A massive pet food recall is underway by the Menu Food Corporation because of suspected rat poison contamination in their canned and pouched varieties.

On March 21, 2007, the Menu Food Corporation sent out a press release indicating that pet foods manufactured at their facilities may have been contaminated.

On March 23, 2007, the Menu Food Corporation notified the public that cans and pouches of pet foods sold under a variety of brand names may have been contaminated with rat poison. The company then provided the brand names as well as the lot numbers.

As of 9:00PM CDST on March 23, 2007, Fox News Chicago indicated consumers should not use any canned or pouched pet foods manufactured by Menu Foods regardless of date or lot number.

The President and CEO of Menu Foods, Paul Henderson, addressed a news conference on March 30, 2007 regarding the situation. In the conference, Mr. Henderson stated the problem appears to be different than originally thought, and that all suspect product has been removed from the supply chain and replaced with safe replacements. To read the entire text (less the reporters questions), click HERE

A concern of many is whether the company'’s pet foods were accidentally contaminated or whether this was an act of sabotage. And if it was an act of sabotage, is it confined to just the canned and pouched products, or does it include their dry pet foods. We don’t know, but to error on the side of caution you may wish to switch to a brand not manufactured by the Menu Foods Corporation until more information is available.

If your pet has been fed with one of the possibly contaminated pet food brands manufactured by the Menu Food Corporation, you should bring your pet to your Vet as soon as possible. Physical exams and blood tests are necessary to differentiate pets that have been poisoned from those that have not. Unfortunately, the latent onset of signs may require that an individual dog be evaluated several times."

Early signs that a dog has been poisoned include lethargy, loss of appetite and vomiting. Later symptoms may include orange colored urine and jaundice (a yellowing of the eyes, gums and nonpigmented skin that reflects substantial liver injury). Severely affected pets may produce a blood-tinged vomit and bloody or blackened stools.

Any dog suspected of aflatoxin poisoning should also have a liver specimen taken to confirm the pathologic changes in the liver unique for aflatoxin toxicosis, such as fatty degeneration of individual cells.

Even if pets show no signs of illness but have eaten the affected food, they should have blood tests submitted to detect liver injury. Pets that show positive results on any of the above tests should be prescribed liver protectants for two months.

As of 10:00PM CDST on March 23, 2007, we have acquired the following list of brands manufactured by the Menu Foods Corporation from their website:

• For Dogs, click HERE
• For Cats, click HERE

To return to the “Poison Control Center” gateway page, click HERE

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April 11, 2007

For the latest information from the FDA, click HERE