MSNBC: Cause of pet food deaths is rat poison

Rat poison on wheat from China.

:mad:

I thought the expensive pet foods WERE human grade???? I guess not.

are being protected from foreign food?

My store has produce from countries in South America and Mexico.

I can't believe our country has outsourced farming now too.

The tags show the country. We get plums from Chile too.

How do we know the produce hasn't been sprayed with poison, or grown in a clean area, free from E-coli?

what we do know is that many pesticides banned in the US are used freely on Central and south American produce and imported here. Buy local and organic.

sprayed with a fungicide that he didn't trust.

It might be the only food worth buying for any pets now. I have actually seen him eat this stuff on tv several times and not that long ago I saw a show (from a dog show I think) where he had celebrities eating it with him. I say they all eat what they are selling and lets see how fast the pet food industry gets cleaned up!

:hi:

Even the dog eats his brand.

and David Orr. :D

Everyone seems to be enjoying it!

I swore someone told me that. I didn't know Mr. Van Patten did too!

:scared:

coumadin dose or go get a PT PTT INR. :scared:

that one out right away by the BLEEDING it causes.

Aminopterin is a human chemotherapy drug. The Chinese put it on their wheat. WAY BEYOND STOOPID.

:scared:

i thought that WE were supposed to be the "world's breadbasket".

that's fucked up.

seems like there would have to be a whole fucking lot of rat poison on that wheat for it to be fatal at that dilution in a sauce.
Bastards.

How awful. To put it mildly.

someone has some 'splainin to do

are made in china.

I KNEW THIS SHIT WAS A FUCKIN DISASTER WAITNG TO HAPPEN.

I HATE THIS SHIT. I'M ABOUT TO BUST A GUT I'M SO GODDAMNED ANGRY.

Premium food, and bargain food, all made at the same place, and sold to the pet food companies.

I pay a lot of extra money for "high quality" food for my 2 dogs. Big dogs. And I find out I'm buying the same stuff. At least I only feed them dry food. And pizza. And sandwiches.

But, now I wonder if it's worth the extra money.

Or consider putting all 3 of you on kibble! (ugh)

the same. i worked for a contract packer (quite a while ago), and different clients were kept pretty much separate. different recipes, and different quality control procedures, even. something like flour might be from the same hopper for several brands, tho.

on the list. There are other foods also. But still we don't know if they buy food from the supliers.

I think the pet food industry is in for a huge ass quake after this secret leaked out.

Royal Canin is what my kitty eats. Thanks for helping put my mind at ease (at least till we find out which suppliers they use)

Excess vitamin D3 prompts petfood recall
Mars Inc. recently recalled seven lines of its Royal Canin dog and cat foods after discovering an overage error in the formulation of its diets. Royal Canin company executives said they recalled the food as a precaution due to elevated levels of vitamin D3.

The affected brands were voluntarily recalled everywhere in North America in February. Once Royal Canin discovered the problem, the company recalled the food and notified thousands of vets across Canada and the United States. Royal Canin also set up a hotline for concerned pet owners and vets to call.

link

The contaminated stuff was recalled in February. What our pets are eating now is probably OK ... I hope.

weren't affected. I had a dog with liver issues and another with skin problems and I could never find out what caused it.

edit: I did some research on Royal Canin. It's not related to the Menu Foods recall. It's a different problem and the recall happened in February.

http://www.wattnet.com/newsletters/PET/htm/PETmar212006.htm

Wednesday, February 22, 2006
10:15:00 AM EST
Warning For Dog Food Recall- Royal Canin Veterinary Food
http://journals.aol.com/hpmiou/TheMondayandFridayMewsGazette/entries/2006/02/22/warning-for-dog-food-recall--royal-canin-veterinary-food/1542
HI All,

Warning:

New Food recall The Department of Agriculture and Markets has become aware of a recall of a ROYAL CANIN dog food. ROYAL CANIN Veterinary Diet Canine URINARY SO in gel canned product has been recalled because of excessive levels of vitamin D3. The excessive levels of vitamin D3 have resulted in 8 cases of hypercalcemia in dogs. The attached alert from the ROYAL CANIN Company contains important information concerning the recall of this product.

This product is only available for purchase through veterinarians. February 2, 2006

IMPORTANT PRODUCT QUALITY NOTICE

We regretfully inform you of a recently uncovered problem with our ROYAL Canine Veterinary DietTU canned diets. Since November, we have had 8 reported cases from across the USA of hypercalcemia in dogs. Clinical work-ups suggested high levels of vitamin D3. All of the dogs affected were on ROYAL CANIN Veterinary Diet(tm) Canine URINARY SO(tm) in gel canned diet.

Consequently we started an exhaustive nutrient analysis of our canned products. This week, we received the independent laboratory results of these nutrient analyses. It is now clear that there are production tots of ROYAL CANIN Veterinary Diet1" Canine URINARY SO(tm) in gel canned product in the market with excessive levels of Vitamin D3. The following production Lots are affected (the "best before" date codes are noted on the cardboard tray pack mURINARY SO"1** m gel canned (best before 03/2007,05/2007 and 06/2007).

Our records indicate that you may have purchased some of the affected products. These production code lots should not be fed to pets. Please contact, your clients currently feeding these products to determine if they are feeding an affected code tot. Our veterinarians and representatives are also available to support you at all times. You may contact your distributor for product replacement or refund. Please do not hesitate to contact your ROYAL CANIN Veterinary Diet(tm) representative, or our technical veterinary support team at 800 592-6687 with any questions or concerns that you may have.

The excess levels of Vitamin D3 in the affected production lots are due to a vitamin premix error. We have taken appropriate actions to ensure that this type of error does not recur. Subsequent code lots have been tested and, other than the production lots noted above, can be used with confidence. We genuinely regret, that this has occurred as we place the highest priority on the health of pets.

on the news, i heard them say that menu foods has about 1400 different recipes that it uses.

but you might try www.flintriverranch.com

It's all human grade. It's more expensive per pound than many premium brands, but most dogs actually eat less, so it's not really that much more.

Plus, they digest more and therefore poop less. Always a bonus in my book.

I still have some of the IAMS foil pouches that I never fed her.

the fact that Menu allows cross contamination means that their plants are not safe. So, yes, you get healhtier ingredients but if they are not cleaning the machines as they should be, you get the toxins from low grade food and, also, remnants of the low grade food in your purchases.

What else? I would also like to know where is the outcry from PETA?

Our poor companions have to suffer for GREED. That is what is comes down to.

Did you want PETA to personally come to your house to prevent you from accusing them of not being concerned? There is a statement on their website about this.

Meanwhile, I'm switching to organic cat food. This could have been my sixteen year old cat. Way too close for comfort.

Our food supply is screwed up because of this evil PROFIT MOTIVE that runs the world.

yes, they're cutting corners and quality to eek out a few more bucks.
I hope it cost them big time.
I can't even express how awful I feel for those who lost their precious pals and the deaths and injury to these animals that trust us to care for them.
I am outraged.
Fucking greedy corporate whores.

We are going to so regret the day we gave our souls to China.

We are in debt up to our eyeballs to China, and we are supporting their economy by buying all of their cheap imported crap at Wal-Mart.

Their economy is flourishing, while ours is stalling out. They are buying cars, and gas for those cars, so they are competing with us for fuel, driving up the cost here in America.

The money people save by shopping for cheap crap at Wal-Mart is spent twice over putting gas in their tanks.

And now that country is sending us tainted wheat and killing our pets! What, can't America grow wheat anymore? Anyone told Kansas about this?

Don't shop at Wal-Mart, people! Just say NO!!

If you look at the all places that are part of the Recall, high end stores like Wegmans appeared to be getting the same crap as Walmart. Hmmm....

There is no competition, it all comes from the same place. Different name, different price, different colors on the packaging, but it's all the same.

Whatever happened to individuality? I always thought it was a good thing.

And I refuse to buy "W" brand products--ANY of 'em. I've tasted some of their (people) food at my mom's house, and it's crap. Very low quality. Plus I resent how they put their stuff at eye-level and shove the name-band products on the lower shelves. I'll stoop to find the good stuff, thank you very much. It's gotten to the point that they got rid of the organic baby carrots entirely and replaced them with their own. Yeahhh like I trust Wegmans quality control on something as touchy as organic, when their "regular" food is so bad.
:eyes:

Go to their website and find the page of their own name product recalls. Way more than pet food.

I've been boycotting their Web site ever since I sent in a politely worded complaint about how they won't make regular sandwiches at the deli counter anymore (forcing you to eat a sub even if you're trying to eat healthy and liked their turkey sandwich on wheat bread) and never got a response--not even a form e-mail. Anyway, now you're tempting me to go take a look...hm...

FDA is sending inspectors to 2 plants in Kansas and New Jersey.

WTF!!!! I thought all they did in Kansas was grow fucking wheat!

Wal-Mart, basically every brand in any other food store.)

Very few things that you buy anymore are NOT made in China.

What are the troops doing in Iraq? Send them to China already!

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

ALBANY, N.Y. - Rodent poison has been found in pet food blamed for the deaths of at least 16 cats and dogs, a spokeswoman for the State Department of Agriculture and Markets said Friday.
Spokeswoman Jessica Chittenden would not identify the chemical or its source beyond saying it was a rodent poison.

Good question.
I didn't think rat poison attacked the kidneys.
????

Generally in the US we use Warferin in high doses. In low doses, it's Coumadin, commonly known as a blood thinner!

Arsenic used to be a common rat poison.

can cause ARF, and apparently aminopterin can, too.

again dear Vet Wonder lady. I will check this out later when I have time, but I know that by the time I have to do that you will already have the answer!

Because his was.

Don

Should people be worried about wheat products for human consumption?

First it was beef then chicken, then spinach, then lettuce now.....

Oh ya, pharmaceuticals all the prescription and over thecounter drugs that kill people....

Life in the U.S.A. has become very unsafe on so many levels.

>>>>>This is NOT the direction I want to go in for my country or myself.<<<<<

A.Most of the pet food involved, I thought, was "wet" pet food, not the dry nuggety stuff made from grain and soy.
B.Rat poisons (at least western ones) kill rats because rodents don't/can't vomit. Cats or dogs or humans eat it and hork it up and usually survive.

If true, though, it's an important story--it's been apparent for esveral years that the FDA has abdicated the job of ensuring the safety of our food supply to big Agra.

This is a long term thing I bet. A little bit of poison every day can up.

Don

westerners use to kill rats these days, but maybe something like arsenic. Which leads you to wonder how long it'll be before it shows up in the human food supply.

to methotrexate, which for some unfathomable reason the Chinese use as rat poison.

Bet it works real well.

You know it's just a matter of time before this happens with the human food supply. Very disturbing.

Dec was always the #1 suspect. The gluten was made from contaminated wheat.

go to www.sitstay.com and try some of their great pet foods. I have two little doxies and they eat the Prairie organic dry food which I combine with green beans and carriots (doxies tend to gain weight and have back problems, but they love to eat!). I began feeding them this brand because of the organic ingredients and the human grade. After about a month, their coats became extremely shiney and their eyes got noticably brighter and clear. My vet even remarked on it and asked us to bring in an empty bag so she could see the ingredient list.

I've been dealing them for about 2 years, and I've been very impressed with their products and the company.

i didn't see any catfood listed on the site.

Nevermind...:dunce:

ABC News EXCLUSIVE: Rat Poison to Blame for Pet Food Contamination



Someone close to the investigation tells ABC News that rodenticide, a chemical which the source says is illegal to use in the United States, was on wheat that was imported from China and used by Menu Foods in nearly 100 brands of dog and cat food. In the last week, there have been at least 15 confirmed deaths of pets tied to contaminated food. (ABC News)


By DAVID KERLEY
March 23, 2007





This absolutely does it for me. I have HAD IT.

It is time to STOP OUTSOURCING WHAT WE HAVE HISTORICALLY PROVIDED FOR OURSELVES, WITH THE PROPER SAFETY OVERSIGHT.

1.) make it half protein, any comb. of:

raw chicken liver
raw ground turkey, chicken or beef (chicken is cheapest)
cooked meat scraps--no bones
eggs, raw or cooked
cottage cheese
yogurt
sardines
tuna
etc.--but not processed meat like ham or bologna.

2.) add an equal amount of carbohydrate:

white or brown rice, cooked mushy with plenty of water
leftover plain cooked pasta
cooked or grated raw carrots
cooked green beans
cooked oatmeal or millet
minced cooked broccoli
cooked or grated raw zucchini
wheatgrass, sprouts
fruit if your cat likes it
seaweed
etc.

3.) add a bit of vegetable oil--about a half tsp. for a 1-cup batch.

Mix it all together, chopping in food processer if it's too coarse. Serve one cat about 1/4 cup per meal, more or less. You can use leftovers from your own meals as long as the food isn't too spicy or greasy. Keep it refrigerated, of course.

About the only thing you really need to avoid is onion powder, which is bad for cats for some reason.

Some cats like peanut butter and grape jelly--mine likes a pinch of a PBJ sandwich as a treat!


I've recently put my cats on this diet because one of them is overweight, and dry food is so high in calories for its volume, and because the other one is elderly and I understand that people-grade food is better for his geriatric kidney disease than pet-grade food.

"Lucy" thanks you.

I think I might make a new post with the recipe for more visibility.

incident. Basically, we've been getting a pet food ingredient from a country that has areas in the country which eats cats and dogs. One of those things that makes you go hmmm.

motherfucking China?

We've lost 4 pets in 3 years. :nuke: :nuke:

General Info, including phone numbers to call



Recalled CAT product information:


Recalled DOG product information:

that our country has been moving in the wrong direction for a long time. This time it's about outsourcing and lack of proper regulation. It's just one thing after another and more people wake up each time. It's terrible that it takes such tragedies to wake people up.

This makes you wonder what we may be eating that may hurt us in the long run.

Organic foods are more expensive, but if there was one dietary change that could be made, I'd especially recommend eating organic cereals. And support our local farmers, those whom you know do not use unsafe practices. Pull up a chair at the Farmer's Market and talk for a spell.


The quashing of regulatory activity by this administration is endangering us beyond what we currently know.

is illustrative of how deregulation without representation and outsourcing is putting our lives and the lives of our animals in the balance.

The article below makes the additional observation that relying on other countries for food is not in the interest of national security.

From Organic Consumers:
"How much of our food production do we want to turn over to other countries that might be friendly now and not friendly in the future? The federal government is looking at this and my question is: Are honey bees the canary in the coal mine? What are honey bees trying to tell us that we humans
should be paying more attention to?" - Jerry Hayes, Chief, Apiary Section,
Florida Dept. of Agriculture, Gainsville, Florida

<snip>

(emphasis, theirs)"BUT THAT COMES BACK TO YOUR PRESENTATION AT THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL SECURITY, IF WE END UP LOSING OUR POLLINATORS IN NORTH AMERICA AND WE ARE DEPENDENT UPON CHINA, SOUTH AMERICA AND OTHER COUNTRIES THAT MIGHT BECOME POLITICALLY DIFFICULT IN THE FUTURE, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THE U. S. FOOD SUPPLY?"

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_4557.cfm

those poor animals. They trust us (humans) unconditionally, and we inadvertantly killed them.

...ain't it grand?

All those animals, sick...dying...dead. Fuck.

hates dogs and cats. He has gutted and hogtied the FDA and USDA.

Industry self-policing to satisfy Repubic cronies is responsible for this. NEVER FORGET. NEVER FORGIVE.

People don't understand torture. They can barely follow the bit about firing the attorneys. Killing cats and dogs? THAT, people can understand.

high taxes for unnecessary things like labs that will analyze pet foods. Who needs it anyways? Didn't the company recall all the bad stuff before NYS stuck its nose in?

Several investigations are starting to come together, and the scandal will widen, as everything about lawless capitalism does nowadays. Recently, I have been hearing on CBC News, (Canada; I live in Michigan, far better news coverage than "U.S." media), that there is now a class-action lawsuit developing, and directed against the Canadian version of the canned dog food brand, President's Choice, Toronto. As part of their discovery, the law firm revealed that the crisis started when Menu Foods changed its distributor, and they also revealed the internal study Menu Foods did, where cats and dogs were fed the food, and seven died. They ignored it and sold it anyway. The Canadian reporter covering the story went to a store, and found the tainted President's Choice brand still on store shelves. The New York State Agriculture Inspector has now found the rat poison mixed in.

People with pets who suffered the slow, painful deaths of total kidney failure, undiagnosed until now, are advised to keep all vet bills and statements for possible addition to lawsuits. Total kidney failure is rare, no matter how this is being spun, and generally a sign of poisoning; liver failure/disease, treatable, is much more common as dogs age. This is a fucking outrage, and these people should pay heavily for this total lack of any care, as they consolidate all industries to one huge profit center and investment for themselves.

made, and what exactly is allowed by regulation (or lack thereof) to go into ingredients of pet food.

There are horror stories already documented about what the "government" allows in pet food manufacture. Plus stories of road kill, other diseased dead animal parts, feathers, beaks, rancid droppings, the list goes on, that go into pet food.

So now there may be GM grains or other GM products dumped into the food, just like it's going into people food. If genetically modified ingredients are killing rats or giving them cancer, what the hell do we think they would do to other animals?

This crap has got to stop. And if this rat poison came from the floors of the plants, it just goes to prove exactly how the public is being screwed, as usual, by lack of regulation or inspection.

Even if this disaster was the result of a person's sabotage or some freak unacceptable accident, it should focus public attention and awareness on the practices of the pet food industries. And I say we boycott every single brand that was listed on the contaminated list.


DAMMIT !! :grr:

A post on the vet website:

"...According to Plumb's - Leucovorin calcium is helpful in the first 1-48 hour period post ingestion. I assume this means that patients who have been eating this food for days/weeks/months would not benefit from its administration. Furthermore, the suggestion that the acute tubular necrosis is secondary to precipitation of the drug in the renal tubules indicates to me that folic acid supplementation would be of no benefit to the ARF. The folic acid supplementation would probably benefit other aspects of the toxins affects but the damage to the kidneys simply requires flush, flush, flush. Any other thoughts on these treatments?..."

than just flush, flush. I have a cat in the hospital. So far her blood tests are not getting any better. All they are doing is flushing her out.

Let me know if anyone comes up something else that can be done.

my kittens are okay, they ate food from batches made before this mess. But I sympathize because my old cat (Turtle) who I put down at age 17 in Sept 05 suffered from chronic kidney/liver disease for the last couple years of her life so I very much sympathize.:hug:

A friend of mine who is a pharmacologist is contacting the FDA right now to tell them what he knows about this type of toxicity. Flushing is the best thing that can be done. Hang in there...(easier said than done, I know...)

Not to sound like a commercial either but I have the utmost trust in BilJac. From an email received this morning:
I am copying ----- and -----. I contacted Royal Canin which also makes Waltham brand. They will not certify that the wheat products used in their food is domestic wheat and not imported from China because it is “proprietary”. Screw them. If they are using imported wheat covered in rat poison in the wet then I do not trust that they are not using it on the dry. I just called BilJac. They certify that all of their ingredients in cat and dog, wet and dry are DOMESTIC products. I am sticking with the Bil Jac.

www.biljac.com

Someone has probably brought this up already but is anybody else besides me absolutely fucking furious at these two companies that claim they are higher quality foods than the other grocery store brands?! My vet even seemed to think so. I can't believe that the generic names and Iams/Science diet are basically the same thing! I have spent the whole week worrying about whether or not I poisoned my fuzzy children (2 cute kitties) because of these sleazeballs. Luckily my cats have been eating food from batches made before this but it came from the same plant. Sorry, losing plenty of sleep to worry this week has made me in desperate need to rant!!!:rant: :mad: :argh:

since they started sneaking SALMON into their Turkey Adult canned. But I am just as happy with recommending the chicken and liver one.

Several years ago Hill's got invaded by the borg, AFAIAC, and started putting a little too much energy into fancy new packaging every year, and changing their formulas a lot. Buth they are still, IMHO, consistently the best food for my patients. And their Prescription Diet line of therapeutic foods is really great and always has been.

When I saw that their four feline cuts and gravy style foods had fish snuck into all of them, they got removed from my "good list" immediately. I think the bowtied Harvard MBA bean-counters have too much power at Hill's now, and the veterinary nutritionists are probably told to sit down and shut up.

I still prefer them to most of the other crap out there. But the US has been sliding backwards in pet food quality for a while now........

http://www.wndu.com/news/headlines/6641617.html

Pet Food Recall Worries Hits Home

Cut and gravy style foods, made by Toronto based Menu Foods have been blamed for many cases of kidney failure, and the deaths of 16 cats and dogs.

And news of a massive dog and cat food recall is causing concern for pet owners in Michiana!

Vets say kidney failure and disease is common in aging pets.

What's uncommon in the cases linked to these products is how quickly the disease sets in.

“They found crystals that formed in the kidneys, much like anti-freeze, the way it causes crystals to form in the kidneys,” Dr. David Visser of the Roseland Animal Hospital told NewsCenter 16.

>>>“They found crystals that formed in the kidneys, much like anti-freeze, the way it causes crystals to form in the kidneys,” Dr. David Visser of the Roseland Animal Hospital told NewsCenter 16.<<<

...grow every scrap of my own food for myself and my animals. Honest to gods, I don't trust anything anymore.

It's horrible enough that so many pets have suffered. :cry:

Gee, and I was told we were safer now than 7 years ago. That just lets us know that at any minute we could all be hugging the porcelain throne while chimpy stands there saying, "Heckova job, FDA." I wish there was a middle finger smiley I could use toward the Bush administration at this moment. All those pets who suffered needlessly because they couldn't do their damn job and make sure the damn food that comes into this country wasn't poisoned.

this could have been a test of our food security system by somebody who doesn't like us?????

I mean it is certainly not out of the realm of possibility. Our government needs to step up to the plate and investigate this.

Glad to see someone else is trying on that brand of tinfoil. This just seems so... weird. Why would the rat poison be ON the wheat? The article said that large doses can cause renal failure - but to cause that result, there must have been an incredibly high level of contamination, right? Wheat gluten is cooked & condensed wheat grains. Wouldn't the cooking process remove most of the rat poison? It seems to suggest that the poison was added to the wheat gluten itself after processing. And I don't understand how an inadvertent contamination of gluten can still be so concentrated that, even when combined w/many other ingredients and supplies, it can still cause this much damage to this many animals. It makes me think that this supply must have been contaminated on purpose. I've got a lot more questions than answers.

am i the only one totally creeped out on what might be going on MY plate??:scared:

From vet website:

How is aminopterin toxicity treated?
The nephrotoxicity is treated with aggressive hydration and diuresis to dissolve and remove the crystals from the tubules. Based upon reports in humans and reports by colleagues in this current situation, at least partial renal recovery can be anticipated in many cases.

Bone-marrow suppression (myelosuppression) is a concern with any folic acid inhibiting agent. A small number of VINners have reported anemia in patients exposed to the affected foods.

Thus far there are no reports of thrombocytopenia or leukopenia, but these effects may not be apparent until later in the disease process.

At this point, it is impossible to say if this potential effect needs to be addressed. Certainly changing the food fed and removing the insult is the most important step and may be adequate.

Folinic Acid (NOT FOLIC ACID) can be considered prophylactically to prevent or minimize myelosuppression and mucositis. Antibiotic therapy may be necessary in cases of severe neutropenia. Folinic acid doses are 1mg/kg/day PO.

Gastrointestinal damage may result in endotoxemia, diarrhea and vomiting. Supportive therapy is indicated if these signs are observed in an exposed patient.

******I am especially concerned about development of anemia (decreased rbcs) or decreased immunity (low wbcs) down the road in the surviving victims. And the very real risk of chronic renal disease as a sequel. What a disaster.*******

http://www.fda.gov/cvm/MenuFoodRecallFAQ.htm

They are expected to issue a statement regarding the aminopterin later today.

Department of Agriculture & Markets News
Friday, March 23, 2007
Contact: Jessica A. Chittenden
518-457-3136
jessica.chittenden@agmkt.state.ny.us
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEW YORK LABORATORIES IDENTIFY TOXIN IN RECALLED PET FOOD
Aminopterin Confirmed in Recalled Pet Food and Implicated Tissue Samples


New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker and Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Donald F. Smith announced today that scientists at the New York State Food Laboratory identified Aminopterin as a toxin present in cat food samples from Menu Foods, the manufacturer of the many brands of dog and cat food that are currently the subject of a nationwide recall.


The Food Laboratory received the pet food samples from a toxicologist at the New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University, where testing has been underway to try to identify the cause of kidney failure in dogs and cats that consumed the recalled brands of pet food. At Cornell’s request, the Food Laboratory tested the samples for poisons and toxins, and identified Aminopterin in the pet food samples at a level of at least 40 parts per million.


“We are pleased that the expertise of our New York State Food Laboratory was able to contribute to identifying the agent that caused numerous illnesses and deaths in dogs and cats across the nation,” the Commissioner said. “New Yorkers can be assured that we have two of the nation’s leading laboratory programs in food safety and animal health working on this problem.”


The Dean of the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine Donald F. Smith concurred by saying, “The close partnership between the Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University and the Department of Agriculture and Markets was key to this finding.”


Aminopterin, a derivative of folic acid, can cause cancer and birth defects in humans and can cause kidney damage in dogs and cats. Aminopterin is not permitted for use in the United States.


On March 16, 2007, Menu Foods initiated a recall of numerous varieties of dog and cat food that were manufactured at two of its plants in the United States between December 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007. The products are both manufactured and sold under private-label and are contract-manufactured for several national brands. Information on the specific brands of pet food subject to the recall can be found at www.menufoods.com/recall.


Since the recall, Department food inspectors have contacted all of the organizations that represent retail food and pet food stores to ensure that the stores were aware of the recall and that the recalled products had been removed from store shelves in New York State.


New York State is home to two laboratories that are part of federal emergency lab networks, created through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after 9-11 to keep the nation’s animals and food supply safe. The New York State Food Laboratory is part of the Federal Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) and as such, is capable of running a number of unique poison/toxin tests on food, including the test that identified Aminopterin. The New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University is a member of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network and thus, is uniquely qualified to investigate the causes of animal health emergencies, like the sudden deaths of dogs and cats from the recently recalled pet food.


###

kick

Like our North American farmers aren't good enough? We've lost our manufacturing to China, now we're losing our agriculture to them too?

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: