Tainted pet food still on shelves, FDA says

[catgirl]

Source: Reuters


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Contaminated pet food is still being sold at some stores, U.S. health officials warned on Thursday after checking hundreds of retail outlets.

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The Food and Drug Administration said it had inspected about 400 stores nationwide and still found some dog and cat food products affected by last month's recall by Canada-based pet food maker Menu Foods Income Fund and other manufacturers.

"FDA believes most companies have removed the recalled product; however, some have not," the agency said in a statement.

The announcement comes two days after Menu Foods expanded its recall to include more types of cat food. Last week it also widened its alert to include products with earlier production dates as well as dozens of more varieties.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/canada_petfoods_col;_ylt=AgOlZ2v1n8DGQPIxvMM6fq2s0NUE

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This is scary...

"A number of other companies including Colgate-Palmolive Co.'s Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc., Nestle SA's Purina PetCare Co. and Del Monte Pet Products have also recalled certain products."

Which products are they talking about here? Pet food and/or others?

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Hill's recalled one cat food diet : Prescription Diet. m/d. Feline dry

Here's a listing from the AVMA of all products.

http://www.avma.org/aa/menufoodsrecall/products.asp

Hill's announces Prescription Diet. m/d. Feline dry pet food medical screening
payment plan

As you know, Hill's makes all its products with an overriding commitment to
the health and well being of pets. With that in mind, on March 30, we notified
you of our decision in conjunction with the FDA to issue a precautionary
voluntary recall of a single product, Prescription Diet. m/d. Feline dry pet
food, our only product containing the wheat gluten at issue other than the
earlier recalled Science Diet. Savory Cuts. pet food. A list of recalled
products is available on our website, www.HillsPet.com. This recall was done
in an abundance of caution, as the FDA has not yet been able to determine a
cause for any pet illness.

However, to further reinforce our commitment to both pets and the veterinary
profession, Hill's is announcing a plan to offset medical screening costs you
have incurred to support your clients who have purchased Prescription Diet m/d
Feline dry pet food from January 2007 to the present.

Hill's has decided to take this action to help support so many in the
profession who have already extended themselves to assist their clients during
this difficult time.

The program will provide a one time payment of $100 per patient tested. This
is being made available to help offset the costs of standard tests that would
otherwise be borne by your client or yourself. In the case of tests previously
conducted, it is up to you to reimburse your clients for out of pockets costs
up to $100. This payment shall be available for all requests thru May 30,
2007.

Hill's Pet Nutrition would like to thank each of you for your on-going support
of the Prescription Diet business and encourage you to take advantage of this
offer.

Sincerely yours,
Justin Skala
President, North America Karen Padgett, DVM
Chief of the Veterinary Business Channel
Please contact your Territory Manager

[OhioChick]

2. Still on Shelves?

Nice. Apparently, the right hand is not knowing what the left hand is doing.

[woo me with science]

4. This is a completely reasonable warning.

The government obviously can't go in and personally remove every can and bag of tainted pet food. They rely on store owners to comply, and unless this is a magical, perfect world, there will probably be instances of negligence or plain human error.

It makes perfect sense to remind people to check the items for THEMSELVES, too, instead of just blindly assuming that the government can wave its hand and make everything immediately okay.

[w4rma]

6. The recall was "voluntary". The FDA has cited no penalties for failure to comply.

So, it's likely that stores will try to sell off the rest of their stock onto unknowing patsies with soon to be dead pets.

[catgirl]

7. What? The recall was "voluntary"?

A recall is a recall. Trader Joe's had a voluntary recall, although their product wasn't
on the official list. The tainted foods on the recall were supposed to be pulled from the
shelves.

[w4rma]

8. As far as I know the FDA has allowed the entire recall to go on voluntarily.

Which means no legal penalties for anyone who doesn't comply.

[williesgirl]

3. K&R to get word out - these store mgrs should be fired. You could live in a cave

and still know about this.

[emilyg]

5. Yes they should be fired

i brought it to a store manager's attention - he walked off. I just got through emailing the home office about this.