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,
there are certain limitations and requirements in order to be fully compensated by the Settlement Fund. Menu Foods is requesting that if you fall under the qualification as a claimant, do not contact them directly, but use the information below to contact the Claims Administrator.

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

Check back with us as we check up on the motion hearing in the Canadian Courts of November 3, 2008! For more information on the pet food recall path, click on the related articles below. Hopefully, soon, some pet owners can receive compensation for the loss of their pet family members, as well others who can receive a little help on those vet bills whose pet family member was harmed by the poisonous pet food recalled in 2007.
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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.

California State Public Health issued the recall, but some stores may insist that their Pedigree Complete Nutrition Small Crunchy Bites are safe for dog consumption. To protect yourself and your dog, you must stay vigilant and CHECK the BEST by DATE and the lot numbers to be extra careful if you have to purchase this brand for your favorite pet family members because some stores will insist that their Pedigree is free of the Salmonella contamination.

Salmonella can make your pet sick, but it’s affect on humans handlers of the dog food can have a worse outcome. California Department of Health issued the following safety and health information;

This product should be properly discarded in a secure container. Consumers can return the product to the store where purchased for a full refund.
Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Some pets will exhibit decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Animals can be carriers with no visible symptoms and can potentially infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

Pet owners should be extra cautious when handling their pet’s food at all times, especially since the widespread pet-food-recall of April 2007! For more safe pet food handling tips check out the FDA’s pet food handling safety tips. Remember to check back for any pet food recall alerts!
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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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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.

Not so fast, there are many different types of limitations and other restrictions on the Menu Foods settlement of claims and you need to know exactly how to proceed with your specific claims to be sure not to lose out again! So stay on top of the process and start assembling your data and evidence. For more information on the recalled pet food claims process, visit Consumer Affairs site, even though it is from the onset of lawsuits for the contaminated pet food, there is important information that may assist in filing a valid claim for damages or death to your pet. There are more links to the recalled pet foods here in our pet links page.

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Now almost a year later, Menu Foods, of Ontario, Canada, one of the largest pet food suppliers have agreed in principle to settlement of claims over their contaminated pet food in the pet food recall disaster of 2007. According to the agreement of the settlement, Menu Foods is awaiting for more conditions to be met before accepting claims from consumers whose pets were affected by their toxic pet food. The estimated settlement amount is around 55 million Canadian Dollars when the terms of the settlement are expected to be finalized and approved after a hearing on May 14, 2008. After, approval of a claims process for consumers, notifications will go out to consumers on how, when and where to file their claims for recalled pet food.

Menu Foods recalled millions of cans and packages of dog and cat food during the FDA investigations of poisonous pet food. Since they are one of the largest pet food supplier, they had a large inventory of dog and cat food to recall. If you bought Menu Foods contaminated pet food products, check back for information on your Menu Foods claims for your pet family members who may have been injured or killed from eating their contaminated dog or cat food and hope that it never happens again!

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PetSmart as precautionary action have decided to remove the Smokehouse Brand Dog Treats from their store shelves. PetSmart has taken this action because of reports that some dogs have become ill after eating the treats. There have not been a formal recall of the Smokehouse brand, yet.

PetSmart issued the following from corporate to it’s stores;

“Today the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) issued a media alert warning some treat products from China may be a potential threat to pets due to ’several complaints from pet owners and veterinarians of illness in dogs.’ No deaths have been reported at this time. The symptoms of pets reported sick were vomiting, lethargy and anorexia. To date, testing by the FDA and PetSmart Techinical Services has ruled out melamine contamination that might be making pets sick.

For now, we’re going to take the precautionary measure to pull this product from the shelves and contain it in the back room. Our experts will continue to monitor the situation, analyze samples for a variety of possible problems and ask the vendor to test additional product. Because of the relatively small number of complaints at this point, we’re not issuing a recall. We’ll provide timely updates as more information becomes available.”

Here is a list of SKU numbers of the Smokehouse Brand dog treats pulled off of PetSmart shelves:

7856525052 5108696 Chicken Chips 1lb.
7856525053 5108692 Chicken Chips 8oz.
7856525092 5108693 Chicken Poppers 8oz.
7856525093 5108698 Chicken Poppers 1lb.
7856525134 5108691 Chicken Tenders 8oz.
7856525137 5126536 Chicken Breast Tender Snacks 1lb.
7856525138 5126535 Chicken Tenders 2lb.
7856584255 5126702 Duck Breast Tenders 8oz.
7856584256 5126534 Duck Breast Tenders 1lb.
7856584257 5126532 Duck Chips 1lb.
7856584258 5126531 Duck and Sweet Potato 1lb.
7856585808 5108695 Chicken Tenders 1lb.

The FDA is currently testing several products, but so far they have ruled out melamine, the contaminant that fueled the massive, April pet food recall. The FDA continues to test the jerky treats to try and determine “what is” making dogs sick.

The AVMA has learned that all complaints have involved jerky treats from China, but a list of brands or product names of affected treats is not yet available. The AVMA recommends that pet owners use their best judgment in this matter.

If you suspect that your dog ate contaminated jerky treats, it should be reported to the FDA. To find the number for the FDA district office consumer complaint coordinator in your region, visit www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html.

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To my surprise, a neighbor’s cat became ill about two weeks ago. She found Khufu lying in a puddle of blood and immediately took her to the vet. The first veterinary hospital almost immediately diagnosed with “cancer” and written off. After protests about having her put down, Khufu was prescribed antibiotics and a different brand of “cat food”.

Khufu lives in a household with another cat, and three dogs. Until a few months ago, there were only two dogs, and they stayed outside while the cats stayed indoors. Prior to the latest dog coming into the household, the outdoor dogs were fed Ol’ Roy dog food, almost exclusively, outside. The cats were rarely exposed to the dog food bowls.

Then there was a new dog. He was not an outdoor dog, so during the day he stayed indoors with the cats. He was fed indoors as well and the cats would have access to dog food. Here’s where it gets iffy, the new dog, an older dog, came with a feeder dog bowl filled with dog food by it’s previous family! The feeder dog bowl was easily accessible to the cats, and Khufu is one of those munching kind of cats, who likes to sample all types of pet food! I know because she would come over and head straight for the cat bowl and eat my cat’s food!

No one knew what type or brand of dog food was in the feeder bowl or if it contained tainted wheat gluten or poisonous rice protein, the conatminants of the pet food recall. The neighbor turns a deaf ear when asked if the cat could have eaten some of the dog food! All kinds of outrageous other possibilites come up, like drinking oil instead of contaminated dog or cat food, could have caused Khufu’s illness!

Now, we wait to see what is the actual illness afflicting Khufu from a different vet, “second opinion”. But if your household is made up of different types of pet family members who share common feeding spaces, stay alert and check out all of the pets, if you have had recalled pet food in your home! To see if your pet food has been recalled, check here at the FDA website!

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This latest pet food recall appears to have stemmed from some complaints that the jerky treats made in China, causes fatal kidney failure in dogs. Wal-Mart quietly pulled from store shelves, Chicken Jerky Strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co. and Chicken Jerky from Shanghai Bestro Trading on July 26, spokeswoman Deisha Galberth said late Monday. Wal-Mart does not know if these products are sold in all stores, but they have taken extra measures to prevent the sales of these jerky treats.

“When we took it off shelves at the end of July, we pulled it based on the customer feedback so we could do testing prior to announcing anything publicly,” Galberth said. “That’s why did not make a public announcement — it was still going through the testing process.”

One complaint by a La Porte, Indiana woman , Sherri Shelton who had to put her 7-yr old terrier down after feeding her dogs Bestro’s Chicken jerky Treats from Wal-Mart. Shelton had taken her dog, Sheba to the vet in early July and was given a clean bill of health at that time. Shortly after the vet visit, Sheba began behaving oddly and on a couple of occasions, was found lying in her own urine. After searching for answers she concluded that it had to be the dog treats she was feeding her dogs purchased at Wal-Mart. More on this at Herald Argus site.

In another incident, a Pennsylvania woman’s two-year-old Chihuahua, suddenly died after eating the jerky strip. An autopsy revealed that Bella, the chihuahua, (below), died from toxic bacterial infection, as reported on consumer affairs.com. Bella, Chihuahua R.I.P.
The FDA is still awaiting more testing results on the jerky treats before issuing a recall or other actions.

Despite the fact that it has been a few months since the major pet food recalls, it does not mean that every pet food product has been tested and removed from store shelves. So stay on your toes when purchasing your pet food!
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Not only have Natural Balance provided immediate access to test results of their pet food, they also added testing for Cyanuric Acid and melamine. Remember, melamine contamination fueled major pet food recalls by some of the largest pet food manufacturers. The recalled pet food was manufactured with imported wheat gluten tainted by melamine, a toxic chemical used to make plastics.

The new “Buy With Confidence” service, allows you to use the internet, and other web-enabled devices to view Natural Balance pet food test results. When you go to this link , look for your “Best By” date on the pet food product in the results section. When found, you will know that the samples tested from that date code met the FDA guidelines for the tests listed. In the video below, KCAL9 reporter, Dave Lopez gets a look at how it is all comes together.

Pet food safety to assure consumers is a good start! Of course this is not a cure all safety net for our Pet’s food supply, but it is a refreshing start to see some kind of action being taken to assure that the pet food our pets consume are not going to be their “last meal”!
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Attention, if you are currently feeding your dog any of the Natural Balance Pet food below, STOP feeding them and remove the pet food immediately!

Natural Balance Eatables dog food varieties: Size and UPC Codes

Irish Stew with Beef Dog Food 15 OZ, 23633-59860

Chinese Take Out with Sauce with Vegetables and Chicken Dog Food 15 OZ, 23633-59861

Southern Style Dumplings with Gravy with Chicken and Vegetables dog Food 15 OZ, 23633-59862

Hobo Chili with Chicken Pasta Dog Food 15 OZ, 23633-59863

The problem started in Texas and Indiana in humans who ate meatless hot dog chili sauce and became ill. The FDA expanded the recall to include all of Castleberry’s meatless products produced at the plant and halted production at the facility. These products were distributed Nationwide, some of the known recalled products that are for humans and pet foods are below!

On July 21, the FDA also issued an expanded recall for the following hot dog chili sauce products and Natural Balance Eatables dog food varieties:

* 10-ounce cans of “Austex Onion Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “30300-97101.”
* 10-ounce cans of “Austex Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “30300-99533.”
* 10-ounce cans of “Castleberry’s Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “30300-00101.”
* 10-ounce cans of “Castleberry’s Onion Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “30300-07101.”
* 10-ounce cans of “Bunker Hill Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “75266-04152.”
* 10-ounce cans of “Kroger Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “11110-83942.”
* 10-ounce cans of “Meijer Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “41250-85862.”
* 10-ounce cans of “Food Lion Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “35826-06911.”
* 10-ounce cans of “Bloom Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “35826-06911.”
* 10-ounce cans of “Thrifty Maid Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “21140-21367.”
* 15-ounce cans of “Irish Stew with Beef Dog Food” bearing the UPC code “23633-59860.”
* 15-ounce cans of “Chinese Take Out with Sauce with Vegetables and Chicken Dog Food” bearing the UPC code “23633-59861.”
* 15-ounce cans of “Southern Style Dumplings with Gravy with Chicken and Vegetables Dog Food” bearing the UPC code “23633-59862.”
* 15-ounce cans of “Hobo Chili with Chicken Pasta Dog Food” bearing the UPC code “23633-59863.”

This is a serious health risk! There is more information on botulism located here on the Centers for Disease Control website. Botulism can cause serious injury and even death after eating contaminated food. There will be more on this, you can be sure, so stay alert and up to date!
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