Dog/Cat Food Recall - Menu Foods

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~BrightestStar~ said:
I haven't kept completely up to date on everything, but on the news up here when they were talking about it, I was left with the distinct impression that a factory just outside of Toronto was involved...especially since the head of said factory was giving the press release..(ie nothing to do with China what so ever).
Which is true??
Or are multiple factories involved?

I hope it doesn start applying to dry food too. :|

And the pic of Pebbles....poor puppy. :sad:
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0330pebblesdonebig.jpg


Poor Pebbles. :(

Apparently, the same wheat gluten from China has been shipped to other (dry) pet food manufacturers, but they're not releasing any information at this point. I’m wondering if it’s the brand my dog eats, which is slightly more expensive than some brands (yet it seems to be the premium brands that are most affected).

Hopefully this whole thing will underscore the importance of some kind of pet food regulation. I can’t believe there’s nothing. Canada should take the lead on this.

Also, why can’t wheat gluten come from our local companies? Nothing against China, but if we pride ourselves on being so proactive with our own human health in North America, why can’t we be the same way with our pets?

Coco is staring at her bowl of kibbles and giving me the evil eye. I think she's been reading the newspaper again...maybe I’ll take her out for pizza.
 
The dry food that was recalled is made by Hills, a prescription diet called m/d. We did have a cat last week that was eating this that had sudden kidney failure and had to be euthanized because he was not responding to aggressive treatment - though we had no reason to think it was the food that was the culprit at the time. We're trying to prevent the same from happening with his sister housemate.

Of course this is great that the announce this at the end of the day on Fri when most hospitals are closed on the weekend. We are open all day Sat and Sun so I'm sure we'll be swamped :crack:
 
My dog eats Prescription Hills J/D. Even though the Hills web site says that one cat food is the only possible one affected, I am afraid to give it to her. We are going to contact her vet and I would like her kidney function checked too.

She is going on organic food asap-either Newman's Own or another brand. I know organic isn't 100 % safe either but it would be much more peace of mind for me. That is if I can even find any in stores considering what is happening. There's always online.
 
So it's only a certain Hill's cat prescription being recalled, kibble-wise?

This whole thing is just so sad. And if wheat gluten is the culprit, it's even more sad. Wheat gluten is not even good for dogs, it's just a filler.

The only good thing that may come out of this massive recall is people paying more attention to pet foods and considering premium or super-premium brands (or home cooked). Not that premium brands have not had their own recalls in the past, but they don't seem to be a part of this one. I don't think any of the recalled foods are premium brands, at least not on the dog side (I don't know as much about cat foods). No pet food food containing wheat gluten is premium quality. The crappy thing is that most of the premium and super-prem foods are not available in super markets or larger chain pet stores. Pet owners make the assumption that a food that seems popular and is advertised on TV = good food. For example, Purina has tons of commercials in conjunction with AKC events, and this is one of the worst possible foods for a dog. Premium foods are harder to find and sometimes have to be special ordered. :grumpy:
 
Well I went out earlier this week and brought food for our pets since they were running out. They eat Hill's Science Diet Nature's Best pet food. Now that Hill's has decided to recall one of their Prescription dry cat food, I don't want to give them any of the Hill's pet food. I may sound like I'm over reacting but I'm nervous giving my dog and cats this food. I'm letting them finish out what they have left of their old food since I know that it is okay.

I'm like you MrsSpringsteen, I'm going to our all natural/organic store here and getting them some food from there. I'm just afraid of feeding them this food and if something happened I would never forgive myself.
 
Del Monte Foods has confirmed that the melamine-tainted wheat gluten used in several of its recalled pet food products was supplied as a “food grade” additive, raising the likelihood that contaminated wheat gluten might have entered the human food supply.

“Yes, it is food grade,” Del Monte spokesperson Melissa Murphy-Brown wrote in reply to an e-mail query. Del Monte issued a voluntary recall Saturday for several products under the Gravy Train, Jerky Treats, Pounce, Ol’ Roy, Dollar General and Happy Trails brands.

Wheat gluten is sold in both “food grade” and “feed grade” varieties. Either may be used in pet food, but only “food grade” gluten may be used in the manufacture of products meant for human consumption. Published reports have thus far focused on tainted pet food, but if the gluten in question entered the human food supply through a major food products supplier and processor, it could potentially contaminate thousands of products and hundreds of millions of units nationwide.


Anyone who is looking for organic pet food-Petco sells it and stores like Whole Foods/Wild Oats. etc. My dog is eating Organix (dry) and so far she loves it. I want her to have organic treats too, I am worried about what could be in those. She has Paul Newman but she also has other types of treats sometimes- until this blows over I am extremely cautious.
 
My dog eats Pedigree Kibbles.

"Those Damn Chinese, Is this a 24 conspiracy?" (kidding):ohmy: :wink:
 
At this point, if there is anything with wheat gluten in it I am not giving it to my puppy, whether it is on the list or not. It seems everyday that list gets longer. My puppy got sick this week, and while it thankfully (?) turned out to just be a bladder infection I was so scared!

My uncle makes his own food for his dog and it's all organic. I'm going to start doing the same, I am wary of where food for my pup is coming from now.
 
bonosloveslave said:
The dry food that was recalled is made by Hills, a prescription diet called m/d. We did have a cat last week that was eating this that had sudden kidney failure and had to be euthanized because he was not responding to aggressive treatment - though we had no reason to think it was the food that was the culprit at the time. We're trying to prevent the same from happening with his sister housemate.
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just a couple months ago, my vet recommended we start one of my cats on this exact type of food. she's really overweight and while she's not diabetic now, our vet's worried she might develop it or heart problems later down the road if she stays so heavy.

we thought it was kinda pricey, but doable. i can't remember why, but we just never got around to buying any of the food. i'm glad now we didn't. :slant:

i feel terrible for all the pet owners out there who've had a pet die because of all this. i also feel bad for those whose pets survived, but now they're left with thousands of dollars in medical bills.

this whole thing is messed up and it pisses me off. it's enough to make me want to sit down with my vet and see about preparing food for my cats myself, except one of my cats is super finicky about "people food" (basically anything other than dry cat food or dry cat treats), and another cat won't eat any of it at all.
 
MrsSpringsteen said:
Del Monte Foods has confirmed that the melamine-tainted wheat gluten used in several of its recalled pet food products was supplied as a “food grade” additive, raising the likelihood that contaminated wheat gluten might have entered the human food supply.

“Yes, it is food grade,” Del Monte spokesperson Melissa Murphy-Brown wrote in reply to an e-mail query. Del Monte issued a voluntary recall Saturday for several products under the Gravy Train, Jerky Treats, Pounce, Ol’ Roy, Dollar General and Happy Trails brands.

Wheat gluten is sold in both “food grade” and “feed grade” varieties. Either may be used in pet food, but only “food grade” gluten may be used in the manufacture of products meant for human consumption. Published reports have thus far focused on tainted pet food, but if the gluten in question entered the human food supply through a major food products supplier and processor, it could potentially contaminate thousands of products and hundreds of millions of units nationwide.


Anyone who is looking for organic pet food-Petco sells it and stores like Whole Foods/Wild Oats. etc. My dog is eating Organix (dry) and so far she loves it. I want her to have organic treats too, I am worried about what could be in those. She has Paul Newman but she also has other types of treats sometimes- until this blows over I am extremely cautious.
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I'm seriously hoping that the dry food is fine and will continue to be fine. I've been feeding Chloe Meow Mix.

:(
 
Anything I've been told, we even called our vet, has said that only that one Hill's Prescription M/D kitty food has been recalled. And that is was purely voluntary.
However, I could have sworn when this all started, and I went to check the Hill's website, it said something different..that they had not been effected by the recall, but were voluntarily calling back some other kitty pet food.

Anyway, my pup is a picky eater, and is eating Science Diet kibble right now, so hopefully it stays safe.
And I hope everyone else's pets stay safe as well. :heart:


And if I ever find out any of the Hill's prescription m/d dog food was contaminated - let's justt say things will not be pretty.
 
Wow, there's an article over on Yahoo now saying that as many as 39,000 were sicked or died from the tainted food :(

Thanks for posting that link, Sicy. Jack loves his Friskies Dental Diet, so I was relieved to see that Friskies wasn't one of the affected brands.
 
Oh no that's horrible, and really disturbing. I would die if anything happened to our Riley. It was a year ago that our other dog Yankee bit my son. My kids can't go through another heart break right after that. I am giving my dog pedigree but I am still heading for Natures Balance. After reading the web site I feel a little better in giving him that instead of the Pedigree which was safe but you never know. :huh:
 
All my critters are doing well and I didn't feed any of the recalled foods. However, wheat gluten is used as a meat substitute, so if that's where the problem is, I probably have more risk of complications than my pets. :lol:
 
JCOSTER said:
Oh no that's horrible, and really disturbing. I would die if anything happened to our Riley. It was a year ago that our other dog Yankee bit my son. My kids can't go through another heart break right after that. I am giving my dog pedigree but I am still heading for Natures Balance. After reading the web site I feel a little better in giving him that instead of the Pedigree which was safe but you never know. :huh:
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Sorry to hear of the dog bite. :( My uncle's first dog bit my cousin (who was about 18 mos at the time) multiple times. They are very hard situations to deal with.

As for the food, you mean Natural Balance? If so, IMO that's one of the BEST dog foods available, definitely premium quality, maybe super-premium even. If I had a dog, I'd try Natural Balance kibble as my first choice. Pedigree is near the bottom of the list as far as quality.

For dogs, the simplest indicator of quality is the ingredient list. You always want to see a meat listed first, and preferably not a "meal" and definitely not a "by-product". Also, wheat, soy, and corn are not good grains for dogs. Rice, barley, and oatmeal are better.

Pedigree Large Breed Dog Food:
"Ground Whole Corn, Meat and Bone Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal..."

Natural Balance Dry Dog Food:
"Chicken, Brown Rice, Lamb Meal, Oatmeal, Barley, Duck Meal, Potatoes, Carrots...."

No by-products, corn, or wheat in NB....good stuff!
 
Yes, I meant Natural Balance. He seems to like it so we are on our way to switching. He especially likes the treats! This scare of food has me so paranoid, I have even had a few bad dreams about it. Weird huh? :huh:

I'll post an updated picture of Riley later. :wink:
 
JC, I'd like to try Natural Balance cat formula if I can find a retailer here that carries it.

I got a packet in the mail today from my vet and assumed it would be info about the recall, but it's just a promo for a heartworm preventative.
 
Cool, I think we have a Petco around here somewhere because I have their card on my keychain.

Today I made the decision to apply to the Michigan German Shepherd Dog Rescue and our app was accepted into their pool!! They rehome over 300 purebred GDSs every year, so even if I'm picky (I have preferences for coat length, body structure, and some patterning preferences), something should come along by the time we have a yard.
 
My dog used to eat Royal Canin from the vet until he switched her to something else:|

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The pet food recall expanded further Tuesday to include products made at a Canadian factory recently found to have used an ingredient tainted by an industrial chemical.

Menu Foods previously had recalled only cat and dog food made at its plants in New Jersey and Kansas, saying they were its only facilities to have taken delivery of imported wheat gluten later found contaminated with melamine.

However, Menu Foods discovered Monday that some of the tainted wheat gluten had made it to Canada. It was prompted to account for the ingredient by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which told the company that tests had detected the chemical in pet foods made at its Streetsville, Ontario, plant.

Menu spokesman Sam Bornstein said the amount accounted for just 1 percent of the adulterated Chinese wheat gluten purchased by Menu Foods. It was used in pet foods made in December and January.

Among the products covered by the expanded recall is Royal Canin Canada's Medi-Cal Feline Dissolution Formula canned diet, made by Menu Foods and sold only through veterinarians. A single production lot contained the contaminated wheat gluten, the company said.

"After being repeatedly reassured by Menu Foods, as reinforced by FDA public statements, that none of the contaminated wheat gluten had made its way to Canada, we were completely shocked to learn yesterday that this was not the case," Xavier Unkovic, Royal Canin Canada's chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Menu Foods was the first of at least six companies to recall pet food and treats made with the tainted Chinese wheat gluten. It alone has recalled 100 brands of pet foods, sold throughout North America under its private and major labels. It posted Tuesday an updated list of recalled products on its Web site, http://menufoods.com/recall/.

The FDA has blocked wheat gluten imports from a Chinese company while it investigates how melamine could have contaminated the vegetable protein. (Details on recall)

This week, a large veterinary hospital chain says it recorded a 30 percent increase in kidney failure among cats during the three months that pet food contaminated with melamine was sold.

Those results were reported Monday by Banfield, The Pet Hospital, based upon an analysis of records collected by its more than 615 veterinary clinics.

The analysis suggests that out of every 10,000 cats and dogs seen in Banfield clinics, three developed kidney failure during the time pet food contaminated with melamine, a chemical used to make plastic kitchenware, countertops, fertilizers and flame retardants, was on the market. The chemical appears to have been more toxic to cats than to dogs.


Here's the list

http://www.menufoods.com/recall/PressRelease04102007Canada.htm
 
Great I got to freak out again because Saki is on Royal Canin urinary S/O but its not the recalled one. Checked my cans at home and they dont have wheat gluten in it thankfully.

However my friend is feeding her cat PurinaOne that has wheat gluten in it but it is not on the recall list and there is a detailed FAQs sheet on the Purina website that is a bit comforting. I guess they dont get their wheat gluten from China/menu foods.
 
Liesje said:


I agree. Wheat gluten isn't a proper source of anything anyway.
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Yes that's for caws not cats or dogs...

Sometimes they use such strange things on dog and cat foods... You have no idea... When I had Animal Nutrition, our professor told us that they use almost everything that people usualy don't like to eat, I mean lungs and stuff like that... there's nothing wrong with that, but when you think about it... As long as it has the essential amino acids and other nutrients there's no problem. and the best food are the ones that are not colourful;)

It's worse when it comes to food for pigs...
 
OKAY-

NATURES BALANCE HAS JUST RECALLED THEIR FOOD TOO:

BROWN RICE AND VENISON- DRY FOOD
WONDERFUL THATS WHAT I'VE BEEN SWITCHING MY DOG OVER TOO.

I KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN :mad:
 
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