Sources Tell ABC News Rat Poison Has Been Found in the Contaminated Pet Food That Has Killed Scores of Animals
March 23, 2007
March 30, 2007
PET FOOD RECALL VICTIMS Vet at the Barn is offering discounted* diagnostic testing to evaluate renal function for pets whose diets consisted of these recalled foods. Please call the office to set up an appointment. Technician Appointment, Extensive Panel and urinalysis/ERD - $100.00
*Must have had examination at The Vet at The Barn within the past year.
Menu Foods, Inc., a Canadian private-label pet food manufacturer has issued a recall on all its "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat food products produced at its facility in Emporia, Kansas, between December 3, 2006, and March 6, 2007. This recall includes 90 brands across the entire manufacturing spectrum. A complete list of affected foods including date and product information codes is available at the manufacturer's special website located HERE. If you have any of the products identified on these lists, immediately stop feeding them to your pet. The American Veterinary Medical Association suggests the following:
If you suspect that your pet has been affected by a recalled food, do the following three steps to help your veterinarian with your pet's diagnosis:
Retain food samples for analysis. Document product name, type of product and manufacturing information. Document product consumption. Detailed dietary history (ie, all products fed and feeding methods). Although the exact cause is not currently known, animals that have become ill after consuming these products have shown signs of acute kidney failure.
Complete information about the AVMA recommendations may be found at their website by clicking HERE .
March 20, 2007
Read the full story HERE
FAQ’s regarding the recent pet food recall
The following are answers to frequently asked questions from clients of The Vet at The Barn. The answers have been provided by Dr. Ann E. Hohenhaus, Chairman, Department of Medicine, and Dr. Cathy Langston, the head of Renal Medicine at The Animal Medical Center.
Q: What steps should be taken if I think my pet has eaten the recalled food or is not acting normally?
A: Check to see if you have any of the recalled foods. (see link to Menu Food Site below) If your brand is listed, click on the name to see what kind of food made by that brand (particularly its UPC code) is being recalled. If your pet may have eaten some of the recalled foods, take you pet to a veterinarian. The tests to determine if a pet is in renal failure are simple blood and urine tests; they take 24 hours or less for results and have no side effects. If your pet has eaten a recalled pet food, he or she should be seen by a veterinarian, whether or not the pet is sick. Some pets appear well but have abnormal tests. Because the drug found in the recalled pet food appears to affect the kidneys and causes low white blood cell count, in addition to blood tests to check kidney function a urinalysis is also needed. If your pet is sick and has eaten the recalled foods, your veterinarian will make a determination if hospitalization is required.
Q: My pets were on a steady diet of one of the recalled brands. I switched brands approximately six weeks ago. Are my pets still in danger?
A: The time course between eating the recalled food and developing renal failure is currently unknown. Some cases appear to have a rapid onset of kidney failure, while others seem to have kidney damage occurring slowly over time. You should have your pet tested if it consumed the recalled diets.
Q: What exactly is renal failure? Can my pet have renal failure and still be alive?
A: Renal failure means that the kidneys are not working to remove toxins for your pet’s body. Your pet can be alive and be in renal failure. Most of the time, the symptoms of renal failure are decreased appetite, lethargy, vomiting, maybe diarrhea; increased water consumption, increased of decreased urination. In felines that use a litter box, you may notice a need to change the box more frequently than usual. Dogs may ask to go outside more often or housebroken dogs may have accidents in the house. It is important to note that animals can be in renal failure and NOT exhibit any of the above symptoms. Again, if you suspect that your pet ate some of the recalled foods, take him or her to a veterinarian.
March 27, 2007
DRY FOOD ADDED TO PET FOOD RECALL LIST
Hill's Pet Nutrition recalled its Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry cat food. The food included wheat gluten from the same supplier that Menu Foods used. The recall didn't involve any other Prescription Diet or Science Diet products, said the company, a division of Colgate-Palmolive Co.
Read more from the CNN website article HERE
April 2, 2007
Our Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has created a special webpage just for pet food recall news updates. Read more HERE
April 4, 2007
petsitUSA, a website that helps pet owners locate pet sitters, dog walkers, & dog daycare throughout the USA, has created a list of pet food companies who wish to assure their customers that their brand of pet food is safe. Details provided HERE
fax: 845-356-4307
A comprehensive web-based consumer's guide to pet food, along with recall-related information, is the PET FOOD REPORT.
Two Chinese businesses and a U.S. company were indicted Wednesday in the tainted pet food incidents that killed potentially thousands of animals last year and raised worries about products made in China. The U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received consumer reports suggesting 1,950 cats and 2,200 dogs died after eating food contaminated with the toxic chemical melamine. U.S. Attorney John F. Wood said authorities haven't been able to substantiate all those reports, but "as for pet deaths, we think it's in the thousands." Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co.; Suzhou Textiles, Silk, Light Industrial Products Arts and Crafts I/E Co.; and Las Vegas-based ChemNutra Inc. were charged in two separate but related indictments. ChemNutra and company owners Sally Quing Miller, a Chinese national, and her husband, Stephen S. Miller, were charged with 13 misdemeanor counts of introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce, 13 misdemeanor counts of introduction of misbranded food into interstate commerce and one felony count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Each of the felony counts against the Chinese defendants is punishable by up to three years in prison, according to the indictment. The misdemeanor charges against ChemNutra and its owners are each punishable by up to a year in prison, while the felony conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence of five years. The indictments allege that Suzhou Textiles, an export broker, mislabeled 800 metric tons of tainted wheat gluten manufactured by Xuzhou to avoid inspection in China. Suzhou then did not properly declare the contaminated product it shipped to the U.S. as a material to be used in food, the indictment says. According to the indictment, ChemNutra picked up the melamine-tainted product at a port of entry in Kansas City, then sold it to makers of various brands of pet foods. The indictment alleges that Xuzhou added the melamine to artificially boost the protein content of the gluten to meet the requirements specified in Suzhou's contract with ChemNutra. Wood said adding the melamine, which would allow it to pass chemical inspections for protein content, was cheaper than actually adding protein to the gluten. He added that prosecutors aren't alleging that the Millers and ChemNutra knew that the product was toxic, only that they were aware the product had been shipped into the U.S. under false pretenses and failed to notify their customers. "Millions of pet owners remember the anxiety of last year's pet food recall. These indictments are the product of an investigation that began in the wake of that recall," Wood said. (from the Associated Press)
