The FDA reports 14 CONFIRMED deaths.
“When pressed to estimate how many cats and dogs nationwide have died from tainted pet food, the FDA has said it will rely on the the Davis-based Veterinary Information Network to help answer that question.”
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/152061.html
So, you are quoting a government entity that hasn't got a clue.
The number you cite is the number of animals that died in taste testing at Menu Foods. Information is sketchy but it seems that those deaths were confirmed by Cornell University.
So far, I have seen numbers as high as 39,000 from credible sources. You have to put this in perspective. Even a number as high as 39,000 is not even one tenth of one percent of the sixty million contaminated containers produced and subsequently recalled.
FDA notes on their website that they have received over 10,000 complaints so far.
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/MenuFoodRecallFAQ.htm "
Q: How many sick or dead cats and dogs have been reported to FDA?
To date, the agency has received over 10,000 complaints. Confirmation that these may be related to the pet food recall takes time and requires follow up by our field staff.
Those 14 are deaths of dogs at Menu Foods that were victims of the feeding tests that proved they had a problem. If you took the time to go to pet connection and READ the posts there you would see this isn’t some benign issue.