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Pet Food Recall Alert - March16,
2007, April 16, 2007 and May 4, 2007
NOTE:
By now, you are
probably familiar with the extensive national recall of many brands
of pet food. Sadly, many dogs and cats have been sickened, and a
some have died as a result of eating contaminated food. This is a
tragic event, and our hearts go out to the families who are dealing
with the heartache of the situation.
We want to reassure you that NONE of HealthyPetNet’s pet food
products are affected by any of the pet food recalls. We are providing
information about the recalls as the information is released.
We
consider the contaminated ingredients to be inferior sources of
protein and therefore do not use them in any of our products. In
fact, we have never used these ingredients and you have our
assurances that we never will. Our foods, treats and supplements
include only human-quality ingredients sourced from trusted U.S.
suppliers.
Our quality control program is designed to keep our pet foods
and treats safe. more info
Click the links for specific information.
Menu Foods Recalling Dog and Cat
Food
By ANDREW BRIDGES,
Associated Press Writer
Fri Mar 16, 6:49 PM ET
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.
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, including Procter & Gamble Co.
P&G announced Friday the recall of specific 3 oz., 5.5 oz., 6 oz.
and 13.2 oz. canned and 3 oz. and 5.3 oz. foil pouch cat and dog wet
food products made by Menu Foods but sold under the Iams and
Eukanuba brands. The recalled products bear the code dates of
6339 through 7073 followed by the plant code 4197, P&G said.
Menu Foods' 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.
Menu Foods Press Release
March 16, 2007
Menu Foods Income Fund Announces Precautionary Dog and Cat Food
Recall
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - March 16,
2007) -
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.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Menu Foods Income Fund
Media and Investor Relations
Sarah Tuite
(416) 848-1703
or
Menu Foods Income Fund
Consumers
1-866-895-2708
Website: www.menufoods.com
How toxic pesticide got in food
remains mystery
Associated
Press
Updated: 8:54 p.m. ET March 23, 2007
ALBANY, N.Y. - Rat poison was
found in pet food blamed for the
deaths of at least 17 cats and
dogs, but scientists said Friday
they still don’t know how it got
there and predicted more animal
deaths would be linked to it.
After the announcement, the
company that produced the food
expanded its recall to include
all 95 brands of the “cuts and
gravy” style food, regardless of
when they were produced. The
company also said it would take
responsibility for pet medical
expenses incurred as a result of
the food.
The substance in the food was
identified as aminopterin, a
cancer drug that once was used
to induce abortions in the
United States and is still used
to kill rats in some other
countries, state Agriculture
The federal government prohibits
using aminopterin for killing
rodents in the U.S. State
officials would not speculate on
how the poison got into the pet
food, but said no criminal
investigations had been
launched.
The pet deaths led to a recall
of 60 million cans and pouches
of dog and cat food produced by
Menu Foods and sold throughout
North America under 95 brand
names. Some pets that ate the
recalled brands suffered kidney
failure, and the company has
confirmed the deaths of 15 cats
and two dogs.
Latest death
The latest death, a Yorkshire
terrier named Pebbles, occurred
Thursday. The dog died of kidney
failure after eating some of the
food. Her owner, Jeff Kerner,
said he was contacting an
attorney because he wanted to
prevent another pet tragedy.
“Before they put this stuff in
the bags, there should be some
kind of test,” said Kerner, of
Sherman Oaks, Calif. “I can’t
just let it go. Even if they
just change the law.”
The company expanded the recall
— which initially covered only
cans and pouches of food
packaged from Dec. 3 through
March 6 — after the FDA alerted
it that some products remained
on store shelves.
There is no risk to pet owners
from handling the food,
officials said.
The Food and Drug Administration
has said the investigation into
the pet deaths was focused on
wheat gluten in the food. The
gluten itself would not cause
kidney failure, but it could
have been contaminated, the FDA
said.
Paul Henderson, chief executive
of Ontario, Canada-based Menu
Foods, confirmed Friday that the
wheat gluten was purchased from
China.
Bob Rosenberg, senior vice
president of government affairs
for the National Pest Management
Association, said it would be
unusual for the wheat to be
tainted.
“It would make no sense to spray
a crop itself with rodenticide,”
Rosenberg said, adding that
grain shippers typically put
bait stations around the
perimeter of their storage
facilities.
Scientists at the New York State
Animal Health Diagnostic Center
at Cornell University and at the
New York State Food Laboratory
tested three cat food samples
provided by the manufacturer and
found aminopterin in two of
them. The two labs are part of a
network created after the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks to keep the
nation’s animals and food supply
safe.
“Any amount of this product is
too much in food,” Hooker said.
Aminopterin is highly toxic in
high doses. It inhibits the
growth of malignant cells and
suppresses the immune system. In
dogs and cats, the amount of
aminopterin found — 40 parts per
million — can cause kidney
failure, according to Bruce Akey,
director of Cornell’s diagnostic
center.
“It’s there in substantial
amounts,” Akey said.
Donald Smith, dean of Cornell’s
veterinary school, said he
expected the number of pet
deaths to increase. “Based on
what we’ve heard the last couple
days, 16 is a low number,” Smith
said.
Aminopterin is no longer
marketed as a cancer drug, but
is still used in research, said
Andre Rosowsky, a chemist with
the Dana Farber Cancer Institute
in Boston.
Rosowsky speculated that the
substance would not show up in
pet food “unless somebody put it
there.”
Henderson said Menu Foods does
not believe the food was
tampered with because the
recalled food came from two
different plants, one in Kansas,
one in New Jersey. Menu
continues to produce food at the
two plants.
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