Connie, Butter likes the fishiest pouches of Whiskas. They are not on the list, either. You might try that.
Connie, Butter likes the fishiest pouches of Whiskas. They are not on the list, either. You might try that.
Wow. I heard there was a pet food recall but had no idea it was this massive. :(
So are all those brands pretty much identical food but sold under different names and at different prices? How sad. :(
No one here has had wet food in a long time, but I've forwarded the list to everyone I can think of that has pets.
I read yesterday that the thing causing the problem was a new ingrediant
they had just used from a new supplier. It was indentified as a 'wheat glutin"
mixture. I wonder if they tested this before adding it to the mix?
Recall of pet food alarms owners
Vets report a surge in calls after many big-name brands are pulled from shelves.
By Kimi Yoshino
Times Staff Writer
Published March 19, 2007
Worries about food safety hit America's pet owners last weekend as they came to grips with a dog and cat food recall affecting 88 brands of mostly canned "cuts and gravy" selections.
In all, about 60 million cans and foil pouches of items made by Streetsville, Canada-based Menu Foods Income Fund were being recalled.
As the food became linked to at least 10 recent animal deaths, pet owners began making nervous calls to their veterinarians and flooding the Canadian company's phone lines. Many of the best-known U.S. brands of pet food are on the recall list.
Patrick McElroy was annoyed and a little nervous Sunday while playing with his dog Eli at the Silver Lake dog park. "I did recently just buy three to four cans of Mighty Dog," he said. "I guess I'm just going to throw it out and not think about it. It's not even worth the chance."
McElroy expressed anger at the recall, particularly at a time when there have been increasing reports of contaminated foods.
"It's indicative of the trend of the entire country — not just dog food but human food too. If my dog ever died, I'd be outraged."
The large number of brands affected — all made by the same company at a Kansas facility from Dec. 3 to March 6 — also caught people's attention.
The list included big names such as Iams, Eukanuba and other private-label brands sold at major retailers. Nestle Purina PetCare Co. and Hills Pet Nutrition Inc. also voluntarily recalled some of their products made by Menu Foods.
"Oh my god, Eukanuba, too?" said Victoria Levy, 31, of the brand she occasionally buys for her teacup Yorkshire terrier. "That's so disturbing. When they put food on the shelves, you trust that it's safe."
On Sunday, an investigative team from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration collected more samples from the Menu Foods plant in Emporia, Kan., for testing and analysis. No cause had been identified.
Menu Foods spokeswoman Sarah Tuite said the complaints from consumers coincided with use of a new ingredient from a new supplier, but she declined to give more details until tests confirmed the problem. The company has stopped using the ingredient.
Most retailers have pulled the recalled products from their shelves. Now the FDA is encouraging consumers to check the company's website at http://www.menufoods.comfor specific recall information, including Universal Product Codes. They should purge their cupboards if necessary, said David Elder, the FDA's enforcement director. Distribution of the food appears to be nationwide and not necessarily isolated to a specific region.
The company's stock Friday dived nearly 26% on the Toronto Stock Exchange when news of the recall surfaced. The company said the recall could cost it $40 million.
The FDA is tracking reports of sick pets, Elder said. Local FDA offices can be reached through the agency's website at http://www.fda.gov .
Local pet clinics reported a surge in calls, and some veterinarians said they had treated potential cases. The recalled food may be causing kidney failure, whose symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea and lethargy.
Joel Pasco, a Costa Mesa veterinarian, said he treated a Yorkshire terrier Saturday that had suffered intermittent vomiting for a week. It had been fed one of the recalled pet foods. Lab tests were due back today.
"Those are common symptoms in dogs, whether it be spoiled food in a garbage can or food that was poisoned when it came out of the can, which is extremely rare," Pasco said.
Los Angeles pet owner Charles Marder fears his Belgian shepherd Ranger may have become sick after eating nine cans of recalled Iams food last week.
"He would just throw himself on the floor and start whimpering," said Marder, who took Ranger to the vet Thursday. "He would just be laying down and then just defecate."
After he heard about the recall, Marder made another appointment.
Greg Collins, 40, said he immediately checked the list. "I was like, 'Whew,' " he said. "Your dogs are your kids. Knowing the way owners are, they'll do like I did and they'll scramble to see which brands were responsible."
When I went to Walmart this morning, it didn't look like a thing had been pulled. All the pouches and Special Kitty still in stock. All cat food fully still stocked. When I checked out, I asked the checkout person if 9 Lives was on the recall list. She asked "What recall list?" So I told her!!! :mad: :(
:( It is all so sad to know that the food you trusted to feed your babies could have killed them.. Oh I am so so glad that I dont feed my girls any of those brands.. They like Whiskas Tender Bits & Dry & Meow Mix.. :)
Our Walmart in town was taking stuff off shelves around 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.Quote:
Originally Posted by momoffuzzyfaces
Unlike PetSmart who had all their stuff off shelves by noontime when we were there, they dont open until 10 a.m.
Walmart doesnt give a rats behind that's clear because otherwise they would of had stuff off shelves sooner. :eek:
:eek: :mad:Quote:
Originally Posted by momoffuzzyfaces
That is scary. I hope she is just out of the loop and that the people who work the pet department have already taken care of it but if the shelves were well stocked you have to wonder.
I freaked & checked the list.. then realized its for wet food, thank goodness! Bear will be ok then...
Streetsville is ooooh a couple blocks away from where I work :(
What I do have to say is that I'm THRILLED the company is reacting in a very timely mannor (from what I can see anyways) & is getting it into the news asap!!
I remember all too well that toxic food last year, & If I recall, it wasn't made public soon enough & many many animals died, or are physically damaged for life.
The news report I read yesterday said they tested the new ingredient & wasn't able to find the problem (yet), so they pulled the ingredient anyways, as that was the only change in the food.
IF I was buying that brand of food, I'd be in a panic as well, but I'd also be thankfull that the company is trying to correct it asap...
We don't live in a perfect world & from exp. doo doo happeneds. Its how the company reacts is what makes the difference & also how often this sort of thing happeneds from said company.
Quote:
Originally Posted by momoffuzzyfaces
My experience yesterday at my local pet store was somewhat similar but actually worked out very well. I went in to buy Eve's supply of Innova cat food and asked Rene if he had many inquiring customers about the food recall. He and his colleagues had not been informed by 1) the food manufacturer or 2) any of the reps who sell the various brands. When I told him about the recall he immediately started calling every rep the store dealt with to get as much comprehensive info as he could. Some of his reps responded immediately (for a Sunday morning, that's good!). I then offered to download as much as I could and bring it to him for reference.
When I went back into the shop a short while later with my lists, Rene was pulling every item they stocked I had mentioned earlier and assured me he would be calling his customer list to inform anyone who hadn't heard. Their database holds information on regular customers and the brands of pet foods they purchase :) I was so impressed and happy that he chose to take a very proactive stance on the matter.
Rene incidently is the person who recommended I put Eve on the Innova brand when I asked for advice and I am so glad I listened to him :)
Betty
The 9 Lives brand is ok. There is a list on their web site of the brands they make. All ok. They are by the Del Monte co.
Here is the link. There is a link to click on at the lower right telling about their brands and the recall. I should have known you could trust Morris!!!
http://9lives.com/default.aspx?page=home#
CNN had a report tonight that said only 10 pets have died but they expect there to be more!!!! :eek: :( :mad:
This is scary. We've had to keep as up to date as possible at the clinic because a lot of worried owners have called us. Fortunately, we haven't seen any animals come in with problems related to this. *Knock wood*
Fox news just ran an update. They said the company still has no idea what is killing the pets. It did it's own tests by feeding it to some dogs and 1 out of every 6 dogs died!!!! :( :( :(
I'd be surprised if they are not testing the plant the gluten came from. It's possible that coolant (ethylene glycol) got into the feed stream. EG is the same as antifreeze, and has severe kidney effects.
Keep checking....the list keeps growing and the lower end foods like Purina and Whiskas etc are the ones added. In the higher end foods you don't have wheat gluten (in fact they don't have anything wheat in them since wheat is such an allergen), so it's not as worrisome.
This recall is very scary and a wake up call for so many people.
We are lucky, none of our foods that we carry were recalled. In fact Mike put out a sign that none of our foods were recalled and he's had 8 people come in and ask about it...it just goes to show that people are now starting to pay attention to what they're feeding their animals.
I haven't seen a list of recalled foods that included Whiskas or Purina with the exception of Mighty Dog 5.3 oz. pouch being pulled.
Does anyone have an updated list of recalled pet foods as of today?