Post by PeeterMenu Foods, two of whose U.S. plants made the pet food that's killed
16 animals and sickened many, many others, just concluded a press
confererence in which officials said their researchers have found
traces of a FOREIGN-manufactured rat poison compound in the products.
Source, culprits, suspects, methodology? Menu Foods says all are
UNKNOWN at this time.
What IS known -- speculation, and fear -- running wild among millions
of pet owners and pet lovers.
Who would do this? Why?
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The wheat gluten that contained rat poison came from China. I wonder if
the wheat gluten from China was used in foods that will be eaten by lots
of people in America. Here is a news story about that contaminated food
from China:
Source: ABC NEWS
Pet Food Maker to Take Financial Responsibility for Pet Deaths From Poisoning
Investigators Trying to Determine Exactly Where the Rat Poison Came From
The president of Menu Foods said Friday that company will take financial
responsibility for pet owners who trace their animal's illness or death to
contaminated pet food. (ABC News)
By DAVID KERLEY and DAN CHILDS
March 23, 2007 The president of pet food maker Menu Foods, which last
week issued a recall of 60 million cans and pouches of pet food after a
rash of animal sickness and death, said today that the company would
reimburse pet owners who can trace their pets' illnesses to the company's
products.
Earlier today, New York State veterinary health investigators announced
that the pet food responsible for pet deaths around the country was
contaminated with the rodent poison aminopterin.
Watch "World News With Charles Gibson" for full details on the extent of
the poisoning.
"A pet is an important part of any family," Paul Henderson, the president
and CEO of Menu Foods, said at a Toronto press conference. "We understand
what pet ownership is."
While Henderson described himself as "angry" over the massive recall and
the impact it has had on hundreds of pets, he also said the company has
not stopped manufacturing at the two plants believed to have produced the
contaminated pet food.
Instead, he said the company, which manufactures nearly 100 brands of dog
and cat food, will immediately begin testing any "suspect raw materials"
to identify any additional contaminated products.
"We have the support of our customers, we have the support of our
employees," Henderson said. "We're confident in the future and we remain
confident we can put this behind us."
Investigators, meanwhile, are looking into whether the rat poison came
into the United States on an ingredient used in the recalled food. ABC
News has learned that Menu Foods bought wheat gluten, the only ingredient
changed in its plants, from China. That possibility raises questions about
the safety of pet and other food products in the United States.
The chemical can cause kidney failure in dogs and cats, said Donald Smith,
dean of Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine, during the
conference.
Scientists at the state's food laboratory in Albany, N.Y., made the
discovery a week after Menu Foods issued its recall.
"This is one step in a long process that will lead us to know what has
happened and how it has happened," Smith said.
Aminopterin is not registered for use as a pesticide in the United States,
and it has been known as a potential source of birth defects in humans.
Interestingly, trials are under way to test the chemical's effectiveness
in the treatment of certain types of cancer.
ABC News first reported that the rodenticide may have been present in the
wheat that was imported from China and used by Menu Foods, according to a
source close to the investigation.
Some Vets Remain Skeptical
Some veterinary experts say they are still skeptical as to whether the
chemical is responsible for the kidney damage the pets endured.
"With the information that we have, none of us feel that this product fits
the lesions we are seeing, but there may be information we don't know
yet," said Lawrence McGill, a veterinary pathologist in Salt Lake City.
"The feeling is that there are more questions than answers with this
product."
"Renal failure is not the expected response to these drugs," said Susan
Weinstein, executive director of the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical
Association. She added that most rodent poisons work as severe
anticoagulants meaning they cause the rats that ingest them to bleed to
death.
"Whether this particular toxin in this case can create renal failure
depends on how this drug works in the body, which may be an entirely
different pathway than the anticoagulants," Weinstein said. "Because we
aren't yet familiar with this toxin, we can't be confident of the
causation link."