The pet food industry is scrambling to restore consumer confidence in the aftermath of the recall of pet foods manufactured by Menu Foods which began three weeks ago. The Pet Food Institute, a trade group representing manufacturers and suppliers, has issued a statement which says, in part:
It’s important to remember that more than 99 percent of pet food has been unaffected by the voluntary recalls by pet food companies. In fact, consumers can buy with confidence the pet food that is for sale on shelves today.
Iams and Eukanuba employees have published an “open letter to pet ownersâ€, taking out a full-page ad in 59 newspapers. Neither Iams nor Eukanuba brand products were involved in the recall.
Investors are, apparently, confident that the suppliers will weather this storm. Stocks of pet food makers and sellers rebounded broadly yesterday:
Shares of pet food makers and sellers rose Tuesday morning, although an investigation into a contamination that killed pets continued and one company recalled some of its dog treats.
DLM Foods Canada Corp., a division of Del Monte Foods Co., said late Monday it is withdrawing beef-flavored Jerky Treats with the best-before date of August 16, 2008. Nearly 100 brands of pet food have been recalled since March 16, when Canadian pet food supplier Menu Foods Inc. announced a contamination that has killed at least 16 pets around the U. S.
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Del Monte stock rose 14 cents to $11.42 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Procter & Gamble shares gained 24 cents, to $63.26 on the Big Board.
Colgate-Palmolive Co., which makes Hills Science Diet, rose 16 cents to $66.22 on the NYSE.
PetSmart Inc., which makes the recalled Authority, Award and Sophisticats brands, climbed 38 cents to $33.26 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Earlier, shares traded at a 52-week high of $33.34, above a previous peak of $33.
Store brands from Kroger Co., Safeway Inc., and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. were involved in the recall, and all three stocks were up in morning NYSE trading Tuesday. Kroger hit a seven-year high after a Citigroup analyst initiated coverage with a “Buy” rating. Shares added 57 cents, or 2 percent, to $29.12, after earlier trading as high as $29.37. Kroger’s previous 52-week high of $28.71 was set March 26.
Safeway shares advanced 23 cents to $37.20 and Wal-Mart shares added 75 cents to $48.15, both on the NYSE.
The sixteen pet deaths referred to above is the number currently acknowledged by Menu Foods. PetConnection.com and VNI, an online organization of veterinarians, have suggested a significantly higher number, possibly in the thousands.
Yesterday’s press release from the FDA fills in some of the gaps in the supply chain for the wheat gluten whose contamination is suspected to be the cause of pet deaths. A Chinese exporter, Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. Ltd., sold the now-recalled wheat gluten to a Nevada company, ChemNutra, which in turn sold the wheat gluten to Menu Foods, which processed the wheat gluten into pet foods which it sold to its private label customers, as many as 90 brands, including some of the most familiar in the country.
Where things stand
As of this writing we can’t identify the cause of the pet deaths that have been observed over the last several months. It is believed that contaminated or adulterated wheat gluten is the vector by which whatever caused the deaths entered the food supply. So far there are two substances identified in the wheat gluten in question which shouldn’t have been there: aminopterin, a rat poison, and melamine, a substance used in plastics and fertilizer. It is unknown at what point in the supply chain either of these substances or the toxin was introduced. It’s a reasonable hypothesis that it was at some point prior to Menu Foods, since two different Menu Foods locations have been implicated.
If you believe that your pet was killed or injured by eating any of the affected pet food notify the FDA directly.
