Pet Food Crisis: Confusion Over Recall Expansion and Deaths Into the Thousands?

The FDA confirms 16 pets have died, but Web site PetConnection.com says that the number could be over 1000.

Associated Press is reporting that the Canadian-based pet food maker Menu Foods has expanded its massive recall to include all of its "cuts and gravy-style food," regardless of when the food was made. The announcement was made following the discovery of traces of rat poison found within the foods labeled under 95 popular brands including Science Diet, Nutro, Eukanuba and Iams. Still, there is some confusion as to the extent of the recall. CBS News, Bloomberg and other reputable news organizations are reporting their news based on the Associated Press story about the expansion. But Saturday, Menu Foods representatives said that the recall had NOT been expanded. Confused? So is everyone else. Apparently Menu Foods requested that ALL "cuts and gravy" style food be removed from store shelves so that retailers could weed out all of the batch dates listed in the recall. The company feared that tainted food would be inadvertently left out for consumers to buy. No where on the Menu Foods site does it say that the recall has been expanded. But Associated Press is a respected news service worldwide, and its doubtful that their report was not confirmed. PETCO has posted this information on their site: Based on new information issued Friday, March 23, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and Menu Foods, PETCO is directing all stores to remove from shelves all products subject to the Menu Foods pet food recall - regardless of production code or "best by" date. The move alleviates customer confusion and removes any possibility of customers mistakenly purchasing recalled product.

All PETCO customers can return any product from the recall list even if they do not have a purchase receipt. Stores are expected to have all affected products removed from the shelves regardless of "best by" or production code by the time they open on Saturday, March 24. So where does this leave us? With extremely conflicting information from a variety of very reputable news services, as well as claims from USA Today and others that the problem is much bigger than we are being told. The recall was put into effect after complaints surfaced of dogs and cats suffering vomiting, kidney failure, and in some cases, death. At least 16 animals have died as a result of the tainted food, but that number is growing. It is thought that many more illnesses and deaths have occurred but have not been reported. The Web site Petconnection.com says the problem is much bigger than is being reported. They say they've received reports of 1,300 deaths related to the food. Menu Foods has been widely criticized for its handling of the recall, as it did not inform consumers there was a problem until nearly a month after the first complaints of sick animals were made. Company officials said they could not inform consumers until the extent of the problem was known. The company is also coming under fire for knowingly feeding the tainted food to 40-50 test animals, 11 of which died. For more information on the recall, consumers can visit www.menufoods.com. Editors note -- Since this article was written, Associated Press offered a retraction on their original news report that the recall had been expanded to include all manufacture dates of products recalled. I spoke to a Science Diet representative today at PetSmart who suggested I err on the side of caution and switch to Science Diet's solid wet food, which is made in the United States. PetSmart offered me a full refund in the form of store credit since I did not have a receipt for the recalled food I purchased earlier. Please click on the other story link at the top of this page to learn more.