of an ingredient from a new supplier. Menu Foods stopped using the ingredient shortly after receiving the complaints and production since then has used ingredients from another source.
Daisy was picky about the foods she ate, Wise said, so she was fed both Ol' Roy and Kroger's Pet Pride dog foods. Both have been recalled by Menu Foods.
Wise says she heard about the recall on the news but didn't know Daisy's food had been recalled until reading the complete list in a Lexington newspaper.
Wise took Daisy to The Animal Hospital, where she says Dr. Melinda Barber told her that Daisy had kidney problems likely caused by the food. Wise said Daisy had some ulcers in her mouth that Barber told her sometimes indicate kidney failure.
Wise said she has other dogs and cats that have eaten the same food Daisy had. Those animals, she said, haven't yet shown any symptoms of illness.
Dr. Keith Andrew of The Animal Hospital says the recall has created a lot of anxiety in local pet owners.
Andrew said The Animal Hospital staff has seen a couple of animals, including Wise's, that have eaten the recalled food and are now seeing what could be effects of the food. The office has also received dozens of calls about the recall.
According to Taylor County Animal Shelter Director John Harris, the shelter hasn't been affected by the recall. Harris said the shelter feeds its animals Alpo and dry food, which are not on the list of recalled foods.
As of Friday morning, Andrew said, what is causing the renal failure hasn't yet been determined.
"They don't know what's causing it," he said. "We don't know what do about it. It's pretty much a wait-and-see thing."
Andrew said veterinarians can perform tests to see if an animal is suffering from kidney failure. Symptoms of kidney failure, he said, include vomiting, weakness, mouth ulcers, loss of appetite, thirst and urination.
Dr. Clint Durham of Green River Veterinary Services says other symptoms could include acute weight loss and jaundice.
Durham said the number of animals affected by the food is small, but he has examined a few that have eaten the food and may be experiencing renal failure.
Durham said he's heard that wheat gluten containing toxins or rat poison containing a chemical used for cancer treatment may be causing the kidney failure. Wheat gluten, Durham said, is a source of protein. As of Friday morning, he said, the exact toxin hadn't yet been identified.
Other news reports say mold and heavy metal have already been eliminated and investigators are looking at the possibility of a pesticide or chemical having been used on the wheat in Menu Foods' dog and cat foods.
Durham said the toxin could also cause liver problems, and pets exhibiting any of the symptoms of kidney or liver failure should be taken to a veterinarian for blood and other tests.
For now, Andrew suggests that pet owners don't feed their animals any moist food until they're sure the food hasn't been recalled. He said he thinks retailers are accepting returns of the recalled food.
According to representatives from Wal-Mart's and Kroger's corporate offices, both retailers will accept returns of the recalled foods. In fact, according to the Kroger representative, the store's scanners have the ability to lock out certain UPC codes to ensure no recalled items are sold.
If pet owners notice their animals doing something out of the ordinary, Wise says to contact their vet immediately.
"You just don't always think that the strangest symptoms can be something so bad," she said.
"I don't want this to happen to someone else."
For a complete list of the pet foods recalled, see the sidebar to this story, visit Menu Food's Web site at www.menufoods.com/recall or call (866) 895-2708. More information about the recall can also be found on the American Veterinary Medical Association's Web site at www.avma.org.
Menu Foods Income Fund recently announced a precautionary recall of several brands of dog and cat food it manufactured between last December and March 6.
The recall is limited to "cuts and gravy" style pet food in cans and pouches. For more information, visit www.menufoods.com/recall or call (866) 895-2708.
Brands of food recalled include:
Cat Foods - America's Choice Preferred Pets, Authority, Best Choice, Companion, Compliments, Demoulas Market Basket, Eukanuba, Fine Feline Cat, Food Lion, Foodtown, Giant Companion, Hannaford, Hill Country Fare, Hy-Vee, Iams, Laura Lynn, Li'l Red, Loving Meals, Meijer's Main Choice, Nutriplan, Nutro Max Gourmet Classics, Nutro Natural Choice, Paws, Pet Pride, Presidents Choice, Price Chopper, Priority US, Save-A-Lot Special Blend, Schnucks, Science Diet Feline Savory Cuts Cans, Sophistacat, Special Kitty Canada, Special Kitty US, Springfield Prize, Sprout, Stop & Shop Companion, Tops Companion, Wegmans, Weis Total Pet, Western Family US, White Rose and Winn Dixie.
Dog Foods - America's Choice Preferred Pets, Authority, Award, Best Choice, Big Bet, Big Red, Bloom, Cadillac, Companion, Demoulas Market Basket, Eukanuba, Food Lion, Giant Companion, Great Choice, Hannaford, Hill Country Fare, Hy-Vee, Iams, Laura Lynn, Loving Meals, Meijers Main Choice, Mighty Dog Pouch, Mixables, Nutriplan, Nutro Max, Nutro Natural Choice, Nutro Ultra, Nutro, Ol'Roy Canada, Ol'Roy U.S., Paws, Pet Essentials, Pet Pride - Good 'n Meaty, Presidents Choice, Price Chopper, Priority Canada, Priority US, Publix, Roche Brothers, Save-A-Lot Choice Morsels, Schnucks, Shep Dog, Springsfield Prize, Sprout, Stater Brothers, Stop & Shop Companion, Tops Companion, Wegmans Bruiser, Weis Total Pet, Western Family US, White Rose, Winn Dixie and Your Pet.

Pet food recall: Area owners suspect link

2007-03-26T18:28:00.001-07:00

By Pat LewandowskiMontgomery Advertiser
MILLBROOK -- Ginger Thomas wants pet owners to realize the current pet food recall is no joke. The Millbrook woman's 14-year-old black poodle, Peppy, likely will die soon from kidney failure.
"People need to put all that food up and not use it," Thomas said Sunday as her dog struggled with symptoms linked to kidney failure. "I can't believe there are pet owners out there still feeding this food to their pets. They are not taking this seriously."
Thomas said Dr. A.D. Kocher of Ark Animal Hospital in Millbrook confirmed her dog was suffering from kidney failure, but could not link the pet food to the illness without more tests. They did find Peppy's favorite food, Ol' Roy, on the U.S. Food & Drug Administration list of recalled products.
More than 60 million containers of dog and cat food manufactured by Menu Foods under several brand names have been recalled, according to a statement on the FDA Web site. The FDA has estimated the number of animal deaths at 16, but Menu Foods officials have attributed only one death to the tainted food.
The FDA statement says "cuts and gravy" mixes sold in pouches and cans by Wal-Mart, Kroger, Safeway and other stores have been contaminated with aminopterin, a chemical used to treat cancer, induce abortions and kill rats. Its use as a rat poison is banned in the U.S.
While Peppy is being treated with antibiotics and IV therapy, Robert and Susan Farrell are mourning the death of Topaz, a 10-year-old Persian cat. They fed their two cats Special Kitty gravy mix as part of their regular diet over the last two years.
"Topaz was healthy, although we had her on Special Kitty for the last couple of years," said Robert Farrell of Prattville. "She started getting sick a little over a week ago."
On Tuesday, the Farrells were told the cat's kidneys were failing and she had to be euthanized.
Kocher also treated Topaz and discovered that the cat's enzyme levels were more than 15 times higher than a normal cat's, a condition that led to failure of the animal's kidneys.
"I took some biopsies of the animal's kidneys," Kocher said. "We don't know yet if the food caused the cat's kidney failure or not. We have been trying to get in touch with the federal health people to have the biopsies tested, but we don't know who to officially report it to. (The USDA's) phone lines have been busy every time we called."
Ginger Lyndall, manager of Pet Supplies Plus on East Boulevard in Montgomery, said the best thing pet owners can do is to look for information posted on the food manufacturer's and FDA Web sites.
"We've had a few concerned customers come in, but we don't stock many of the products that's involved in the recall," Lyndall said. "We have offered exchanges of food not listed on the recall just to make customers more comfortable."
Prattville Progress contributed to this report.

Pet food recall turns many to natural diet

2007-03-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

The recent recall of nearly 100 brands of canned pet food has many local pet owners worried about what to feed Spot and Fluffy.When Menu Foods Income Fund, a major animal-food manufacturer, recalled 95 pet food brands, animal shelters, stores and pet lovers across the country held their breaths and started checking labels. Scientists announced Friday that tests showed rat poison in the imported wheat was the toxic ingredient. While the company attempts to fix the problem, pet owners are stuck searching for alternative diets until the recall ends.Local veterinarians said their phones have been ringing off the hook."We're getting at least 30 calls a day," said Jennifer Wilson, a technician at Londonderry Animal Clinic. "We don't know anymore than they do at this point. It's hard. We're all reading off the same list."Wilson said people have been frantic and don't know what they can safely feed their animals."We've just been telling people to stick to dry food," Wilson said. "People just don't know what to do."Handel With Care Animal Hospital in Derry and the Plaistow Animal Medical Center reported receiving at least 10 phone calls a day regarding the recall. The callers' main concern was finding something safe to feed their pets.Nancy Rheaume of Derry was picking up food for her two dogs at Market Basket in Londonderry Friday. Laminated signs hung from the shelves to assure customers that all the recalled food had been removed from store shelves. Rheaume said she used to pay a lot extra for "premium" brands such as Iams (which recalled 23 different styles of canned and pouched food), and it was discouraging to see it show up on the list."I was very concerned," Rheaume said. "I considered doing a natural diet. I still buy regular food, but now I'll cook at home for them and mix it in."Mary Myatt of Londonderry said she also used to feed her pets Iams but has switched to a natural food brand. With a puppy and two cats at home, Myatt said, she was concerned when the recall was announced and immediately checked the list to make sure her pets had not been exposed."It's scary because this isn't just one brand," Myatt said. "You never know - they could find more and release a new number tomorrow."
Rheaume and Myatt aren't the only ones who have gone natural. Many people have dropped commercial pet foods altogether in exchange for an all-natural raw diet."I feed my cats raw organic chicken," said Judy Leclerec, a veterinarian at the Holistic Veterinary Center in Concord. "I'll steam some veggies for them, too, but cats don't need as many vegetables as dogs do, just more protein."Leclerec said an animal's diet, like a human's, has a major effect on its health, and changing from a commercial to a natural diet can make all the difference."If all you ever eat is McDonald's, your health is not going to be all that great," she said. "When I fed two of my cats a raw chicken diet, their coats improved a lot. When I switched to organic chicken, it got even better."For those who want to ease their pet in the raw diet direction, Leclerec suggests trying a brand of pre-made raw food."It's great because you just open it up and dump it in their bowl," Leclerec said. "It contains raw meats, but also a little vegetation."Shena Langston said she saw her cats' health improve after switching them to a raw diet. "I have three cats, and I was feeding them Nutro," Langston said. "They started to get really fat, so I switched all three to Innova EVO, a holistic diet. It's dry, but made with raw meat. They love it and are back in shape."Langston, who works at Pets Plus in Londonderry, said a lot of people have recently come into the store and switched to healthier food brands since the recall. There shouldn't be any ingredients in question when it comes to what people feed their pets, said Sandy Phillips, who owns Wholistic Pet, a food and supply store in Merrimack."No commercial dog food can meet the desired level of nutrition your pets need," Phillips said. "The meats that are used to make dog food are marked "unusable" and weren't safe for human consumption. It's void of nutrition."For those who are worried about how costly a raw or all-natural diet might be, Langston says it's not all bad news."The better quality foods will cost a little bit more than what you would pick up in the supermarket," she said, "But because there are no 'fillers' in a raw diet, the dogs tend to fill up quicker and eat less."
Phillips and Leclerec both recommend reading up on raw diets before a pet owner jumps in head first."Sometimes it's good to cook meats less and less until finally your pet will eat it raw," Phillips said. "Just like us, they need time to adjust to food changes."

Conflicting Information On Pet Food Recall

2007-03-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

(KDKA) PITTSBURGH There's new confusion about the recall of pet food contaminated with rat poison that may have killed dozens of cats and dogs.The confusion is over what the manufacturer says on its website and what operators on Menu Food's toll-free hotline are telling customers -- basically they're saying two different things.It all started with a call from a KDKA-TV viewer who claimed that the Dollar Wave store in Brentwood was still selling cans of "Cadillac" dog food that are part of the recall.We bought three cans and called the company's hotline where operators told us the food had been recalled.Then we checked the website, which says these particular cans are not on the list.Which left us and a lot of other people wondering -- which is right?We had already purchased several cans of Cadillac dog food by Menu from the Dollar Wave store before KDKA's Lynne Hayes-Freeland even asked for the manager.Kathy McMullan was well aware of the recall and the confusion surrounding the recall, when we began our conversation."I was called and told there were certain kinds and that this was one of the ones that wasn't part of the recall," said McMullan. "We had pulled them off all our stores, had pulled them off and we had checked into them and it wasn't one of the ones."If you look at the Menu Corporation's website the folks at Dollar Wave are correct.None of the products on the store shelf match the dates on the recalled products -- so they had every right to sell Cadillac dog food in their Pittsburgh stores.The trouble began when we called the company hotline.We were told something different?told the products we bought had been recalled.However, a company spokesman now says they hadn't been recalled?which all makes for a lot of confusion if you are a pet owner."I guess people just have to pay attention," said Marsha Posset of Brentwood. "Maybe the distributors need to call the stores that are selling it. Do they give them warning?"So, in a matter of days, Dollar Wave stores have had the pet food on the shelves, taken it off, put it back on and taken if off again -- all based on conflicting information from the company.Late today, a Menu spokesman said their website is the Bible when it comes to recall information but you may want to do some homework of your own.That spokesman, Sam Bornstein, couldn't explain why operators, who were obviously checking our UPC numbers and use-by dates on a computer, said these cans of dog food are part of the recall, when the website says they're not?and it wasn't just one time.We called the hotline twice and both times we were told these cans are recalled.We'll continue to try and get to the bottom of this, but in the meantime consumers may want to think twice about feeding their pets brands on the recall list.

Call 3: Company Seeks To Clarify Pet Food Recall List

2007-03-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

Menu Foods Promises To Pay Vet Bills For Sickened Pets
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Pet owners are continuing to get conflicting information about the Menu Foods pet food recall.
Meanwhile, owners of more Northern California cats and dogs said their pets are getting sick after consuming the food.
Menu Foods emphasized Monday that the recall does not include all of the pet foods it produces, but just the cuts and gravy products.
Meanwhile, pet owners are searching for answers and alternatives.
Susan and Gary Jerue said their 7-month-old Boxer mix got very sick last November. They took Cody to a veterinarian, but the dog died just a few days later. The vet said the pet died from kidney failure, likely from poisoning.
Gary Jerue said he looked all around the family home for any poisons but could not find anything that may have killed Cody.
Cody died months before the Menu Foods recall, but the Jerues checked the recall list and found Cody's food on it. They suspect the food was to blame.
The Jerues spent about $800 for vet care for Cody.
Menu Foods said Friday it will take responsiblity if pets got sick or died from eating the recalled food.
Call 3 on Monday called the Menu Foods consumer hot line at 1-866-895-2708. The company has hired a professional firm to manage customer concerns.
Meanwhile, Whole Foods is reporting that sales of organic pet food have spiked as customers scramble to find safe alternatives.
As for the Jerues, they have been feeding their remaining pets dry dog food.
They may never know for sure if Cody at tainted food, but they believe he did.
Consumers whose pets get sick are asked to keep their vet records, bills, pet food receipts or the food itself.

Pet food recall has little impact here

2007-03-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

Menu Foods Income Fund, a Canadian-based pet food packaging company, announced a precautionary recall of about 50 pet food brands March 16, but the recall hasn't had much impact locally.Maura Davies, director of communications for the SPCA of Texas, said the company has recalled a portion of dog and cat food that was manufactured between Dec. 3, 2006, through March 6, 2007."Mainly, it's the wet variety or stuff that's put in the small foil packages," Davies said.The questionable lots, Davies said, were produced at facilities in the United States.So far, Davies said there has not been a large number of food shortages and only a small percentage of pets have been affected."What they found is a small number of animals that ate the food went into kidney failure," Davies said. Jay Schoenfield, store manager at an area PetSmart, said his store hasn't really been affected by the pet food recall."Some of our shelves are empty due to the recall, but we're offering alternatives," Schoenfield said. "PetSmart has a lot more food than a grocery store, so it hasn't affected us as much."Schoenfield said he has had several inquiries from customers concerned about a pet food shortage."A lot of people just have been given misinformation," Schoenfield said. "We've taken a lot of phone calls and walk-ins."PetSmart, Schoenfield said, is offering comparable products for the recalled food. Schoenfield said pet owners should know that not all pet food is recalled."There are plenty of alternatives," Schoenfield said. "There's plenty of dry dog and cat food around."Davies said she doesn't anticipate seeing a pet food shortage but said all pet owners should take precautions."If they see any questionable symptoms in their pet at all, they should bring it to their veterinarian," Davies said.Some of the questionable symptoms or behaviors Davies said pet owners should look out for are loose stool, vomiting, seizures and noted lethargy.Davies said she also recommends pet owners visit the Web site www.menufoods.com/recall or see which pet food brands have been recalled."They can choose any food that falls out of this date range," Davies said.One thing pet owners should not do, Davies said, is switch pets from a soft food to hard food."That's going to be tougher on their pets," Davies said. "It is in the pet's best interest to keep serving them the same type of food."Pet owners who are looking for other food options should seek the advice of a veterinarian, Davies said."Short range, people can work with their veterinarian to see what people food would be good short term," Davies said. "The best thing nutritionally for pets is pet food."Davies said the best measure pet owners can take to keep their pets safe is to be alert and stay informed."As long as people are tending to their pets well-being and working with their vets, that's the best thing you can do," she said. "It's important to keep a sharp eye out for anything out of the ordinary."For more information on which pet food brands have been recalled, go to Menu Food Income Fund Web site at www.menufoods.com/recall or call 1-866-895-2708.

Pet food recall sparks panic among owners

2007-03-26T09:25:00.001-07:00

At first, the pet food recall didn't much worry Jack Friedman. His cats love Iams canned food but had never eaten the "cuts and gravy" style that was part of a massive, nationwide recall of tainted dog and cat food Monday.Then Friedman, 58, of Melville, read that aminopterin -- a chemical used in rat poison and chemotherapy treatment -- was found in the recalled food.

On Saturday morning, he loaded a bundle of Iams cans -- types that were not on the recall list -- in his car and drove to PetSmart in Huntington Station to ask for a refund."I didn't want to take a chance," said Friedman, who got the $22 refund and loaded his shopping cart with another brand. "It's twice the price, but hey, my cats are worth it."News that rat poison played a role in the recall sent a new wave of panic through local pet owners. At least 15 cats and one dog nationwide have died from kidney failure."The thought of feeding them food that had rat poison is just repulsive," said Andrea Rothbort, 38, of Old Bethpage, who was trying to find out yesterday whether her two dogs ate tainted food while staying at an animal hospital.More than 90 dog and cat foods were recalled, including popular brand names like Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet and Nutro. While the companies mandate individual recipes, the foods were manufactured by Ontario, Canada-based Menu Foods.Menu Foods asked that the recalled products be pulled from stores, and Saturday there were many empty shelves in area pet food shops.Following the recall, a Merrick couple filed suit against Menu, alleging their bull mastiff died after eating tainted food.Veterinary offices -- already deluged with complaints of animals sickened by food -- got another surge of calls after the disclosure of the rat poison found in the food. At Long Island Veterinary Specialist in Plainview, three dogs were being kept overnight for signs of kidney failure induced by tainted pet food, said veterinarian Gregory Panarello."It's a huge concern," said Panarello, who estimated that 75 percent of emergency visits Saturday were owners concerned their pets ate tainted food.At Pet Boutique in Manhasset, owner Maxwell Beretsky said pet owners using perfectly safe food not on the recall list want to switch brands, while others have stopped using canned food altogether. Beretsky said he received dozens of phone calls Saturday from customers asking for advice.Sharon Feldman, of Babylon, pored over the ingredient list on several bags of cat food at Pet.Smart before choosing one."I'm kind of leery about buying any pet food now," said Feldman, 47, who owns five cats and takes care of five others. "With rat poison, you don't know what's going on -- whether it was sabotage, or if it was just a mistake." Federal and state officials have said they have not ruled out sabotage.The dog run in Huntington's West Hills Park buzzed about the revelation. Mitch Fantel, 46, of Centereach, could barely contain his anger. "Where is the trust now?" said Fantel, who said he feeds Sabret, his 1-year-old mixed breed, "what's on sale.""Who can you believe? It concerns me that there are people who think these pets are not important and would poison them."

Recall shows pet food equality

2007-03-26T09:24:00.001-07:00

Tainted high-end products leave some owners stunned.
Published Sunday, March 25, 2007
ST. LOUIS (AP) - When dog lover Carol Will heard that tainted wheat gluten had spurred a pet food recall, she wasn’t surprised to find out the commodity ingredient was used in a lot of generic brands like Hy-Vee and Price Chopper.
But Nutro Natural Choice? That’s top-shelf stuff.
"That made me sit up and say: ‘Wait a second, I need to look into this further,’ " Will recalled.
Will has more than her own pets to worry about. She makes a living selling high-end dog food - along with doggy dresses and raincoats - at her store, Lola & Penelope’s Premier Pet Boutique and Wellness Center.
Will stakes her business on assuring customers the food they buy is healthy. That’s why they spend $58 for a 20-pound bag of dog food made with free-range chicken.
That Will was worried she might be hit by the recall highlights a question that pet owners around the country are facing: Are luxury pet food brands much different from the cheaper stuff?
"The foods are basically the same, up to a point," said David Kirkpatrick, spokesman for the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Pet food companies distinguish the more expensive brands by blending in higher-quality ingredients like canola oil, lamb meat or vitamin supplements. But a few building block ingredients are common to almost any pet food brand for sale in a typical grocery store aisle, Kirkpatrick said.
Commodity products like corn gluten, wheat gluten and meat meal form the nutritional backbone of a many pet foods, said Robert Backus, assistant professor of small animal nutrition at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
"You’ll find those in many of the dry types of pet food and canned foods," Backus said.
That’s why 95 brands of pet food were caught up in the recent recall, when just one manufacturer was found to have tainted ingredients. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets said Friday that rat poison was found in products made by Menu Foods Inc.
Inspectors thought wheat gluten found in the products was linked to the deaths of at least 16 cats and dogs nationwide. The tainted ingredient led to the recall of 60 million cans and pouches of Menu Foods pet foods nationwide.
The recall caught many consumers off guard.
Julie Benesh said she was surprised to find cans of Iams cat food in her pantry that had serial numbers showing they were part of the recall. She thought she was feeding her three cats food that was made with higher-end ingredients than generic brands.
"When I stopped about three years ago giving them supermarket brands, I thought I was really upgrading," Benesh said.
Backus said consumers can check the ingredient labels on their pet food to see what it’s made of. But even that can be tricky. Cheaper brands might be made of "meat meal" while higher-end brands have ingredients listed simply as beef or chicken.
Consumers who really want to dig deep can compare ingredients with a more extensive list kept by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, Backus said. The group defines how ingredients are listed.
Meat meal, for example, can contain any kind of animal tissue, but no hoofs or hair. "Poultry byproduct meal" can contain chicken feet and other meat, but no feathers, Backus said.
St. Louis-based Nestle Purina PetCare Company declined to say just how it adds value to these basic products to make a spectrum of pet foods. The company recalled Mighty Dog brand pouch products that were produced by Menu Foods between Dec. 3 and March 14.
Although customers might not know the exact blend of their pet food, manufacturers must list food ingredients ranked by their prevalence, with majority ingredients listed first.
Will said she tells her customers to stick to products that have simple ingredients listed first, like turkey or rice. She said none of the boutique brands she carries were affected by the recall.
If customers don’t want to pay top dollar - or spend time researching every ingredient in the food - they can always ask their veterinarian which pet food is best, Kirkpatrick said.
Benesh, for one, said she wouldn’t mind spending a little more to ensure her cats’ food isn’t made with run-of-the-mill ingredients.
"That way what I’m getting is quality," she said.

Correction: Pet food recall story

2007-03-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

The company said Saturday the recall still applies only to products packaged from Dec. 3 to March 6. Retailers were advised Friday to remove all the products from their shelves in order to verify the dates they were packaged, but products not made between those dates can still be sold

FYI: Online lists, toll-free numbers available regarding pet food recall

2007-03-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday, March 25, 2007
Q: Can you give me any information on the recent recall of pet food that was supposedly contaminated with poison? Any phone numbers or hot lines I can call about recalled products?
A: The possible contamination with wheat gluten in pet foods came to light last week. One of the companies involved is Menu Foods, based in Ontario, Canada.
A complete is of the recalled products along with their product codes, descriptions and production dates is now online for interested pet owners to access at www.menufoods.com/recall.
The company has also designated two phone numbers that pet owners can call for information. Call toll-free at 1-866-463-6738 or 1-866-895-2708.
Stumped? Ask us. The FYI column is designed to let readers e-mail (to lufnews@coxnews.com) or call in (to 637-NEWS) questions you want answered, whether about road construction, how-to tips, trivia or other information.
You do not have to leave your name. You also can use that e-mail address or phone number to give us a news tip — anonymously, if you'd like. (We do not have Caller ID on the phone line.)

Tainted pet food producer expands recall

2007-03-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

MONTREAL (AFP) - The Canadian company that sold tainted pet food blamed for at least 14 pet deaths expanded its product recall Saturday, saying it worried consumers could still find the products on store shelves.
Toronto-based Menu Foods said some of its pet foods, possibly tainted with a toxin used as rat poison, were still being sold.
The company said store owners should remove all of its products, regardless of the production date.
"As a result of reports from the FDA (US Federal Drug Administration) and various media outlets that some recalled lots of 'cuts and gravy' style wet pet food remain on store shelves, Menu Foods has asked all retail outlets to immediately remove all impacted varieties of wet pet food posted at www.menufoods.com, regardless of the date code," the company said in a statement.
"Menu Foods remains concerned that consumers are able to purchase recalled items," it said.
"There is no known risk from items not listed on the recall list but an abundance of caution is called for in this situation. FDA has been apprised of this action," it said.
Last week the Menu Foods recalled 60 million cans and pouches of food made in the United States and sold under 95 different brand names after reports that house pets were falling sick and dying after eating the some of their products.
On Friday US scientists in New York identified a toxin used for rat poison in the tainted pet food.
The toxin, called aminopterin, can cause cancers and birth defects in humans and kidney damage in cats and dogs.
Menu Foods President Paul Henderson said Friday the company would compensate owners of animals that died or became ill from its products, but did not know how the toxin got into their products.
ABC television reported that the toxin had been found in wheat imported from China used in the pet food.
Several lawsuits have been filed in US and Canadian courts following the pet deaths.

Shelters Deal With Pet Food Recall

2007-03-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

FORT WORTH Some animal shelters are seeing a decline in the number of animals being adopted. This "adoption anxiety," as some are calling it, may be due to the recent pet food recall.The Altchel's are looking for a playmate for Rags. They say after Menu Foods recalled more than 50 kinds of wet pet food, they were worried about the health of a shelter dog."We did think about pets being here and eating wet food," said Rosely Altchel. "We don't know what they feed them."The Humane Society of North Texas' manager says there is no need to worry. They only feed their animals dry food. They say it's cheaper and better for them."Animals' teeth remain much healthier if they're fed dry food, that helps keep their teeth cleaner," said Peggy Brown-Aguilar, HSNT. "The canned food leads to gum and teeth problems for dogs and cats that are fed nothing but canned food long term."The Humane Society wants people to feel good about adopting dogs and cats. They say they've gone to great lengths to make sure their animals didn't get a hold of any of the contaminated pet food."We're checking all the food that's been donated, and we're checking all the food that's been stored here," Brown-Aguilar said. "We've gone through everything. We've pulled out anything that was suspect or that was on the list of recalled food that could be suspect."With that peace of mind, Dan Altchel says he's gonna focus on what's important."We have to find one that fits into the family, and Rags is part of the family too. If she doesn't like her, we gotta start looking again," he said.
Kimberly Ball
(CBS 11 News)

Pet food recall has little impact here

2007-03-26T09:19:00.001-07:00

Pet Food Recall Leaves Many Blaming Manufacturer

2007-03-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

After more than a dozen deaths, many are blaming Menu Foods for the nationwide pet food recall and think they should be held responsible . The recall has not been expanded and still applies to foods listed on the Menu Foods Web site since March 16. The recall affects the “Cuts and Gravy” style pet food, manufactured between December 3 and March 6. Pet owners who have spent hundreds of dollars in veterinary bills think Menu Foods should be responsible. The recall list includes major pet food brands such as Eukanuba and Iams. So far, at least 16 animals have died from eating...
...contaminated food. It's believed that a form of rat poison has contaminated the foods being recalled and is causing kidney failure in pets. Manufacturers are urging pet owners to look for symptoms including loss of appetite, weakness, and changes in how much water pets are drinking and how frequently they're going to the bathroom. They also said people should save the vet records and receipts for pet food purchases if they still have them. For more information on the recall, visit www.menufoods.com .

Pet food recall turns many to natural diet

2007-03-26T09:08:00.000-07:00