Pet Food Recall

[rangerette]

yahoo news link - pet food recall

There is incomplete information at this time, but thought it good to post this as soon as possible.

[BB_TX]

Here is a link to a list of the expanded pet food recall list.
Pet Food Recall List


The recalled brands are:

Cat Food

Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
Authority
Best Choice
Companion
Compliments
Demoulas Market Basket
Eukanuba
Fine Feline Cat
Food Lion
Foodtown
Giant Companion
Hannaford
Hill Country Fare
Hy-Vee
Iams
J.E. Mondou
Laura Lynn
Li’l Red
Loving Meals
Medi-Cal
Meijers Main Choice
Natural Balance Venison and Green Pea dry cat food
Nutriplan
Nutro Max Gourmet Classics
Nutro Natural Choice
Nutro Products
Paws
Pet Pride
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority U.S.
Publix
Save-A-Lot Special Blend
Schnucks
Science Diet (The recall affects only 3-ounce and 5.5-ounce cans of Kitten Savory Cuts Ocean Fish; 5.5-ounce cans of Feline Adult Savory Cuts Beef, Chicken and Ocean Fish, and 5.5-ounce cans of Feline Senior Savory Cuts Chicken.)
Sophistacat
Special Kitty Canada
Special Kitty U.S.
Springfield Prize
Sprout
Stop & Shop Companion
Tops Companion
Wegmans
Weis Total Pet
Western Family U.S.
White Rose
Winn Dixie


Dog Food

Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
Authority
Award
Best Choice
Big Bet
Big Red
Bloom
Cadillac
Companion
Demoulas Market Basket
Eukanuba
Food Lion
Giant Companion
Great Choice
Hannaford
Hill Country Fare
Hy-Vee
Iams
Laura Lynn
Loving Meals
Meijers Main Choice
Mighty Dog (The recall affects only 5.3 pouch products that were produced from Dec. 3, 2006 through March 14, 2007.)
Mixables
Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice canned and bagged dog foods and dog treats
Nutriplan
Nutro Max
Nutro Natural Choice
Nutro Ultra
Nutro
Ol’Roy Canada
Ol’Roy U.S.
Paws
Pet Essentials
Pet Pride - Good ’n Meaty
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority Canada
Priority U.S.
Publix
Roche Brothers
Save-A-Lot Choice Morsels
Schnucks
Shep Dog
Springfield Prize
Sprout
Stater Brothers
Stop & Shop Companion
Tops Companion
Wegmans Bruiser
Weis Total Pet
Western Family U.S.
White Rose
Winn Dixie
Your Pet

[CatandJim]

Deb and Ed M wrote:
...............


I tried to see if these foods contained wheat gluten - but the website wasn't allowing access to that area.

Deb

That's odd, I've never had any problem accessing that information on their website. Here is a link to the Venison formula dog food ingredients for you:

Venison & Brown Rice Formula

[sue_t]

Deb and Ed M wrote:

I tried to see if these foods contained wheat gluten - but the website wasn't allowing access to that area.

Deb

According to Natural Balance's website, these are the ingredients of the Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food:

Venison, Whole Grain Brown Rice, Rice Flour, Venison Meal, Rice Bran, Canola Oil (preserved With Mixed Tocopherols And Citric Acid), Natural Flavor, Flaxseed Oil, Kelp Meal, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Chloride, Choline Chloride, L-lysine, Dl-methionine, Dicalcium Phosphate, Dried Parsley, Rosemary Extract, Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganese Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin K Supplement, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

sue.t wrote:
Natural Balance pet foods recalled
CBC News
Last Updated: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 | 9:36 AM ET

Natural Balance Pet Foods is pulling two of its products from the marketplace after receiving complaints that pets were vomiting and suffering from kidney problems after eating it.

The recall applies to Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating the matter.



I tried to see if these foods contained wheat gluten - but the website wasn't allowing access to that area.

Deb

[sue_t]

Natural Balance pet foods recalled
CBC News
Last Updated: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 | 9:36 AM ET

Natural Balance Pet Foods is pulling two of its products from the marketplace after receiving complaints that pets were vomiting and suffering from kidney problems after eating it.

The recall applies to Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating the matter.

Officials with the agency noted there is no indication this case is related to an extensive recall issued last month when pet food products were found to be contaminated with melamine — a chemical used in plastics, countertops, glue and fertilizers.

The company said while the problems seem to be confined to one particular lot, they were pulling all date codes as a precautionary measure.

In March, Menu Foods, based in Streetsville, Ont., recalled 60 million containers of its "cuts and gravy" style wet pet food, sold across North America under nearly 100 store and major brand labels. Since then, five other pet food companies have recalled products believed to be contaminated with melamine.

The FDA has confirmed 16 animals in the U.S. have died after eating the tainted pet food.

[dturm]

The American Veterinary Medical Association has a regularly updated web page AVMA

Doug

[CA_POPPY]

Can somebody post a link to the most recent recall list? We're traveling and I have limited web access.
Thanks, Judy

[dturm]

Good Luck, keep your heads down. I ran into the same situation last week, I saw some Alpo cuts in gravy on the shelves. Since I had a case that ate the lot number recalled, I was familiar with the numbers and informed the grocery mgr and they pulled them. They were not aware of the Alpo recall (this was three days after the press release). We all have to stay aware. We're telling clients to not feed any product with wheat gluten even if it hasn't been recalled.

Doug

[CA_POPPY]

We're in the Florida panhandle and yesterday spotted mighty dog cuts in gravy on the shelf at Dollar General. I wasn't sure, is all of that stuff recalled or just certain lot numbers? I didn't question it because I didn't have the info at hand, and the overwhelmed clerk didn't need more problems. I will have my SIL follow up, though. We're on severe storm watch with little tornadoes on the TV weather map and we have to travel. Wish us luck! :E

[Spike88]

I am so sorry to read about Luna and I agree someone should pay for this tragedy. As a pet lover I am outraged.

[sue_t]

Pet food recall expands
The Vancouver Sun
Wed 11 Apr 2007

Menu Foods Ltd., whose pet food is linked to the deaths of 16 cats and dogs, expanded a three-week-old recall after finding tainted wheat gluten at a plant in Canada. The company said Tuesday that it found one shipment of wheat gluten tainted with melamine -- a substance used to make fertilizer -- shipped from a plant in Emporia, Kansas. It didn't say how much more food it called back.

The expanded recall includes Your Pet and Publix cat food. Mars Inc.'s Canadian pet food unit Tuesday recalled one brand of cat food made by Menu Foods in Ontario. The unit, Royal Canin Canada, said it was "completely shocked" that the wheat gluten made its way into Canada.

[JTMO]

Thanks. Going camping without her tomorrow, it will be quiet.

CoWolfpack, great info, and about right for what is happening here locally.
But, most independent vets are not tracking it, like mine.

Local well off cat lovers are spending $8000, another spent $10000 and the cats are alive, but still having problems. The $10000 cat's food was sent to UC Davis Vet labs (top school). Nutro Max 3 oz cans, NOT on the recall list as of today, CONFIRMED by testing to contain Melamine. They have a special Homeland security supplied lab there.
So, once again, do NOT feed wheat gluten products to your animal, whether on the recall or not, IMOP.

[CatandJim]

I am so sorry about Luna.....please accept my condolences.

When I read of such loss and know the pain it causes, words will never be enough to express how I feel....

[COWolfPack]

Just read this article on foxnews.com

Veterinary Hospital Chain Reports 39,000 Pets Were Sickened or Killed by Contaminated Food
Monday, April 09, 2007

WASHINGTON — Pet food contaminated with an industrial chemical may have sickened or killed 39,000 cats and dogs nationwide, based on an extrapolation from data released Monday by one of the nation's largest chains of veterinary hospitals.

Banfield, The Pet Hospital, said an analysis of its database, compiled from records collected by its more than 615 veterinary hospitals, suggests that three out of every 10,000 cats and dogs that ate the pet food contaminated with melamine developed kidney failure. There are an estimated 60 million dogs and 70 million cats in the United States, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

The hospital chain saw 1 million dogs and cats during the three months when the more than 100 brands of now-recalled contaminated pet food were sold. It saw 284 extra cases of kidney failure among cats during that period, or a roughly 30 percent increase, when compared with background rates.

"It has meaning, when you see a peak like that. We see so many pets here, and it coincided with the recall period," said veterinarian Hugh Lewis, who oversees the mining of Banfield's database to do clinical studies. The chain continues to share its data with the Food and Drug Administration.

FDA officials previously have said the database compiled by the huge veterinary practice would probably provide the most authoritative picture of the harm done by the tainted cat and dog food.

From its findings, Banfield officials calculated an incidence rate of .03 percent for pets, although there was no discernible uptick among dogs. That suggests the contamination was overwhelming toxic to cats, Lewis said. That is in line with what other experts have said previously.

At least six pet food companies have recalled products made with imported Chinese wheat gluten tainted with the chemical. The recall involved about 1 percent of the overall U.S. pet food supply.

Measuring the tainted food's impact on animal health has proved an elusive goal. Previous estimates have ranged from the FDA's admittedly low tally of roughly 16 confirmed deaths to the more than 3,000 unconfirmed cases logged by one Web site.

"On a percentage basis it's not breathtaking, but unfortunately it's a number that, if it was your pet that was affected, it's too high," veterinarian Nancy Zimmerman, Banfield's senior medical adviser, said of the newly estimated incidence rate.

In another estimate Monday, the founder of a veterinary group said 5,000 to 10,000 pets may have fallen ill from eating the contaminated food, and 1,000 to 2,000 may have died.

The estimate was based on a Veterinary Information Network survey of 1,400 veterinarians among its 30,000 members. About one-third reported at least one case, said Paul Pion, the Network's founder. He cautioned that a final, definitive tally isn't possible, and that even his estimate could be halved — or doubled.

"Nobody is ever going to know the truth," Pion said. "It's always going to be a guess."

Also Monday, the Web site petconnection.com said it had received reports of 3,598 pet deaths, split almost evenly between dogs and cats. The site cautioned that the numbers were unconfirmed.

Banfield's veterinarians treat an estimated 6 percent of the nation's cats and dogs. After the first recall was announced, the chain beefed up its software to allow those veterinarians to plug in extra epidemiological information to help track cases, Zimmerman said.

The new template allowed vets to log what a sick pet had eaten, any symptoms its owner may have noticed, the results of a physical examination, any urine and blood test results and other observations.

Lewis said there is no reason to believe the company's findings — including an apparently heightened vulnerability of kittens to the contaminant — wouldn't hold for other veterinary practices as well.

In outbreaks of foodborne disease in humans, the FDA leans on its sister agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to help track and confirm cases. During the ongoing pet food scare, FDA officials have repeatedly reminded the nation that there is no CDC for dogs and cats.

A spokesman for the American Veterinary Medical Association said the lack of hard numbers has worried pet owners eager to understand the extent of the problem. He suggested the recall could spur the creation of an animal counterpart to the CDC.

"This might be something that would push this in the future," AVMA spokesman Michael San Filippo said.

Another large veterinary chain, Los Angeles-based VCA Antech Inc., has not tallied reports from its nearly 400 VCA animal hospitals around the country, a spokesman said.

[Auntie]

My heart just breaks for you and your family. Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers. It's just criminal what has happened.