FDA: No Firm Leads in Pet Food Recall — List of Contaminated Foods Expanded

related: Dangers of Rawhide Chews

March 20, 2007
By Anita Manning
USA TODAY

The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it is aware of 14 confirmed animal deaths related to a major recall over the weekend of 91 brands of pet food, but the agency is getting "lots of telephone calls" from worried consumers.

Photo: A sign explains why a store shelf is empty of pet food at a Petco in Miami. (By Joe Raedle, Getty Images)

The cause of contamination is still being investigated, said Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. "We have no firm leads," he said, but suspicion remains focused on a possible contamination of wheat gluten, used to thicken gravy in the "cuts and gravy" cat and dog foods sold in pouches and cans.

Pet food maker Menu Foods of Ontario, Canada, recently changed its supplier for wheat gluten, and that is "the only change that coincided with the reported deaths," Sundlof said during a briefing. The broker who sold wheat gluten to the company got it from a variety of sources, he said, and the FDA is trying to trace it back to the source. Sundlof would not identify the broker.

FAQ: What pet owners need to know

The company is still making dog and cat food, said David Elder, an official with the FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs. "They are in production, and the change they made was changing the supplier of wheat gluten," he said.

The deaths, all due to kidney failure, include nine cats fed in a routine taste trial conducted quarterly by the company, with 25 cats and 15 dogs. None of the dogs in the trial died.

Sundlof said the trial was not conducted because of consumer complaints, as the agency previously reported.

Menu Foods also told the FDA of additional deaths of four cats and one dog, all belonging to consumers.

53 DOG FOODS AFFECTED: Recall Information 1-866-895-2708

1. Americas Choice, Preferred Pets 2. Authority 3. Award 4. Best Choice 5. Big Bet 6. Big Red 7. Bloom 8. Wegmans Bruiser 9. Cadillac 10. Companion 11. Demoulas Market Basket 12. Eukanuba 13. Food Lion 14. Giant Companion 15. Great Choice 16. Hannaford 17. Hill Country Fare 18. Hy-Vee 19. Iams 20. Laura Lynn 21. Loving Meals 22. Meijers Main Choice 23. Mighty Dog Pouch 24. Mixables 25. Nutriplan 26. Nutro Max 27. Nutro Natural Choice

28. Nutro Ultra 29. Nutro 30. Ol'Roy Canada 31. Ol'Roy US 32. Paws 33. Pet Essentials 34. Pet Pride - Good n Meaty 35. Presidents Choice 36. Price Chopper 37. Priority Canada 38. Priority US 39. Publix 40. Roche Brothers 41. Save-A-Lot 42. Schnucks 43. Shep Dog 44. Springsfield Prize 45. Sprout 46. Stater Brothers 47. Stop & Shop Companion 48. Tops Companion 49. Weis Total Pet 50. Western Family US 51. White Rose 52. Winn Dixie 53. Your Pet

42 CAT FOODS AFFECTED: Recall Information 1-866-895-2708
1. Americas Choice, Preferred Pets 2. Authority 3. Best Choice 4. Companion 5. Compliments 6. Demoulas Market Basket 7. Eukanuba 8. Fine Feline Cat 9. Food Lion 10. Foodtown 11. Giant Companion 12. Hannaford 13. Hill Country Fare 14. Hy-Vee 15. Iams 16. Laura Lynn 17. Li'l Red 18. Loving Meals 19. Meijer's Main Choice 20. Nutriplan 21. Nutro Max Gourmet Classics	22. Nutro Natural Choice 23. Paws 24. Pet Pride 25. Presidents Choice 26. Price Chopper 27. Priority US 28. Save-A-Lot 29. Schnucks 30. Science Diet Feline Savory Cuts Cans 31. Sophistacat 32. Special Kitty Canada 33. Special Kitty US 34. Springfield Prize 35. Sprout 36. Stop & Shop Companion 37. Tops Companion 38. Wegmans 39. Weis Total Pet 40. Western Family US 41. White Rose 42. Winn Dixie

Those are the animal deaths "that we're aware of," Sundlof said. "We are receiving many calls from consumers. We have not had a chance to confirm those yet." He said the agency is "trying to find the potential substance responsible for causing the deaths."

Pet food plants are not routinely inspected, Elder said. "The inspection resources are prioritized based on risk," he said, and pet foods are lower in priority than foods for humans or for food-producing animals.

The FDA had never been in the Menu Foods plant in Kansas, the source of all the consumer complaints so far, until this recall, Elder said.

"The manufacture of pet food is similar in nature to the manufacture of human food," Elder said. "We expect them to comply with FDA regulations to assure the food is wholesome."

Sundlof said consumers should watch for signs of kidney failure in their pets, including loss of appetite, lethargy and vomiting, which may be accompanied by increased urination and thirst. He said most of the symptoms seem to occur within a few days of consuming the food. A complete list of the 91 brands of recalled products is at menufoods.com/recall.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-20-pet-food_N.htm