Our Statement Concerning The Recent Food Recall

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The FDA has announced a new suspect toxin in the pet food recall.  Melamine has now been implicated.  The recall has been expanded to include some dry foods including  Hills Pet Nutrition Prescription Diet™ m/d™ Feline Dry Food.  To our knowledge, we have contacted all clients who purchase Feline m/d from our hospital and asked them to please return the purchased food to us.  We are working closely with our clients, the Hills veterinary staff and the FDA to keep your pets safe. 

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QUICK FACTS ABOUT THE RECALL  

• 3/31/2007 - Del Monte recalls Jerky Treats™, Gravy Train™,Beef Sticks and Pounce Meaty Morels™
• 3/31/2007 - Purina recalls Alpo™ Brand Cuts In Gravy Canned Dog Food
• 3/30/2007 - Hills Pet Nutrition recalls Prescription Diet™ m/d™ Feline Dry Food.
• 3/30/2007 - FDA reports that Melamine has been found (Melamine FAQ)in the Wheat Gluten, the Food, and in Kidney and Urine of affected cats; no independent labs have confirmed the presence of aminopterin. So Aminopterin is "out" and Melamine is in as the suspected toxin. HOWEVER! Reading about melamine makes it hard to understand how it could be that toxic. Time will tell. At least for now, MAYBE we have a marker.
• FDA also reported on 3/30/2007 that the affected Wheat Gluten was shipped to a manufacturer of DRY FOOD. They refused to say which. More information will be available later today (hopefully).
• Rumors are circulating that the list of affected foods and dates has expanded. According to Menu Foods, this is misinformation.
• 3/23/2007 - THIS IS OLD NEWS kept here to archive the timeline only:
  A press conference has announced that the toxic agent has been identified. The agent is reported to be aminopterin, a compound similar to methotrexate. It forms a crystalluria at toxic doses, resulting in nephrotoxicity. Aminopterin is used as a rodenticide. What we currently know about aminopterin toxicity, therapy and monitoring.
• Renal function testing in patients exposed to recalled foods
• Notifications to post in your clinic - ALERT - List of Recalled Foods
• Update from the AVMA including early clinical characterization from The Animal Medical Center
• The list of foods was slightly adjusted (2 more foods were added) after the initial announcement. Look at the list for most up-to-date information. This correction was made many days before false rumors started circulating about the list of foods being widely expanded.

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At Downtown Animal Hospital, we are committed to bringing you the most current pet health information.  As you may know, a precautionary recall of dog and cat food has been initiated by Menu Foods.  It is believed that during the manufacturing process, there was contamination of one or more of the ingredients used to make many different pet foods. It is not yet known where or when this happened; however, at this time all of the affected foods appear to contain an ingredient supplied by the distributor.  The contaminant causes kidney damage, GI upset and in some cases death.  Symptoms of kidney failure are increased thirst and urination, decreased appetite, lethargy and vomiting. If your pet has any of these symptoms, please make an appointment to bring your pet in immediately. In cases where the toxicity is caught early and treated aggressively, pets have recovered.

This recall does not involve dry food. If feeding only dry food, no change is necessary.

Foods involved are: ‘cuts and gravy’ style canned and foil pouch dog and cat foods. There are many brands involved including Eukanuba, Iams, Nutro and NutroMax, Ol Roy, and numerous store brands. There have been reports of problems from every region of the US and Canada.

A list of affected brands and links to specific lot or serial numbers and/or UPCs can be found at www.fda.gov and at www.menufoods.com. If you would like our assistance in determining whether your food is on the list, please fax all the information you have available regarding lot numbers, serial numbers and UPC codes (look on the bottom of the can) to (901)577-9804 and a Downtown Animal Hospital staff member will get back to you as soon as possible. However, due to the magnitude of this problem, we encourage you to check your numbers on the provided websites if possible.

If you can confirm that you have fed a product whose serial number, lot number or UPC code is on the list, save all unopened cans or pouches. Find any empty cans or pouches that may still be in your garbage and save them in plastic bags. Make an immediate appointment to have your pet examined and kidney function evaluated via laboratory testing.

If you have been feeding one of the foods on the list but have different serial or lot numbers or UPCs, we advise you to discontinue feeding these foods at this time because the recall list may be expanded to include batches of food not originally recalled. Please save these foods in case they are added to the recall, so that they may be submitted for analysis if indicated.

If your pet has been eating one of the types of foods on the recall list, but you don’t know if they have ever eaten one of the known affected batches, we advise that you make an appointment to have laboratory evaluation of kidney function performed. This appointment should be immediate if there are any signs of kidney problems, even if you cannot confirm lot or serial numbers as being in the current recall.

At this time we do not know what, if any, costs of diagnostic testing or treatment will be reimbursed by the manufacturer. We require payment at the time of services and recommend that all receipts and product packaging be saved, and associated costs documented. We will cooperate fully in the collection of any and all evidence that may be necessary in detecting the link between a pet’s illness and this terrible incident.

Please call us at (901)577-9801 if you have any questions regarding the health of your pet and  the pet food recall.

Dr. Susanne Heartsill                                                     Dr. Jennifer Clay

Updated list of foods as of 5/23/07:

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