What's on the menu for 'Menu Pet Foods': Aminopterin in their revised ingredients listings, and Lawsuits in their futures...

An article in today's Tennessean points to Aminopterin as the agent that's caused the poisionings of animals (cats and dogs) in some Menu Foods-manufactured pet foods. A recall by Menu Foods has yanked much of the stuff from shelves, and the ramifications of this mess are going to affect Menu Foods shareholders where it hurts...their wallets. The FDA is all over this...

We're owned by a cat, Spotts, and s/he loves the gravy-style foods that are specifically targeted in the recall. Won't touch fish-based stuffings! I have some of the 'Special Kitty' canned food that's mentioned by name in the recall; but the recall only affects pouches.

I noticed that Spotts had 'turned up his nose' at some of Special Kitty's offerings, in January, and we swapped food brands (I shop much at Sam's, and buy the cases of Fancy Feast, (Purina, actually Nestlé Purina Petcare Co...the purple box only, Spotts only likes gravy, the green boxes are the fish-based). We also pick up some 9-Lives (Del Monte Foods) at a local store. 'Special Kitty' is a Wal-Mart brand, and is labeled "Marketed by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Bentonville, AR 72716".




So, what happened here? First, Headline Dramatics...Aminopterin is not approved as 'rat poison' in the United States or Canada, anymore. It was used as an abortificant (!) in the '60's, but now it's in trials for chemotherapy-based treatment of leukemia. As a rat poison, on rats, the Lethal Dosage is 2.5mg/kg.

Rats are smart; as scavengers, they will 'nibble' on something, wait to see if they get sick, then come back to finish the meal is they feel OK. So, rodenticides must be colorless, odorless, and have a delayed effect (I always used a .22, for outdoor rats in barns and woodpiles in rural Arizona; forget the 'delayed effect')... I guess the headlines screaming 'Rat Poison found in recalled pet food' are more attention-grabbing than

Antineoplastic Chemotherapy Drug found in recalled Pet Food

huh, Tennessean?

Next, how did this stuff get into Pet Foods in the first place? The FDA's release claims

"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been informed that Menu Foods, Inc., a private-label pet food manufacturer based in Streetsville, Ontario, Canada, is recalling all its "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat food produced at its facility in Emporia, Kansas between December 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007."

The Emporia Gazette dated Thursday reports a shutdown of that local plant...

"A spokesman for Menu Foods’ corporate offices in Canada said the shutdown would probably last two or three days. He called it “absolutely a byproduct of the recall,” saying that the company needed to reorganize schedules as it pulled back old food products and prepared to make new ones.

“There is absolutely zero impact on employment,” he said. “The company has certainly been challenged by what has been one of the biggest recalls in consumer history, but our consumers are loyal, the company is strong and business is moving forward.”"

Yeah, hear you we do. Believe it we don't.

How does aminopterin get into pet foods? Either 1) the Emporia plant has large rats, and was using unapproved rodenticides ("we just grabbed that stuff off the shelf in our local Hardware Store, boss, and it works great!" or 2) someone introduced the stuff into pet food ingredients maliciously (at the plant or an earlier stage of pre-production). Either way, it brings up my final point:

LIABILITY
These folks need a swift kick right in the pocketbooks. Lawsuits are flying, already; in Hermitage, a lady is suing for the maximum (limited in Tennessee to $5K), and you know many will follow. The article points out

""Class-action lawsuits are being filed across the nation because there's almost no money in the cases individually", said Nashville attorney Blair Durham, one of Mason's lawyers.""

We'll keep an eye on this fine mess...and on Spotts.

Linking to The Ark