Rat poison found in tainted pet food

[almaty 19]

ALBANY, N.Y. - 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.

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Spokeswoman Jessica Chittenden would not identify the chemical or its source beyond saying it was a rodent poison.

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 agriculture officials scheduled a news conference Friday afternoon to release laboratory findings from tests on the pet food conducted this week.

The 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.

A spokesman for New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said he was not aware of any criminal investigation involving the tainted food.

A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates was posted online by Menu Foods and is available at http://tinyurl.com/2pn6mm. The company also designated two phone numbers that pet owners could call for information: (866) 463-6738 and (866) 895-2708.

___

On the Net:

FDA pet food recall information: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html

Menu Foods: http://tinyurl.com/2pn6mm

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

disgruntled employee?

[Nagishkaw 510]

' Rats on the west side, bedbugs uptown, what a mess this town's in tatters....'

[almaty 19]

disgruntled employee?

possible ..or maybe, carelessness at the factory..i worked in one..and some of the stuff that went into people's carpet cushion would turn anyone green

[AnaAndDaniel 0]

disgruntled employee?

possible ..or maybe, carelessness at the factory..i worked in one..and some of the stuff that went into people's carpet cushion would turn anyone green

Daniel

:energetic:

[Jasman0717 9]

Damn, that sucks

[Ban Hammer 13,676]

disgruntled employee?

possible ..or maybe, carelessness at the factory..i worked in one..and some of the stuff that went into people's carpet cushion would turn anyone green

yahoo news says it is from wheat shipped from overseas.

[derekkj 0]

Somehow knowing exactly what killed my Jenny does not make it any easier.

[eau_xplain 2]

Somehow knowing exactly what killed my Jenny does not make it any easier.

I'm sorry to hear that your cat died from the tainted food.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

disgruntled employee?

No. A slick attorney.

[almaty 19]

Somehow knowing exactly what killed my Jenny does not make it any easier.

I'm sorry to hear that your cat died from the tainted food.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

They suspect the rat poison was on the wheat imported from China.

"ABC News first reported that the rodenticide may have been present in the wheat that was imported from China and used by Menu Foods, according to a source close to the investigation."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2975912&page=1

[Otto 83]

World News Tonight (tonight) hinting at whether this tainted wheat-product will effect human food...

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

World News Tonight (tonight) hinting at whether this tainted wheat-product will effect human food...

China doesn't regulate food like we do. So it's possible.

[derekkj 0]

Just an update for all of you who may be in the same boat or know someone who is.

I fed Jenny a lovely mixture of IAMS, Eukanuba and Nutro, all of which were on the recall list. So I called Menu Foods to report Jenny's death and was underwhelmed by their response. In short, a person who I could barely understand took my phone number and told me someone would get back to me. Not holding my breath. But she also provided me with the telephone number for IAMS who I called next.

Except for getting cut off twice, IAMS was very professional. They took all my information, asked me to mail some of their recalled food back to them (they will refund mailing costs) and told me one of their vets would contact me to get more details with regard to refunding Jenny's vet costs. They also asked how much I had paid for the food. I said that I no longer had the receipt, that I couldn't remember exactly how much, but usuallly spent around $12-$13 for a 2 week supply. The customer service rep said don't worry, we will just send you a refund check for $13 and to please destroy the rest of the food. Cool. Will wait for their vet to call back and see what happens next.

Then I called Nutro and after a lengthy wait talked to one of their reps who basically asked for the same information as IAMS. Nutro also wants me to send some of the food back to them (they are sending a self-addressed envelope) and told me to return the rest to PetSmart. They want me to also fax all of Jenny's vet invoices to them and then their insurance agent, apparently Hartford, will be in touch next. Again, a waiting game, but at least they listened and *seem* to want to do the right thing.

I am keeping good records on who I talked to when, and am planning to xerox all of the food labels before I send them off. Dunno if any of it will do much good since Jenny was 21 and got sick a few weeks before the recall was even announced. We didn't have any reason to think it was anything other than old age so we put her down without getting any bloodwork done or any other tests. She was suffering and I didn't think prolonging the inevitable would do any good. Hindsight is of course 20/20.

But if anyone has any friends who have pets who got sick or died after eating IAMS or Nutro at least, I encourage them to contact the companies directly. Forget Menu Foods, they seem worse than worthless. I have heard from others that IAMS especially is willing to put their $$$ where their mouth is and has already started refunding some vet costs. But I also have a feeling that this is going to get uglier before it gets better!