Associated Press Admits Error, Issues Retraction on Pet Food Crisis Report

Faulty reports from Associated Press caused worry for pet owners, headaches for retailers, and embarrassment for TV networks and publishers who picked up the story from AP.

Associated Press issued a retraction Saturday on its report that the massive pet food recall involving more than 95 brands had been expanded. The new report said that the recall had been expanded to all dates of manufacture, not just the dates that had originally been identified in the recall. The misinformation in the AP report caused major confusion for worried pet owners, headaches for retailers and embarassment for news networks that picked up the story from AP. The cause of the incorrect report likely stemmed from the fact that Menu Foods, the manufacturer responsible for the tainted pet food, asked retailers, as a precaution, to recall all of its cuts and gravy style wet food, regardless of a date. The company wanted to ensure that the tainted food was not accidentally left on the shelf because a date was misread. So as the company suggested that retailers remove all food involved in the recall, regardless of the date, AP mistook the information that the recall had been expanded. Menu Foods representatives responded by saying that the recall had not been expanded, and that it asked retailers to pull all of the products for all dates as a precaution. I spoke with a Science Diet representative today at a Southern California PetSmart who confirmed that there was indeed some confusion over the reports. She suggested that I avoid purchasing the Savory Cuts food for now, and instead purchase another style of Science Diet pet food (the non-gravy formula, which was manufactured in the United States. She also informed me that no deaths have been reported related to Science Diet food. PetSmart quickly gave me a store credit for nearly a case of Science Diet food I had purchased a returned without a receipt. The Menu Foods pet food recall has affected more than 60 million products in the United States and Canada and involved 95 brands including Eukanuba, Nutro, Iams, Science Diets and many others. Most reports say that there have been 16 pet deaths as a result of kidney failure due to pet food tainted with rat poison. PetConnection.com believes that the extent of pet deaths is well over 1000. See related story: Pet_Food_Crisis_Confusion