Botticello Farms

Unfortunately this is not an urban legend, nor a hoax. I know this article reprint is a little long, but it does give some helpful information regarding the affected pet foods-the scary thing to me is that nobody is mentioning the original source and I am wondering why my pet food company(Friskies)-as well as others, are not posting statements on their websites claiming their food is definately safe from contamination.  I am wondering if they are waiting for the other shoe to drop…I am afraid to feed my pets anything other than the food I regularly dine on-I wonder if they want blue cheese or Italian dressing…

 

March 24, 2007, 12:23AM
Pet owners want answers in rat poison-tainted food
No clues as to how it entered the recalled supply By MARK JOHNSON
Associated Press 

• Recalled foods : A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates was posted online by Menu Foods and is available at menufoods.com/recall • Hot lines: The company designated two phone numbers pet owners could call for information: 866-463-6738 and 866-895-2708. 

ALBANY, N.Y. — Aminopterin has been used to induce abortions, treat cancer and kill rats. What it was doing in pet food is what owners of a rising number of sick or dead animals are demanding to know. The drug was identified Friday as the likely culprit in a poisoning scare that prompted the recall of 95 brands of “cuts and gravy” style dog and cat food. Scientists had no theories on how aminopterin got into the products of Menu Foods, which makes pet food for most of North America’s top retailers. 

Some pets that ate the food suffered kidney failure, and the company has confirmed the deaths of 15 cats and one dog. Menu Foods expanded its recall Friday to cover each of the tens of millions of cans and pouches produced under the affected brands. The original recall covered only pet food produced from Dec. 3 to March 6. 

“Before they put this stuff in the bags, there should be some kind of test,” said Jeff Kerner, whose Yorkshire terrier Pebbles died Thursday of kidney failure days after eating some of the food. Scientists at the New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University and at the New York State Food Laboratory tested three cat food samples provided by the manufacturer and found aminopterin in two of them. 

Aminopterin is a cancer drug that once was used to induce abortions in the United States and is still used to kill rats in some countries, state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker said. Effects of aminopterin Aminopterin inhibits the growth of malignant cells and suppresses the immune system. In dogs and cats, the amount of aminopterin found — 40 parts per million — can cause kidney failure, according to Bruce Akey, director of Cornell’s diagnostic center. “It’s there in substantial amounts,” Akey said. 

Officials said there is no risk to pet owners from handling the food, but Donald Smith, dean of Cornell’s veterinary school, said he expected the number of pet deaths would increase. The federal government prohibits using aminopterin for killing rodents in the U.S. State officials would not speculate on how the poison got into the pet food, but said no criminal investigations had been launched. 

Stephen Sundlof, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s top veterinarian, said the agency hasn’t ruled out sabotage, but doesn’t have any leads — nor any theories how the drug could have contaminated the pet food. Focus on wheat gluten The FDA thinks the drug was used only in animal feed but has asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to watch for any uptick in human cases of poisoning. “This is very, very precautionary. We have no reason whatsoever to believe this chemical has entered the human food supply,” Sundlof told reporters. 

The FDA has said the investigation into the pet deaths was focused on wheat gluten in the food, and Sundlof said it remains the suspected source of the contamination. Paul Henderson, chief executive of Ontario, Canada-based Menu Foods, confirmed Friday that the wheat gluten was purchased from China. 

Menu Foods, already facing lawsuits, said Friday that it is testing all the ingredients that go into the food. “We have a lot of work to do, and we are eager to get back to it,” Henderson said. “This is a highly unusual substance.” 

He said the company does not think the food was tampered with because the recalled food came from two different plants, one in Kansas and one in New Jersey. Menu continues to produce food at the two plants. 

Compensation possible  When asked whether there would be compensation for medical bills for sick pets, Henderson said “to the extent that we identify that the cause of any expenses incurred are related to the food, Menu will take responsibility for that.”  

  

 

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 25th, 2007 at 9:59 am and is filed under Welcome. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.