Pet Food Giant Drops Chinese Ingredients (Menu Foods)

Pet Food Giant Drops Chinese Ingredients
Written by Jason Kobely, Internet News Producer


Menu Foods, North America's biggest maker of wet pet foods and the company that launched the pet food recall, is phasing out ingredients from China.

It won't resume using them until Menu and the "world community" are assured that they are safe, says Menu's outside counsel, David Lillehaug of Fredrikson & Byron.

Menu, which makes pet foods for dozens of brands, recalled hundreds of products in mid-March after reports of kidney failure in pets. An ingredient imported from China was later found to be contaminated with melamine and melamine byproducts that are not allowed in foods.

The recall has increased concerns over the safety of imported foods, especially from China, and food companies of all kinds have or are evaluating their global sourcing procedures.

"All of our customers are asking, 'Where are the ingredients coming from?' " says Victor Barsky, of the New York-based Chenango Valley Pet Foods, which makes dry pet food for 35 companies. It, too, is dropping China-made ingredients, Barsky says.


more...
http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=28062

"phasing out." Argh.

They should just dump ALL of it, and not process and sell anything that has caused so many deaths and heartache.

Oh...silly me...I forgot it's really all about the corporate, not the consumer. :sarcasm:

to chicken and hog farmers.

:banghead:

Thanks for taking quick decisive action out of an abundance of caution.

Note the words NOT FOR RELEASE OVER US NEWSWIRE SERVICES--we're recalling our dangerous pet food, don't tell anyone. The health and well-being of pets is paramount, unless it might cost us a buck.

March 16, 2007
Menu Foods Income Fund Announces Precautionary Dog and Cat Food Recall

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - March 16, 2007) - NOT FOR RELEASE OVER US NEWSWIRE SERVICES

Attention Business/Financial Editors

<snip>

"We take these complaints very seriously and, while we are still looking for a specific cause, we are acting to err on the side of caution" said Paul K. Henderson, President and CEO, Menu Foods. "We will do whatever is necessary to ensure that our products maintain the very highest quality standards. "While the number of complaints has been relatively small, Menu is taking this proactive step out of an abundance of caution, because the health and well-being of pets is paramount to the Fund.

http://www.menufoods.com/recall/Press_Recall_03162007.htm

:banghead:

Get out Great Grandma's old meat grinder. Strip away all the bones, and feed that stuff into the grinder. Mix well. Add some spice for the heck of it. Put in bags. Freeze.

Screw these pet food baaastids.

I've been feeding my dog home cooked stuff for over a month now. A really neat thing is that she used to have that doggie smell. Within three or four days of a bath it would be back. Since she has been eating the home cooked stuff she no longer stinks. I gave her a bath over two weeks ago and she still doesn't stink.

They do like the oatmeal, the pasta, and the regular rice, as opposed to "riso per canne" (which was "Dog Food" in Italy--just broken rice, so it was cheaper).

A vitamin every so often, and Bob's Yer Uncle!

oatmeal, or pasta too. I like to change it up for her. And adding a doggie vitamin is always a good thing too, I think. A little yogurt or cottage cheese and eggs are good for them too. My hubby says I make better stuff for her than I do him. :D

Every other day we hear about ingredients and food from China that is unsafe for even human consumption due to pesticides, storage, etc. Our government food inspectors when they do catch something harmful, just send it back to the producer. No fines, no nothing and the producer likely sends it back to the USA.

We should demand that anything (food, vitamins, etc) that we or our pets consume be marked with country of origin for each ingredient. I don't trust the Chinese and I don't trust our own government to tell us the straight poop when money is involved. Remember 9-11 and EPA's claim that the air was good, and now we find out the report was deliberately doctored.

Ask them where they get their ingredients. Ask them where the food is "manufactured". Keep writing.

I've written to my toothpaste company.

Perhaps they will eventually be so annoyed by all the constant questions, they will list the countries of origin of all their ingredients.

There's no reason we should ingest poison when we pay for food, toothpaste, medicine.

I agree and I do that now. I just called several vitamin companies that make products we purchase and asked them if anything comes from outside the USA and if so what and where does it come from. The customer service desk said that there are some ingredients from outside the USA but she (supposedly) did not have them identified and they were just beginnining to address the issue as they have been getting a number of inquiries.

If one company breaks the imaginary line (that I assume they are now colluding on) and starts to publish such info the others will be forced to follow suit. Most importantly if a company started advertising that their food products, etc all come from the USA that would be a very good thing. The Bush regime has neutered the food inspectors so even the food in the USA is suspect, but it must be far better than the stuff that comes from China, etc.

At some point it might be necessary for us to go back to having a couple head of cattle and a garden and canning to eat healthy.

and that's a damned shame.

I wrote to Tropicana about orange juice from Brazil (whose standards I don't know), and red grapefruit juice from Mexico. Tropicana's excuse was that they can't find enough American juice. They sent me a $4 coupon because poor quality food is acceptable when it costs $4 less, I guess.

Florida's Natural is all Florida red grapefruit juice. I wrote to Tropicana, told them that.

Dole pineapple juice had the same excuse, but it turns out they are the same company. I got the same $4 coupon. "Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade" was the stationery.

I have been growing my own basil for years on a tiny windowsill. This year, I bought a sage plant. No more unidentified spices, but Shallah said Frontier sells organic &/or labelled spices. I'll look for those. All the other spices went into the trash.

Take a look at this website:

http://www.made-in-china.com/

Keep writing letters. Refuse to eat food if they won't tell you the source or where it was processed. There will still be enough food left to eat. Less variety, but we'll do okay.

Vitamins:
http://www.made-in-china.com/products-search/hot-china-products/Vitamin.html



Good luck to all of us.

and contact their elected representatives and businesses to express their interests and demands on this. If only 1 out of 100 raised hell about this we consumers would be heard. Instead most are sheeple and too busy to make it a priority because it is a slight inconvenience in our daily life.

We will gladly pay more for quality US organic food if we can find it, but most can't afford it. But then most don't really care enough to make a phone call on this, so possibly they get what they deserve. I wish this country as a whole was as involved as those relative few on this message forum.

I learned this last night. Kosher products are still a much safer bet, but I'm furious that ingredients from China are being used. I just don't trust them.

Apparently, getting Kosher certification is the "big thing" among Chinese companies right now. From the Chicago Tribune (registration is required, so here are the most relevant points):

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0703310492apr01,0,5302586.story

A bit more enthusiastic than knowledgeable, China's factory owners are clamoring to go kosher. In an odd-couple embrace that only global commerce could produce, more than 2,000 Chinese plants have been certified in the past decade under Jewish dietary laws in hopes of tapping a world trade estimated at $150 billion a year.

<snip>

China is churning out a growing list of kosher products, from canned vegetables to candy to unpronounceable enzymes. The New York-based Orthodox Union, which administers the world's largest kosher trademark, is on pace to double in one year the 300 plants it has certified in China.

"Every two weeks we get applications from 15 or 20 new plants," said the union's Rabbi Mordechai Grunberg, who oversees factories across China.

<snip>

China is discovering that going kosher poses some particular challenges. There are only seven inspectors, or mashgiach, living full-time in China to perform meticulous factory visits, so backup rabbis have to fly in.

<snip>

Likewise, Chinese suppliers often bridle at the notion that even after years of successful inspections, a rabbi will persist in making annual verification visits.

"They say, 'I'm a nice guy and you can trust us.' But we have to say, 'Trust, schmust!'" Benjamin said.

Thanks....I'd rather depend on a Kosher inspection than Bush's government lip service.

I went downstairs to help a friend with something this evening. I took her HALF my winesap apple that I got at the farmer's market Saturday. New York State apple. (I wanted the other half. I bought only one.)

In exchange, she gave me a transparent, sealed bag with already sliced apple in it. Fortunately, it was "product of U.S.A." She said she knew I wouldn't approve, but she had bought it to save the trouble of slicing the apple. (Honestly.)

The drawback, aside from the clear plastic packaging is that it contains calcium ascorbate to maintain freshness and color.

"Sliced from fresh USA apples!"
Peterson Farms
Best if enjoyed by May 24th.

I have to say this amazed me. It doesn't even say what type of apple it is.

A sliced apple in a bag.

A sliced generic apple, but at least it supposedly came from the USA. It is an indicator that convenience overrides other considerations for some.

Tainted Chinese Imports Common
In Four Months, FDA Refused 298 Shipments
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/19/AR2007051901273_pf.html

Dried apples preserved with a cancer-causing chemical.

snip

Scallops and sardines coated with putrefying bacteria.

snip

These were among the 107 food imports from China that the Food and Drug Administration detained at U.S. ports just last month, agency documents reveal, along with more than 1,000 shipments of tainted Chinese dietary supplements, toxic Chinese cosmetics and counterfeit Chinese medicines.

For years, U.S. inspection records show, China has flooded the United States with foods unfit for human consumption. And for years, FDA inspectors have simply returned to Chinese importers the small portion of those products they caught -- many of which turned up at U.S. borders again, making a second or third attempt at entry.

If you haven't already please email congress in support of Country of Origin Labeling http://tinyurl.com/24lv2w

Also consider asking your state officials to require it! A few states have partial COOL like Maine has laws requiring COOL for food from countries with lower pesticide standards. Go here to email your state level Rep and Sen
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/?lvl=L

Or maybe they are trying to be (sick) funny?

From here: http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/petfoods_pg1.htm


For many years we used to buy NutroMax but it got to be too expensive for our pocket book a few years ago so we switched first to Price Chopper then Walmart's brand (both made by Menu Foods) but a few of the cats had an allergic reaction to it (like hives) so we went strictly to Dad's (for both the dogs and cats) just before all this broke out and I'm really glad we did. So far all the furkids are doing better on Dad's then any other food we've used so :::knock on wood::: hopefully they'll be okay now. (Although since we had used Menu products for so long I'm watching them all like hawks more then usual.)

Who trusts them anymore? Especially with this kind of fence sittng. :puke:

the nincompoops. I hope they get sued big time.

Now that it's known the reaction when pets are fed tainted food, what's next? Babies (formula)? Children (snack food)?

We need a massive investigation of the food supply chain to determine how farspread this tainting is

...in the meantime, buy local, buy organic.

I'm NEVER going back to store bought pet food, I'll continue making my own. I'll NEVER trust any of them EVER again.