Pets Are Family Too

More Pet Food Recalled
04.05.07, 12:00 AM ET

THURSDAY, April 5 (HealthDay News) — Twenty more dog and cat foods joined an already massive list of recalled pet products on Thursday as a key Canadian company expanded its potentially tainted products list back one more month.

Menu Foods, of Ontario, announced the voluntary recall for “cuts and gravy” products manufactured back to Nov. 8, 2006. Its previous recall on March 16, which involved more than 60 million cans and pouches, had covered a production period between Dec. 3, 2006, and March 6, 2007.

The new recall now covers five more cat food varieties and four more dog food varieties of the moist products, which were all manufactured with imported wheat gluten tainted by melamine, a toxic chemical used to make plastics. And it also includes seven new varieties sold in Europe.

An additional recall for pet treats made by Sunshine Mills of Red Bay, Ala., — particularly dog biscuits sold by Wal-Mart under the Ol’Roy brand — was also announced Thursday because the treats were made with the contaminated wheat gluten.

In a press release issued after U.S. health officials held a teleconference to announce both new recalls, Menu Foods said it was recalling all products that used wheat gluten from its former supplier, ChemNutra Inc. That company, Menu Foods said in its press release, has issued its own recall of wheat gluten it imported from Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. in Wangdien, China.

The Menu Foods statement added, “The vast majority of the products affected by this expansion are already off retailers’ shelves. No new brands have been added.”

U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials, at their teleconference Thursday, did not have an exact list of the newly recalled products. But Dr. Stephen F. Sundlof, the FDA’s chief veterinarian, told reporters, “Consumers should (still) feel safe in purchasing products not on the recall list.”

The recall includes about 1 percent of all the pet food in the United States, Sundlof, the director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, added. “So there is plenty of safe food for consumers to buy,” he said.

Sundlof also said the FDA still has no idea how many pets have died or become sick from the recalled food, beyond the 16 confirmed deaths so far.

“We know that there are a lot more animals that have been affected by this — made ill and died — but trying to put an estimate to it at this time is just not something we can do,” Sundlof said.

To date, the FDA has received more than 12,000 calls to its consumer complaint line — a record number, Sundlof said. However, he said he did not know how many of those calls were related to the pet food scare.

And the agency is still investigating the cause of the illnesses and deaths, he said.

The nationwide recall was based on the finding that melamine wound up in the pet food and in the wheat gluten imported from China that was used in the food. But, Sundlof said, while melamine is not typically used as a ingredient in food, it is not thought to be toxic.

“Melamine is a relatively nontoxic substance,” Sundlof said. “We don’t know how it relates to the conditions that we are seeing. We are relatively certain that there is a connection here someplace, whether it’s melamine or some other contaminate that is traveling along with the melamine. All of the cases of disease and deaths in animals seem to be tracking only to the product which we know contains melamine.”

The Chinese company accused of selling contaminated wheat gluten blamed for the deaths cats and dogs in the United States said it sells most of the gluten in China, raising health concerns for both people and animals in that country. Chinese authorities have not said whether they are investigating the company.

Last week the FDA stopped wheat gluten imports from the Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. The company has said it is investigating the claims of contamination, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

In addition, a group of pet owners has filed a federal class action lawsuit against Menu Foods. On Wednesday, pet owners and their attorneys said they are seeking an injunction to prevent the destruction of tainted food, because it is considered evidence in the class action lawsuit, according to a press release.

The recalled cat food includes selected dates for Authority sliced chicken cans; Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics kitten and senior pouches; Pet Pride tuna, chicken, turkey and beef cans; Sophistacat chicken, beef, and salmon cans; and Science Diet Feline Savory Cuts cans.

The recalled dog food includes selected dates for Great Choice liver grill cuts in cans; Pet Pride chicken teriyaki and stew pouches; Springfield Prize chicken cuts cans; and Stater Brothers chicken cuts cans.

Consumers can find a complete list of the recalled foods at the Menu Foods Web site: www.menufoods.com/recall.

In addition, a complete list of recalled products from Sunshine Foods is posted on the FDA’s pet food recall Web site: www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood

In a separate pet food alert also issued Thursday, FDA officials warned consumers not to use American Bullie A.B. Bull Pizzle Puppy Chews and Dog Chews, manufactured and distributed by T.W. Enterprises in Ferndale, Wash., because they are potentially contaminated with salmonella.

More information

For more information on pet food, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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On Friday, our dogs went to the groomer for their routine cuts and baths. There are three of them two boys and a girl, so whenever there is a day trip, they get oh sooo excited to go riding! We have issues with the boys, who think that they are grown men and want to go off on their own, and roam the land freely without tethers or leashes! They recently went on a fleeing spree when the high winds blew open the gate!

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This pet food recall is becoming a sad state for nation’s pet food makers and their products. Everytime you turn around and think that if the pet food you bought for your dog or cat is not on the pet food recall list, then all is well! Not so fast!

Pet food poisoned with melamine that kills our dogs and cats, has been recently discovered in our human food products. Everything from poultry to fish was some how touched by contaminated pet food!

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It’s official, Menu Foods settlement for their contaminated pet food of the largest pet food recall in 2007, is almost final! The  United Sates District Court of New Jersey, has issued a final approval for Menu Foods settlement agreement plans for United States pet owners whose pets were killed or sickened from Menu Foods’ poisonous pet food. In order for the settlement agreement to be completed, Canadian Courts have to also sign off on the plan since Menu Foods is a Canadian Company, and pet owners in Canada were also affected by the tainted pet food. The Menu Foods pet food recall case spanned both countries requiring the settlement plan to approved in both The United States and Canada. The scheduled hearing date for the Canadian Courts is November 3, 2008. If there aren’t any objections or appeals to the motion for final approval in the Canadian Courts, then processing of the settlement claims can begin shortly after, and the money payouts begin.

The Menu Foods pet food recall settlement is a result of hundreds of pets being sickened or killed in 2007 due to their contaminated pet food sold in stores in the U.S. The Ontario, Canada company is one of the largest pet food manufacturers with some of the most notable brands that we buy for our pets. A brief list of the recalled pet food is here.

As a recap here are some particulars of the Menu Foods Settlement Agreement;

The Settlement Agreement would resolve more than 100 class action lawsuits filed in U.S. and Canadian courts relating to the recall of pet food and would be binding on all members of the Settlement Class, except for those individuals who have validly opted out of the settlement.

As previously disclosed, the Settlement Agreement creates a Settlement Fund of US$24 million that will allow a potential recovery of up to 100% of all economic damages incurred by pet owners, subject to certain limitations. The Settlement Fund, administered by a neutral claims administrator, will be available to persons in the United States and Canada who purchased or obtained, or whose pets used or consumed, recalled pet food.

If you think that you may have a claim against Menu Foods, Read the rest of this entry »

Just when you think it’s safe to go back to the pet food shelves for your dog’s favorite dog food, contaminated dog food makes an unwelcome appearance! Pedigree is pulling bags of Pedigree Complete Nutrition Small Crunchy Bites off of store shelves due to possible salmonella contamination!

Mars Petcare US of Frankilin, Tn. who makes this brand of Pedigree Dog Food, stated that a component used to make the dog food which tested positive, was accidentally shipped to a Pedigree facility in Tracy, Ca. Supposedly, only about 100 bags of the Pedigree Complete Nutrition Small Crunchy Bites contained the suspected salmonella contaminant and limited to Southern California Albertson’s stores and Costco Stores statewide. According to the California Department of Public Health, be on the lookout for the following Pedigree bags;

sold in Albertsons in Southern California in 20-pound bags with Lot Code No. 830BFCAT02 and Best By Date of 07/2009 and at Costco stores in Northern California in 52-pound bags with Lot Code Nos. 831BFCAT02 and 830DFCAT02 and Best By Date of 07/2009. The lot code is located on the back of the bag

Check your Pedigree bags for the Best By Date of 07/2009 and the lot numbers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Menu Foods of Ontario, Canada have received their preliminary approval of settlement offer for it’s contaminated pet food of the April 2007 pet food recall that harmed or killed hundreds of dogs and cats in the U.S. and Canada.

On May 30, 2008, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey gave the green light to Menu Foods to settle pet food recall lawsuits with a preliminary approval of the settlement agreement. The approval of the agreement in this stage allows the appointment of a claims administrator who is responsible for receiving and processing of the claims filed by pet owners who purchased or obtained recalled pet food, or whose pet consumed or used the tainted Menu Foods Pet Food of the massive April 2007 pet food recall. The Menu Foods Settlement Agreement has a Settlement Fund of US$24 million that may allow recovery of up to 100% of all economic damages incurred by pet owners,subject to certain limitations, and is expected to settle over 100 class action lawsuits filed in U.S. and Canadian courts. Specifically, these claims are “made available to persons in the United States and Canada who purchased or obtained, or whose pets used or consumed, recalled pet food.”

As an update to the Menu Foods Pet Food Recall Settlement Agreement, a Claims Administrator has been appointed and listed as follows,

In re Pet Food Products Liability Litigation
Claims Administrator
c/o Heffler, Radetich & Saitta LLP
P.O. Box 890
Philadelphia, PA 19105-0890
1-800-392-7785
www.petfoodsettlement.com

Menu Foods requests that all claims be made to the Administrator listed above, and Not to Contact them directly regarding claims. At the time of writing, the website www.petfoodsettlement.com is currently under construction, but plans to be up no later than June 16, 2008.

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Menu Foods, one of the largest pet food manufacturers involved in the massive pet food recall of 2007, is a step closer to paying settlement claims to pet owners. The Ontario, Canada based Menu Foods who makes over 90 brands of pet food products, announced an update on the settlement of claims for pet owners whose dogs and cats were harmed or killed from eating their contaminated pet food products recalled in 2007 in the United States and Canada.

According to Menu Foods,

The Settlement Agreement will create a Settlement Fund of US$24 million that will
allow a potential recovery of up to 100% of all economic damages related to the pet food
recall that were incurred by pet owners and persons who purchased recalled pet food in
the United States and in Canada, subject to several limitations. The Settlement Fund will
be administered by a neutral third party claims administrator appointed by the court.

A hearing is scheduled for the U.S. on May 30, 2008 in Camden, New Jersey to approve the preliminary settlement agreement. Menu Foods is asking pet owners to read their website for the claims process instead of contacting them directly since the administration of the claims will be conducted by a neutral third party. Read the rest of this entry »