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Friday, March 23, 2007

Menu Foods Pet Food Recall Update...

***UPDATE*** March 30, 2007

FDA Announces: Melamine in Tainted Pet Foods...



The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets has announced today that they have identified a toxin in samples of the cat foods that were recalled by Menu Foods. Scientists at the New York State Food Laboratory identified Aminopterin in samples of the recalled products at a level of at least 40 parts per million. Aminopterin is used as a rodenticide (rat/mouse poison) outside of the United states. It is not licensed for use within the United States except as a pharmaceutical which is used in some cancer treatments such as leukemia.

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.


This quick finding was a collaboration of efforts between Cornell University and the New York Food Laboratory.

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.


It is still unknown how the chemical got into the pet food. It is important to note that Menu Foods states that they will make retribution to owners whose pets were affected by tainted foods. The possibility that only a few of the products manufactured by Menu Foods should be encouraging news to pet owners.

We have already received some telephone calls from clients who have heard that the recall has been expanded to dry pet foods. According to today's New York Agriculture report, this is not the case. The list of pet foods that have been recalled has not been expanded. It is also important to recognize that the poison has only been found, and confirmed, in some of the tested cat food and tissue samples.


Pet Food Recall...

Still Looking for Answers on the 2007 Pet Food Recall...

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April 09, 2007 2:13 PM  

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