Retailers Join in Widespread Pet Food Recall

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario -- Retailers who merchandise “cuts and gravy” varieties of Menu Foods‘ wet pet food linked to reports of kidney failure and several pet deaths are participating in a wide-sweeping voluntary recall of the products. Menu Foods here manufactures private-label dog and cat food for more than a dozen retailers, including Wal-Mart, Publix, Schnucks, Wegmans, Food Lion and Stop & Shop/Giant-Landover. Menu Foods also contract-manufactures national brands, including Eukanuba and Iams. The deaths of one dog and nine cats have been reported so far, according to the Food and Drug Administration, Washington. The timing of the production associated with the complaints and products in question coincide with the introduction of an ingredient from a new supplier, according to Menu Foods. It stopped using this ingredient shortly after this discovery, and the company since March 6 has used ingredients from another source, it said in a statement. Lists of the recalled products can be found at www.menufoods.com/recall. “We‘re getting a lot of calls from consumers who are requesting specifics about the UPCs of affected products,” said Schnucks spokesman Paul Simon. “Right now we‘ve not made a decision about whether or not we‘re going to reorder product from Menu Foods in the future. That‘s something we‘ll have to look into.” In addition to removing all impacted products from its shelves, Wal-Mart, whose Ol‘ Roy and Special Kitty company brands of pet food are manufactured by Menu Foods, is flagging these products at the point of sale. “Wal-Mart has sent direction to our stores to immediately remove all impacted dog and cat food product from store shelves, based on information provided by Menu Foods, the manufacturer,” the retailer said in a statement. “As an additional precautionary measure, we have also put a sales restriction on the products in question so that, should one inadvertently be scanned, a restriction notice will up for the cashier.” -- Julie Gallagher