Search Results for: blog menu foods pet recall new clues more questions

Is Pet Food Regulation Coming?

Posted on by

It has been more than a year since contaminated pet food from Menu Foods killed hundreds of beloved pets. It’s been even longer since contaminated pet food from Diamond Pet Foods sickened and killed dogs and cats around the country. So what’s happened since then to protect our pets from contaminated food? The good things: Pet food safety legislation has been passed. The FDA Amendments Act of 2007 will set up an early warning system to help quickly identify contaminated food and outbreaks of associated illness. This should be happening by September 2008. A pet food industry commission has made … Continue reading →

Menu Foods Announces Settlement

Today, Menu Foods announced a tentative settlement that will potentially “resolve all claims” from owners of dogs and cats who ate contaminated food. If you’re a pet owner, you probably know the name Menu Foods. Need a refresher on what happened? Here’s the story in brief: Menu Foods makes pet foods for a number of different store/generic and name brands. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration found melamine — a chemical used to make plastics — in samples of Menu Foods’ products; the melamine was later traced to contaminated wheat gluten imported from China. Many dogs and cats died after … Continue reading →

Survivors of Melamine Poisoning

One of the biggest news stories (in the pet world) of 2007 was the massive Menu Foods pet food recall — and the number of animals who suffered melamine poisoning. Review the story here if you need a refresher: The Case of the Menu Foods Pet Food Recall Menu Foods Pet Food Recall: New Clues, New Questions Pet Parent Alert: Pet Food Recall Expanded, Could Expand Even More Symptoms of melamine poisoning include: Vomiting Lack of appetite Lethargy Frequent urination Increased water intake Why? Because melamine is toxic to kidneys. It caused acute renal failure in the dogs and cats … Continue reading →

Who Would Your Dog Vote For?

An Australian shepherd mix was registered to vote in Washington State for more than a year in protest of a voting law change. Owner Jane Balogh registered Duncan M. McDonald in April 2006 — in order to meet identification requirements, she put her phone bill in the dog’s name. That was apparently enough for election officials, who sent the dog his first ballot in November 2006. Balogh returned the ballot unmarked — she wrote VOID on it and stamped a paw print on the signature line. Someone called her house after that and she confessed to registering her dog to … Continue reading →

Updates: HSUS Video Contest Winners and PETitionz.org’s Pet Food Regulation Progress

Do you ever see a story on the news and wonder how something ended up turning out? I do. I often wonder how the people or animals featured in whatever the story may have been are doing after whatever ordeal they endured. Well, I had a similar thing happen, except with two stories I wrote about earlier this year: PETitionz.org: Your Link to Voicing Pet Food Recall Concerns and Pet Projects: Make a Video, Write a Story, Nominate a Hero. I got to wondering how things were progressing or had turned out, so I decided to check it out and … Continue reading →

PETitionz.org: Your Link to Voicing Pet Food Recall Concerns

Are you upset about the recent Menu Foods pet recall and the continuing search for clues as to why it happened? Do you feel procedures should be reevaluated and/or upgraded so something like this can’t happen again? Want to do something about it? You’re not alone. Built in just five days, Ron Smith, together with the help of volunteers, launched PETitionz.org on April 1. I found out about it thanks to a comment Mr. Smith left on a Week in Review blog not too long ago. I contacted him and asked if he would consider being featured in a blog … Continue reading →

The Pets Blog Week in Review for Mar 26-Apr 1

Busy week? Afraid you might have missed something in the Pets Blog last week? Here’s your chance to catch up on what Aimee and myself wrote about. Monday, March 26 Monday was our Sunday. We took it off as a much needed day of rest. Tuesday, March 27 Mystery author Evelyn David graciously sat down for an interview about writing, Whiskey, and murder. Wednesday, March 28 For anyone following the trials of Tabby, you’ll be happy to know she received a clean bill of health (finally!). Thursday, March 29 Combining stories in the news with the theme of mystery for … Continue reading →

Menu Foods Pet Recall: New Clues, More Questions

Photo by hagit M. Are you as mystified as I am about the Menu Foods Pet Recall? Aminopterin On March 24th, Menu Foods issued a press release stating that researchers at the New York State Food Laboratory discovered Aminopterin in samples of the recalled pet food provided to them. In some countries, excluding the United States and Canada, Aminopterin is used as a rodenticide. That’s where all the talk about “rat poison” has come from in the news. However, in the week following this announcement, other scientists trying to also find the root of the problem haven’t been able to … Continue reading →