Tainted-food pet deaths rising

The investigation has focused on wheat gluten.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Federal food safety officials Tuesday raised the official number of pet deaths related to tainted food to 14, adding that the number likely will rise as they tally new information.
"We are receiving many calls from consumers; we have not had the chance to confirm those yet," said Stephen F. Sundlof, the director of the FDA's center for veterinary medicine.
"Right now we are really focusing on the recall and trying to find the potential substance or substances responsible for causing illnesses and deaths in cats and dogs."
Canadian company Menu Foods Income Fund began a voluntary recall last weekend of 60 million cans and pouches of "cuts and gravy" meals.
The company last week told the Food and Drug Administration that routine tests of the food resulted in the deaths of nine cats, FDA officials said Tuesday. The company also confirmed that its tainted food was responsible for the deaths of four customers' cats and one consumer's dog, the FDA said.
Menu Foods produces 88 brands of dog and cat food, including popular labels Iams and Eukanuba and private-label brands sold at large retail chains.
Many hits
One veterinarians' Web site tallied 18,000 hits to an online discussion about the recall and illnesses that the vets believed could be related.
But it is too soon to speculate about the number of pets sickened or killed as a result of tainted food, said veterinarian Paul Pion, who co-founded the Veterinarians Information Network.
"The 14 cases are probably just the tip of the iceberg," said Pion, adding that the topic dominated the members-only Web site of 30,000 subscribers worldwide. "I'm sure it's far beyond that. Whether its 10 times that or 100 times that I can't tell you."
The FDA's investigation has focused on wheat gluten, which Menu Foods said had come from a new supplier during the period when it produced the recalled foods, from Dec. 3 to March 6.
Wheat gluten itself is not generally associated with food contamination, Sundlof said. But the product used to thicken the pet food "gravy" might have carried a dangerous mold or been contaminated by another toxic substance.
Menu Foods did not return calls Tuesday seeking comment.
The FDA directed consumers to its Web site, www.fda.gov, for more information.
The recalled products are listed on Menu Foods' hotline for further information is (866) 895-2708. The company's Web site lists the recalled foods at www.menufoods.com/recall.
FDA officials said owners should contact their vets if pets show signs of lethargy, loss of appetite or vomiting, especially if they have eaten any of the recalled foods.