03.23.07
Rat poison found in pet foods
Rat poison found in recalled pet food
POSTED today at CNNMoney.com.
A chemical used in rat poison was found as the source of contamination in Menu Foods brands, officials say. POSTED March 23, 2007:
TORONTO (Reuters) — Menu Foods Income Fund, whose pet food has been blamed for at least 14 deaths of cats and dogs, does not know how a toxic substance got into its product, company officials said Friday.
Executives told reporters in Toronto that they will begin testing all suspect raw materials and consider the possibility of tampering to be “remote.”
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Two pet owners are suing the manufacturer. CNN’s Alina Cho reports. (March 23)
Earlier in the day, New York state officials said aminopterin, an ingredient used in rat poison, was found in small samples of the Ontario company’s wet cat food. “Some raw material has entered our supply chain that did not meet the quality that had been represented,” Menu Foods President Paul Henderson said at a press conference.
The two U.S. manufacturing plants where the tainted “cuts and gravy” style food came from are still in operation, Henderson said. They are located in Emporia, Kansas, and Pennsauken, New Jersey.
Class action suit filed against Menu foods
Menu Foods recalled millions of pounds of wet pet food under various brand names a week ago. It is sticking with its initial cost estimate of the recall of $26 million to $35 million.
Asked about compensation for medical bills for sick pets, Henderson said “to the extent that we identify that the cause of any expenses incurred are related to the food, Menu will take responsibility for that.”
The Mississauga, Ontario-based company is already the target of lawsuits over the recall. To determine whether cat and dog food is subject to recall, consumers should refer to the list of brand names (”listed products”) at www.menufoods.com/recall.
Shares of Menu Foods (Charts) rebounded 30.8 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday, after they took a heavy beating earlier this week. The pet food is sold nationwide by retailers including Kroger (down $0.04 to $28.31, Charts), Safeway (up $0.62 to $36.85, Charts), Wal-Mart (down $0.10 to $47.91, Charts), PetSmart (up $0.76 to $32.70, Charts) and Pet Valu (up $0.00 to $75.73, Charts).
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PREVIOUS REPORT:
Rat poison found in pet food, official says… as reported by CNN earlier today. POSTED: March 23, 2007
Story Highlights
• NEW: Rat poison identified as aminopterin found in pet food
• NEW: Substance also used to treat cancer
• Class-action lawsuit filed against manufacturer
• Recall announced March 16 after cats and dogs suffer renal failure
ALBANY, New York (AP) — Rat poison has been found in pet food blamed for the deaths of at least 16 cats and dogs, a spokeswoman for the State Department of Agriculture and Markets said Friday.
The toxin was identified as aminopterin, state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker said in a statement. Aminopterin is used to kill rats in some countries but is not registered for that use in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The officials did not say how they believed it got into the pet food. The substance was found at a level of at least 40 parts per million in tested cat food samples, according to Donald Smith, dean of Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
Aminopterin, also used as a cancer drug, is highly toxic in high doses. It inhibits the growth of malignant cells and suppresses the immune system. The Food and Drug Administration has said the investigation was focusing on wheat gluten in the food. Wheat gluten itself would not cause kidney failure, but the common ingredient could have been contaminated by heavy metals or mold toxins, the FDA said.
State and FBI officials said they knew of no criminal investigations in the case.
The pet deaths led to a recall of 60 million cans and pouches of pet food produced by Menu Foods and sold throughout North America under 95 brand names. There have been several reports of kidney failure in pets that ate the recalled brands, and the company has confirmed the deaths of 15 cats and one dog.
Menu Foods last week recalled “cuts and gravy” style dog and cat food. The recall sparked concern among pet owners across North America. It includes food sold under store brands carried by Wal-Mart, Kroger, Safeway and other large retailers, as well as private labels such as Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba.
Menu Foods is majority owned by Menu Foods Income Fund of Streetsville. The company also makes foods for zoo cats, but those products are unaffected by the recall. The company’s chief executive and president said Menu Foods delayed announcing the recall until it could confirm that the animals had eaten its product before dying. Two earlier complaints from consumers whose cats had died involved animals that lived outside or had access to a garage, which left open the possibility they had been poisoned by something other than contaminated food, he said.
Menu Foods planned a media teleconference for later Friday, a spokesman said. A spokesman for New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said he was not aware of any criminal investigation involving the tainted food. FBI spokesman Paul Holstein in Albany said Friday he was not aware of any FBI involvement in the case. “I don’t know where we’ll go from here,” he said.
A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates was posted online by Menu Foods. 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.
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UPDATE SUBMITTED BY CD; see petArtistWithPeaches original posting of March 19 here cat and dog foods recall. Looks like the wire service got hold of it, of course…
