Pet food recall : DANGER !!!

[chico2]

Icy,please do not apologize,there is not one person here who cannot understand your pain and feel for you and your kitties:sad:
I was surprised to hear on the news,there is ZERO control over what goes in to pet-foods.
They also showed a lady with a 4 month old very sick kitty and I am sure there are many more whom we will never know about:sad:
The news also state a SMALL amount of cats and ONE dog has died in the US,minimizing the problem to me,if even one animal dies it's a tragedy.
I bought different kinds of cans yesterday,all patetype since my cats do not eat slices or chunks.
But they will NOT eat it,not even Vinnie,who is a little piglet normally:sad:
They will only eat Fancy Feast pate type 85g cans,so far I've heard nothing about it..going to check their site
Dry they eat Solid Gold and CSFPLS(chicken-Soup)safe so far
For everyone ot there with sick animals,my heart goes out to you

[chico2]

I just checked www.purina.ca Fancy Feast are apparently safe

[Skryker]

and to anyone with a pet who was affected by this. I'm so sorry.

I haven't had much time to read all the threads lately, but I wanted to add my well wishes and condolences, as well as thanks to Prin for checking the company websites and keeping us up to date.

[Loves Labs]

I would like to second that...

I have been following this carefully, although we haven't been affected, my heart goes out to all of those who have been. My thoughts are with you.

[Kristin7]

Although I have seen this story on the news now every day, I do think the number of animals affected is hugely understated. For example, this morning I saw on my local news that 'only' 10 animals have died from this, then they switched over to a local vet who said his practice alone had 2 patients resulting from the bad food. It is very alarming that pet stores are not all pulling this bad food from their shelves! My thoughts go out to everyone and hope your animals all are ok!

[Mypetsrmykids]

I just wanted to give everyone an update on my dog that I took to the vet yesterday. She is the one that has been eating the food the longest and her BUN and Creatinine were elevated in February. Apparently, the Nutro sliced meat and gravy in the packets that had been recalled has not had an impact on her. Her numbers are the same as they were last month. I'm hoping this news may bring a little peace of mind to some of you. My heart goes out to these people with pets that have been affected. The loss of a pet is so unbelievably painful. I'm so sorry!

[loopoo]

my heart goes out to everyone whos little "kids" have been affected by this... and that the continued updates and info on foods are appreciated, i am still trying to find the right one for my kitty..

[Scary]

Hi all, I'm fairly new to this site, and I've been away so I just learned of all this 2 hours ago. OH MY GOD is all I can say and think....

Hugs and support to all pet owners with devestating losses, illness, or worries in their furry families. I'm also sending positive love to you, hope, and encouragement in what I can only imagine is a terrible, terrible time for you.

Thanks to those here that are sooooooo informed and ACTIVE on this matter, you've helped settle / inform so many its wonderful... and inspiring. :king:

As pet-parents, I feel we need to DO something, starting with informing everyone we know... as so many retailers in the pet food industry aren't (yes, some are, but we probably agree that ALL should...) Once our pets are better (if possible), we should make our voices heard to the pet food manufacturers, retailers, and government. This is not ok. This has to not happen again. Consider writing letters to them, and I'd further recommend posting your letters here if you're comfortable with doing so, so perhaps anyone who feels they are a 'non-writer' so to speak, can borrow your words and thus sent the message out even further.

As a start I've sent the following email to many friends and family... I think most of the info is correct in my fast research, and that it at least gets the point across. I post it here for your interest, or if it helps anyone in ANY way as a summary, to pass on parts of, etc.
~Scary

MY EMAIL:

Hey fellow pet-lovers,

I don't know if you've heard about this, but I had to write just in case... I returned from Ottawa last night and learned of this two hours ago.

If you haven't, stop feeding your pets ANY WET FOOD to be safe until you know more - several pets across Canada and the US have died of kidney failure and there is a huge pet food recall as of this weekend. This affects many wet foods for dogs and cats, especially of the chunk & gravy variety. Kibble doesn't seem to be affected. Sadly, several pet food stores/retailers aren't fully informed, aren't pulling products or doing anything (though some of course are).

Dozens of brands are on the recall list - read on, from the manufacturer/packager of all of these brands: http://www.menufoods.com/recall/index.html It's due to a wheat gluten ingredient that is causing irreversible kidney problems and failure, in foods packaged between December 3/06 and March 6/07. I understand this occurred in plants in the USA, and also through one plant or distributor in Mississauga Ontario Canada.

My cat Luna eats one of the 'better' brands on this list (Nutro's Natural Choice) as an occasional treat only, though thankfully is so far fine. She was boarded at my vet this weekend while I was away, so has been watched.
For your interest/info, I'm switching Luna's kibble too, just in case, to 100% grain-free healthy and natural food: http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=inn-home It is pricey, but its 100% safe.

Some companies are down-playing the severity of this for obvious reputation reasons... and though the recall press release says this isn't happening in Canada, I know of one related cat death, and my vet says it is here too.

I don't want to stress or worry anyone, but this is a better-safe-than-sorry situation! I wanted you make sure you all knew, though many of you I'm sure already do. Consider passing this on to others, and thanks for reading.

[clm]

As horrible as this is, and it is indeed horrible, you can bet that Menu Foods or any other pet food manufacturer ever wants this to happen....this is going to cost them millions of dollars and a great deal of credibility with the companies they supply and consumers of the products involved in the recall. Most large companies use 3rd party contractors for various reasons and if they have any credibility to begin with, they have quality SOP's that need to be followed for new suppliers, raw materials, packaging changes, etc to prevent this very thing from happening. I'm sure they're trying hard to find the problem and at the same time you can bet because of impending lawsuits, information they can or will be able to give will be given cautiously. I'm not trying to defend what's happened, but this is something I'm sure that they certainly never wanted to happen. Hopefully this will spur a whole lot more action on the quality control aspect of the production of pet foods as a whole.

Cindy

[Spirit]

The recalls have been limited to "wet" food (canned, pouches, etc), and include:

Cat Food
Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
Authority
Best Choice
Companion
Compliments
Demoulas Market Basket
Eukanuba
Fine Feline Cat
Food Lion
Foodtown
Giant Companion
Hannaford
Hill country Fare
Hy-Vee
Iams
Key Food
Laura Lynn
Li’l Red
Loving Meals
Meijers Main Choice
Nutriplan
Nutro Max Gourmet Classics
Nutro Natural Choice
Paws
Pet Pride
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority
Save-A-Lot
Schnucks
Science Diet (The recall affects only 3-ounce and 5.5-ounce cans of Kitten Savory Cuts Ocean Fish; 5.5-ounce cans of Feline Adult Savory Cuts Beef, Chicken and Ocean Fish, and 5.5-ounce cans of Feline Senior Savory Cuts Chicken.)
Sophisticat
Special Kitty Canada
Special Kitty U.S.
Springfield Prize
Sprout
Total Pet, My True Friend
Wegmans
Western Family
White Rose
Winn Dixie

Dog Food
Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
Authority
Award
Best Choice
Big Bet
Big Red
Bloom
Bruiser
Cadillac
Companion
Demoulas Market Basket
Eukanuba
Food Lion
Giant Companion
Great Choice
Hannaford
Hill Country Fare
Hy-Vee
Iams
Key Food
Laura Lynn
Loving Meals
Meijers Main Choice
Mighty Dog (The recall affects only 5.3 pouch products that were produced from Dec. 3, 2006 through March 14, 2007.)
Mixables
Nutriplan
Nutro Max
Nutro Natural Choice
Nutro
Ol’Roy Canada
Ol’Roy U.S.
Paws
Pet Essentials
Pet Pride - Good ’n Meaty
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority
Publix
Roche Bros
Save-A-Lot
Schnucks
Shep Dog
Springfield Prize
Sprout
Stater Bros
Total Pet, My True Friend
Western Family
White Rose
Winn Dixie
Your Pet

[Scary]

First, to mypetsrmykids: I'm sorry your dear friend is still ill, but it is very kind of you to clarify the problem here in this site that so many use. I will keep my fingers crossed for strong health for your dog!



From NUTRO's website, dated March 17th:


NUTRO TO VOLUNTARILY WITHDRAW CERTAIN
"WET" CAT & DOG FOODS
IN RESPONSE TO MENU FOODS RECALL

No dry Nutro pet foods, biscuits or treats are impacted


Complete List of Recalled Products

How to Read Packaging Product Codes

City of Industry, Calif. (March 17, 2007) – As a result of the Menu Foods North American recall of specific canned and small foil pouch ‘wet’ cat and dog food, Nutro Products, along with many other pet food companies, has announced a voluntary recall on specific pet food products manufactured for it by Menu Foods. This recall applies to certain wet food only. No dry Nutro pet foods, biscuits or treats are impacted by this matter and no other canned or pouched Nutro products are subject to this recall.

While Menu Foods has indicated that none of the products that may have given rise to pet illness or death were Nutro’s products, there have been a very small number of reported cases of pets becoming sick and developing signs of kidney failure from ingestion of products tied to Menu Foods. Signs of kidney failure include loss of appetite, vomiting and lethargy. Consumers should immediately stop using the involved products and consult with a veterinarian if their pet shows any signs of these symptoms.

Nutro Products has engaged in this pro-active action out of an over abundance of caution for the health and well-being of our customers’ pets.

The only Nutro products involved in this recall are:
Cat Pouch Products (Best by dates: December 03, 2008 through March 07, 2009);
Dog Pouch Products (Best by dates: December 03, 2008 through March 07, 2009);
Certain Dog 12.5 oz Canned Products (Best by dates: December 02, 2009 through March 07, 2010).

Consumers should immediately discontinue feeding these products to their pets.

For a detailed list of specific products please go to "Menu Foods Recall Information." Menu Foods is a contract manufacturer that makes a portion of canned and small pouch foods for Nutro Products and many other pet food manufacturers in North America. Similar such voluntary recalls are being conducted by other involved pet food manufacturers in the United States and Canada.

This voluntary product recall involves the immediate discontinuation of all sales of the involved products, removal of these products from retail stores and the isolation of product in warehouses and distribution centers.

Nutro’s products are 100% guaranteed and all returned product will be refunded. Nutro regrets any inconvenience caused by Menu Foods’ recall.

Nutro customers may check Nutro's website (www.nutroproducts.com) or contact Nutro's Consumer Hotline (800) 833-5330 for further information about its products. Nutro's website will be updated as more information becomes available.

[rainbow]

BLB, so sorry to hear about Sera. Fingers crossed that she fully recovers.

[rainbow]

This website is keeping track of all the pets that have died because of the recall. There is a link to add your pet's information.

www.petconnection.com/

Also, there were reports of pets dying of renal failure last December. :sad: Menu Foods did their own tests on dogs and cats in February and had some die in their own labratory. :sad: And, yet, they did not recall the food until March 16/07.

This is totally unacceptable IMO.

[rainbow]

Also, I found the information on their blog very interesting and informative.

www.petconnection.com/

[Prin]

Yeah, marsupial mama posted the article that said the animals died in the lab tests. :sad:
http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=37992

It's sad that it takes so long for them to act. :sad:

Jesse's mommy, I'll go add merrick to my list... I didn't see the little thingy in the bottom corner or their site, so thanks.

[rainbow]

Yeah, the Toronto Star article says that Menu Foods states they first heard reports Feb. 20 but the article I posted says it was last December that customers were phoning to report to them. :sad:

I just find the time frame totally unacceptable.

[Prin]

Yeah, it kind of shows they put the cost (`40M) above the welfare of our animals. It is to be expected because these are the companies who put cost ahead of animal welfare all the time and that's precisely why there is wheat in these foods to begin with.:sad:

[breeze]

Is it just the wheat or glution meal or both, last night I heard wheat glution meal ( not sure how to spell it)

[rainbow]

I've only heard wheat gluten mentioned so far.

[chico2]

This is like a nightmare,I am sure the death-rate and the number of sick animals is grossly understated
Pet-Value told me,any unused cans on the list of bad food will be reimbursed,but how do you reimburse an owner with a sick cat/dog:sad:
A friend of mine with 5 cats(3 Siamese)regularly feeds them pouches and canned slices,store brand kind.:sad:
I none of his kitties get sick

[rainbow]

A big nightmare is right and it's only just started. :sad: Good luck to your friend's kitties.

[AirIntake]

I freaked out when I read the recall was for meat in gravy. That's most of what my cats have eaten their entire lives! I was so relieved when Fancy Feast wasn't on the list. My thoughts always were that real chunks of meat have to be better for them than dry processed meat flavoured cereal, but I never thought about the gravy!

[chico2]

Airintake,you can go to www.purina.ca to be sure,hopefully they are beeing totally honest

[AirIntake]

There's a message on the top of fancyfeast.com saying that Fancy Feast is not affected by the recall. And I do believe them. My cats have eaten so much of the stuff that if it were tainted I'm sure they'd already be dead (and I'd be starting a lawsuit).

Until now I guess I never noticed that Fancy Feast is under Purina. That's too bad, as I was hoping to boycott all brands affected by the recall.

[Prin]

You know, there are other brands that are better that you can switch to..

[AirIntake]

I live in a small town and specialty food are hard to come by. But what brands do you recommend that make food with real meat chunks?
I'll take a look and see what I can find around here.

[Prin]

Maybe you should start a new thread.

[rainbow]

I agree to start a new thread. Let's leave this one for recall information.

[Prin]

But I do hope that customers become more aware, as seems to be the case with this thread and the new members we're getting as a result of the recall info here. When it was the diamond recall, it was easy to dismiss, but this one has such a large scope that there's no way people don't become more aware (hopefully).

Like with the diamond thing, they're saying they hope to learn from the mistakes of others, but it's obvious they haven't.

I just hope they're being honest about the foods and aren't waiting another couple months before adding other foods or kibbles to the list.

[Prin]

Originally Posted by Prin

Recalled Dog Product Information
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708

Since I posted that list, there have been 3 more added- there are 53 now instead of 50 on the dog list...

One of them is Nutro Ultra...

We really do have to keep an eye on that list, even if it doesn't say it has been updated.