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Bad wheat gluten blamed for pet deaths
SARA PERKINS
March 19, 2007 - 7:10PM
McALLEN - Animal clinics and veterinary offices have been getting
concerned calls, but so far it does not look like Rio Grande Valley
pets have had any of the tainted pet food that's been recalled by a
Canadian manufacturer.

While a few pets had unexplained vomiting or diarrhea, those symptoms
are caused by a variety of conditions, receptionists from a number of
area veterinarians said.

On Saturday, Ontario-based manufacturer Menu Foods recalled four
months worth of wet pet foods for cats and dogs sold at Wal-Mart and
H.E.B. as well as major retail brands like Iams and Science Diet.

H.E.B. pulled Hill Country Fare and Iams products from its store
shelves Friday afternoon after receiving the alert from their vendor,
said spokeswoman Shelley Parks in the company's Corpus Christi
office.

Menu Foods cited the deaths of at least nine cats and a dog from
apparent kidney failure after the animals participated in a taste test
run by the company.

A tissue-specific toxin, like a compound found in antifreeze, can
cause acute kidney failure in dogs and cats, said Dr. Steve Bentsen, a
veterinarian at the Nolana Animal Hospital in McAllen.

A toxin in the wheat gluten, or an unexpected reaction between two
ingredients, could be responsible for the pets' deaths, he said.

If a dog stops eating, is drinking and urinating much more than usual,
or vomits, owners should consult a vet, Bentsen said.

Menu Foods, which has a production plant in Kansas, said in a
statement that they had switched to a new supplier of wheat gluten,
which may have caused the poisonings. Gluten is a filler ingredient in
the company's "cuts and gravy" style pet food.

The recall covers cans and small foil pouches of the pet food made
from Dec. 3, 2006 to March 6.

Menu Foods told the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that pet owners
first complained that cats and dogs had died of kidney failure on Feb.
20. The company then tested the food and gave it to between 40 and 50
dogs and cats, said Stephen F. Sundlof, the FDA's top veterinarian,
told The Associated Press.

The recall covers dog food sold throughout North America under 51
brands and cat food sold under 40 brands.

"We are still trying to find out what the true picture is out there of
animals," Sundlof said. "We're talking about 1 percent of the pet food
(supply) and it's really just impossible to extrapolate at this
point."

Menu Foods spokeswoman Sarah Tuite told Associated Press Radio the
company was "still trying to figure out the cause."

"We're testing and testing, but we can't identify the problem in the
product," Tuite said.
Other companies - Nestle Purina PetCare Co., Procter & Gamble and
Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. - said that as a precaution they were
voluntarily recalling some products made by Menu Foods.

Tuite said the company has added more people and phone lines to cope
with consumers making calls about the situation. Callers who get a
recording saying the line is out of order should try again, she
added.

Menu Foods' chief executive and president Paul Henderson told The
Associated Press that the recall would cost the company, which is
mostly owned by the Menu Foods Income Fund, an estimated $26 million
to $34 million.

The recall is the second major food safety alert to affect Rio Grande
Valley consumers this year.

In February, Con Agra Foods announced a massive recall of salmonella-
contaminated peanut butter, also packaged under a variety of brands.
Many Monitor readers reported owning the affected product during that
scare, and several reported symptoms of salmonella poisoning.

****

TC