Tainted Pet Food Still Being Sold Despite Mass Recalls

Reuters reported on April 12 that some retailers are still stocking pet food that has been recalled by Menu Foods and are still selling it to the public. U.S. health officials said that Federal Drug Administration conducted an investigation of 400 stores and found that pet food included was still being sold.

Pet owners are urged to be cautious when buying pet foods and to check production lots and dates to be sure the food they purchase is not included on the recall list.

Yesterday Menu Food expanded the recall to include a Royal Canine brand prescription diet made at its Ontario factory. Last week they expanded the recall to include earlier production dates than the original recall and over a dozen new brands and varieties of both canned and dry food for both dogs and cats, although cats seem to be more susceptible to illness from the tainted food. Some of the brand affected are major US brands like Iams, Science Diet, and Purina.

More than 12,000 pets have been reported ill, and thousands have been reported to have died. A class action lawsuit is underway brought by the owners of the pets who have died or who have become ill as a result of the tainted food.

The tainted ingredient responsible for making pets ill was shipped by China-based Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. Ltd. to ChemNutra Inc. of Las Vegas, which then sold it to Menu Foods and other makers, according to the FDA. The tainted pet food scare has caused pet owners to organize quickly and demand better FDA oversight and regulation of pet food and pet food manufacturing.

The FDA has been responsive to the pet owners and are working to address their concerns. "FDA's priority is to make sure that cats and dogs have safe food to eat," Dr. Stephen Sundlof, head of FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, said in the statement. Sundlof is scheduled to appear before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee later on Thursday to discuss the pet food scare. Sen. Richard Durbin, the Illinois Democrat who announced the hearing, has said he wants the FDA to work with U.S. states to improve manufacturing inspections as well as create a new database for veterinarians and pet owners to report concerns. A nationwide database like the one suggested by Senator Durbin could make it easier to recognize and stop a tainted food outbreak like the one that occurred, preventing pet death and illness.

Representative for Menu Foods will not appear before lawmakers. Senators had invited Menu Foods to testify at the hearing, according to congressional staff, but the company instead asked to be represented by the Pet Food Institute, an industry group. Pet owners have accused Menu Foods of not doing enough to prevent the tainted food outbreak. During the taste test trial for some Menu Foods products an unusually high number of animals involved in the test became ill and died.

Pet activists charge that Menu Food knew there was a problem and didn't do enough to try and stop it. In addition, pet owners whose pets have died or become ill say that Menu Foods has not been forthcoming addressing their concerns and demands for payment of funeral expenses and vet bills for pets that died or become seriously ill.