[KukkoDrukko]

Pet Food Is Recalled After Link to Animal Deaths

By SAUL HANSELL
The New York Times
March 19, 2007

More than 60 million cans and pouches of dog and cat food sold under dozens of brand names were recalled on Saturday after being linked to the deaths of 10 animals.

The food was manufactured by Menu Foods, of Streetsville, Ontario, which makes wet food sold as store brands for companies like Wal-Mart, Kroger and Safeway.

The company also makes food on behalf of many brand-name pet food makers. Menu Foods said it had recalled some food made for the Iams unit of Procter & Gamble. Two other pet food companies — Nestlé Purina PetCare and Hills Pet Nutrition, the unit of Colgate-Palmolive that makes the Science Diet brand — recalled some of their products that were made by Menu Foods.

Menu Foods is recalling only certain gravy-style pet food in cans and pouches it made from Dec. 3 to March 6.

The company said in a statement that tests of its food had “failed to identify any issues with the products in question.” But it did associate the timing of the reported deaths with its use of a new supplier for wheat gluten, a source of protein. Sarah Tuite, a spokeswoman for Menu Foods, declined to name the supplier.

Menu Foods is providing information on what packages are being recalled at (866) 895-2708 or http://www.menufoods.com/recall/index.html.

The reported deaths of cats and dogs have been from kidney disease, Ms. Tuite said. Symptoms vary but can include lethargy, jaundice and vomiting, she said.

Kurt Weingand, a veterinarian and the associate director of external relations for Procter & Gamble’s pet care business, said that the company had been told of 20 cats that had developed kidney failure in the last two weeks. Of those, two have died. He said that the company did not know of any dogs that had been affected, but it recalled dog food that was made in the same Menu Foods plants as the suspect cat food.

Kidney failure is common in older cats; in younger animals it is associated with accidental poisoning, typically by antifreeze, Dr. Weingand said. The condition can be treated through hydration.

Ms. Tuite added that Menu Foods would compensate owners of pets that died, although she declined to say what the compensation would be. Pet owners who want to make a claim must mail documentation of their use of the affected products to the address on the company’s Web site, she said.

Menu Foods says it produces 1 billion cans and bags of wet food a year. Shares of the company’s stock fell by 26 percent on Friday, after it announced that the recall could cost it between $30 million and $40 million.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/19/bu...ew&oref=slogin

[Dildos]

Toll From Tainted Pet Food Is 14; F.D.A. Is Focusing on New Gluten

By KATIE ZEZIMA
The New York Times
Published: March 21, 2007

The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that five family pets had died as a result of eating contaminated food that is the subject of a widespread recall.

Fourteen animals have died after eating the food, said Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine, which is part of the F.D.A. The agency said that included nine animals that died as a result of taste tests administered by the manufacturer, Menu Foods.

Dr. Sundlof said that to his knowledge such tests were routinely administered to make sure that pets liked the taste of the products.

He said the agency had been flooded with calls, some reporting that pets died after eating. He said he believed that the official toll would increase.

The agency says it does not know what contaminated the nearly 100 brands of wet food. It is focusing on wheat gluten, a filler that gives the cuts-and-gravy-type food in the recall its gelatinous consistency.

Menu Foods, of Ontario, said the illnesses started with the introduction of a new supplier of wheat gluten to plants in Emporia, Kan., and Pennsauken, N.J. The F.D.A. has not released the name of the supplier.
The gluten is not used in dry pet food.

“One of the things we’re looking at is that toxins produced by mold potentially contaminated the wheat gluten,” Dr. Sundlof said.

He added that chemical contamination was also being investigated.

Dr. Sundlof said the agency believed that the problem was confined to the recalled products and that other types and brands of food had not been affected.

Most of the contaminated lots originated at the Emporia plant, which is fully operational, Dr. Sundlof said. It never had an agency inspection before the recall, he said, as such plants are usually inspected only for cause.

The New Jersey plant was inspected last year under the mad cow disease program because it produces feed for zoo animals.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/21/us/21petfood.html

[KellyLynchIV]

CORRECTION FROM SOURCE:
Menu Foods Income Fund Announces
Precautionary Dog and Cat Food Recall

newsblaze.com
CCN Matthews
March 16, 2007

TORONTO, ONTARIO - The following corrects and replaces the release sent on March 16, 2007 at 1351 ET. The telephone number for Consumers to contact should read 1-866-463-6738. The complete and corrected release follows.

NOT FOR RELEASE OVER US NEWSWIRE SERVICES

Attention Business/Financial Editors

Menu Foods Income Fund (the "Fund") (TSX:MEW.UN) today announced the precautionary recall of a portion of the dog and cat food it manufactured between December 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007. The recall is limited to "cuts and gravy" style pet food in cans and pouches manufactured at two of the Fund's United States facilities. These products are both manufactured and sold under private-label and are contract-manufactured for some national brands.

Over the past several days, the Fund has received feedback in the United States (none in Canada) raising concerns about pet food manufactured since early December, and its impact on the renal health of the pets consuming the products. Shortly after receipt of the first complaint, the Fund initiated a substantial battery of technical tests, conducted by both internal and external specialists, but has failed to identify any issues with the products in question. The Fund has, however, discovered that timing of the production associated with these complaints, coincides with the introduction of an ingredient from a new supplier. The Fund stopped using this ingredient shortly after this discovery and production since then has been undertaken using ingredients from another source.

At the same time, the Fund's largest customer, for which it manufactures on a contract basis, received a small number of consumer complaints and has initiated its own recall. Furthermore, for the time being, the customer has put future orders for cuts and gravy products on hold. This customer's cuts and gravy purchases in 2006 represented approximately 11% of the Fund's annual revenue.

"We take these complaints very seriously and, while we are still looking for a specific cause, we are acting to err on the side of caution" said Paul K. Henderson, President and CEO, Menu Foods. "We will do whatever is necessary to ensure that our products maintain the very highest quality standards."

While the number of complaints has been relatively small, Menu is taking this proactive step out of an abundance of caution, because the health and well-being of pets is paramount to the Fund.

In addition to changing suppliers, for production after March 6, the Fund has increased testing of all raw materials and finished goods. It is also working closely with regulatory authorities and its customers to learn more and will take whatever additional actions are appropriate. The Fund estimates that based on currently available information, this recall could cost between $30 million and $40 million, which will be financed from a combination of internally generated cash flow and bank credit facilities. Furthermore, the Fund is aggressively producing product, utilizing a different supplier for the ingredient in question, to replenish customers as quickly as possible.

In order to determine whether cat and dog food in their possession is subject to recall, consumers should refer to the list of brand names ("listed products") at www.menufoods.com/recall. This will be available by 6 a.m. Saturday March 17, 2007. Products not identified on the website can continue to be used.

Menu is the leading North American private-label/contract manufacturer of wet pet food products sold by supermarket retailers, mass merchandisers, pet specialty retailers and other retail and wholesale outlets. In 2006, the Fund produced more than one billion containers.
Website: www.menufoods.com

Copyright © 2007, NewsBlaze, Daily News

[L0KoxewQ]

That is a lot of food.

I love animals, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I just wonder what would happen if all of the money spent on pet food was used to buy food for hungry people.

Getting back to the topic, there was another type of pet food poisoning in the news yesterday from Hong Kong, where 2 labradoodles were poisoned to death while being walked on Bowen Road, a route that I often take when in HK as I lusually stay on the mid-levels there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowen_Road

Look down to "Dog Poisonings".

[limpoporanique]

MGP Ingredients' Wheat Gluten
Not Linked to Major Pet Food Recall

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/st...04550949&EDATE=

ATCHISON, Kan., March 21 / PRNewswire-FirstCall

Tim Newkirk, president and chief operating officer of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (Nasdaq:MGPI), a leading U.S. producer of wheat gluten, today issued a statement emphasizing that the company has no link to the pet food recall involving Canadian-based Menu Foods.

Although tests are still underway, the U.S. Foodand Drug Administration has reported that it suspects contaminated wheat gluten to be the possible ingredient that has led to the recall. "I want to assure pet owners, our customers, stockholders and employeesthat the safety and quality of wheat gluten produced by MGP Ingredients isnot in question and that our product is not associated with this sad andunfortunate situation," Newkirk said. "MGP Ingredients, which manufactures wheat gluten at plants in Atchison, Kansas and Pekin, Illinois, is among asmall handful of domestic producers of gluten.

This, combined with the fact that the gluten supplier to Menu Foods has not yet been disclosed and because certain media reports have fueled speculation and concern that a 'Kansas supplier' may be the source of the gluten in question, have causedpeople to inquire whether MGPI is involved. The answer is a definite no."

Newkirk acknowledged that MGPI has done business with Menu Foods in thepast, noting that the company's last shipment of wheat gluten to Menuoccurred over 18 months ago. "We have gone through periods in recent timeswhere we have been forced to curtail our production and sales of wheatgluten due to economic and trade factors that have not allowed us tocompete effectively with lower cost gluten imports," Newkirk said.

"MGPI has produced gluten since the 1950s and we pride ourselves in our expertiseand our high standards of quality," he added. The company's wheat gluten is sold for use mainly as an ingredient forimproving the rising ability and textural qualities of bread and otherbakery products. MGPI has also pioneered the development of a number ofspecialty wheat proteins and starches for use in multiple food systems, aswell as pet treats, biopolymers and personal care products. The company additionally produces food grade alcohol for beverage and industrial applications, as fuel grade alcohol, commonly known as ethanol.

Copyright © 1996-document.write(thisYear); 2007 PR Newswire Association LLC

[unishisse]

That is a lot of food.

I love animals, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I just wonder what would happen if all of the money spent on pet food was used to buy food for hungry people.

That reminds me of a magazine article a while back. Sorry, can't pinpoint the time or exact place, but two teenagers (brothers I think), orphaned victims of one of the ethnic wars in Africa, were resettled in upper Midwest America.

They were take to a local supermarket, and walked wide-eyed up and down the aisles, stocked with an endless variety of food. At one aisle, one of them asked what sort of food this was. When told it was all food for dogs and cats, he considered for a moment, then asked:

"What is the job of dogs and cats in America?"

I never forgot that.

[Doncarlito]

Dogs are to pay attension to you when noone else does, or cares, and cats are to sit in your lap so you can stroke them while detailing your plans to rule the world!!!

[johnuioyer]

Rat Poison to Blame for Pet Food Contamination

Sources Tell ABC News Rat Poison Has Been Found in the
Contaminated Pet Food That Has Killed Scores of Animals

Raw Story / ABC News
By DAVID KERLEY

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.

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.

"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."

Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures

[Badyalectlawl]

Aminopterin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aminopterin

... also used as a rodenticide (not legal in the US). It was linked to a 2007 pet-poisoning incident: wheat from China containing Aminopterin was used in a Menu Foods product, resulting in over 1000 recorded pet deaths, although only 16 could be directly verified and a product recall and [1]. This is not confirmed.

[kertionderf]

March 25, 2007
The Basics
For Cats and Dogs, Life Is a Bowl of ...

What exactly are pet owners getting when they buy their pet food — some $16 billion worth each year in the United States?

That’s a question many asked last week after the deaths of at least 14 cats and dogs and the recall of 60 million containers of pet food by Menu Foods of Canada.

The company produces 95 brands of pet food, including premium labels like Iams and private labels for Wal-Mart and others. On Friday, the New York State Department of Agriculture said it had found a toxic chemical used as rat poison in food linked to the pet deaths, though it did not explain how it got there.

The Week in Review asked Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University and the author of “What to Eat” (North Point Press; 2006), for insight. Ms. Nestle and Malden Nesheim, a professor emeritus of nutrition at Cornell University, are writing a book on the pet food industry to be published next year.

Q. How much is known about an industry that does business with the majority of 90 million cat owners and 74 million dog owners in this country?

A. It’s an extremely secretive industry, more secretive than the food industry, from our experience. A lot of that has to do with animal research, and pressure from animal rights groups not to do research on cats and dogs.

Q. What research is done by these companies? After reports last month that its food was making pets ill, Menu Foods tested its product on animals, nine of which died.

A. It’s usually taste preferences. A great deal of the industry’s effort is making cats, for example, go for Product A instead of Product B. You cook up flavor additives — a mixture of chemicals and food ingredients — line up hungry cats, and that’s basically the extent of the research. In addition to making sure the formulation supports growth of kittens and puppies.

Q. What’s in pet food then? Is it regulated?

A. Pet food is regulated by the F.D.A. through the same state agencies that regulate food for farm animals. But product excluded from animal feed can go into pet food — meat and bone meal, nervous system tissue — parts of animals not allowed for anything else. There were cases of mad-cow disease in cats in England. The opportunity for cheap byproducts is much greater in pet foods. The assumption is that better brands don’t do that, but it’s not verified.

Q. If a few companies are making many of the brands, are pet foods all the same then?

A. Nutritionally, they have to meet the same industry standards, though they’re priced very differently. You read the labels and they all look alike — corn is the first ingredient in a lot of dry food.

Q. Why are some brands more expensive?

A. The quality of the ingredients. Are you using human-grade food or food that humans wouldn’t care to eat? It doesn’t matter to animals but it matters to the people who own them.

Q. What about health claims?

A. When you see food claims on breakfast cereal — for instance, that it lowers cholesterol — there has to be some scientific substantiation behind them. Pet foods have claims on them, that they support a healthy immune system, reduce risk of whatever, but they don’t have to be supported by large amounts of science. They’re worded in such a way that doesn’t violate the F.D.A.’s labeling rules. I think the F.D.A. will have to take a much closer look at pet foods — this is the second recall in a short time.

Q. What do cats and dogs enjoy eating?

A. Cats don’t have a taste for sugar; they don’t taste sweet things. They have a particular taste for what is referred to in the industry as “animal extract” — God knows what’s in it. Dogs can taste sweet, but, dogs will eat anything. Cats are very fussy, as any cat owner will tell you. The one thing that’s never been studied is to find out how long it would take for a cat to eat something it doesn’t like — owners never wait it out. People are very attached to their pets, and it’s painful to watch a cat not eat.

Q. Should owners prepare their own food for pets or feed them table scraps?

A. There’s evidence that dogs can be fed table scraps and do quite well, provided they’re healthy table scraps — meat, dairy, vegetables, fruit. The problem is a lot of humans don’t eat that way.

Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

[Sliliashdes]

KILLER PET FOOD TOLL SOARS IN N.Y.

8 DEAD & 'YEARS OF SUFFERING' FOR LIVING


By JENNIFER KIRSTEN, BRIAN FARBER and CATHY BURKE

March 25, 2007 -- At least eight pets have died in New York City - and hundreds more have been treated - in the wake of the massive poisoned pet-food scare.

A Post survey of animal clinics and veterinarians in the five boroughs comes as medical sleuths zero in on the suspected toxin - a banned rat poison - and try to find out how it got into the supply from Menu Foods of Ontario, Canada.

The Web site PetConnection.com reported from pet owners that more than 1,300 animals have died around the country from the contamination. Local experts warn that that data cannot be confirmed.

In New York, the eight pet deaths include two cats and one dog who succumbed at Animal Medical Center on the Upper East Side.

More than 400 pets were treated for suspected contamination.

Kidney specialist Dr. Cathy Langston at the Animal Medical Center reported treating up to 14 cases of kidney failure.

Dr. Louise Murray, director of medicine for the ASPCA at the Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital on East 92nd Street, said she suspected the contamination would have an effect beyond the staggering death toll.

"There's going to be a wide spectrum of kidney damage seen, ranging from mild to moderate and severe and up to death," she said. "For years to come, we'll be taking care of pets who have suffered to some degree and will require their owners to get nursing care."

Dorothy Davis of Manhattan was at the vet yesterday with her dog and cat, worried about their poison food ingestion.

"I thought I was feeding my dog and cat healthy food, and I was hurting them," she said. "I was actually poisoning them. . . . I felt so terrible."

At Bergh Memorial, between five and 10 cats were treated in the wake of the contamination, including one 5-year-old named Rusty who wound up in intensive care. "He's going to make it home but his kidneys are going to be almost certainly permanently damaged," Murray said.

Dr. Donald Smith, dean of the veterinary school at Cornell University, where scientists are studying the contamination, said the scare raises two questions.

"We should ask if there should be regulation of the pet food industry and if there is the right mechanism for reporting such contamination," he said.

The last major pet food recall occurred in late 2005, when more than 100 dogs died because of contamination by a fungus in Diamond Pet Food products.

__________________________________________________ _________________________________________

ALIVE BY A WHISKER:


The city ASPCA's Dr. Louise Murray yesterday with Rusty the cat,
whose kidneys were damaged by tainted pet food.



Source of article/image/caption:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03252007...athy_burke.htm

My apologies for the source, but The NY Post was the only newspaper to cover what was specifically going on in NYC.

[palantownia]

Real scary for all those folk who eat tinned cat or dog food ..... and there are many believe me ......

[cmruloah]

Real scary for all those folk who eat tinned cat or dog food ..... and there are many believe me ......

Oh, I know. Due to my work schedule, I usually shop at a 24-hour supermarket in the middle of the night. While I'm buying food for my cats, they're buying it for...

They range from teenage drug addicts to parents with too many children to very ashamed old ladies. I sometimes drive the geriatric folks back to their apartments. I hope everyone is OK.

[UlceskLialels]

T I just wonder what would happen if all of the money spent on pet food was used to buy food for hungry people.

My cats earn every morsel of their keep. They are my personal masseuses.

I discovered many decades ago that many cats have an obsessive compulsive to knead any piece of cloth they can find. Using lotion-form catnip on clothing I'm wearing, I have redirected this habit to something quite useful: massage on demand. My cats are quite good at it. One critter even does feet!

My friends also benefit from my felines' expertise...

This sounds like a joke -- that I realize. Note to self: Get a friend to do a good videorecording job of my cats in action before the biggest pros retire.

And yes, I'm an employer who guarantees generous lifetime pensions.

[Garry Richardson]

What do you think the human race could do with all the money spend on alcohol? Porn? InTouch magazine?

Calling pet owning frivolous is a asinine. At least studies have shown that pets help lonely people feel happier. Can't be said about my "sin" targets.

[Maydayvar]

Ryan, by siting other frivolous expendatures as "defense" of pet ownership, you are not strengthening the case.

I do not consider it a crime to own pets, but as a cat owner myself, I have to admit it IS a luxury and an essentially needless expense.

But I am not giving them up, and I am not selling my TV. So why get so angry about it?

[fil_nurser]

... as a cat owner myself, I have to admit it IS a luxury and an essentially needless expense.

The jury is permanently out on this ^^^. You'll never know how many insect/rodent/pidgeon extermination expenses your cats will have saved you.

[spamkillerj]

Every restaurant should have a good mouser.

[Mypepraipse]

The jury is permanently out on this ^^^. You'll never know how many insect/rodent/pidgeon extermination expenses your cats will have saved you.

Actually, if my house is ever overrun with wild rubber bands and shoelaces, then I would be grateful for their hunting accumen.

But I think I step on more kitty litter and Cat Chow than anything that skitters....



I am not saying I do not like them Rap, don't get all offensive. But most pets nowadays are not for function (like a cat in a grain silo). They are personal companiions, or worse, showpieces (the "handbag" pooch).

Comparing our situation with those that have to fight for food to stay alive is a fair comparison, but like i sad before, I am not giving up the cats or my other luxuries because someone else does not have them. I WILL understand, however, that I am priveledged to have them and understand their situation.

[Sleedyhex]

Every restaurant should have a good mouser.

If you know people in the restaurant business, then you know that a good percentage of places have at least one cat. Food, candy, even nutrition stores often have them, too. It's one of those hush-hush things that people don't talk about too much, and of course the cats all "vanish" during store hours.

I am not saying I do not like them Rap, don't get all offensive. You meant defensive, didn't you?