60 million containers of pet food recalled

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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Holy crap, we've been treating two sister dogs for the last couple of days. Symptoms were vomiting, lethargy, etc. Bloodwork showed kidney failure and pancreatitis, which indicated to us that since they both were suddenly in kidney failure they got into something. We suspected poisoning by the neighbor, who the owner was fighting with, but couldn't put our finger on what they were poisoned with. Nothing indicated that it was rat poisoning or anti-freeze. One of the dogs crashed on us today and died. I wonder if they ate this food?
 
4theanimals,

Thank you so much for posting that. I brought it to the attention of the doctors I work for and we contacted the owner of the dogs that are in acute renal failure. Both of them were fed food that has since been recalled. One has already died, and the other seems to be on her way out. I just hope they can figure things out before we lose her too.

Thank you soooo much for bringing this to our attention.
 
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Oh man. That's too bad, hopefully they can save the other.

The freaky thing is they don't know what in the food is causing this. It has since been all over the news so hopefully other owners will be informed before it gets to this stage.
 
I've seen at least one cat that ate the Nutro food (in the pouch) and had acute renal failure. That cat's owner got the food from their friend, whose cat died of acute renal failure...

I wonder how many others I've seen w/ARF that ate this food? We're being especially vigilant now. Pulling some of the foods from our supply as well (canned foods).
 
yeah - our front staff fielded tons of calls on this today... last night they said they would release more numbers. has anyone seen them yet? i just know of the 63XX-7XXX from plant 4179 or something...
 
we have a young dog at our practice that is in kidney failure and we couldn't figure out why. turns out she's getting Nutro food, so hopefully thats the problem and we can save the dog.

sorry to hear about the loss, kixx. hopefully you can save the second one.
 
I heard rumors at a Petsmart here in Colorado that if owners bought food there and their animals got sick from it, that Petsmart would pay for the animal's medical bills. I have a little more respect for Petsmart after hearing that, since it isn't their fault that the food was bad. They were pulling food from the shelves like crazy yesterday.
 
Is it just the canned food or is it also the dry food? I can't seem to get the manufacturer's web site to come up today to check. Thanks!
 
it is only canned and pouched food - no dry. and it is supposed to be stuff with meat and gravy. they say it is the wheat gluten - a product used to thicken up the gravy.
 
Class action suit filed against Menu foods

Pet owners say the company made and distributed dog and cat food that may have endangered their pets.
March 22 2007: 5:12 PM EDT

MADISON, Wisconsin (CNN) -- A Wisconsin pet owner filed a class action law suit Tuesday against Menu Foods Inc., saying it produced and distributed pet food that might be dangerous, and possibly deadly, to animals.

Jacqueline Johnson of Madison contends her gray tabby, Gumbie, became ill after eating food from an Iams Select Bites pouch in early February. Gumbie became lethargic, refused food and lost weight, she said, and a veterinarian diagnosed acute renal failure.

The cat was "pet-hospitalized" and prescribed intravenous fluids. Johnson told CNN she considers herself lucky. "Thankfully we got her to the vet in time. My cat was very ill, but there are lots of people around the country whose pets have died or been euthanized."

Since coming home, Gumbie has required a great deal of care. "It is stressful to have to stick a needle in the cat every day," said Johnson, who has had to administer daily subcutaneous fluid-and-drip injections ever since.
Pet food maker expands recall push

Gumbie is likely to require medical tests and monitoring every few months, and Johnson expects this will increase her expenses considerably. She said she already has paid more than $3,000 in veterinary care.

Johnson's attorney, Frank Jablonski of Progressive Law Group, said more than 95 people have joined the suit since it was filed, and he expects many more.

"We have all the clients we need," he said. "We wouldn't bring a lawsuit that we are not confident we will win." The lawsuit is seeking an unspecified amount of damages. Courts will have to certify the class and what venue will hear the case.

Menu Foods (down $0.46 to $3.00, Charts) spokesperson Sam Bornstein declined to comment on the lawsuit but said the company has received tens of thousands of consumer inquiries and is doing its best to respond to them.

"Our hearts go out to many thousands of pet owners, some of them for their losses and some for their worry," he said.

Menu Foods announced the precautionary recall on March 16. The recall affects dog and cat food manufactured between December 3 and March 6 and is limited to "cuts and gravy"-style pet food in cans and pouches produced at its plants in Kansas and New Jersey.

The food is packaged under a wide variety of brand names and sold nationwide by retailers including Kroger (up $0.16 to $28.35, Charts), Safeway (down $0.45 to $36.23, Charts), Wal-Mart (up $0.24 to $48.01, Charts), PetSmart (down $0.04 to $31.94, Charts) and Pet Valu (up $0.00 to $75.73, Charts).

Both the Food and Drug Administration and Menu Foods have been unable to identify the root cause of the problem, but the FDA said Tuesday that officials were focusing on a recent supply of wheat gluten as the likely culprit.

A complete list of the 42 cat food and 53 dog food products involved in the recall is online at www.menufoods.com/recall.

-- From CNN assignment editor Amy Sahba

http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/22/news/newsmakers/pet_food/index.htm?section=money_email_alerts
 
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hey guys, thanks for all the well-wishes for that other dog. As of yesterday, she's doing okay. Bloodwork hasn't improved much but she's keeping down small amounts of food right now without vomiting, so that's good.

We finally were able to get in touch with the FDA and did a necropsy on her sister, so hopefully their findings will help solve this mystery.

Glad to hear about the lawsuit. The owners of these two dogs have been talking about a lawsuit, but were unsure of how to go about it. We told them it'd prob end up being class-action. It's not so much about the money for them (though they've put a lot of it in to save this other dog) but the principal of the whole matter. I hope this will bring some peace to all these people who have lost animals due to the food. Thanks to everyone for keeping us updated!
 
I just saw a press conference. Yep, the suspected cause is rat poison - imported from China in wheat they think. This wasn't coumarin it was aminopterin - which is not a US EPA approved product but is used in other countries. UNBELIEVABLE. Especially when their CEO in this press conference said there were no problems in their quality control and they have no fault in this. I realize he's covering his ass for these lawsuits but come on!
 
4theanimals said:
I just saw a press conference. Yep, the suspected cause is rat poison - imported from China in wheat they think. This wasn't coumarin it was aminopterin - which is not a US EPA approved product but is used in other countries. UNBELIEVABLE. Especially when their CEO in this press conference said there were no problems in their quality control and they have no fault in this. I realize he's covering his ass for these lawsuits but come on!
Click to expand...

By no problems with their QC, do they mean a lack of QC checking to see if the toxin was present in the imported wheat. It seems to me that a company in the US would want to check for these toxins when they are importing from countries that use them! Unless they are checking, can they really say they have no fault in it?

...I feel really bad for the animals (and their owners) that have been affected.
 
This whole situation is just terribly sad! Glad to hear that your patient is doing better Kixx, I've been wondering about it.

I did find it interesting, we had a lecture on anti-cancer drugs in Pharm today, and aminopterin was one of our discussed drugs! Then I come home and hear on the news that the cause was likely rat poison-- also aminopterin! :idea: Crazy day, I had no idea that it had two uses, let alone I have only been exposed to Warfarin-type rat poisons in 9 years of being a vet tech. Well, it is a lesson that I won't ever forget.
 
I was talking about this at the clinic today and the vet said that rodenticides typically cause bleeding not kidney failure, but it was a substance illegal in the United States so maybe it works differently. Anyone know?
 
zygote said:
I was talking about this at the clinic today and the vet said that rodenticides typically cause bleeding not kidney failure, but it was a substance illegal in the United States so maybe it works differently. Anyone know?
Click to expand...
There are many different types of rodenticides. The most common cause bleeding disorders, but there others which cause kidney failure and some cause neurological problems.
 
Nine cats mysteriously die of renal failure while doing "routine" food taste testing and the company didn't think to further investigate before shipping out all of this food!
 
Kannen1979 said:
Nine cats mysteriously die of renal failure while doing "routine" food taste testing and the company didn't think to further investigate before shipping out all of this food!
Click to expand...

Maybe it's just me, but wouldn't the death of those nine cats alone suggest there might be a problem with the food. I can just imagine the thought process of officials at Menu Foods: "Hmmm, 9 of our "taste testers die", people are calling about ill/dead pets fed our food...nah, couldn't be the food. QC would have caught a problem like that and we have no problem with our QC."

I also heard those cats had died back in early/mid Feb. Why did they wait until now to recall the food?
 
I was so worried about having my dogs on a homecooked diet...but after seeing this situation happen, im glad my dogs are on a homecooked diet. they used to eat nutro! its on the list of recalls.

it makes me wonder how different dog food is from eachother.

oh, and heres a list that petsmart sent me. i was super surprised that science diet was listed.

http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/19/196265/Customer_Handout.pdf
 
Yeah, apparently stores were having a hard time figuring out which lot numbers, etc were recalled, so they instructed stores to pull it all and send it back. Then the distributers will sort through and redistribute unaffected pouches/cans.
 
We finally were able to get in touch with the FDA and did a necropsy on her sister, so hopefully their findings will help solve this mystery.
Click to expand...

So sorry to hear about your dog, Kixx. I hope her sister is recovering well. Thats a really good idea to get necropsies done...as of today the major media companies are reporting onl 16 confirmed cases while it seems like there are a whole lot more than that. On one web site, petconnection.com, over 1600 pets have been reported (self-reported by owner) as having suffered acute renal failure after eating one of the recalled products, so more people clearly need to be getting solid proof, especially if they want to be compensated by Menu Foods. However, suffering renal failure after eating a certain food is correlation and not causation, and Im sure the company will use that argument.

While Menu Foods has agreed to pay all medical costs for animals
who are affected by their foods, they are putting the burden of proof on the client. The CEO said "to the extent that we identify that the cause of any expenses incurred are related to the food, Menu will take responsibility for that." I dont know where the burden of proof lies with regard to the law, but if it lies with the client, there are going to be a LOT of unhappy owners who arent getting compensated for their veterinary costs. Perhaps if it could be shown that a disproportionate number of pets (more than the usual number who ingest antifreeze, rat poison, etc) went into acute renal failure after the recalled batch of products were distributed, it would be sufficient for the pet owners to win a lawsuit against the company.

I also read that Iowa State is running tests on affected kidneys, although the web site is not saying what the cost is: http://cvmweb2.cvm.iastate.edu/departments/VDPAM/default.aspx?id=2784
If I were a vet Id definitely encourage my clients who strongly suspected pet food as the culprit to get it tested!
 
Hey guys, I just wanted to give those concerned an update on our patient...
After 13 days of intense IV fluids, antiemetics, antibiotics, etc she finally got to spend the whole day home yesterday! She's eating great, wagging her tail and doesn't have to come back to get poked until the end of the week. Her bloodwork still sucks, but its definately improving, and hopefully time and a special diet will help it get back to normal. Yay!
:)
 
kixx said:
Hey guys, I just wanted to give those concerned an update on our patient...
After 13 days of intense IV fluids, antiemetics, antibiotics, etc she finally got to spend the whole day home yesterday! She's eating great, wagging her tail and doesn't have to come back to get poked until the end of the week. Her bloodwork still sucks, but its definately improving, and hopefully time and a special diet will help it get back to normal. Yay!
:)
Click to expand...

fantastic kixx!! :D
 
"...with Larabie complaining of loss of appetite, vomiting and foaming of the mouth."

Wow. I've never foamed at the mouth before, nor seen anyone doing it. That must have been a mighty weird trip to the ER.

I dunno how concentrated the aminopterin was, but there's not *that* much wheat in wet dog food. If *I* were trying to convince my dog to eat and felt it necessary to eat the food myself, I know I'd have as small a bite as I thought would be convincing to the dog. Could she have really gotten sick from just a bite of the food? Or did she lose her appetite and vomit because dog food is gross...? (Or was she lying and actually just likes to eat cans of dog food, whereby she got enough aminopterin to make her sick...)
 
kate_g said:
"...with Larabie complaining of loss of appetite, vomiting and foaming of the mouth."

Wow. I've never foamed at the mouth before, nor seen anyone doing it. That must have been a mighty weird trip to the ER.

I dunno how concentrated the aminopterin was, but there's not *that* much wheat in wet dog food. If *I* were trying to convince my dog to eat and felt it necessary to eat the food myself, I know I'd have as small a bite as I thought would be convincing to the dog. Could she have really gotten sick from just a bite of the food? Or did she lose her appetite and vomit because dog food is gross...? (Or was she lying and actually just likes to eat cans of dog food, whereby she got enough aminopterin to make her sick...)
Click to expand...
or is trying a get-rich-quick scam?
 
Please see www.hillspet.com for an announcement tonight.

They are voluntarily recalling Feline m/d dry products manufactured in 2007. Canned m/d is unaffected.

Hill's states that m/d dry is their only product with suspect wheat gluten. (Savory Cuts is the other type that was voluntarily recalled).

Consumers can call (800) 445-5777 or go to www.hillspet.com

Hill's will resume shipment shortly after a reformulated version that won't contain wheat gluten is available.

UPC codes 52742 42770 4 lb. dry bags
UPC codes 52742 42790 10 lb. dry bags
 
CookieBear: We must have been reading the same stuff!:laugh:
 
the whole situation is so sad, but it also pissing me the heck off!!! i heard that hills waited to alert the public about its m/d recall, so that its stock wouldn't fall before a certain date. apparently, menufoods and some other companies are saying how much they care, but are making owners (who are already deeply grieving their losses) jump through blazened hoops to get any kind of compensation (or acknowledgment that it was their fault).

we lost 2 young, previously healthy patients this week (a cat and a dog) - the company execs should be present for some of these euthanasias - maybe they would grow hearts!!

damn them!!!! :mad:
 
Yeah, these companies like their late Friday press releases to save their stock prices!

I think Hill's has got a heck of a marketing campaign coming to win back veterinarians. From what I've heard a lot of practices tried to order M/D the last couple of weeks. The response was unavailable, not the typical back ordered until such date. So many believe they had some idea that M/D might be a problem. And Hills is saying they won't pay for any chem panels that vet's are suggesting for these owners, but they will happily take the food back. Huh?! And I've also found many vets pissed that they sent a press release to news agencies but didn't contact the veterinarians directly. Part of the Hills speel is that these foods contain human grade ingredients. Oh, oops, except for the wheat gluten bought from Menu bought from China.

Over the weekend I know many vets had taken it of their own accord to just start telling people if it has wheat gluten in - don't feed it, even if it hasn't been recalled. Lo and behold the latest advisement by the FDA basically says that and that there are most likely more recalls to come.

It's so sad that so many clients and patients are having to suffer. And it's going to take a heck of a PR campaign to get a lot of these people to trust manufactured pet foods again.
 
wildfocus said:
\ i heard that hills waited to alert the public about its m/d recall, so that its stock wouldn't fall before a certain date.
Click to expand...

I was wondering how Hills could be so stupid that when they recalled "all" of their stuff that contained wheat gluten 2 weeks ago they forgot about m/d? I was shocked that their knowledge of their own products was so low that they neglected to recall the m/d when they recalled the savory cuts. if this stock thing is true...ughh, such b.s.
What also pissed me off was that in an article in which they had the first break of the whole melamine thing, it mentioned that Menu Foods and the FDA knew that contaminated wheat gluten had been shipped to a company that makes dry food but thaat they "declined" to comment on the name of that company....what the hell are they doing protecting food companies when lives are at risk?!?! There needs to be MAJOR changes in policy that need to occur now!

Wildfocus, I'm sorry about the animals you guys lost. I'm not sure if you know, but VIN is conducting a survey to try to put real numbers to this mess, so you may want to submit information to that so we can stop hearing this BS of only 15 animals being affected. Also, contact the FDA and county, they'll probably want some tissue samples. We got the results back on our necropsy today, and it seems they found "unusual" crystals in the kidney of the dog, which is consistent with recent findings of melamine crystals in the kidneys of affected cats.
 
4theanimals said:
Oh good lord...and now this. Pet treats being recalled in an unrelated incident for salmonella.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17919235/from/RS.2/
Click to expand...

blaahhh - ok, so i will no longer think clients looney who make every little morsel that enters their pets' mouths! good for them!!!

thanks kixx for the advice (and 4theanimals for the backup)! i think in conjunction with the ERs, and other clinics who saw these patients, samples have been sent. how many HUNDREDS of undocumented cases are out there?
 
Our clinic phones have been ringing off the hook for the past 2 weeks about this. One client even returned her c/d because she didn't trust Hills anymore...crazy. We've been telling clients use w/d as a substitute for m/d. After awhile we just started refusing to answer questions and referring phone calls to the Hill's 1-800 number. Crazy.
 
Not only have our clinic phones been ringing off the hook, but the donations are pouring in at the wildlife rehab. center. Go figure. Nice gesture, but like we're going to feed already sick and injured animals tainted food. I DON'T THINK SO!:eek:
 
Has anyone heard anything about ferret food?
 
Vetgirl305 said:
Has anyone heard anything about ferret food?
Click to expand...

i'm not the most up to date person on this insanity, but the only affected ferret food i've heard of is the salmonella-tainted treats in a completely unrelated recall.
 
did you all hear that most alpo diets are also being recalled now?

this list is never-ending....
 
silverelf said:
did you all hear that most alpo diets are also being recalled now?

this list is never-ending....
Click to expand...

Last I knew, it was Alpo gravy cuts type.. ah, here, from alpo.com:

"On March 30, 2007, Nestlé Purina PetCare Company announced it is voluntarily recalling all sizes and varieties of its ALPO Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with specific date codes. The Company is taking this voluntary action after learning today that wheat gluten containing melamine, a substance not approved for use in food, was provided to Purina by the same company that also supplied Menu Foods. The contamination occurred in a limited production quantity at only one of Purina's 17 pet food manufacturing facilities.

In addition, Purina's 5.3-ounce Mighty Dog pouch products, manufactured by Menu Foods, were previously withdrawn from the market as a precaution on March 16 as part of the Menu Foods recall. ONLY Mighty Dog pouch products and specific date codes of ALPO Prime Cuts canned dog food are being recalled.

Consumers should immediately stop feeding their dogs ALPO Prime Cuts products with date codes listed below and consult with a veterinarian if they have any health concerns with their pet.

The recalled 13.2-ounce and 22-ounce ALPO Prime Cuts cans and 6-, 8-, 12- and 24-can ALPO Prime Cuts Variety Packs have four-digit code dates of 7037 through 7053, followed by the plant code 1159. Those codes follow a "Best Before Feb. 2009" date. This information should be checked on the bottom of the can or the top or side of the multi-pack cartons.

Importantly, no Purina brand dry pet foods are affected by the recall - including ALPO Prime Cuts dry. In addition, no other Purina dog food products, no Purina cat food products, Purina treat products or Purina Veterinary Diet products are included in this recall, nor have been impacted by the contaminated wheat gluten supply."
 
Vetgirl305 said:
Has anyone heard anything about ferret food?
Click to expand...

This is the only thing that I've seen so far.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- There is yet another pet food recall.
Eight in One is recalling packages of its Dingo brand dog, cat and ferret treats because of concerns over salmonella. The company says the bacteria could infect both animals and people handling the food.
Tuesday's announcement is not related to the recalls of tainted food that has led to kidney failure in pets around the country.
The recall involves Dingo Chick'n Jerky, Dingo Kitty Chicken Jerky and Dingo Ferret Chicken Jerky.
The company asks consumers to throw away unused portions of the jerky treats. To obtain a refund, call 888-232-9889.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
 
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