IF YOU HAVE A PET: READ THIS!
Pet food recall has animal owners frantic Eukanuba, Iams, Nutro and store brands tied to kidney failure, deaths The Associated Press Updated: 11:48 a.m. ET March 19, 2007 UNION,
N.J. - Silviene Grzybowski became worried when her local pet store
pulled the food she normally feeds her cat and posted an announcement
saying it, and many other popular pet foods, had been recalled. Her
cat, Smokey, hadn’t been eating for days. “The vet told us to buy her her favorite food, but I’m going to call the vet right now,” Grzybowski said. Menu
Foods, the Ontario, Canada-based company that produced the pet food,
said Saturday it was recalling dog food sold throughout North America
under 48 brands and cat food sold under 40 brands including Iams, Nutro
and Eukanuba. The food was distributed by major retailers such as
Wal-Mart, Kroger and Safeway. An unknown
number of cats and dogs had suffered kidney failure and about 10 died
after eating the affected pet food, the company said. Two
other companies — Nestle Purina PetCare Co. and Hill’s Pet Nutrition
Inc. — said Saturday that as a precaution they were voluntarily
recalling some products made by Menu Foods. Many stores that sold the affected brands frantically pulled packages off shelves. Pet owners spot symptoms
Ron
Finegold of Boynton Beach, Fla., said he noticed about a week or so ago
that his family’s 3-year-old cat — who was regularly fed a variety of
Iams cat food — had stopped eating and did not appear well. He quickly
took the animal to the veterinarian, who determined she was in renal
failure. He said he heard about the recall
on the radio Friday night. He checked his trash, and found out he had
given the cat some of the affected food. “That’s when I realized (the illness) had to be related,” Finegold said. “She won’t be eating that stuff anymore.” A
complete list of the recalled products along with product codes,
descriptions and production dates was available from the Menu Foods Web
site, http://www.menufoods.com/recall.
The company also designated two phone numbers that pet owners could
call for information — (866) 463-6738 and (866) 895-2708 — but callers
kept the lines busy for much of Saturday. Menu
Foods’ chief executive and president Paul Henderson told the Associated
Press on Friday that the company was still trying to figure out what
happened. He said that the company had
received an undisclosed number of owner complaints that dogs and cats
were vomiting and suffering kidney failure after eating its products.
He estimated that the recall would cost the company, which is mostly
owned by the Menu Foods Income Fund, an estimated $26 million to $34
million. Wheat supplier investigated
Sarah
Tuite, a company spokeswoman, has said the recalled products were made
using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, which has since been
dropped for another source. Wheat gluten is a source of protein. Food
and Drug Administration spokeswoman Julie Zawisza said it is still too
early to determine what could have affected the food. Zawisza added
that even if wheat gluten is the source, “it doesn’t necessarily mean
the wheat gluten per se. It could be another substance associated with
the wheat gluten.” The recall covers the
company’s “cuts and gravy” style food, which consists of chunks of meat
in gravy, sold in cans and small foil pouches from Dec. 3 to March 6. In
Omaha, Neb., Susan Balvanz said she sometimes feeds her five cats
packets of sliced meat and gravy sold by Nutro Products, one of the
brands affected. “I’ve done so much research on pet food. It didn’t surprise me but it scared me all the same,” said Balvanz. She said her 9-year-old cat, Boots, was especially fond of the food but seemed to have lost its appetite in the last few days. At
the Missouri Valley Veterinary Clinic in Bismarck, N.D., veterinarian
Jacob Carlson has been referring worried pet owners to the Menu Foods
web site. “We’ve had a lot of calls,” Carlson said, although none of his patients were sick. The
company said it makes pet food for 17 of the top 20 North American
retailers. It is also a contract manufacturer for the top branded pet
food companies, including Procter & Gamble Co. © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17650075/
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thanks fellatio for the article
It looks like the dry foods are still good...just try to stay away from canned and pouched foods
i hope yoshi's ok cuz ive been feeding him eukanuba canned food 
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