Pet Food Recall: Company Can't Explain Deaths After Testing

[redacted]

Pet Food Company Can't Explain Deaths

By ANDREW BRIDGES
Associated Press Writer

<snip>

The pet food linked to the deaths of 16 animals has shown no signs of contamination, the manufacturer says, and the company cannot explain why the cats and dog developed acute kidney failure and died.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Paul Henderson, the chief executive and president of Menu Foods, said Wednesday the company was looking at a single ingredient. He wouldn't identify it, but the Food and Drug Administration has said the investigation was focusing on wheat gluten.

"Our hypothesis is that it is that ingredient that in fact represents the highest probability as to the cause," Henderson said. "But we have been unable to prove that through scientific information."

The animal deaths have led to the recall of 60 million cans and pouches of pet food sold throughout North America under 95 brand names.

"This is a puzzling and troubling experience for everybody within this organization," Henderson said in an interview from company headquarters in Streetsville, Ontario. "It is extremely disheartening that we haven't been able to find the causative agent."

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My comments: "Extremely disheartening" for them my ^%$%$#!!!

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Full Story Link:

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070321/APF/703212891

[MadMaddie]

1. If they couldn't explain the deaths then they shouldn't have put

the product in the markete.

This is another case where the FDA approved a product of a mega corporation.

There should be major invetigations into this.

[Dover]

2. Did any lab ever explain the deaths of all those birds that seemed to just fall to the ground?

Remember about two months ago? One group of dead birds was in downtown Austin, TX. And A&M was going to do the testing. But never heard anything more.

[redacted]

3. Dunno, but the birds that washed up a while back on the west coast were

explained by a lack of a specific food source (fish) that were not avail because ocean temps were high.

[tammywammy]

5. I thought it was because of some type of mold

I remember hearing the results on night on the news, I believe it was mold.

[silverlib]

7. I believe the final statement

was that the birds died of natural causes - no pesticides or poisons were found.



??????????????????????????

[Dover]

8. I found this article.......NOT very convincing.

http://keyetv.com/topstories/local_story_019080339.html

Cold weather (40 degrees) and parasites?????????? Come on!!

[AZBlue]

16. It was at the same time as the unexplained smell in NYC & similar bird deaths in DC

Never explained any of it

[Dover]

17. Yep....don't think it was 'natural' in the least.

What is the technology the Pentagon developed that would kill civilians and leave the buildings standing? My tinfoil hat is about worn out, but there always seems to be new uses for it.

http://www.livescience.com/othernews/070112_ap_bird_deaths.html
http://digg.com/environment/Thousands_of_birds_fall_from_sky

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. I wonder what amount of GM products go into it

[redacted]

6. Menufoods is in Canada, not sure what the GM regs are like there.

[Justice]

13. plants at issue in US

[Bitwit1234]

9. I posted this before

I had to have one of my cats put to sleep February19th. First she swelled up, the first thing I noticed. I took her to the vet and said her stomach was full of tumors. Other than the swelling she had all the symptoms of the pet food poisoning. She threw up and had the runs and then wouldn't eat but drank water. She went to the bathroom a lot and peed. She wouldn't eat anything but WalMart Special Kitty and the juice pouches. Of course she was about 13 yrs. old so I assumed she did have cancer. She got so weak she couldn't walk and I had to have her put to sleep. The other two cats one 17 and the other 3, drank the juice in the pouches but ate dry cat food. They did not like Special Kitty and I bought them Whiskas and Friskies pouches. I am now wondering if she was poisoned with the cat food. I hope not because I would feel guilty because that was the food she got.

The problem with stuff like this is like with the ecoli the FDA is not protecting us the way they should because if they checked the food it would be more expensive for the big companies to put the safe guards in effect.

[AZBlue]

18. I'm so so sorry!!!

It's so hard to lose a pet - having to worry that it was this food issue just compounds that. Don't feel guilty though - you took good care of her (very good obviously because of her age) and you loved her and that's what counts. Don't drive yourself crazy with wonder - it could have easily been cancer because of her age. The swelling and the tumors aren't on the list of symptoms from the bad food, so that's probably a good possibility.

I know a little what you're going through - my cat, also about 13 years old, suddenly got sick and within one month wound up having to put her to sleep. She most likely had cancer - all signs pointed to that - but I never found out for sure. At the time I thought maybe I should keep doing tests and trying different things but then I realized she was suffering and due to her symptoms and age it wouldn't really be fair and there wasn't much that could be done. After she died I questioned myself for 2 or 3 months but finally with a little distance I could clearly see that I did the right thing, as did you.

[Cirque du So-What]

10. Tracking down the source may prove difficult

considering all the unsavory items that make their way into pet food.

Beyond the pet food recall: It's a cat-eat-cat world

Detecting corporate media bias often requires us to discern omissions. For example, consider how the recent pet food recall was reported. Los Angeles Times staff writer Kimi Yoshino penned an article ("Recall of pet food alarms owners") on March 19, 2007 that was widely syndicated. In the piece (which was consistent with almost all corporate media accounts), readers learned what brands were in question, how many animals had been affected, and (of course) that the company's stock has plummeted. Yoshino also interviewed a handful of pet owners (sic), including Victoria Levy, who declared: "That's so disturbing. When they put food on the shelves, you trust that it's safe."

When they put food on the shelves, you trust that it's safe.

This is where the concept of "omissions" kicks in because what the Los Angeles Times and its ilk opted to ignore is this: As tragic as the animal deaths caused by the tainted "food" are, a small number of contaminated cans is not really the issue when it comes to pet food. In an industry dominated by multi-nationals like Nestlé, Heinz, Colgate-Palmolive, and Procter & Gamble, repulsiveness should come as no surprise.

"What most consumers don't know is that the pet food industry is an extension of the human food and agriculture industries," explains the Animal Protection Institute. "Pet food provides a market for slaughterhouse offal, grains considered 'unfit for human consumption,' and similar waste products to be turned into profit. This waste includes intestines, udders, esophagi, and possibly diseased and cancerous animal parts."

If you question the motives an animal "protection" group, here's what the Pet Food Institute (the trade association of pet food manufacturers) has to say: "The growth of the pet food industry not only provided pet owners with better foods for their pets, but also created profitable additional markets for American farm products and for the byproducts of the meat packing, poultry, and other food industries which prepare food for human consumption.

more...
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/6230

[Dover]

11. Horrifying, isn't it? When I switched my own diet to mainly organic foods,

I also switched my pets food. It costs more, but I think of it as 'preventative medicine'. Hoping it will save me heartache and vet bills down the road.

[Occulus]

12. Oh HELL no

"The pet food linked to the deaths of 16 animals"

EXCUSE ME??? Isn't it a whole hell of a lot more than sixteen animal deaths at this point???

:wtf: :wow:

[Pugee]

15. Yes, that is only of the animals they "tested" the food on.

Petconnection is trying to collect data on ill animals and has already had 500 deaths reported since 6pm last night. So there have to be hundreds if you count all those who wont go to a vet, don't report it, or aren't aware.

[kestrel91316]

20. One thing we need to remember is that PetConnection's data relies

on owners reporting what they think are cases. It's probably going to be more accurate for the veterinarians who are seeing the cases to assess them by objective clinical criteria prior to reporting.

PetConnection could have overinflated numbers due to this.......

[kestrel91316]

14. More info here >>>

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=469335&mesg_id=469335

[Nikki Stone1]

19. Already a lawsuit

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6475067.stm

But Chicago resident Dawn Majerczyk claims the company knew that there was a problem earlier and failed to act. Her nine-year-old cat Phoenix suffered kidney failure last week after, she says, eating just one of the pouches.

The ginger cat was taken to the vet on Friday but had to be put to sleep on Saturday, just four days after Ms Majerczyk says he ate the serving of Special Kitty Select Cuts. The cat had reportedly lost 6lb (2.7kg) in the four days and was unable to walk and almost blind by the time he was put down.

"By Friday, he couldn't walk," his owner said. "He couldn't even meow or lift his head up."

Ms Majerczyk filed her lawsuit against Menu Foods in a Chicago federal court on Tuesday. She says that she wants to be compensated for the veterinary bills and the trauma suffered by her children.