FDA is advising pet owners that recalled pet food may still be on the shelves in some retail establishments. FDA urges retailers across the country to be vigilant in removing all products associated with the pet food recall, which began on March_16, 2007.
To verify the effectiveness of the recall, FDA has conducted approximately 400 checks of retail stores across the country.
Based on the checks, FDA believes most companies have removed the recalled product; however, some have not. FDA will continue to monitor retailers? efforts to remove these items from the shelves.
?FDA?s priority is to make sure that cats and dogs have safe food to eat, said Stephen Sundlof, D.V.M., director of FDA?s Center for Veterinary Medicine.? Many of us are pet owners and animal lovers, and we want pet owners to feel assured that we are doing everything we can to make sure that all contaminated food is off the shelves.?
In related news, Menu Foods, Inc., a private label manufacturer based in Streetsville, Ontario, Canada, expanded its recall on Tuesday, April 10, to cat food not previously subject to the recall. The varieties of cat food in the United States and Canada now being recalled are included in the list at the bottom of this news release. A complete list of Menu Foods’ recalled products, including the new items, can be reviewed at www.menufoods.com.
The company acted after receiving information from FDA, which had confirmed test results it received from a laboratory at University of California, Davis. The UC-Davis lab found that canned cat food which had not been included in Menu Food?s earlier recalls tested positive for melamine, a chemical used as a fertilizer and in the manufacture of cutlery and kitchenware.
The company informed FDA that it had shipped wheat gluten purchased from China and contaminated with melamine from its Emporia, Kansas plant to its plant in Streetsville. Some of the products produced with the contaminated wheat gluten also were shipped to the United States. FDA investigators and officials with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency were in the Ontario facility on April 11.
Since March_16, recalls of pet food products, including certain varieties of dog food, have been conducted by Menu Foods, Inc., Hill?s Pet Nutrition, P&G Pet Care, Nestle Purina PetCare Company, Del Monte Pet Products, and Sunshine Mills, Inc. Extensive information about the current pet food situation can be found at the FDA Web site. There is now a single list of all recalled pet food located at http://www.fda.gov/ora/fed_state/recalls/Recall.xls which will be updated with any new recall information when announced.