March 19, 2007
Pet Food Recall Has Owners Worried
Menu Foods Produces "Cuts And Gravy" For More Than 40 Brands; Pets Suffer Kidney Failure
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Play CBS Video Video 'The Early Show' Online Monday's stories: Dr. Debbye Turner discusses the pet food recall; dentist Harold Katz shows you how to prevent bad breath; and stylist David Evangelista shares tips for banishing bad hair days.
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Video Tainted Pet Food Recalled Check your cupboards because the food you are feeding your dog or cat could be deadly. Millions of containers of pet food have been recalled. Dr. Debbye Turner reports.
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Video Pet Food Contamination Scare Pet owners are increasingly worried as more brands of dog and cat food are beings taken off grocery store shelves after a handful of pets died of kidney failure. Debbye Turner reports.
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(CBS/The Early Show)
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He said that the company had received an undisclosed number of owner complaints that dogs and cats were vomiting and suffering kidney failure after eating its products. He estimated that the recall would cost the company, which is mostly owned by the Menu Foods Income Fund, an estimated $26 million to $34 million.
The company said it makes pet food 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.
Sarah Tuite, a company spokeswoman, has said the recalled products were made using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, which has since been dropped for another source. Wheat gluten is a source of protein.
Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman Julie Zawisza said it is still too early to determine what could have affected the food. Zawisza added that even if wheat gluten is the source "it doesn't necessarily mean the wheat gluten per se. It could be another substance associated with the wheat gluten."
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 from Dec. 3 to March 6.
"We think dry food is just fine, it's safe. If your pet is used to a wet food, you can soak it in chicken broth and they should eat it," advises Turner.
In Omaha, Neb., Susan Balvanz said she sometimes feeds her five cats packets of sliced meat and gravy sold by Nutro Products, one of the brands affected.
"I've done so much research on pet food. It didn't surprise me but it scared me all the same," said Balvanz.
She said her 9-year-old cat, Boots, was especially fond of the food but seemed to have lost its appetite in the last few days.
At the Missouri Valley Veterinary Clinic in Bismarck, N.D., veterinarian Jacob Carlson has been referring worried pet owners to the Menu Foods Web site.
"We've had a lot of calls," Carlson said, although none of his patients were sick.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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