DOUBTFUL...anyone here buys/feeds this but maybe someone you know does 9or buys less expensive foods to donate to shelters etc)...pass it along!
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WASHINGTON - A major manufacturer of dog and cat food sold under Wal-Mart,
Safeway, Kroger and other store brands recalled 60 million containers of wet pet
food Friday after reports of kidney failure and deaths.
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An unknown number of cats and dogs suffered kidney failure and about 10 died
after eating the affected pet food, Menu Foods said in announcing the North
American recall. Product testing has not revealed a link explaining the reported
cases of illness and death, the company said.
"At this juncture, we're not 100 percent sure what's happened," said Paul
Henderson, the company's president and chief executive officer.
The recall covers the company's "cuts and gravy" style food, which consists of
chunks of meat in gravy, sold in cans and small foil pouches between Dec. 3 and
March 6. The pet food was sold by stores operated by the Kroger Company, Safeway
Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and PetSmart Inc., among others, Henderson said.
Menu Foods did not immediately provide a full list of brand names and lot
numbers covered by the recall, saying they would be posted on its Web site -
[link
http://www.menufoods.com/recall]http://www.menufoods.com/recall[/link] - early Saturday. Consumers with questions can
call (800) 551-7392.
The company said it manufacturers for 17 of the top 20 North American retailers.
It is also a contract manufacturer for the top branded pet food companies. Its
three U.S. and one Canadian factory produce more than 1 billion containers of
wet pet food a year. The recall covers pet food made at company plants in
Emporia, Kan., and Pennsauken, N.J., Henderson said.
Henderson said the company received an undisclosed number of owner complaints of
vomiting and kidney failure in dogs and cats after they had been fed its
products. It has tested its products but not found a cause for the sickness.
"To date, the tests have not indicated any problems with the product," Henderson
said.
The company alerted the
Food and Drug Administration, which already has inspectors in one of the two
plants, Henderson said. The FDA was working to nail down brand names covered by
the recall, agency spokesman Mike Herndon said.
Menu Foods is majority owned by the Menu Foods Income Fund, based in Ontario,
Canada.