Photo by hagit M.
Are you as mystified as I am about the Menu Foods Pet Recall?
Aminopterin
On March 24th, Menu Foods issued a press release stating that researchers at the New York State Food Laboratory discovered Aminopterin in samples of the recalled pet food provided to them. In some countries, excluding the United States and Canada, Aminopterin is used as a rodenticide. That’s where all the talk about “rat poison” has come from in the news.
However, in the week following this announcement, other scientists trying to also find the root of the problem haven’t been able to find the presence of Aminopterin. Also, some veterinarians expressed concerns that what they were seeing in their cat and dog patients was inconsistent with effects Aminopterin would have produced.
New Findings
Then yesterday the FDA and researchers at Cornell University announced they’d discovered another compound in the recalled food: melamine. It was found in the wheat gluten that’s been suspect from the very beginning. (Menu Foods switched to a new supplier, one based in the U.S. but that got its source from China, of wheat gluten, which was used in the recalled food.)
Melamine is used to make plastics that go into laminates, kitchen utensils, and even plates. It’s supposedly not toxic to humans, but in large amounts produce kidney stones, cause cancer, and damage reproductive organs in animals. (Unfortunately, animals were used in studies to come up with these results.)
Problem Found?
But is this what’s to blame for so many pets suffering?
Maybe. Maybe not.
As frustrating as that is, researchers at the FDA and elsewhere are still working around the clock to figure out exactly what got in the food to make so many cats and dogs sick and/or die.
Could This Have Been Prevented?
It’s looking like, no, this could not have been prevented. Menu Foods has a number of screening procedures but not one to identify melamine, or even Aminopterin, as neither compound should ever be in wheat gluten to begin with.
Menu Foods is going to end up being a victim just as much as the pet owners, likely due to a negligent supplier. But they’ll suffer from loss of income, which can be replaced. Family members, which many people consider their pets, can not.
Important Note
Menu Foods only manufactures wet pet food. “Cuts and gravy style” food was the primary focus of the recall.
Hills Pet Nutrition announced yesterday the first dry food product recall:
* Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food, 4 lb. pound bag (all lot numbers)
* Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food, 10 lb. bag (all lot numbers)
This type of pet food is available from veterinarians only. It’s uncertain if any cats or dogs were compromised by it. Hills seems to be doing this as a precaution, since wheat gluten was used in manufacturing it.
To get information on the exact products affected by the recall and for FAQ information, visit Menu Foods Recall Information site.