NOTE: HealthyPetNet Pet Food DOES NOT contain Corn or Wheat or Rice Protein Concentrate and not affected by the product recalls.

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

The pet food recall again expanded and now dog and cat owners are being urged to keep an eye on their pets and to remain diligent and look for symptoms of their pets being poisoned by the tainted pet food. The ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) issued a release and warned pet parents that this crisis is far from over, and urged them to watch their pets closely for any symptoms that may be related to the recall. A release from the group said, "Given the current situation and until this crisis is resolved, the ASPCA is recommending pets be fed products containing US - sourced protein supplements only. Good advice.

Pet Food Recall: Dog & Cat Owners Urged to Use US Sourced Food Only

The expansion that was announced on Tuesday now brings the number over 100 of brands recalled and the new items includes cuts and gravy pet food, as well as other products that were not made with the contaminated wheat gluten supplied by ChemNutra Inc., but were manufactured during the period the chemical-laced gluten was used.

"Given the fact that there is new evidence of cross-contamination in ingredients that may have been considered safe prior to this news, we need to be much more aware of where the ingredients in our pets’ food are coming from,” said Dr. Steven Hansen, a board-certified toxicologist and senior vice president with the ASPCA, who manages the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center (APCC), located in its Midwest Office in Urbana, Ill.

“We are strongly recommending that pet parents immediately investigate, via their pet food manufacturer’s Web site or by calling them directly, where the ingredients—specifically protein supplements—are sourced from.”

The release also notes that recent media reports that laboratory experiments on the interaction of melamine and cyanuric acid in cat urine showed the formation of crystals, are not surprising to ASPCA experts, and offer a glimmer of hope to veterinarians who have been worrying about how to save sick animals who have ingested the contaminated food.

“The fact that we have started to learn how the presence of melamine may be impacting these animals, gives us a small glimmer of hope—that at least we know we are on the right track when it comes to treating the animals affected,” said Dr. Hansen. “These findings really start putting everything else we have seen into perspective.”

ASPCA website has more information here

By Susan Heavey
Fri May 4, 6:14 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A major pet food recall has expanded again as manufacturer Menu Foods Income Fund revealed evidence of cross-contamination by some cat and dog food pulled since March.

About 4,000 complaints of related pet deaths have been reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by Thursday, but the agency said that only 16 deaths of cats and dogs have been confirmed.

The pet foods recalled late on Wednesday were made at the same facility at the same time as other Menu Foods products that contained wheat gluten tainted with the chemical melamine, the company said in statement.

Menu Foods, which initiated a recall of 60 million packages of pet food on March 16, said the additional products were not supposed to contain wheat gluten, but a customer report and study results indicated cross-contamination.

Since then, Menu Foods has expanded its recall several times.

Melamine, used in plastics and fertilizer, has turned up in wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate imported from China and shipped to various pet food manufacturers. More than 100 brands of pet food have been recalled after reports of kidney failure in cats and dogs and several pet deaths.

Menu Foods makes pet food sold under a variety of labels such as Iams, Eukanuba, President's Choice and Nutro Max Gourmet Classics and store brands sold at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Safeway Inc. and Petsmart Inc.

Other pet food manufacturers, including Colgate-Palmolive Co., Nestle SA, and Del Monte Pet Products, have also pulled some brands.

The recalls came amid mounting reports of pet deaths and thousands of consumer complaints to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's hotline.

The agency has received about 17,000 complaints of sick pets, with deaths reported in half of about 8,000 complaints that have been entered into an FDA database, it said.

LITTLE RISK FOR HUMANS

The FDA has expanded its investigation to include livestock feed that contained tainted pet food and made its way to some 6,000 hogs and as many as 3.1 million chickens.

While both the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have said food from those pigs and chickens poses little risk for humans, they have called for remaining livestock that consumed the feed to be slaughtered.

Wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate are also used in human foods such as bread and pasta, but there is "no evidence that it has ended up in baby food or for that matter any other human food as an ingredient," said FDA Assistant Commissioner for Food Protection David Acheson.

He said the FDA was continuing to hold vegetable-based proteins from China at the border pending further inspection as well as testing samples of pet foods and ingredients already in the United States.

Of 700 domestic samples tested, about 400 tested positive for melamine and were traced back to the two Chinese companies -- Binzhou Futian Biology Technology Co. Ltd. and Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. Ltd.

FDA investigators are in China working with officials there, Acheson said.

The FDA has said it thinks a combination of melamine and melamine-related compounds form crystals in some pets' kidneys that can cause problems. "We don't believe that the melamine alone is the cause of this," Acheson said.

(Additional reporting by Christopher Doering)

U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) was informed today, April 16, 2007, that Natural Balance Pet Foods has received consumer complaints regarding the Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods. The company does not know the cause of the problems, but has received reports of animals vomiting and experiencing kidney problems. Although the company is stating that the problems seem to be focused on one particular lot, as a precautionary measure, the company is pulling all dates of Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food from the shelves.

The company is advising consumers to discontinue feeding all Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison and Green Pea Dry Cat Food.

The FDA is working closely with Natural Balance and is actively investigating this problem. There is no indication at this time whether this is related to the ongoing pet food recalls. For more information, please see: http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/

From PR Newswire:

ChemNutra Inc., a former supplier of wheat gluten to Menu Foods, announced a recall of all wheat gluten it imported from Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. in Wangdien, China. As a result, Menu Foods today announced an expansion of its recall to include all products manufactured with wheat gluten purchased from ChemNutra Inc. which Menu Foods’ records show was first used on November 8, 2006 and last used on March 6, 2007.

From the AP:

The recall of pet foods and treats contaminated with an industrial chemical expanded Thursday to include dog biscuits made by an Alabama company.

The Food and Drug Administration said Sunshine Mills Inc. is recalling dog biscuits made with imported Chinese wheat gluten. Testing has revealed the wheat gluten, a protein source, was contaminated with melamine, used to make plastics and other industrial products.

Also Thursday, Menu Foods, a major manufacturer of brand- and private-label wet pet foods expanded its original recall to include a broader range of dates, the FDA said. Menu Foods was the first of at least six companies to recall pet foods and treats made with the contaminated ingredient.

Major pet food recall expands to dry food- 2 more companies recall pet food.

Updated: 5:49 p.m. ET March 31, 2007

WASHINGTON - A major recall of pet food in North America has expanded to two more companies and now includes dry food for the first time, U.S. federal health authorities and the companies said.

The Food and Drug Administration said late on Friday it notified Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. that tests had detected byproducts of a suspect chemical in the wheat gluten it used to make Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food. Hill's Recall info

The FDA concluded earlier on Friday that melamine, a chemical used in fertilizers in Asia and forbidden in pet food, had been found in some wheat gluten used by a Canadian company at the center of the recall two weeks ago.

Ontario-based Menu Foods makes pet food sold under several popular labels. The FDA and Menu said the suspect wheat gluten came from a Chinese supplier, which was not identified. Menu Foods Recall info

Menu recalled certain batches of wet pet food in mid-March after the products were blamed for the deaths of at least 14 animals -- mostly cats.

The FDA, which is continuing its investigation, found that wheat gluten from the same company that supplied Menu Foods was used to make the Hill's product, the first time a dry food had been implicated.

Hill's, a unit of Colgate-Palmolive Co. based in Topeka, Kansas, has voluntarily recalled the product sold through veterinarians. The company confirmed the recall in a statement.

Separately, Nestle Purina PetCare Co. announced in a statement it was voluntarily recalling all sizes and varieties of its ALPO Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with specific date codes. Purina Recall Info

Nestle Purina, based in St. Louis, said it learned on Friday that "some quantity" of wheat gluten from the same supply company linked to Menu and Hill's was used on a limited basis at one of its facilities.

No Purina brand dry pet foods were affected by the recall.

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