Local pets safe, so farFeed distributors advise to watch animals closely

Local pets safe, so farFeed distributors advise to watch animals closely
By PAT FERRIER PatFerrier@coloradoan.com

Local veterinarians and pet food distributors don't believe any local animals have been sickened by tainted pet food, but they are urging owners to examine their pet food and closely watch their animals for signs of illness.

Food distributors such as Poudre Pet & Feed Supply, 622 N. College Ave., say they've fielded many questions from anxious pet owners but no one has reported any problems with the food.

About 60 million cans and pouches of dog and cat food produced by Menu Foods and sold throughout North America under a variety of brands have been recalled, and last week the food was discovered to be tainted with a type of rat poison not used in the United States.
Sixteen dogs and cats have died as a result of the tainted food. Most suffered kidney failure before their deaths.

Menu Foods has advised retailers to remove all brands from their shelves, a company spokesman said, though the recall still applies only to the dog and cat foods identified on its Web site since March 16. Those cover cans and pouches of food packaged from Dec. 3 to March 6.

Sara Chestnut, manager of Poudre Pet & Feed Supply, said "less than a pallet worth of food" has been returned to her store, and they are sending it back to the manufacturer.
"We've had food returned with bad dates, but no complaints of people having any problems," she said.

The recall and news that Menu Foods produced dog and cat food for many different companies including Hills, Iams and Purina has led to questions about just what consumers are buying when they buy high-priced pet food.

Is one pet food manufactured and sold at Wal-Mart the same as higher-priced food?
The answer, according to Dr. Tim Hackett, head of emergency and critical care at Colorado State University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital, is "you get what you pay for."

"When you are buying the premium dog foods, you are supporting the research that goes into it to make a palatable, complete diet" for your animals, Hackett said.

"I hope people are paying attention to the brands of food and watching their animals closely," he said.

Poudre Valley Co-op does not sell any of the tainted brands and has seen little customer concern about the recall, said Gordon Ledall, store manager.

"A few customers have mentioned it, but nothing out of the ordinary," Ledall said.
Managers at PetSmart, King Soopers and Albertsons referred all questions to their corporate offices.

Beavers' Super Market in Fort Collins did not carry any of the recalled brands.
Albertsons and King Soopers' spokesmen said the stores are cooperating with the FDA and manufacturer to ensure all of the recalled product is removed.

"The safety and health of our customers and their pets is important to us and we want to make sure we're taking every step as recommended by the manufacturer and FDA to make sure the food chain is good for dogs and cats," said Christine Wilcox of Albertsons.

Neither spokesman could say how many pounds of food have been returned.
Tom Lynch, assistant director of grocery operations at King Soopers, said Menu Foods' products would not be back on the shelves for some time.

"When the supply chain is tainted ... they need to get another supplier in and do a lot of different internal investigations of that product, and it will take time before that switch can be turned back on," he said.

Chestnut said the brands sold at Poudre Pet & Feed are "higher quality" and don't contain byproducts.

The FDA has said the investigation into the pet deaths was focused on wheat gluten in the food. The gluten itself would not cause kidney failure, but it could have been contaminated, the FDA said.

Paul Henderson, chief executive of Menu Foods, confirmed Friday that the wheat gluten was purchased from China.
Hackett, from the veterinary hospital, said CSU has not seen any animals sickened by the tainted food but the outbreak is getting lots of attention from vets nationwide.
Hackett said he's not worried about pet food in general. "That drug had no business being in food under any circumstances." At this point, it appears the food was intentionally tampered with and contamination did not occur in the production of the food.
"It's not something that just happened because of the processing," he said. "It's not like botulism that might have gotten there because of improper equipment. This puts me at ease with the products that have tested safely and weren't altered."