URGENT WARNING - Poison pet food - US & Canada

[11:11]

By Andrew Bridges, Associated Press
Last update: March 16, 2007 – 3:18 PM


WASHINGTON — 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.

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. 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 (800) 551-7392.

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.


http://www.startribune.com/535/story/1060197.html

[11:11]

Recalled Dog Product Information
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708
Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
Authority
Award
Best Choice
Big Bet
Big Red
Bloom
Bruiser
Cadillac
Companion
Demoulas Market Basket
Fine Feline Cat, Shep Dog
Food Lion
Giant Companion
Great Choice
Hannaford
Hill Country Fare
Hy-Vee
Key Food
Laura Lynn
Loving Meals
Main Choice
Mixables
Nutriplan
Nutro Max
Nutro Natural Choice
Nutro
Ol'Roy
Paws
Pet Essentials
Pet Pride
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority
Publix
Roche Bros
Save-A-Lot
Schnucks
Springsfield Pride
Sprout
Stater Bros
Total Pet, My True Friend
Western Family
White Rose
Winn Dixie
Your Pet

Recalled Cat Product Information
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708
Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
Authority
Best Choice
Companion
Compliments
Demoulas Market Basket
Fine Feline Cat, Shep Dog
Food Lion
Foodtown
Giant Companion
Good n Meaty
Hannaford
Hill Country Fare
Hy-Vee
Key Food
Laura Lynn
Li'l Red
Loving Meals
Main Choice
Nutriplan
Nutro Max Gourmet Classics
Nutro Natural Choice
Paws
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority
Save-A-Lot
Schnucks
Sophistacat
Special Kitty
Springfield Pride
Sprout
Total Pet, My True Friend
Wegmans
Western Family
White Rose
Winn Dixie

[Richard]

Thanks for the info 11:11, it’s amazing how many brands the affects. Luckily we feed our dog homemade food. :)

Pet owners worry about food recall

By MATTHEW VERRINDER Associated Press Writer

UNION, N.J. — Silviene Grzybowski became worried when her local pet store pulled the food she normally feeds her cat and posted an announcement saying it, and many other popular pet foods, had been recalled. Her cat, Smokey, hadn't been eating for days.

"The vet told us to buy her her favorite food, but I'm going to call the vet right now," Grzybowski said.

Menu Foods, the Ontario-based company that produced the pet food, said Saturday it was recalling dog food sold throughout North America under 48 brands and cat food sold under 40 brands including Iams[/b], Nutro[/b] and Eukanuba[/b]. The food was distributed by major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kroger and Safeway.

An unknown number of cats and dogs had suffered kidney failure and about 10 died after eating the affected pet food, the company said.

Two other companies — Nestle Purina PetCare Co[/b]. and Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc[/b]. — said Saturday that as a precaution they were voluntarily recalling some products made by Menu Foods.

Many stores that sold the affected brands frantically pulled packages off shelves.

Ron Finegold of Boynton Beach, Fla., said he noticed about a week or so ago that his family's 3-year-old cat — who was regularly fed a variety of Iams cat food — had stopped eating and did not appear well. He quickly took the animal to the veterinarian, who determined she was in renal failure.

He said he heard about the recall on the radio Friday night. He checked his trash, and found out he had given the cat some of the affected food.

"That's when I realized (the illness) had to be related," Finegold said. "She won't be eating that stuff anymore."

A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates was available from the Menu Foods Web site, http://www.menufoods.com/recall. The company also designated two phone numbers that pet owners could call for information — (866) 463-6738 and (866) 895-2708 — but callers kept the lines busy for much of Saturday.

Menu Foods' chief executive and president Paul Henderson told the Associated Press on Friday that the company was still trying to figure out what happened.

He said that the company had received an undisclosed number of owner complaints that dogs and cats were vomiting and suffering kidney failure after eating its products. He estimated that the recall would cost the company, which is mostly owned by the Menu Foods Income Fund, an estimated $26 million to $34 million.

Sarah Tuite, a company spokeswoman, has said the recalled products were made using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, which has since been dropped for another source. Wheat gluten is a source of protein.

Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman Julie Zawisza said it is still too early to determine what could have affected the food. Zawisza added that even if wheat gluten is the source "it doesn't necessarily mean the wheat gluten per se. It could be another substance associated with the wheat gluten."

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 from Dec. 3 to March 6.

In Omaha, Neb., Susan Balvanz said she sometimes feeds her five cats packets of sliced meat and gravy sold by Nutro Products, one of the brands affected.

"I've done so much research on pet food. It didn't surprise me but it scared me all the same," said Balvanz.

She said her 9-year-old cat, Boots, was especially fond of the food but seemed to have lost its appetite in the last few days.

At the Missouri Valley Veterinary Clinic in Bismarck, N.D., veterinarian Jacob Carlson has been referring worried pet owners to the Menu Foods web site.

"We've had a lot of calls," Carlson said, although none of his patients were sick.

The company said it makes pet food for 17 of the top 20 North American retailers. It is also a contract manufacturer for the top branded pet food companies, including Procter & Gamble Co

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/n...40659.html

[Mercy Now]

About a month ago,my 2 year old cat,Tupelo, died suddenly.I noticed she seemed to be urinating alot and seemed a bit lethargic but the vet thought it was just from being indoors so much during the bad weather.She was usually an indoor/outdoor cat. Then one night,late, she began to vomit and cry and before I knew it she was dead. My daughter who was home from college  had purchased a "treat" of canned food for her as I usually just fed her dry food .We've both forgotten the brand of the canned food but her symptoms seem to match that of kidney failure. 

People should also be aware that xylitol ,even in small doses, can be lethal to dogs.It is added many human foods? as a sweetner and is a sugar alcohol.I piece of candy or gum can potentially kill a dog.

[Richard]

I’m sorry to hear about you cat. It sounds like your cat might have gotten some of the bad food. It sounds like you might be able to get in on the class action lawsuit.

[AtMoS]

thank you very much for the post because i had like 5 cans of the contaminated food, so thank you so much. im sure my dog would thank you also:)

[Leftygrl]

Richard,

I'm interested in hearing about the homemade dog food that you give your dog... I've been considering going that route myself.

Sheri

[Richard]

Lefty, we have a very fussy Basenji and DT mixes up different formulations of food all the time. It seems like the most common one is a mixture of Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance dog food roll, turkey, and pasta. I’ll have to get DT to post her other recipes.

Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance is very good food and wasn’t involved in the recall.
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/

[DreamTime]

I don't have any real recipes. I just brown up either turkey or pork sausage - sometimes along with chicken gizzards - and I usually mix in some multi-grain rigatoni noodles. This time I tried mixing in ground turkey with diced ham (which I thought he would love as I've never made it with ham before), and since I felt that he wasn't getting enough vitamins (he won't eat any supplement tables), I mixed in some carrots. But now he won't even touch the food, even if I pick out the pieces of carrot. The food still SMELLS like carrots, so he won't go near it.

Like Richard said - he is the fussiest dog I have EVER seen. He won't even eat most dog treats. The only thing he will eat is (dog formula) chicken jerky or (human formula) beef jerky. Once in a while I will find a dog bone that he will chew on or, very rarely, I'll find a dog biscuit that he will eat. But he usually will just turn up his nose at most things that are intended for dogs. Sometimes he will actually put something in his mouth that I will offer him (before he knows what it is), and then, all of a sudden, you will see him open his mouth and use his tongue to push the food right out. He actually SPITS the food out of his mouth like a little child.  He is a spoiled, fat little puppy.

[Sily]

...He is a spoiled, fat little puppy...

I'd love to see what this little rascal looks like.  icon_lupe