Menu Foods Recall Expands Dramatically Due to Cross-Contamination

Itchmo Pet Blog ^ | Thursday May 3, 2007 | Milwaukee_Guy

[Milwaukee_Guy]

UPDATE: The expansion expands again. Menu Foods’ own press releases do NOT match up with their recall expansion list. Pet Food Tracker and PetSitUSA have worked the last several hours checking the lists and added several more brands to the recall expansion. Our recall list is now updated. Again.

ORIGINAL POST: This recall expansion covers dozens of new brands and foods — wet foods only — citing cross-contamination (corrected). This announcement comes more than a month and a half after the initial recall. The recall also expanded to include 2 varieties in Europe.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

It appears that Menu Foods and many others are belatetly finding cross contamination of wheat gluten where meleamine contaminated wheat flour from China was mixed with non-Chinese wheat gluten thus greatly expanding the amount of suspect pet food availablr to consumers.

This greatly expands the potential for more contaminated pet food being on store shelves and in pet owneners homes.

After six weeks it should be apparent that any company importing any pet food ingredients from China should recall all of their products until the full breadth and scope of the Chinese contamination can be determined.

[RSmithOpt]

I bet you half the US has already eaten contaminated food from this incident.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

US Recall Expansion

Cat Food:

Americas Choice, Preferred Pet
Best Choice
Cat’s Choice (New)
Companion
Compliments
Co-Op Gold (New)
Demoulas/Market Basket
Despar (New)
Drs. Fosters and Smith
Fame (New)
Feline Classic (New)
Feline Cuisine (New)
Food Lion
Giant Companion
Giant Eagle (New)
Hannaford
Hill Country Fare
Hy Vee
J. E. Mondou (New)
La Griffe (New)
Laura Lynn
Loving Meals
Master Choice (New)
Medi-Cal
Meijer’s Main Choice
Natural Ultramix (New)
Nu Pet (New)
Nutriplan
Nutro
Paws
Performatrin Ultra (New)
Pet Pride
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority Canada
Priority US
Roche Brothers (New)
Roundy’s (New)
Schnucks
Sophistacat
Special Kitty Canada
Springfield Prize
Stuzzy Gold (New)
Triumph (New)
Wegmans
Western Family Canada (New)
White Rose
Winn Dixie
Your Pet (New)
Dog Food

Authority
Award
Best Choice
Compliments (New)
Co-Op Gold (New)
Go Natural (New)
Hannaford
Health Diet Gourmet Cusine (New)
Hill Country Fare (New)
Hy Vee
La Griffe (New)
Master Choice (New)
Natural Life
Nu Pet (New)
Ol’ Roy Canada
Performatrin Ultra (New)
Pet Pride/Good n Meaty
Presidents Choice
Priority US
Schnucks
Springfield Prize
Stater Brothers
Triumph (New)
Truly (New)
Western Family Canada (New)
Western Family US
Canadian Recall Expansion

Cat Food:

Americas Choice, Preferred Pet
Best Choice
Companion
Compliments
Co-Op Gold (NEW)
Demoulas/Market Basket
Drs Foster & Smith
Fame (NEW)
Feline Classic (NEW)
Feline Cuisine (NEW)
Food Lion
Giant Companion
Giant Eagle (NEW)
Hannaford
Hill Country Fare
Hy Vee
La Griffe (NEW)
Laura Lynn
Master Choice (NEW)
Meijer’s Main Choice
Natural Ultramix (NEW)
Nu Pet (NEW)
Nutriplan
Nutro
Paws
Performatrin Ultra (NEW)
Pet Pride
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority Canada (NEW)
Priority US
Roche Brothers
Roundy’s (NEW)
Schnucks
Sophistacat
Special Kitty Canada
Springfield Prize
Triumph (NEW)
Wegmans
Western Family Canada (NEW)
White Rose
Winn Dixie
Your Pet (NEW)
Dog Food:

Authority
Award
Best Choice
Compliments
Co-Op Gold (NEW)
Hannaford
Health Diet Gourmet Cuisine (NEW)
Hill Country Fare (NEW)
Hy Vee
La Griffe (NEW)
Master Choice (NEW)
Natural Life
Nu Pet (NEW)
Ol’ Roy Canada
Performatrin Ultra (NEW)
Pet Pride / Good n Meaty
Presidents Choice
Priority US
Schnucks
Springfield Prize
Stater Brothers
Triumph (NEW)
Truly (NEW)
Western Family Canada (NEW)
Western Family US

[Recovering Ex-hippie]

And where is the FDA in all of this? First they cite only 16 pet deaths when they knew of many, many thousands. They sure aren’t leading the charge in demanding recalls and also further investigation into human food imports.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

Pet food recall expansion ping!

[3D-JOY]

Dog, human food lists?

[montag813]

And where is the FDA in all of this? First they cite only 16 pet deaths when they knew of many, many thousands.

You mean the same FDA which approved Vioxx yet banned Ephedra?

[USMCWife6869]

I’m not sure how Blue Buffalo’s recall relates to the Menu one, but I wanted to follow up on that one as well.

Once I finally got in touch with the company, they were amazing. They immediately sent me a letter and paperwork to fill out, saying they would cover any vet bills that were related to my concern about their products. The letter was hand signed, not stamped, and offered no excuses, stating they knew that attempted excuses would offer no consolation, so they wouldn’t even consider offering them. I am very pleased with the response I have received from them.

As far as my dog, well...she is doing better. Her vet and I don’t believe that her problems are related to contaminated food. There is actually a possibility she may have cancer (which Boxers are prone to), but she will need further testing. I won’t be filing any claim for vet bills with Blue Buffalo, but I wanted to let everyone know how well they have handled this situation as a business.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

I like the illusion of precision and control where the pet food companies initially listed specific dates and UPC codes of contaminated products.

Six weeks later, we now learn that non-recalled product is also contaminated which completely invalidates any real accuracy as to what ingredients went into what finished product.

IMHO, much of the pet food industry is a complete scam. They built a house of cards, and it is all falling down now.

[OKIEDOC]

Now were being told that the Chinese mislabeled the ingredients so to get them past U.S. customs inspectors.

Makes me wonder about a lot of things that we are importing from China.

It’s time to put a clamp on supporting the dictatorship ship and anti-American government in China.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

And where is the FDA in all of this?

Paid off. Just like everyone else in the Federal Government.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

[Badeye]

“I bet you half the US has already eaten contaminated food from this incident.”

That seems more likely with each passing day now.

My wife and I are convinced we would have lost our black lab if she (my wife) hadn’t changed ‘lucy’s’ diet last December away from one of the first dog foods recalled.

[Spunky]

I didn’t see Costco’s Kirkland brand variety pack Lamb and Rice/Chicken and Rice canned dog food on the list. I heard on the news Costco did a voluntary recall. I had been giving this to my dogs.

[arbee4bush]

FDA: Detention Without Physical Examination (Countrywide)

[dljordan]

Ah Geez! I just bought the Nutro Natural Choice yesterday at Petco. This is the third time I’ve had to throw food away.

[Fairview]

Kirkland’s foods are indeed on the FDA list. If you go to the FDA website and do a search on the name, both wet and dry foods are listed. I have just thrown away a hundred pounds of these foods.

My dog was getting the wet food as an occasional emergency ration when we ran out of the raw chicken or meat we usually feed him. He has suffered no ill effects from his occasional feeding of the contaminated Kirkland product.

[alloysteel]

Wheat gluten is a by-product of wheat milling for refined flour. As such, it is packaged and sold as a high-protein animal feed ingredient.

High-protein feed ingredients are sold on the basis of ‘crude protein’, which is a measure of nitrogenous compounds in the formulation. But there are a number of non-protein sources of nitrogen content, among which are the additives urea and melamine. Alone, or in combination, they can raise the apparent ‘crude protein’ content of the feed ingredient.

In very small concentrations, both melamine and urea have little effect on most animals (and humans). They are filtered out by the kidneys and are passed out through the urine. The problem comes for creatures with a single-stomach digestive system, in higher concentration or if the animal is relatively small. The excess non-protein nitrogenous materials become biological toxins, destroying the various organs of the body, starting with the overloaded kidneys.

Now some species of animals are able to consume melamine or urea, and through a complexity of their digestive system, as in ruminants, which have multiple “stomachs” to digest what what would otherwise be unpalatable organic material.

The bacteria in the second stomach of a ruminant converts cellulose and melamine or urea into amino acids, which are then used for building blocks for protein, thus solving the problem (for the cow) of how to metabolize the melamine or urea, by turning it into a useful source of nourishment. Cats and dogs lack this particular modification of the digestive system, and are unable to assimilate the melamine or urea. For that matter, chickens, pigs, horses and human beings also lack this ability, causing them great grief when consuming melamine-urea.

Because an animal has consumed melamine-urea, does not mean that its flesh is unsuitable for eating, or that the milk or eggs produced are in any way affected. Nobody is going to pick up a dead chicken, for example, butcher it and eat it. Likewise with a pig. Cattle, sheep and other ruminants, on the other hand, have already effectively modified and assimilated the nitrogenous compounds, and nowhere in the meat or milk may the compounds be detected.

And that, dear children, is today’s lesson in biodiversity.

[Fairview]

Folks, we have got to give up on trying to find some packaged food to give our pets. Perhaps someday safety will return to pet foods, but not soon enough to keep our beloved animals from starving to death! Let’s stop agonizing over which brand of pet food to buy and simply give up on them for awhile.

If you can’t give your pet game meat that you shot, go to the store and buy him cheap cuts of meat and chicken intended for human consumption, and give it to him. It’s not clear that any of the food we buy for ourselves is terrific quality, but it’s certainly better than scrounging around for some form of food that might not kill the animal outright.

[3D-JOY]

I return it and get a receipt...so I can prove it if necessary...No sales slip needed...they are spooked and very flexible now.

Work for you?