Sludge Watch ==> rat poison kills hundreds of pets... any children dead?

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

We need better safety standards for pet food.  Think how many infants crawl 
over and snack on cat food, how many impoverished elderly eat pet food.

I wonder if there are infant or elderly mortalities in this issue.

CSI - look for rat poison....

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New York laboratories identify toxin in recalled pet food: Aminopterin 
confirmed in recalled pet food and implicated tissue samples
23.mar.07
New York State Department of Agriculture
http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/AD/release.asp?ReleaseID=1598
New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker and Cornell 
University’s College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Donald F. Smith announced 
today that scientists at the New York State Food Laboratory identified 
Aminopterin as a toxin present in cat food samples from Menu Foods, the 
manufacturer of the many brands of dog and cat food that are currently the 
subject of a nationwide recall.
The Food Laboratory received the pet food samples from a toxicologist at the 
New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University, where 
testing has been underway to try to identify the cause of kidney failure in 
dogs and cats that consumed the recalled brands of pet food. At Cornell’s 
request, the Food Laboratory tested the samples for poisons and toxins, and 
identified Aminopterin in the pet food samples at a level of at least 40 
parts per million.
“We are pleased that the expertise of our New York State Food Laboratory was 
able to contribute to identifying the agent that caused numerous illnesses 
and deaths in dogs and cats across the nation,” the Commissioner said. “New 
Yorkers can be assured that we have two of the nation’s leading laboratory 
programs in food safety and animal health working on this problem.”
The Dean of the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine Donald F. Smith 
concurred by saying, “The close partnership between the Animal Health 
Diagnostic Center at Cornell University and the Department of Agriculture 
and Markets was key to this finding.”
Aminopterin, a derivative of folic acid, can cause cancer and birth defects 
in humans and can cause kidney damage in dogs and cats. Aminopterin is not 
permitted for use in the United States.
On March 16, 2007, Menu Foods initiated a recall of numerous varieties of 
dog and cat food that were manufactured at two of its plants in the United 
States between December 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007. The products are both 
manufactured and sold under private-label and are contract-manufactured for 
several national brands. Information on the specific brands of pet food 
subject to the recall can be found at www.menufoods.com/recall.
Since the recall, Department food inspectors have contacted all of the 
organizations that represent retail food and pet food stores to ensure that 
the stores were aware of the recall and that the recalled products had been 
removed from store shelves in New York State.
New York State is home to two laboratories that are part of federal 
emergency lab networks, created through the U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security after 9-11 to keep the nation’s animals and food supply safe. The 
New York State Food Laboratory is part of the Federal Food Emergency 
Response Network (FERN) and as such, is capable of running a number of 
unique poison/toxin tests on food, including the test that identified 
Aminopterin. The New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell 
University is a member of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network and 
thus, is uniquely qualified to investigate the causes of animal health 
emergencies, like the sudden deaths of dogs and cats from the recently 
recalled pet food.




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Rat poison to blame for pet food contamination: Sources tell ABC News rat 
poison has been found in the contaminated pet food that has killed scores of 
animals
23.mar.07
ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2975912&page=1
ABC News has learned that investigators have determined that a 
rodent-killing chemical is the toxin in the tainted pet food that has killed 
several animals.
A source close to the investigation tells ABC News that the rodenticide, 
which the source says is illegal to use in the United States, was on wheat 
that was imported from China and used by Menu Foods in nearly 100 brands of 
dog and cat food.
The chemical is called aminopterin.
What investigators can't say so far is whether this is the only contaminant, 
if it is in all of the recalled food, or if it's in enough quantity in to 
sicken more animals.
There is some good news according to the source. Knowing the chemical should 
aid veterinarians who are treating animals that have been sickened by the 
pet food.
Aminopterin is used in the United States in, of all things, a cancer drug, 
according to the source.
Stephen Sundolf of the FDA's Veterinary Medicine group, was quoted as 
saying, "This is tragic. It is certainly uncommon. We expect pet food to be 
safe."




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Some vets say latest pet food scare shows need for stricter regulations
22.mar.07
CP Wire
Shannon Montgomery
Canadian veterinarians and animal experts were cited as saying the recall of 
a pet food linked to the deaths of at least 14 animals points to a desperate 
need for government regulation of the industry -- and without it, they warn, 
humans could be the next to fall ill.
Menu Foods, based near Toronto, recalled about 60 million cans and pouches 
of pet food sold under 91 brand names last week after pets began to die of 
kidney failure. It's still not clear what exactly caused the problem.
Dr. Ray Snopek, a veterinarian in Abbotsford, B.C. and the chairman of the 
Canadian Veterinary Medical Association's pet food certification program, 
was cited as saying such recalls are fairly commonplace in an industry in 
which regulation is done voluntarily, adding, "Nobody is looking over the 
shoulders of the pet food companies," and he predicts there will be human 
health consequences sooner or later.
"Pet food that comes into your house, in a bag, and that people handle with 
their hands and that kids sometimes eat -- that will become an area the 
government will be forced to get involved in one day. Let's say, for 
instance, in a recall situation where there's a kidney toxin, like now, what 
if a child is the first one ill?"
Jim Atkinson, who teaches animal nutrition at the University of Guelph and 
also sits on the pet food certification committee, was cited as saying that 
pet food doesn't fall under laws regulating either human food or the feed 
given to animals that are part of the human food chain, adding, "Our worry 
is that something will get into the (pet) food and then transmit through to 
humans, because the same place that we have our food -- the kitchen -- 
there's pet food on the floor, and that seems to me a potential risk."
Atkinson said he's been telling the government for years that the Canadian 
Food Inspection Agency should be responsible for monitoring both pet food 
quality and manufacturing, as well as procedures in the event of a recall.