Treats Sold at Wal-Mart Added to List

Apr 06, 11:30 AM

Current Headlines: The Associated Press

The recall of pet foods and treats contaminated with an industrial chemical was expanded Thursday to include dog biscuits made by an Alabama company and sold by Wal-Mart under the Ol' Roy brand.

The Food and Drug Administration said the manufacturer, Sunshine Mills Inc., is recalling dog biscuits made with imported Chinese wheat gluten. Testing has revealed the wheat gluten, a protein source, was contaminated with melamine, used to make plastics and other industrial products.

Also Thursday, Menu Foods, a major manufacturer of brand- and private-label wet pet foods, expanded its original recall to include a broader range of dates and varieties. Menu Foods was the first of at least six companies to recall the now more than 100 brands of pet foods and treats made with the contaminated ingredient.

The recall now covers "cuts and gravy"-style products made between Nov. 8 and March 6, Menu Foods said. Previously, it applied only to products made beginning Dec. 3. In addition, Menu Foods said it was expanding the recall to include more varieties, but no new brands.

China denied exporting wheat gluten implicated in U.S. pet deaths, state media reported Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Chinese company accused of selling the chemical- tainted wheat gluten said Thursday that most of its sales are domestic, raising the possibility that people or animals in China might have been exposed to the chemical.

Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. in the eastern Chinese city of Xuzhou produces and exports more than 10,000 tons of wheat gluten a year, according to its Web site, but only 873 tons were linked to tainted U.S. pet food, raising the possibility that more of the contaminated product could still be on the market in China or abroad.

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