Pet owners around the country are concerned about the well being of their dogs and cats after a recall on several popular dog and cat foods. Menu Foods, of Ontario Canada, announced Friday the “precautionary recall of a portion of the dog and cat food it manufactured between Dec. 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007,” said the Menu food Web site. The site also said the recall is limited to ‘cuts and gravy’ style pet food in cans and pouches manufactured at two of the United State facilities.
“These products are both manufactured and sold under private-label and are contract-manufactured for some national brands,” the site said.
A total of 48 brands of dog food and 40 brands of cat food including Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba have been recalled. The food is sold at many major retailers including Wal-Mart.
An unknown number of cats and dogs had suffered kidney failure and about 10 died after eating the affected pet food, the company said.
Two other companies, Nestle Purina PetCare Co. and Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc., said Saturday that as a precaution they were voluntarily recalling some products made by Menu Foods.
Local veterinarians have taken calls from concerned Mayes County pet owners. A representative of the Pryor Veterinary Hospital said about 30 people had called the veterinary hospital Monday concerned about their animals. Other veterinarian clinics around the county have not taken as many calls but are still trying to investigate the potential hazard the recalled food could have on pets.
A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates was available from the Menu Foods Web site, http://www.menufoods.com/recall. The company also designated two phone numbers that pet owners could call for information,(866) 463-6738 and (866) 895-2708.
Menu Foods’ chief executive and president Paul Henderson told the Associated Press on Friday that the company was still trying to figure out what happened.
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.
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.”
Recalled cat product information is available at http://www.menufoods.com/recall/. Brands on the list include 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, Laura Lynn, Li’l Red, Loving Meals, Meijer’s Main Choice, Nutriplan, Nutro Max Gourmet Classics, Nutro Natural Choice, Paws, Pet Pride, Presidents Choice, Price Chopper, Priority, Save-A-Lot, Schnucks, Science Diet Feline Savory Cut Cans, Sophistacat, Special Kitty Canada, Special Kitty US, Springfield Prize, Sprout, Total Pet, Wegmans, Western Family, White Rose and Winn Dixie
Brands on the list of dog product include Americas Choice, Preferred Pets, Authority, Award, Best Choice, Big Bet, Big Red, Bloom, Wegmans Bruiser, 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 Pouch, Mixables, Nutriplan, Nutro Max, Nutro Natural Choice, Nutro Ultra, Nurto, Ol’ Roy Canada, Ol’Roy US, Paws, Pet Essentials, Pet Pride — Good N Meaty, Presidents Choice, Price Chopper, Priority, Publix, Roche Bros, Save-A-Lot, Schnucks, Shep Dog, Springfield Prize, Sprout, Starter Bros, Total Pet, Western Family, White Rose, Winn Dixie and Your Pet.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
