PET FOOD RECALL WIDENS TO DRY TYPE: Topeka Company Warns Cat Owners but Says Its Other Products Are

Mar 31, 05:57 AM

Current Headlines: By Jennifer Mann, The Kansas City Star, Mo.

Mar. 31--Last week millions of owners were told that rat poison in pet food might be killing their pets. Now, it might be a chemical used to make plastic.

Revelations Friday of a second toxin found in recalled pet food left owners even more confused and concerned about the safety of what they feed their pets.

Also, the recall expanded Friday to include the first dry pet food.

The Food and Drug Administration announced early in the day that wheat gluten imported from China used by a Menu Foods plant in Emporia, Kan., contained melamine. Melamine is used to make plastic and in some countries as a fertilizer, although not in the U.S.

Late Friday, Hill's Pet Nutrition, based in Topeka, issued a voluntary recall of its 4-pound and 10-pound bags of Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food. The recall did not involve any other Prescription Diet or Science Diet products, said the company, a division of Colgate-Palmolive Co.

FDA officials confirmed that Hill's Pet Nutrition used the same wheat gluten supplier as the Menu Foods plant, which recently recalled 60 million containers of wet pet food.

Meanwhile, Iams and Eukanuba, both owned by Proctor & Gamble, said in a statement Friday that neither brand used wheat gluten in dry pet foods, and thus they are safe for pets.

It remains unclear, however, whether melamine could have caused the deaths of pets.

"At this time, we don't have any additional information," said Stephen Sundlof, director for the Center of Veterinary Medicine at the FDA. "As we learn new information, we'll alert the public."

Some experts point out, however, that melamine is used to make millions of bowls for feeding cats and dogs.

News of the finding of melamine comes a week after a state laboratory in New York found aminopterin, a substance used by countries outside the U.S. as rodent poison, in samples of recalled food from Menu Foods.

Among those dealing with the confusion is the McKees of Olathe. They recently had their longtime pet, Big Cat, euthanized after the 17-year-old cat took a rapid downturn after they began feeding her food they later learned was among those recalled.

Steve McKee said it was a challenge to know what to feed the newest feline member of the household, Twinkle Boo.

"I guess you pay your money and take your chances at this point," McKee said.

Unclear was how many pets might have been poisoned by the apparently contaminated food, although anecdotal reports suggested hundreds if not thousands had died. The FDA alone has received more than 8,000 complaints; Menu Foods, more than 300,000.

Michael Herndon, a spokesman for the FDA, said it was premature to say what definitive role melamine or aminopterin might play in the pet food crisis.

"What we've said is that it was found in the pet food, but there is not enough information yet to make a final determination," Herndon said. "What we were trying to do was rule out the aminopterin and that we're continuing to do testing."

Menu Foods said the only certainty was the imported Chinese product was the likely source of the deadly contamination, even if the actual contaminant remains in doubt.

"Let me be clear on this -- we have removed that problem from our system. Our recall is well under way, and products produced today are being made with known, quality and tested materials," Menu Foods Chief Executive Officer Paul Henderson said. "As a result I can say with complete confidence today -- to consumers, to our customers, to governments -- that Menu Foods continues to uphold the high standards for which we have been known since 1971."

As for the fact that melamine is used to make bowls to feed and water cats and dogs, the FDA's Herndon said: "We did say it has a lot of industrial uses, but this is the first I've heard of this. Certainly I'll be passing this information on."

Duane Ekedahl, president of the Pet Food Institute, acknowledged many important unanswered questions remain about the recall and current safety of pet food.

"Pet food is one of the most highly regulated products on grocery shelves, but we're very, very eager for this investigation to be concluded to know what the facts are so that it doesn't happen again," said Ekedahl, who has cat and a dog.

Veterinary toxicologist Steven Hansen of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who has been closely following the developments, said he was waiting and eager for answers.

"It's very mysterious, and we're not getting the clarity I was hoping for," Hansen said. "I must admit this throws quite a curve in the whole situation.

"As for the person going out to get pet food this weekend, I don't know what to say."

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To reach Jennifer Mann, call (816) 234-4453 or send e-mail to jmann@kcstar.com.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Kansas City Star, Mo.

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