Not much new to report today. As of today 3,240 pets have been reported to have died as a result of eating contaminated food produced by Menu Foods through the Pet Connection database.
Pet food suppliers are doing damage control. Here’s a link to an interview on this.
Pet food retailers are worried:
Apr 5, 2007 — Contaminated wheat gluten believed to be responsible for the deaths of at least 15 cats and dogs in recent weeks is wreaking havoc on the pet-food industry, local pet-food sellers said.
“Anything like this is not good for the industry,” said Chuck Smyser, who owns Affordable Pet Supply, a pet-food distributor in Thomasville. “It makes people more leery of the industry in general.”
Smyser said the recall of close to 100 brands of wet and dry cat and dog food was the focus of many concerned conversations during the weekend at a distribution conference he attended in Atlantic City. The Food and Drug Administration recalled the foods after animals were stricken with kidney failure.
[…]
At Prices Puppies & Pet Supplies in Thomasville, Daniell Price said she has been keeping on top of the food recall news through her suppliers and other pet-store owners. She doesn’t sell any of the wet food that has been recalled, but she said that’s not much of a consolation, since the list of brands included in the recall keeps expanding.
Price agreed with Smyser that the industry is taking a hit with this recall, particularly because this is the second time in less than two years that pets have been sickened by food.
Where things stand now
Unchanged. 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.
Update
The Kansas City Star is reporting that the FDA will announce that Menu Foods is expanding the recall to include more dates:
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that Menu Foods is expanding its recall of tainted pet food to include more dates.
The FDA also said that Sunshine Mills in Red Bay, Ala., is recalling dog treats. Information on both recalls should be available on the FDA’s web site at www.fda.gov sometime on Thursday.
The regulatory agency also said that it is more definite in its assessment that wheat gluten imported from China tainted with melamine is the cause of an untold number of deaths and illnesses of cats and dogs throughout the U.S. Melamine is used to make plastics and other products and as a pesticide in some countries, although it is banned for that use in the U.S.
The agency has received over 12,000 calls since Menu Foods first issued a recall on March 16 of 60 million cans and pouches of cat and dog food made at its plant in Emporia, Kan. That is more calls than the FDA normally receives in a two-year period for all products.
The tainted wheat gluten has been traced to an importer based in Las Vegas, which received the product from a firm in China. The FDA said all the tainted wheat gluten has been traced to manufacturers and that to the best of its knowledge; none has entered the human food chain.
Melamine in itself is not highly toxic, although not a lot of research exists on the effect of melamine in cats or dogs.
The agency is now confirming 16 animal deaths but did not provide a breakdown of cats and dogs. It said that the actual number is likely much higher, and is presently focused on developing reporting criteria in an effort to get a more accurate figure.
PetConnection, a web site for pet owners, was reporting that as of Thursday, it had received 3,240 reports of pet deaths.
Dog biscuits made by Sunshine Mills are also being added to the recall:
WASHINGTON – The recall of pet foods and treats contaminated with an industrial chemical expanded Thursday to include dog biscuits made by an Alabama company.
The Food and Drug Administration said Sunshine Mills Inc. is recalling dog biscuits made with imported Chinese wheat gluten. Testing has revealed the wheat gluten, a protein source, was contaminated with melamine, used to make plastics and other industrial products.
Also Thursday, Menu Foods, a major manufacturer of brand- and private-label wet pet foods expanded its original recall to include a broader range of dates, the FDA said. Menu Foods was the first of at least six companies to recall pet foods and treats made with the contaminated ingredient.
Unable to find an actual listing of banned dog/cat products
bob, the FDA’s list of links to the foods recalled is here.