WASHINGTON - A major manufacturer of dog and cat food sold under Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger and other store brands recalled 60 million containers of wet pet food Friday after reports of kidney failure and deaths.
An unknown number of cats and dogs suffered kidney failure and about 10 died after eating the affected pet food, Menu Foods said in announcing the North American recall. Product testing has not revealed a link explaining the reported cases of illness and death, the company said.
"At this juncture, we're not 100 percent sure what's happened," said Paul Henderson, the company's president and chief executive officer. However, the recalled products were made using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, since dropped for another source, spokeswoman Sarah Tuite said. Wheat gluten is a source of protein.
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 between Dec. 3 and March 6 throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The pet food was sold by stores operated by the Kroger Company, Safeway Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and PetSmart Inc., among others, Henderson said.
Menu Foods did not immediately provide a full list of brand names and lot numbers covered by the recall, saying they would be posted on its Web site — http://www.menufoods.com/recall — early Saturday. Consumers with questions can call (866) 463-6738.
The company said it manufacturers 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.
P&G announced Friday the recall of specific 3 oz., 5.5 oz., 6 oz. and 13.2 oz. canned and 3 oz. and 5.3 oz. foil pouch cat and dog wet food products made by Menu Foods but sold under the Iams and Eukanuba brands. The recalled products bear the code dates of 6339 through 7073 followed by the plant code 4197, P&G said.
Menu Foods' three U.S. and one Canadian factory produce more than 1 billion containers of wet pet food a year. The recall covers pet food made at company plants in Emporia, Kan., and Pennsauken, N.J., Henderson said.
Henderson said the company received an undisclosed number of owner complaints of vomiting and kidney failure in dogs and cats after they had been fed its products. It has tested its products but not found a cause for the sickness.
"To date, the tests have not indicated any problems with the product," Henderson said.
The company alerted the Food and Drug Administration, which already has inspectors in one of the two plants, Henderson said. The FDA was working to nail down brand names covered by the recall, agency spokesman Mike Herndon said.
Menu Foods is majority owned by the Menu Foods Income Fund, based in Ontario, Canada.
Henderson said the recall would cost the company the Canadian equivalent of $26 million to $34 million.
_________________ *Lady Who Loves Doing PR for ASAA!*
Sun Mar 18, 2007 7:45 pm
hhopper
Joined: 22 Nov 2006
Posts: 1274
Location: Tarpon Springs, FL
We had a pantry full of the bad cat food...Iams. Went to the site and found all of the codes for the bad stuff. Our boys have been eating it for weeks. There has been quite a bit of cat yarking lately and now I wonder if this food is at fault. One of our cats has not wanted to eat it for the last couple of days. I think the reason that it might not have affected their kidneys really badly is because we alway put a lot of water in with the food as the cats like to drink the "cat soup" first. Perhaps the extra water helped the kidneys avoid whatever toxin was in the food.
Boy... I've been paying extra for Iams for a long time and now I find that it's the same as many much cheaper store brands. Thanks Procter & Gamble. I'll bet Iams is going to take a huge hit in profit. Here come the class action suits. This bad cat food might have even killed one of our cats that died around the first of the year. He was only one year old. I'm pissed.
Thank goodness mine have only been eating Friskies and Cat Chow with no ill effects so far. They never liked Iams and the "store brand" food I never buy, even if the fur crew are garbage disposals with teeth that eat about anything.
_________________ *Lady Who Loves Doing PR for ASAA!*
My Border Collie, Tucker, is seriously ill.
He's regularly been fed Eukanuba on the vet's recommendation.
We're testing his kidneys tomorrow, but as of right now, the prognosis is poor.
He wouldn't stand until today, and hasn't eaten since Fri. evening. He finally had a bit of wet food today and put his paws up on his couch and I helped him up there, and there he has stayed. I'll carry him into the bedroom when we are ready to go to bed.
I had to carry him outside (70 lbs) to do his thing and even then I had to help.
His poor hindquarters are shaking so badly he needs help or he would fall into his own waste.
He does, like so many other Border Collies, suffer from hip displasia but he's shown no symptoms until now, and the vet says they don't manifest this quickly.
The menufoods site only says to visit Eukanuba's web site for recall info, for most other products they have specific info.
Eukanuba's web site has absolutely nothing on a recall. They don't answer their phone.
We're praying for him, I owe him my life and he deserves the best possible care.
Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:45 pm
SnickersPie
Joined: 18 Nov 2006
Posts: 211
Location: New Hampshire
Thank you so much for this post. Thankfully, my cats eat 9-Lives Kitten Chow (even though they're not kittens any longer), the occasional stinky can of fishy Fancy Feast, and 9-Lives Chopped Chicken in Gravy. I've tried Eukanuba and Iams before assuming these brands were best. I guess not.
I also want to warn about claimed UTI protection. One of my cats had chronic bladder stones, and she's had surgery twice. I was feeding her a dry food that was supposedly "healthy" for the urinary tract ph. I believe it was Friskees. My vet, in a very PC way, advised me to stop using it. Since then, no problems at all.
hhopper,
I'm so sorry. Get your cats to the vet as soon as possible. There's a very simple blood test that can detect any kidney damage. It's so sad when we spend top dollar assuming it is the best for our pets, yet this turns out to be wrong. My best wishes to you and your cats.
On another note: My mother used to make food for one of our Pomeranians. She would boil rice, mix in some high-quality beef or chicken, and sometimes chopped carrots or peas. I thought it was a great diet. One of the vets we took him to said he wasn't getting enough nutrition. My answer to that was bullsh*t. The next time we brought him to the same practice, different vet, the vet said the previous vet we saw was wrong.
I've tried to gradually put my Pomeranian on the same diet, but it's too late. It gives her, shall I say, intestinal distress. You can't just change cat or dog food.
I know, I'm blabbing, but when it comes to food for our pets, I've made many bad decisions and I just wanted to share my thoughts.
hhopper, please keep me posted. Yes, you should be pissed!
"...specific 3 oz., 5.5 oz., 6 oz. and 13.2 oz. canned and 3 oz. and 5.3 oz. foil pouch “wet” cat and dog food products manufactured by Menu Foods Inc. Emporia, Kansas plant with the code dates of 6339 through 7073 followed by the plant code 4197."
"All other canned and small foil wet pouch products produced at other plants are not affected by this issue. Iams and Eukanuba “dry” products are not manufactured at Menu Foods and not affected by this issue. Iams and Eukanuba biscuits, treats and sauces are not affected by this issue. "
Raconteur, I'm sorry about your Tucker, and hope for the best for you both.
Aurora
Mon Mar 19, 2007 12:15 am
SnickersPie
Joined: 18 Nov 2006
Posts: 211
Location: New Hampshire
My Border Collie, Tucker, is seriously ill.
He's regularly been fed Eukanuba on the vet's recommendation.
We're testing his kidneys tomorrow, but as of right now, the prognosis is poor.
He wouldn't stand until today, and hasn't eaten since Fri. evening. He finally had a bit of wet food today and put his paws up on his couch and I helped him up there, and there he has stayed. I'll carry him into the bedroom when we are ready to go to bed.
I had to carry him outside (70 lbs) to do his thing and even then I had to help.
His poor hindquarters are shaking so badly he needs help or he would fall into his own waste.
He does, like so many other Border Collies, suffer from hip displasia but he's shown no symptoms until now, and the vet says they don't manifest this quickly.
The menufoods site only says to visit Eukanuba's web site for recall info, for most other products they have specific info.
Eukanuba's web site has absolutely nothing on a recall. They don't answer their phone.
We're praying for him, I owe him my life and he deserves the best possible care.
Oh, Raconteur, I'm so sorry to hear about Tucker. My goodness! How old is Tucker?
A Border Collie is such an active dog. It must be so hard to see him this way.
Tucker's story has touched my heart. I'm not sure if your vet can be held accountable, but someone sure is.
My thoughts are with you, and Tucker. This is so sad.
_________________ SnickersPie
Mon Mar 19, 2007 12:31 am
SnickersPie
Joined: 18 Nov 2006
Posts: 211
Location: New Hampshire
I want to share something with all of you. Please be patient and I'll try to be brief. The recall of Eukanuba and Iams prompted me to remember something.
During the more-than-extensive coverage of the Anna Nicole Smith death, there was a billboard and/or poster with Anna's image asking to boycott Iams. Didn't really pay much attention to it at the time. Just another photo of ANS.
Today, after seeing LoriPA's post, I decided to do a bit of research. I Googled Anna Nicole Iams and got several hits. I dug a bit deeper, and found that PETA was reporting that Iams was guilty of animal abuse, thus Anna's poster. I hadn't heard anything about it. I didn't dare click on any of the links for fear that I might read or see something upsetting, but I got the gist of the accusations.
Now, though I think that PETA has good intentions, I do not agree with their tactics. I think, at times, their stories are inflated, and I certainly don't agree with the hostility they often provoke.
That said, I just went to HSUS (Humane Society of the United States). I have financially contributed to this organization, including Katrina for the animals, and they tell you the story straight up.
I found a few posts, and Iams is definitely listed as a Research Center, listed to have close to 200 cats and 200 dogs at their facility. I sent an e-mail to HSUS questioning this recall of pet food, and asked for the skinny on Iams research labs.
What does this have to do with the recall? I'm not sure. But if it wasn't for this recall, I would never have questioned the ethics of Iams. Haven't researched Eukanuba, and I won't. It just scares me that we entrust these companies to provide healthy food for the pets who are fortunate enough to have a loving owner without really understanding the ethics and/or practices of these companies.
I guess you don't know what you don't know, huh?
So much for "brief"
_________________ SnickersPie
Mon Mar 19, 2007 1:33 am
Vicki Moderator
Joined: 31 May 2005
Posts: 3430
Location: Southern California
My lil dog elsa in the picture to your left gets perscription food from the vets office due to liver shunt issues but when they run out and we need some they gave me this recipe and I make it for her. If you r dog does not have a protein restriction you can replace the hamburger with pieces of chicken and get a vitiam a day to those who use this reciepe from your vet.
1/2 lb ground beef (DO NOT use lean ground beef)
2 cups of cooked white rice without salt
1 hard boilied egg finely chopped
3 slices white bread,crumbled
1 teaspoon (5 grams) calcium carbonate (I use squashed up tums or rolaids)
( Calcium Carb Sources ground egg shells)
cook beef is skillet (if useing chicken boil) stirring until lightly browned. Stir in remaining ingerdients and mix well. This mixute is somewhat dry and can be improved by adding a little water not milk. Keep covered and store in refrigerator. Makes 1 and 1/4 pounds.
And dont foget a daily vitiam I get mine from my vet.
body weight and approx daily feeding ( I split her feeding so she gets 2 a day to equal what daily recommedtion is)
5 lbs 1/4lb
10lbs 1/2 lb
20 lbs 1 lb
40 lbs 1 and 1/2 lb
60 lbs 2 lbs
80 lbs 2 and 1/2 lbs
100 lbs 3 lbs
Last edited by Tiredofbeingtired14892 on Mon Mar 19, 2007 2:31 pm; edited 1 time in total
Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:12 am
hhopper
Joined: 22 Nov 2006
Posts: 1274
Location: Tarpon Springs, FL
I cannot believe as I was reading this thread, they just showed an Iams dog food commercial on TV.
Funny thing about vets: when I asked mine about the best over the counter food for the cats, he recommended Cat Chow or Dad's Special Mix. As far as wet food goes, I give them a little over a teaspoon of Friskies or Fancy Feast twice a day; other than that, they get the Cat Chow or Dad's dry food, with the exception of the occasional chicken, turkey or tuna from the table.
_________________ *Lady Who Loves Doing PR for ASAA!*
Thank you all very much for your kind words and wishes.
We got Tucker's blood and urinalysis work back an hour ago and though he does have reduced kidney function, they haven't failed.
He will recover, with treatment. This has aggravated his hip displasia, he will not regain full use of his hind legs, but he will get around ok for a while.
The day will come when he isn't able to stand -- that day is not today, thank God. He's 8, by the way.
Again, I thank you all very much for your compassion.
I am angry. Very angry. But I'm not the litigious type, I can't bring myself to try to bring anyone to task over this.
I will join a class action, probably, if one is brought, but I'm not rushing to phone my lawyer.
I am glad tucker will recover from the tainted food an very happy to hear that. My sister had a lab with
hip displasia and they did auccupunture and lowered laceys pain assoicated with it and also help him live a few more years.
These are my sister pets
Last edited by Tiredofbeingtired14892 on Mon Mar 19, 2007 5:42 pm; edited 1 time in total
Mon Mar 19, 2007 5:05 pm
SnickersPie
Joined: 18 Nov 2006
Posts: 211
Location: New Hampshire
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