It really bites the big one. They call it a “precautionary” recall, even though 16 cats and dogs (and that debatable number comes from Menu Foods themselves) have died of kidney failure due to the RAT POISON found in their canned pet foods.
In this Precautionary Recall, they mention that they pretty much decided to do the recall since their largest consumer (probably walmart) initiated their own recall of the Menu Foods products, AND furthermore put future orders from Menu Foods on hold. Bravo, Walmart – or whoever you are “largest consumer”!
I haven’t heard of any heartfelt apologies coming from the Menu Foods camp, have you? On the other hand, they seem rather cold, and reluctant to take responsibility. Well, duh. You ARE, Menu Foods, responsible for the suffering of AT LEAST 16 pets’s families. Have the decency to show some compassion. You suck and I ban you.
Click on link to their website for the list of recalled labels, (everything from Walmart’s OlRoy to Eukanuba, to IAMS, Etc): http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_dog.html
Got to go. Thanks for listening to me rant. Luv, Gina
Update:
I am so sad to report the latest probabilities regarding the REAL number of cats and dogs that have been affected by this tainted dog food. Menu Foods, in their “precautionary recall” report 16 deaths, but according to the latest news reports there may be hundreds more.
I have two beloved dogs ( a German Shepard, and a Maltese) and I am just horrified at thinking I could’ve fed my babies RAT POISON tainted dog food – which is possible because I buy their food from Walmart. Fortunately, I generally give them DRY food, which hasn’t been affected. (you see, Menu Foods doesn’t do dry pet food.)
The following is an excerpt, but you can read the entire article by clicking the link below.
“…There are still questions about how many animals have died. With no national reporting system for animal injury or death, official numbers are impossible to come by.
However, data from the nation’s largest chain of pet hospitals, Banfield, suggest it is as high as hundreds a week during the three months the food was on the market.
During that time, the more than 600 Banfield hospitals in 43 states saw 200 to 250 cases of kidney failure in cats above the usual number that would have been expected, says Hugh Lewis, president of Data Savant, Banfield’s data collection arm.
During that period, Banfield vets saw 100,000 cats. Extrapolating to the entire cat population of the USA, that could mean “we’re probably talking several hundred cats a week across the country being affected,” Lewis says.
Another possible indicator is a database compiled by PetConnection.com. As of Sunday, owners reported 1,626 deceased pets – 941 cats and 685 dogs, says Gina Spadafori, one of the website’s writers.
She cautions that those figures were self-reported by pet owners and had not been confirmed by veterinarians. Menu Foods said on Friday it would compensate owners for their pets’ medical bills.
“To the extent that we identify that the cause of any expenses incurred are related to the food, Menu will take responsibility for that,” said Menu Foods chief executive Paul Henderson.
Despite some complaints by pet owners that animals have been sickened or died after eating dry food, FDA does not believe any dry food was involved in the contamination. Menu does not make dry pet food. “
For the whole story click link:
If you think this is bad, it gets worse. Menu Foods knew about animal deaths for almost a full month before they issued the recall. In fact, they did tests which they quickly started dumming down as “tasting trials” and 7 of 50 animals were dead within five days. Is that acceptable? Is that the norm? And they waited yet another two weeks before saying anything. Check out the extremely thorough Scientific American article on my Safe Pet Food blog: http://IsYourPetFoodSafe.com It’s quite an indictment.