Thread: Rat poison found in pet food, official says

Rat poison found in pet food, official says
POSTED: 11:46 a.m. EDT, March 23, 2007

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.

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. (Watch why devastated pet owners are suing Video)

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 Foodsexternal link. The company also designated two phone numbers that pet owners could call for information: (866) 463-6738 and (866) 895-2708.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/23/pet.fo ... index.html

Why are the brand names not listed in this article? Can anyone get us the brand names????

W

http://www.menufoods.com/recall/index.html


Recalled Cat Product Information
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708

Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
Authority
Best Choice
Companion
Compliments
Demoulas Market Basket
Eukanuba
Fine Feline Cat
Food Lion
Foodtown
Giant Companion
Hannaford
Hill Country Fare
Hy-Vee
Iams
Laura Lynn
Li'l Red
Loving Meals
Meijer's Main Choice
Nutriplan
Nutro Max Gourmet Classics
Nutro Natural Choice
Paws
Pet Pride
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority US
Save-A-Lot Special Blend
Schnucks
Science Diet Feline Savory Cuts Cans
Sophistacat
Special Kitty Canada
Special Kitty US
Springfield Prize
Sprout
Stop & Shop Companion
Tops Companion
Wegmans
Weis Total Pet
Western Family US
White Rose
Winn Dixie

Recalled Dog Product Information
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708

Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
Authority
Award
Best Choice
Big Bet
Big Red
Bloom
Cadillac
Companion
Demoulas Market Basket
Eukanuba
Food Lion
Giant Companion
Great Choice
Hannaford
Hill Country Fare
Hy-Vee
Iams
Laura Lynn
Loving Meals
Meijers Main Choice
Mighty Dog Pouch
Mixables
Nutriplan
Nutro Max
Nutro Natural Choice
Nutro Ultra
Nutro
Ol'Roy Canada
Ol'Roy US
Paws
Pet Essentials
Pet Pride - Good n Meaty
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority Canada
Priority US
Publix
Roche Brothers
Save-A-Lot Choice Morsels
Schnucks
Shep Dog
Springsfield Prize
Sprout
Stater Brothers
Stop & Shop Companion
Tops Companion
Wegmans Bruiser
Weis Total Pet
Western Family US
White Rose
Winn Dixie
Your Pet

This food had grain from China....all the grain was treated with this poison, which is not allowed to be used in the USA!

I am fed up with these trade policies, and we sure do not need to be trading foods!

Investigators, meanwhile, are looking into whether the rat poison came into the United States on an ingredient used in the recalled food. ABC News has learned that Menu Foods bought wheat gluten, the only ingredient changed in its plants, from China. That possibility raises questions about the safety of pet and other food products in the United States.
Aminopterin is not registered for use as a pesticide in the United States, and it has been known as a potential source of birth defects in humans.

Interestingly, trials are under way to test the chemical's effectiveness in the treatment of certain types of cancer.

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=29759 ... =1&US=true

Click onto link, as it is a long story!

I am probably getting ahead of myself here, but did anyone consider that this might be a test run for something worse in the future? I hope not, but I find myself growing more skeptical as time goes on.

With trading foods all over the world....yes, I believe it's possible!

It's so stupid...we grow a tomato, ship it overseas, then they ship us their tomatoes! We don't need to exchange foods.

Heck I even check dog treats, like Chewies and rawhide, to see where it's made.....I used to be able to find USA made, but it's getting harder now, it's either China or Brazil.

Originally Posted by Neese

I am probably getting ahead of myself here, but did anyone consider that this might be a test run for something worse in the future? I hope not, but I find myself growing more skeptical as time goes on.

You know, this was actually my first thought!
BUT during the press conference today the speaker said that the food was manufactured in two differnt plants and that makes the tampering less likely. However....if it is true that the wheat came from China and was tainted..then I have to ask....is there a reason we are importing wheat from china when we grow an abundance of wheat ourselves that is FDA approved?
We have so many federal regulations from our food but that does us no good if the rest of the world imports foods to us and uses a different standard. I feel like I need to consult the FDA to see what is approved before I make dinner at night!

[sarcasm] Gee I guess we should all just be grateful they didn't use this wheat in anything normally consumed by humans[/end sarcasm]

The more food products that are not grown/processed in the US and the more third world bodies they import to handle our food products the more at risk we are to contaminants. As it is I have stopped eating out and purchasing fresh vegetables.

Originally Posted by ProudAmericanFamily

...is there a reason we are importing wheat from china when we grow an abundance of wheat ourselves that is FDA approved?

I was wondering that too. I thought the USA was a wheat producer and we sold wheat to everybody else. Now we're buying it from China? Why would we produce all kinds of surplus wheat and yet buy some from China?