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Menu Foods Samples Test Positive for Painkiller

Texas Lab Finds Acetaminophen in Canadian Manufacturer's Products

By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved

June 13, 2007

• Report Finds Toxins Common in Products for Children, Pets • Feds Bar Teva Animal Health From Selling Veterinary Drugs • FDA Confirms Probe of NUTRO Pet Food Deaths, Illnesses • Evidence Destroyed in Menu Foods Case May Hamper Other Lawsuits • Pet Food Class Action Preemptively Thrown Out • More Pet Foods Added to Salmonella Recall • Lawsuits On the Trail of Nutro, Canidae Pet Foods • FDA Halts Illegally Medicated Animal Feed • Pet Owners Warned about Chicken Jerky Products • Mars Extends Pet Food Recall; More Salmonella Found • Mars Recalls Cat Food Sold at Wal-Mart due to Salmonella • Hartz Recalls Rawhide Chips After Possible Salmonella Contamination • Pet Owners Eligible For $24 Million in Landmark Melamine Settlement • Internet Rumor Claims Cocoa Mulch Causes Dog Deaths • Mars Recalls More Pet Food; Possible Salmonella Contamination • Mars Petcare Recalls Some Pedigree Dog Food • Expert Finds Unexplained Pet Deaths 'Not Consistent' • Illness, Death Dog Nutro Pet Food • Feds Raid PETCO Warehouse in Illinois • Pet Owners Not Thrilled with Poison Food Settlement • CDC Links 2006 Salmonella Outbreak to Dog Food • FDA Orders Illinois Pet Food Maker to Clean Up Its Act • String of Illnesses Afflicts NUTRO-Fed Pets --- • More about Pet Food Recalls ...

Two of the pet food samples that tested positive for the painkiller acetaminophen are Menu Foods’ Pet Pride "Turkey and Giblets Dinner" and Pet Pride "Mixed Grill,” ConsumerAffairs.com has learned.

As we reported last week, a Texas laboratory discovered acetaminophen in about a half dozen samples of pet food tested in May.

The lab did not disclose the pet food brands because of a confidentiality agreement.

After our story was published, however, we heard from a consumer who paid ExperTox Inc. of Deer Park, Texas to analyze samples of pet food.

That consumer is Don Earl, who says his cat “Chuckles” went into kidney failure and died in January 2007 after eating Pet Pride “Turkey and Giblets” and “Mixed Grill” cat food.

The Port Townsend, Washington, pet owner said he had the same lots and styles of Pet Pride food tested that he fed Chuckles before she died.

And those tests detected acetaminophen in the food, ConsumerAffairs.com confirmed.

The tests also discovered the chemical cyanuric acid -- commonly used in pool chlorination -- in the food.

No Melamine

Tests on the brands of Pet Pride food that Chuckles ate, however, did not detect the chemical that triggered the nationwide recall of millions of container of pet food earlier this year: melamine.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discovered melamine in the wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate imported from China and used in the more than 5,600 products that pet food makers have recalled in the past three months.

That chemical is blamed for the illnesses and deaths of thousands of pets nationwide.

Melamine is used to make plastics and fertilizers. It is not approved for use in pet or human food.

Chuckles

Pet owner Earl isn’t surprised that ExperTox scientists didn’t find melamine in the brands of food that Chuckles ate. Those Pet Pride brands are not included the massive recall.

“Melamine has impressed me as being a red herring since day one,” Earl told us. “The substance has been the subject of credible scientific tests and studies for decades. Nothing supports the theory it could be lethal even in amounts 10 times the highest reported to be present in the food. As to why no one is finding other toxins in the food, the simple explanation is no one is looking for other toxins in the food.”

Since Earl’s beloved “Chuckles” died, he has researched the pet food recall and created the Pet Food Recall Facts Web site.

Test Results

His Web site includes a copy of ExperTox’s results on the Pet Pride food he had tested.

It also includes results on two other dry pet food samples the lab tested. The brands of those pet foods are not identified on ExperTox’s toxicology reports, but reveal the lab detected acetaminophen in one case and acetaminophen and cyanuric acid in the other.

“The sample was received in an open or zip lock bag,” one of the toxicology reports states. “The laboratory does not warrant that this is the actual product listed. The product and lot number, if provided, was noted on the sample received by the client -- not the laboratory.”

The report adds: “Testing of the above product does not warrant that all products of this particular brand, lot or batch, will produce the same results or indicate that the entire product line is safe or not safe for consumption This analysis is based on a small, representative sample of the product provided and does not constitute full analysis of the entire product line, lot(s) or batches.”

ConsumerAffairs.com contacted the manufacturer of the confirmed pet food that tested positive for acetaminophen -- Menu Foods of Canada. That company makes Pet Pride food.

A spokeswoman for Menu Food said the company had no comment on ExperTox’s findings. But spokeswoman Sarah Tuite told us: “The Pet Food Institute (PFI) has provided comment.”

That organization represents the makers of 98 percent of all dog and cat food produced in the United States, and calls itself “the voice of U.S. pet food manufacturers.”

“I can assure you that this industry takes the issue of the safety of pet food products with the utmost seriousness,” PFI’s spokesman Kurt Gallagher said Tuesday.

Gallagher said his industry and the FDA are investigating ExperTox’s findings. But he cast doubts about the laboratory — and its test results.

“Through our contacts in Texas, which is where the lab is located that conducted the analysis, we have learned there is genuine concern among key toxicological and analytical experts about the lab and the actual test results,” Gallagher said.

The Lab Manager for ExperTox told us today that her company stands by its finding.

What Experts?

Expertox’s Donna Coneley also said she doesn’t have any idea what Texas experts Gallagher and PFI are talking about.

“They never name the experts they’re working with,” Coneley said. “When someone says ‘people I know say this,’ it sounds to me like they’re trying to say there are experts who have looked into this and don’t agree with the findings. But I don’t believe there are.

“To me, it sounds like they’re talking about imaginary experts,” Coneley said.

Coneley said the only experts her lab has worked with about the findings are those with the FDA. In fact, she told us she had the FDA on another line during our interview today.

“The pet food manufacturing companies have had ten-minute discussions with us about how we did our tests,” she said. “But they’re not experts.

“The (scientists at the) FDA are the only people we’ve been talking to about our findings.”

Coneley said her lab tested about 100 to 150 samples of food.

When asked if she was surprised the lab didn’t detect melamine in the samples of Pet Pride it tested, she said: “We did find that (chemical) in other samples. I don’t have my paperwork in front of me to tell you how many samples, but I can tell you we did find melamine in some. We also found melamine and cyanuric acid in some samples.”

But ExperTox did not find the rat poison and cancer drug, Aminopterin, in any of the pet food it tested, Coneley said.

Scientists at the New York State Department of Agriculture discovered that toxin in some samples of pet food it tested shortly after Menu Foods announced its recall in March.

Don't Look, Don't Find

In the meantime, pet owner Earl wonders why the country’s leading laboratories aren’t imitating ExperTox’s tests.

“They're using a protocol to quickly scan for thousands of substances. Once having identified a substance using that method, they are then able to run more specific tests to confirm the results.

“The question that comes to my mind is with so many people affected, and so many people needing hard answers to how this happened, why the nation’s top labs are limiting their tests to what they read in the morning's paper? You won't find what you don't look for.”

A Lost Customer

In related news, Menu Foods announced on Monday that a “significant customer” will no longer buy cuts and gravy products from the company.

That unidentified customer represented 11 percent of the company’s total sales in 2006, Menu Foods said.

The news caused Menu’s stock (TSX: MEW.UN) to plummet. Menu’s stock opened at $3.09 today and dropped to a low of $2.30 a unit.

According to published reports, the company lost $17.5 million in the first quarter.

Menu Foods has said the pet food recall will cost the company at least $45 million — and that figure doesn’t include legal settlement not covered by insurance. The company now faces 90-class action lawsuits, TheStar.com, a Canadian publication, reported.

In May, Menu Foods posted claims information on its Web Site for pet owners whose dogs or cats became sick or died after eating the tainted food.

But legal authorities have intervened. Visitors to the site are now finding this notice:

“On May 24, 2007, a United States federal court issued an order that, for the time being, prevents Menu Foods from having direct contact with individual U.S. pet owners. In light of the order, we regret that we cannot communicate with you at this time. As soon as the court permits, we intend to resume efforts to resolve claims directly with pet owners. We will post additional information when we are able.”

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