cryptique Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 clicky Rat poison found in pet food, official says ALBANY, New York (AP) -- Rat poison has been found in pet food blamed for the deaths of at least 16 cats and dogs, a spokeswoman for the State Department of Agriculture and Markets said Friday. Spokeswoman Jessica Chittenden would not identify the chemical or its source beyond saying it was a rodent poison. The Food and Drug Administration has said the investigation was focusing on wheat gluten in the food. Wheat gluten itself would not cause kidney failure, but the common ingredient could have been contaminated by heavy metals or mold toxins, the FDA said. State agriculture officials scheduled a news conference Friday afternoon to release laboratory findings from tests on the pet food conducted this week. The deaths led to a recall of 60 million cans and pouches of pet food produced by Menu Foods and sold throughout North America under 95 brand names. There have been several reports of kidney failure in pets that ate the recalled brands, and the company has confirmed the deaths of 15 cats and one dog. Menu Foods last week recalled "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat food. The recall sparked concern among pet owners across North America. It includes food sold under store brands carried by Wal-Mart, Kroger, Safeway and other large retailers, as well as private labels such as Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba. Menu Foods is majority owned by Menu Foods Income Fund of Streetsville. The company also makes foods for zoo cats, but those products are unaffected by the recall. The company's chief executive and president said Menu Foods delayed announcing the recall until it could confirm that the animals had eaten its product before dying. Two earlier complaints from consumers whose cats had died involved animals that lived outside or had access to a garage, which left open the possibility they had been poisoned by something other than contaminated food, he said. A spokesman for New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said he was not aware of any criminal investigation involving the tainted food. A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates was posted online by Menu Foods. The company also designated two phone numbers that pet owners could call for information: (866) 463-6738 and (866) 895-2708. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alison the wilca Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 jerks. my kitty had a couple cans of the recalled food (at least, i dont' have the cans from jan/feb) but he is fine. so many people have lost their furry family members, though. i switched my cat to holistic brand Blue Buffalo this week and he is (very) slowly getting used to eating it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dreamin' Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 This is just heartbreaking! I feed my pug, Polly, Pet's First kibble, which was not affected by the recall. There should be a criminal investigation if someone tampered with the food. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aricandover Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 jerks. my kitty had a couple cans of the recalled food (at least, i dont' have the cans from jan/feb) but he is fine. so many people have lost their furry family members, though. i switched my cat to holistic brand Blue Buffalo this week and he is (very) slowly getting used to eating it. yeah, he was sneaking some just before I left today. when he noticed I saw him, he stopped and did his begging routine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted March 23, 2007 Author Share Posted March 23, 2007 I just hope they find the person responsible. What a despicable act. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aricandover Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 I just hope they find the person responsible. What a despicable act. if it ends up being rat poison used on wheat from China, it'll be pretty hard to find the person. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dreamin' Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 Ah, I just heard about that. Who knew that could be an issue? Very sad. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jules Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 I would hardly compare this to the Tylenol scare. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
darkstar Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 I'm kinda wondering why the hell we are importing wheat from China? Seems like we usually export a lot of wheat...why would we be importing it? Or is this because the company that made the food (headquarted in Canada, but plants that made food were in NJ and KS) is importing it? Makes no sense to me at all. I'm sure some bizzare business deal was made and there are all sorts of reasons...but why would the U.S. import Chineese wheat? Or like I said did the Canadian headquarted company import it....not bashing our friends to the north but...... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spawn's dad Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 we? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted March 24, 2007 Author Share Posted March 24, 2007 I would hardly compare this to the Tylenol scare.Point taken ... I was thinking of it more in terms of the huge recall and the general panic, even if it's about our furry friends and not ourselves, so perhaps it's not on that scale. Of course, given that I like animals far more than people... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dreamin' Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 I'm kinda wondering why the hell we are importing wheat from China? Seems like we usually export a lot of wheat...why would we be importing it? Or is this because the company that made the food (headquarted in Canada, but plants that made food were in NJ and KS) is importing it? Makes no sense to me at all. I'm sure some bizzare business deal was made and there are all sorts of reasons...but why would the U.S. import Chineese wheat? Or like I said did the Canadian headquarted company import it....not bashing our friends to the north but......That is strange (if true) because Canada is a major wheat producer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TCP Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 China's wheat just tastes better! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tweedling Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 I am afraid I could use some of this stuff. I have a 14 year old Shitzu who keeps leaving little Lincoln Logs all over the house. (I think I now know how they got their name.) I am kidding.....kinda Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JeffTweedysFatStomach Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 A student of mine had 3 dogs die in the last month because of this stuff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 I'm kinda wondering why the hell we are importing wheat from China? Seems like we usually export a lot of wheat...why would we be importing it? Or is this because the company that made the food (headquarted in Canada, but plants that made food were in NJ and KS) is importing it? Makes no sense to me at all. I'm sure some bizzare business deal was made and there are all sorts of reasons...but why would the U.S. import Chineese wheat? Or like I said did the Canadian headquarted company import it....not bashing our friends to the north but......Nothing bizarre about it. Economics is simple - it must have been cheaper to get the wheat from China. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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