Recall of tainted Pet Food Panics Animal Owners
Pastor Dale Morgan
Recall of tainted Pet Food Panics Animal Owners*
Sunday March 18, 2007 1:01 AM
By MATTHEW VERRINDER
Associated Press Writer
UNION, N.J. (AP) - Pet owners were worried Saturday that the pet food in
their cupboards could be deadly after millions of containers of dog and
cat food sold at major retailers across North America were recalled.
Menu Foods, the Ontario-based company that produced the pet food, said
Saturday it was recalling dog food sold under 48 brands and cat food
sold under 40 brands including Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba. The food was
distributed throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico 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.
Meanwhile, two other companies - Nestle Purina PetCare Co. and Hill's
Pet Nutrition Inc. - announced Saturday night that as a precaution they
were voluntary recalling some products made by Menu Foods.
Many stores that sold the affected brands frantically pulled packages
off shelves.
At a Petsmart store in Union, Silviene Grzybowski became worried when
the four types of Iams products she buys for her cat, Smokey, had
vanished from shelves. The cat was very sick and had not been eating for
days, she said.
``The vet told us to buy her her favorite food, but I'm going to call
the vet right now,'' Grzybowski said, looking at an announcement
Petsmart had taped to shelves announcing the recall.
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.
---
Associated Press writers Phyllis Mensing in Bismarck, N.D., and Rebecca
Santana in Trenton also contributed to this report.