Update: Pet Food Recall
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive April 2007:
Update: Pet Food Recall
The ingredient has been identified as RAT POISON!
I am SO THANKFUL that my pets are okay and I don't buy the foods listed in the recall.
ABC News story
I also saw on Nightline a couple on nights ago that there is a woman who had a cat who died as a result of the recalled pet foods and she is filing a class action lawsuit against Menu Foods. They said that Menu Foods tested cats, and nine of them died. But, they then waited 3 weeks to report the recall to the FDA.
Our dog got into rat poison once. I called the vet and she told us to get her into ASAP. With rat poison, minutes mean the difference between life and death.
When DH got there, they were all set up with an IV and some other meds. They stayed with her throughout the night and monitored her. She had to take some meds for a few weeks after that but she did make it. It was only because we called minutes after she ate the poison that they were able to save her.
The vet told us rat poison is a very painful death and by the time the symptoms show up, it is too late. My heart goes out to all of those affected by this tragedy. Menu Foods should have their feet held to the fire on this one.
Tragic 
Very sad.
Yes, the company bought wheat from China that uses a rat poison on it to keep out rodents. (Seems stupid to me since the wheat is to ultimately be eaten). The rodenticide used is outlawed in this country, tho a chemical "cousin" of the poison is used in a chemotherapy drug used here in the U.S..
They are now worried about whether any of this wheat was used in products for HUMAN consumption. A scary thought.
With all the wheat we grow HERE (we even export it to other countries), WHY are we buying wheat from China??? To make a bigger profit, I guess.
Also, for all of the people who thought they were buying a "premium" pet food by buying Iams, Eukanuba and Science Diet...they were paying all that money and getting the same food as the store brands.
We use Pedigree and I buy the dry food from Foster and Smith's catalog. I just talked to them today and they said their food is okay and safe.
Jasmine is currently eating Eagle Pack Holistic Select Chicken and Rice, and prior to that the same brand, but their anchovy-salmon mixture!
ALPO is recalling some kinds of dog food:
The dog food being recalled involves 13.2-ounce and 22-ounce Alpo Prime Cuts cans and 6-, 8-, 12- and 24-can Alpo Prime Cuts Variety Packs with four-digit code dates of 7037 through 7053, followed by the plant code 1159. Those codes follow a "Best Before Feb. 2009" date. This information should be checked on the bottom of the can or the top or side of the multi-pack cartons, the company said.
We have this brand and type of dog food for Sascha but not, thank heaven, these codes.
and Prescription Diet m/d Feline:
The cat food being recalled is labeled Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food. The products are: 4 lb. bag, U.S. & Canada UPC code 52742 42770; 10 lb. bag, U.S. & Canada UPC code 52742 42790. Consumers may contact Hills Pet Nutrition at 1-800-445-5777 or at www.HillsPet.com.
The FDA warns that any cat owner who has bags of Prescription Diet m/d Feline should stop using them. In addition, they should see their veterinarian if their pet shows any signs of kidney illness, include loss of appetite, lethargy and vomiting.
Link: Alpo
Okay, I was confused. As I read this, the local news is on my TV, and the story came on. Apparently is may NOT be rat poison in the wheat gluten from China, but melamine, an ingredient contained in plastics and fertilizer.
Good grief. Score one for global trade.
Lisa, it looks like everyone is confused. Here is an article in the NYTimes, which contains a link to the FDA list of all of the pet foods involved. NYTimes
I'll tell you, I am almost at the point where I want to suggest to Scott that we just buy chicken breasts and cook them ourselves for the little bit of wet food we add to Sasha's kibble.
Ginny,
That is exactly what we do with our dogs. We give them dry food with chopped meat (whatever meat we have for dinner). No canned food ever.
I don't really know how it is that they are coming up with the number of pet deaths (at 16 now.) They said on my local news that the FDA has received more than 8,000 complaints and many people still aren't aware that the food is what may have made their pets ill or die due to the fact that Menu Foods waited for 3 weeks before releasing the information of the tainted food.
And one human victim, a woman in Canada who says she ate her dog's food in order to coax her dog to eat.
Canada.com story
And, of course, lots and lots of people are running up vet bills taking their animals in to be checked if they have fed the animal any of the suspect food. I don't know about you, but a vet visit with a complete blood test costs Scott about $100 per animal. Thank goodness we don't have any of the suspect food.
I really think there is more to all of this.. I think they are grasping and trying to place blame. So every time they think they know what has caused the deaths they release the information, or it leaks out, and the media runs with it. When ever the media is involved in a story at the level they are with this story there generally tends to be mass confusion. One report starts the story and everyone else repeats it. Then they discover that they weren't all together correct and then they recant the story or change up with an explination... It is a big game of Telephone, the kids game where you tell a secret and as it is whispered to the next kid it gets confused until no one remembers or knows the true secret..
I think the whole thing is sad. I also think that if there is this much confusion over animal food, what are we consuming that they are over looking.......
Ditto, Bobbie.
I'm comfortable with what I'm feeding Jasmine. It's not food involved in the recall, so we will stay the course.
Some people, who feed raw food, and those who homecook for their dogs, on my dog board, are getting a little smug, about the whole issue. I have pretty much stopped posting, about the issue, on that board. Argh.
Wouldn't that be typical Dawn?? Being smug seems to be common place when you think you have one uped someone... You stay your course.. There is never a perfect answer, NEVER, life has no perfect answers period... How many times have they had a recall on chicken?? Enough that home cooked chicken may not be the best decision either....
And another one - from KYW this morning:
Eight in One is recalling packages of its Dingo brand dog, cat and ferret treats because of concerns over salmonella. The company says the bacteria could infect both animals and people handling the food.
Today's announcement is not related to the recalls of tainted food that has led to kidney failure in pets around the country.
The recall involves Dingo Chick'n Jerky, Dingo Kitty Chicken Jerky and Dingo Ferret Chicken Jerky.
The company asks consumers to throw away unused portions of the jerky treats. To obtain a refund, call 888-232-9889.
And more:
San Francisco-based Del Monte Pet Products is voluntarily recalling Jerky Treats Beef Flavour Dog Snacks, Gravy Train Beef Sticks Dog Snacks and Pounce Meaty Morsels Moist Chicken Flavor Cat Treats.
It was not clear whether the recall would affect any of the products sold in Canada.
Del Monte's announcement immediately follows the weekend recall of one of the best-known brands of dog food, Purina. The company pulled its Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy product from U.S. store shelves.
Both companies have said that the wheat gluten supplied to them from a Chinese plant contained melamine — a chemical used in fertilizers in Asia and to make plastics and laminates.
CBSNews
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