April 17, 2007 — While staff at the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs hasn't turned up any pet food listed on a recent recall list, Licensing officials want residents to be on the alert.
"It's an ongoing situation. It's better to be safe than sorry," Pat O'Reilly at Licensing said Tuesday.
Although no local veterinarians have reported treating any pets that may have gotten sick from eating contaminated pet food, O'Reilly said that it's possible residents may bring in pet food bought in the states. The contaminated food was originally sold at Kroger, Safeway, Wal-Mart, PetSmart and Pet Valu stores, among others.
O'Reilly said there are about 80 cat and dog food brands on the list of contaminated products. For a complete list, visit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website.
The FDA has tested the food and found a substance called melamine in both the food in general and in the wheat gluten used in the food. Melamine is used as a binding agent, flame retardant and as part of a polymer in the manufacture of cooking utensils and plates. Wheat gluten is used by pet food manufacturers to thicken the gravy.
The wheat gluten came from Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology of China, which sold the material to a U.S. firm, Chem Nutra Inc., which then sold the wheat gluten to pet food manufacturing firms in the United States.
The FDA does not know how the melamine got into the pet food.
O'Reilly said pets that ate contaminated pet food experienced vomiting, lethargy and loss of appetite, all of which indicate kidney failure. The symptoms usually appear in a couple of day. Some pets have died.
The first manufacturer to realize its products had problems, Menu Foods Inc., recalled its "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat food produced between Dec. 2, 2006, and March 6 at its Emporia, Kansas and Pennsauken, N.J. facilities.
Other manufacturers have also recalled pet food because they used wheat gluten from the same batch.
According the FDA website, Nestlé Purina PetCare Company announced that as a precautionary measure, it was voluntarily withdrawing its 5.3-ounce Mighty Dog brand pouch products that were produced by Menu Foods, Inc. from Dec. 3, 2006 through March 14.
Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc., voluntarily recalled Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food.
Del Monte Pet Products voluntarily recalled select product codes of its pet treat products sold under the Jerky Treats, Gravy Train Beef Sticks and Pounce Meaty Morsels brands, as well as select dog snack and wet dog food products sold under private label brands.
Nestlé Purina PetCare Company voluntarily recalled all sizes and varieties of its ALPO Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with four-digit code dates of 7037 through 7053, followed by the plant code 1159.
For more information, call Licensing's Consumer Affairs Consumer Protection Unit at 774-3130 or 773-2226.
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