I can't imagine there are many pet owners who haven't heard about this yet, but it's still worth reposting this information from the FDA regarding the rat poison contamination of many brands of canned or "wet" pet food. As anyone who's looked at this blog for more than three seconds might've noticed, I adore my pets and am so thankful right now that they don't eat wet food! But for the sake of all the pets that do eat it, I'm reposting this.
Love your furbabies--read the information and CHECK THAT FOOD!
(Copied from the FDA website, all rights reserved by copyright holder)
Recall of Pet Foods Manufactured by Menu Foods, Inc.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been informed that Menu Foods, Inc., a private-label pet food manufacturer based in Streetsville, Ontario, Canada, is recalling all its "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat food produced at its facility in Emporia, Kansas between December 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007. The products are sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The recall was prompted by consumer complaints received by the manufacturer and by tasting trials conducted by the manufacturer. There has been a small number of reported instances of cats and dogs in the United States that developed kidney failure after eating the affected product. To date, Menu Foods, Inc. has reported 14 animal deaths to the FDA. Nine cats died during routine taste trials conducted by the company. Consumers reported deaths of four cats and one dog. The firm has undertaken extensive testing of the pet food products in question, but to date has been unable to find the source of the problem.
The products are packaged in cans and pouches under numerous brand names and are marketed nationwide by many pet food retailers including Ahold USA Inc., Kroger Company, Safeway, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., PetSmart, Inc., and Pet Valu, Inc.
Menu Foods, Inc. has identified the potentially contaminated products on the Internet at www.menufoods.com/recall. Consumers who have any of these products should immediately stop feeding them to their pets. Dogs or cats who have consumed the suspect feed and show signs of kidney failure (such as loss of appetite, lethargy and vomiting) should consult with their veterinarian. Menu Foods, Inc. is notifying retailers by telephone and mail and is arranging for the return of all recalled products.
FDA is conducting an investigation and working with Menu Foods, Inc. to ensure the effectiveness of the recall. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-866-895-2708. Consumers who wish to report adverse actions or other problems can go to http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html to contact the FDA complaint coordinator in their state.
However, this information from the FDA website is just a little bit old--today's news stories bear that out. This is from Yahoo News, directly copied, all rights reserved:
ALBANY, N.Y. - Rat poison was found in the pet food suspected of causing kidney failure that killed at least 16 cats and dogs, but scientists still don't know how it got there, state officials said Friday.
The toxin was identified as aminopterin, which is used to kill rats in some countries, state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker said.
And just so no one has to look too hard to know what brands are included:
Recalled Cat Product Information
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708 Recalled Dog Product Information
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708
Please feel free to forward this along! Just make sure you don't alter the FDA article or change any part of it--we don't have permission to do that.
