Recall Now Includes Dry Pet Food

Government Finds Chemical, But No Rat Poison, In Tainted Pet Foods

(CBS/AP)  A massive North American pet food recall got even bigger Friday as Hill's Pet Nutrition recalled one of its brands of dry cat kibble for fear it contained melamine, the same toxin that forced Menu Foods to pull its wet "cuts and gravy" products from shelves across the continent.

The Food and Drug Administration said Friday it found melamine in samples of the Menu Foods pet food involved in the original recall and in imported wheat gluten used as an ingredient in the company's wet-style products. Cornell University scientists also found melamine in the urine of sick cats, as well as in the kidney of one cat that died after eating some of the recalled food.

Meanwhile, 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 did not involve any other Prescription Diet or Science Diet products, said the company, a division of Colgate-Palmolive Co.

The FDA was working to rule out the possibility that the contaminated wheat gluten could have made it into any human food. However, melamine is toxic only in high doses, experts said, leaving its role in the pet deaths unclear.

Emergency vet Dr. Benjamin Davidson says melamine is hardly a smoking gun.

"We know the compound is present, but there is no cause-and-effect relationship. We don't know that 'Yes, this is the compound that is definitely causing the renal disease,'" Davidson told CBS News correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi.

Menu Foods recalled 60 million containers of cat and dog food, sold throughout North America under nearly 100 brands, earlier this month after animals died of kidney failure after eating the Canadian company's products. It is not clear how many pets may have been poisoned by the apparently contaminated food, although anecdotal reports suggest hundreds if not thousands have died. The FDA alone has received more than 8,000 complaints; the company, more than 300,000.

Company officials on Friday would not provide updated numbers of pets sickened or killed by its contaminated product. Pet owners would be compensated for veterinary bills and the deaths of any dogs and cats linked to his company's products, the company said.

The melamine finding came a week after scientists at the New York State Food Laboratory identified a cancer drug and rat poison called aminopterin as the likely culprit in the pet food. But the FDA said it could not confirm that finding, nor have researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey when they looked at tissue samples taken from dead cats. And experts at the University of Guelph detected aminopterin in some samples of the recalled pet food, but only in the parts per billion or trillion range.

"Biologically, that means nothing. It wouldn't do anything," said Grant Maxie, a veterinary pathologist at the Canadian university. "This is a puzzle."

Meanwhile, New York officials stuck to their aminopterin finding and pointed out that it was unlikely that melamine could have poisoned any of the animals thought to have died after eating the contaminated pet food. Melamine is used to make plastic kitchen ware and is used as a fertilizer in Asia.

An FDA official allowed that it was not immediately clear whether the melamine was the culprit. The agency's investigation continues, said Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine.

In a news conference, Sundlof and other FDA officials said the melamine had contaminated a shipment of wheat gluten imported from China and purchased by Menu Foods from an undisclosed supplier in the United States. At least some of the that wheat gluten was used in all the recalled wet pet food, according to Menu Foods.

Menu Foods said the only certainty was the imported Chinese product was the likely source of the deadly contamination, even if the actual contaminant remained in doubt.

"The important point today is that the source of the adulteration has been identified and removed from our system," said Paul Henderson, Menu Foods chief executive officer and president. Henderson suggested his company would pursue legal action against the supplier.

New York remained confident in its aminopterin finding, said Patrick Hooker, commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. Hooker added that neither aminopterin nor melamine should be in pet food, but that it was unclear why the latter substance would be poisonous to the cats in which it was found.

"While we have no doubt that melamine is present in the recalled pet food, there is not enough known data on the mammalian toxicity levels of melamine to conclude it could cause illness and deaths in cats. With little existing data, many questions still remain as to the connection between the illnesses and what has caused them," Hooker said.

Wheat gluten, a source of vegetable protein, is also used in some human foods, but the FDA emphasized it had found no indication that the contaminated ingredient had been used in food for people. The FDA said it would alert the public quickly if the melamine was found in any foods other than the recalled pet food.

About 70 percent of the wheat gluten used in the United States for human and pet food is imported from the European Union and Asia, according to the Pet Food Institute, an industry group. Menu Foods used wheat gluten to thicken the gravy of its "cuts and gravy" style wet pet foods, FDA officials have said.

One veterinarian suggested the international sourcing of ingredients would force the U.S. "to come to grips with a reality we had not appreciated."

"When you change from getting an ingredient from the supplier down the road to a supplier from around the globe, maybe the methods and practices that were effective in one situation need to be changed," said Tony Buffington, a professor of veterinary clinical sciences at Ohio State University.

The FDA's Sundlof said the agency may change how it regulates the pet food industry.

"In this case, we're going to have to look at this after the dust settles and determine if there is something from a regulatory standpoint that we could have done differently to prevent this incident from occurring," he said.

[cdcoon66]

Well I think this has been going on for longer then thay think.. My dog was heath and playful then one day he just layed around for days.I called a vet and he told me my dog had the flu. When I took him to the vets they told me he was dying of kidney failure. That was about ten months ago. Lossing our dog pull my family apart.The vet told me that if I would have brout him in on day one she might have been able to help him, but she was not sure if she could have.

[tipilady]

There is no way to be 100% sure of anything, but one can take control as much as feasible. Cooked rice, boiled chicken or other meats, cooked veggies and a daily multi-vit should be an acceptable substitute. Food prepared with love is hard to beat. My "babies" will definitely enjoy their meals from now on!! Don't think for one minute that the "lies" are limited to pet food. However, escape is improbable!! Genetically engineered foods, FDA approved medications, just think about it!!

[barbaraf4]

Our local Sunday newspaper is carrying a pet food recipe submitted by a veterinarian on the front page today.

There are also several websites that carry recipes. This is the direction we are going.

I saw a reference to Mad Cow disease in one of the posts. Mad Cow disease gets into the human food chain when dead, diseased cows are processed into food for cows headed to the slaughter house. I haven't eaten beef in years.

Anyway, good luck to us all and let's keep our pets healthy.

[angryinpa]

Folks ... the fact is that most commercial pet food contains bad, even toxic, ingredients. For example, Purina and others uses menadione derivatives, which is a toxic substance (it's cheaper than adding REAL Vitamin K).

Read more about it at

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=menadione

How stupid are we as consumers to tolerate large, greedy corporations who put our pets' welfare in a secondary or even tertiary priority?

I believe the answer is human-grade pet food. I made the switch from Purina Proplan, which contains menadione derivatives, to Eagle Holistic Food.

http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/HS_Supplements.html

As far as I'm concerned, Purina and the rest of the lot of large pet-food companies are a disgrace.

Angry in Pa.

[dog-x8]

If they chunk a dead cow with "mad cow disease" into the mix of other *** they call dog food, will our dogs become "mad dogs"?

[dog-x8]

oops erasmus6, lol I copied and pasted this from the newest news on CBS. She/he had written some very interesting comments.

[dog-x8]

erasmus6, I agree with everything you have written below. I'm sure with a few key strokes on the computer the other companies would have known where their wheat gluten had come from. I think they DID and just didn't say anything so they could make a lot more$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ before they had to pull it off the shelves. I'm sure a lot of people changed their Pets over to some of the now recalled foods!! They(the companies) just had to make that last buck before they said anything!!!!!! I feed my six babies Iams dry. It does not list wheat gluten as one of the ingredients.(but who knows for sure) Kibbles and Bits DOES list it in their dry food.(My 2 outdoor big babies eat this) How do I know IT doesnt include the poison??!!! I believe if they would be honest with us from the start we would continue to use their products as we always have(any company can have something like this happen) once the problem was solved. But if you LIE to us or Just Don't say anything and let more and more pets die, then no one will trust them anymore and quit using their foods. If average everyday people can figure this out then why can't they?????????
Posted by dog-x8 at 08:10 PM : Mar 31, 2007

[coolfitwear]

Cndas posted a link that everyone should read: http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

The article from Animal Protection Institute exposes the ingredients and practices in commercially prepared pet food. I can almost guarantee that you won't spend your hard-earned dollars on commercial pet foods again. The practices and ingredients that these commercial pet food producers use to make a high-profit on consumers who think they are buying high-quality pet food is appalling. This is a MUST read for anyone who owns pets. Also, DON'T ASSUME that your brand is impervious to this problem just because they haven't announced the recall. I thought I was safe until today, 3/31/07, when the Alpo brand was recalled. Knowing that they were purchasing wheat gluten from the same supplier in China as the wheat gluten that has been recalled by Menu Foods, why on earth did they wait until today to let us know that there might be a problem? This is inexcusable.

The one empty can that I still have in my garbage is not on the recalled list, but what about the other cans that I have fed to my dog in the past month where the can (evidence) is long gone in the garbage?

There is only one thing we can do, and we all must do it collectively! DISCONTINUE FEEDING AND BUYING ALL COMMERCIALLY PREPARED PET FOODS IMMEDIATELY!

Secondly, write to the three people mentioned in the article for more regulations in pet food manufacturing.

Sharon
CoolFitWear.com

[barbaraf4]

After we use what we already have in the cupboard, I will be cooking the food for my cats and dogs. I used to do it as a cost-saving necessity; however, now I will do it to ensure the safety of my pets.

How? Buy the cheapest cuts of beef (tongue, liver, whatever) and whole chickens. Put in a big pan, add water to cover, sliced onions, chopped carrots and whatever you might have in the refrigerator. Cut up the beef, but let the chicken fall off of the bones as it cooks. Let it cool. Put a cup of rice in each bowl, add a little of the broth, top with beef and chicken. You have safe pets. Instead of rice, we used to pour it over dry food, but no more!!

[smokbear3]

To all those big Companies that out sourced to be cheap and save money.. This fiasco isn't going to be cheap for you! Staying with American made products with all of the FDA regulations is the smart way to go!. Going to a cheaper source, the american people had to pay dearly with the loss of there (Pet's) loved ones!.

[olivettiton]

As a dog breeder, I find this pet food intoxication due to so many possibilities it is uncanny.They now put VitK in dry pet food an antidote to norwegian rat poison effecting the heart.Also Omega3 is new.I question the imported stuff ie;Norwegian Kelp,I use dry food with rice gluten.No wheat or corn.Bacteria can grow on anything- corn salmonella.People with spru are aware of this.I believe more recalls may be on the way from Canada or foreign countries.

[a8m3h]

you all have my sympathy...I had a beautiful Maine **** twenty-two lbs. of Love...
Makes me want to cry.. like someone said, outsourcing everything, it's not right. I won't buy anything from Mexico or the rest of the southern countries.. they still use human waste for fertilizer... Grandma

[galaxiana]

Iceman_1960 wrote:

"As of March 30, IAMS "dry" pet food is still unaffected, according to their website:"

[snip]

PETA and others are receiving reports of sick animals eating Iams dry food. My own cat starting acting ill, including behaviour, vomiting, and bowel patterns, after I opened a new bag of Iams Tuesday. Unfortunately, I threw the bag out because I pour the food into an airtight plastic container, (so I don't have the dates and codes on the bag) but I did revert to some kitten food I had stashed away and conserved the Iams for possible testing if my cat doesn't get better. She does seem much better today (for whatever reason) now that she hasn't been eating the Iams for the past 2 days.

This recall gets bigger every day; I wouldn't trust anything these big companies say when the anecdotal evidence and consumer reports say exactly the opposite!

[grammawhamma]

All Alpo Prime Cuts with gravy was just added to the recall list now...I believe they said it was packaged by nestle purina.

[mdc76082]

Cat's, dogs, ferrets, budgies, reptiles & amphibians welcome to the wonderful world of contaminated food products. We humans have been ingesting it for generations.

[iceman_1960]

As of March 30, IAMS "dry" pet food is still unaffected, according to their website:

"We can reassure you:

First, there is no melamine or aminopterin in any of our Iams and Eukanuba dry pet foods on store shelves.

In fact, Iams and Eukanuba dry pet foods to DO NOT contain wheat gluten. Our dry dog and cat foods are made exclusively by P&G Pet Care and not by Menu Foods."

http://us.iams.com/iams/global/Product_Recall.htm

Here's more information that pet food manufacturers don't like people to know: http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1
Read about what goes into pet food, regardless if it is made by Purina, Menu Foods, or any of the other mass producers. In particular, read the section about animal protein and rendering. The FDA has found phenobarbitol in pet foods from euthanized animals. Companies also use sick, dying and diseased animals in dog food. Most people just don't know about it, and maybe don't care until something like this happens.

[cbsviewer21]

My brother's cat ate the contaminted wet food and was put to sleep this last Sunday. It's been very sad around the house. I don't feed my animals the wet food, but I thought to myself that the same ingredients are in both wet and dry and maybe the dry food isn't safe as well. Now we see that Science Diet has recalled one of their dry products, but what about the other companies? It's a shame that these companies are so busy outsourcing everything to save a buck that they're putting us and our pets at risk. We're all so busy trying to keep up with work, bills, ridiculous rising gas prices, etc., etc. that noone is watching the hen house. We need to make these billion-dollar companies accountable for their products and have our politicians really work for their postions and not just sit there as figure heads. We all need to step up to the plate as well and as busy as we are trying to keep up with life, we need to make sure that we are on top of all these companies that make all of our products and make sure we are serviced correctly without further incidents. CBS, please continue to keep on top of these stories and investigate even deeper for everyone's safety. Thank You! A Loyal Viewer

[homiebaby]

tucson23, I am an American also. I am sure none of us want to see any more deaths, but, you are off topic. Those of us who have taken animals in as pets love these pets as part of our family-a child if you will. Having taken thim in and loving them (I will speak for myself)I feel a real responsibility for keeping him safe and feeding him properly. My dog has been with me through a very difficult time and had he not been with me I wouldn't be here. So please don't discount the importance of family pets. Your comments belong on a discussion of a diferent topic.
HOMIEBABY

[missymuw]

I love my Maine **** cat, which came from a shelter, just as much as if he were a family member. I buy the best food for him, but fortunately he turns his nose up at the brands processed by Menu Foods! However, I am concerned about the dry food and treats that he likes. Where can I find a list of the suspect items? Thank you, CBS, for staying on top of this story! Missy in Mississippi