Recall Update: Thursday
New Recall News: Melamine found in more animal feed.
Melamine was added by the Ohio company that was making the food.
The companies have confirmed that Tembec added melamine as part of the formulation of the products to improve the binding properties of pelleted feed. Melamine is not approved as an additive for animal or fish/shrimp feed…
The Tembec and Uniscope products also reportedly contain a urea formaldehyde resin-type ingredient, a raw ingredient used to make the binding agent in these products. FDA is investigating this use of the urea formaldehyde resin-type ingredient in the Tembec and Uniscope products, and will take appropriate regulatory action if warranted.
The US firm may have exported this tainted food to other countries. The products have been recalled.
Menu Foods Update:
Menu Foods releases financial info related to the recall. Legal fees and settlements are not taken into account.
Pet Connection has a PDF of their quarterly report.
Menu Foods CEO, Paul Henderson, says:
Notwithstanding the significant costs of the recall, I am proud of the timely and professional manner in which management of the Fund dealt with this situation.
We know lots of people who may take offense to that statement, including Iams, who looks to have pressured Menu Foods to initiate the recall.
Here’s the Menu Foods CEO’s sworn congressional testimony:
Well, again, relative to the facts as they actually transpired, the conversation that took place with Iams, they, they essentially shared some information with us. We got together the next day, and essentially in a, in a rather lengthy meeting, both parties exchanged what they knew. Being that individually there wasn’t enough information to, to draw conclusions. But together, it looked as from a circumstantial evidence perspective, as if we had the basis for a recall. They opted to recall, we went along. We announced first.â€
Continue reading his words at your own risk:
Menu was the first manufacturer to act, with its recall initiated weeks ahead of other manufacturers. Our proactive action in recalling suspicious product, despite the fact that it tested clean for all known toxins, undoubtedly saved the lives of many cats and dogs.
Check out our non-recall news below. And as always, we’ll keep covering all pet news.
P.S. Have questions? Need help? Try our ItchmoForums and get your questions answered by great pet owners.
Also, please keep your conversations towards each other civil. Do not get give in to the temptation of name-calling. Either here or in the Forums. We may remove such useless and pointless comments. Thanks in advance to those who help keep the peace.
(Thanks mike)
May 31st, 2007 at 5:51 am
“Tembec added melamine as part of the formulation of the products to improve the binding properties of pelleted feed.”
What is wrong with these f*cking greedy ass companies. Maybe they’d like to feed their own children some melamine??
May 31st, 2007 at 6:54 am
I looked over the financial report last night and I didn’t post as I wanted to keep it civil—these statements by Mr. Henderson has proven to me he has no conscience or he is delusional–he contradicts himself—sort of like the FDA did yesterday with the melamine content—-I think I know the problem—-a lie is hard to keep straight all this time-when you tell the truth all the time the facts don’t change.
May 31st, 2007 at 7:12 am
Note to Menu Foods:
Why you have ANY remaining customers is a mystery to me.
We don’t want your food.
Your company is FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 31st, 2007 at 7:23 am
How could Tembec continue to use melamine with all of the coverage of the pet food recall–it should be criminal and the FDA should take a much more aggressive investigation as it seems these companies are doing whatever it takes to save a buck as they know the regulators are few and far between and most likely will never be uncovered.
May 31st, 2007 at 7:37 am
What I’m looking for now is a list of foods both human and pet that do NOT CONTAIN MELAMINE–any ideas??
May 31st, 2007 at 7:42 am
Worth posting from Menu pg 18:
“PG 18: The office of two United States’ Attorneys have informed Menu that it is the target of criminal investigations for possible violations of the U.S. federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. It is possible that additional actions or investigations may arise in the future.”
Star Trek : ) “Make it So”
May 31st, 2007 at 8:17 am
I have nothing civil to say…so I guess I’ll just go puke now and finish my (melamine/eurea formaldehyde resin-type ingredient free) morning coffee and slowly (but voluntarily) kill myself, my own way, with another cigarette.
May 31st, 2007 at 8:44 am
Will there be more recalls for food because of this?
And Guardian956, I’m with you!!
May 31st, 2007 at 9:00 am
Guardian956 & Trudy Jackson I’m with both of you. Our forefathers are not just turning in their graves but crying with us. FDA, USDA, our gov. not for the people or by the people. What have they done to the United States, we where once such a great county. No wonder other places hate us. No paster better tell me how to vote again.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:03 am
Guardian956,
Loved your post. Gave me a good chuckle this AM. I have considered going back to smoking myself at least it says it my kill me right on the label, not trying to hide it. Too bad I made a deal with GOD that I would never touch another cig if he let my cats survive their poisoning.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:04 am
Oh I feel so sorry for these guys. Brings tears to my eyes.
I better be nice now. After all they were victims. Wouldn’t want to offend someone now.
Time Marches on . . . . . . . . . .
May 31st, 2007 at 9:10 am
I agree with Mr Henderson is the definition of victim is “liars and deceivers” otherwise thank God for the Congress transcript…..
May 31st, 2007 at 9:16 am
Mr. Henderson–
The statements in your financial report as as truthful as the statements on your website regarding a US Federal Court barring the company from having contact with pet owners with claims.
If you and your company knew anything about telling the truth, the massive recalls would have begun far sooner–and would not have continued from March until May 22, 2007, when Menu discovered they “forgot” about more Western Family canned foods sold in Canada at risk. The recall timeline of Menu-made products doesn’t lie–but you and your company have been estranged from the truth from the start of this crisis.
If it’s professional for those with claims against Menu to be harrassed in an effort to pressure them to settle for less than what’s fair and equitable, you and the company you hired to process claims have done your jobs well.
However, the one question remains–why didn’t Menu test the wheat flour AKA wheat gluten after purchasing it from ChemNutra and prior to its use in the pet foods you were contracted to make? Had Menu acted responsibly and professionally at that point, the substitution would have been discovered and the melamine tainted ingredient not gone into the foods. Had you tested, there would have been no deaths, illnesses or recalls; Menu would have had ZERO expense for any of this.
The company may have found itself in a position to sue the supplier of the “wheat gluten”, depending on what both of you were able to work out as settlement, but the bottom line is the death/injury/recall expenses borne by Menu are there because it was “cheaper” not to test suppliers’ ingredients.
You made the decision to place Menu in the position it’s in and now you attempt to idealize the situation. None of us are buying the stories, Mr. Henderson–or any pet foods produced by Menu either.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:45 am
Jenny Bark, you are so right. what did our forefathers fight for? Not for this, i’m sure. So they died in the wars and the animals died in the pet food war. what is the sense in all this? What’s happening to our country?
And why is Bush still in office?????????
May 31st, 2007 at 9:52 am
Trudy from your lips to Gods ears. If I had my way Bush would be long gone and most of gov. fired. What is also happening to the children, old and sick people. It is just so sad.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:03 am
I think the whole world is sad now. I know the USA is sad, and not at all like it used to be.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:06 am
I think Donald Trump should haul their *sses in the the board room and FIRE THEM.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:14 am
I agree, They should face charges for murder too. I have to go talk to you all later. Trudy Jackson I’m so very sorry about your kitty babies and am praying for your dog.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:19 am
Thank you Jenny, i’ll let everyone know when I find out something with the dog,
May 31st, 2007 at 10:35 am
Re: “Menu was the first manufacturer to act, with its recall initiated weeks ahead of other manufacturers. Our proactive action in recalling suspicious product, despite the fact that it tested clean for all known toxins, undoubtedly saved the lives of many cats and dogs.”
Blood vessels exploding in head. Finally incapacitated on floor, ranting incomprehensible rage.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:45 am
Also, please keep your conversations civil. Do not get give in to the temptation of name-calling. Either here, or in the Forums. We may remove such useless and pointless comments. Thanks in advance to those who help keep the peace.
Thanks itchmo but sorry - I have no reason to call petfood poisoner PR lies “conversation”, let alone civil. As a victim of their actions, I intend to continue calling them exactly what they are — CARPETBAGGING CORPORATE CRIMINAL MURDERERS AND LIARS.
And that goes for all their accomplices in the FDA and PFI.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:00 am
I read the pdf file as best as I can. I’m no accountant so the money thing can be difficult for me. However, I did understand that they raised the price twice in 2006 before they switched to the cheaper gluten (maximize that profit margin!), are happy because the US will bend the rule about not allowing older beef in from a BSE positive country, and whined about lost profit, blaming those nasty old vendors and employees with their benefits. Mr. Henderson, you remind me of Dennis Leary singing I’m an a$$holio.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:14 am
All of these food producers are psychopaths. Other wise there would be mass suicides among them. How could anyone look at themselves in the mirror, knowing what they’ve done in order to gain wealth.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:42 am
I just found out NV uses MF for canned so I no longer will buy the canned (I use dry-Instinct) but now wonder if canned Canidae is a MF product—anybody know???
May 31st, 2007 at 11:44 am
Carol,
I believe Evangers cans Felidae and Canidae
May 31st, 2007 at 11:53 am
LorieVA, Thanks–it’s too bad as my 2 golden spoiled retrievers really liked the 1/2 can they got mixed with the kibble but after reading the “Report from PF at MF” I just can’t buy anything else associated with them—my 2 cats ate Special Kitty for 10 years as they would not eat anything else and 1 is ok but 1 is still fighting so every day I have a constant reminder–again thanks for info ..
May 31st, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Civility towards others is based on mutual civility, respect, integrity, and trust. Being treated with civility is an earned privilege - not a god-given right. Since Henderson is a bold-faced liar and has repeatedly sought to serve his own best interests before, during and after the great harm that was finally exposed AND that he has personally inflicted pain, suffering and death for thousands of innocent test animals and pets for probably years - all in the name of profit margins - I don’t feel the least bit obligated to be civil.
Menu Foods can go to $%^& and probably will. Nothing less than complete contrition, radically changing every aspect of your poison production, and FULLY and COMPLETELY compensating every pet owner who has suffered economically and emotionally because of your greed and incompetence, will ever change how the majority of pet owners feel about you. GET IT???
May 31st, 2007 at 12:11 pm
A situation that should have never happened.
Victims my a**.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:28 pm
The pet food I was going to send away to have tested is no longer going to happen, the companies make it impossible to catch them read this tid bit below
One of the bad things about Special Kitty, & maybe other brands, that was posted on Menuʼs website, is the multi-packs have various UPC codes & expiration dates within that shrink-wrapped package.
So I really could send 3 cans of good food and not one of the poison cans because there is about 6 different lot numbers on the bottom of the cans they all have
1160 plant # but not all same batch.(product#) SIGH.
Since I do not have the empty cans that I used that had the bad food in I have no way of knowing which lot was the bad one, to send the right cans
May 31st, 2007 at 12:55 pm
What I don’t get is don’t these people realize that their families (ex: grandchildren) will be consuming the meat and fish that were fed the melamine toxins?
May 31st, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Some PF manufacturers got smart…
http://www.570news.com/news/bu.....t=b053149A
Menu Foods losing customers in wake of tainted pet food scandal
May 31, 2007 - 11:02
By: DAVID FRIEND
“TORONTO (CP) - The head of Menu Foods Income Fund (TSX:MEW.UN) says the company has lost two major contracts with unnamed North American customers as the pet food industry adjusts after the contaminated food scandal.
“CEO Paul Henderson said Thursday the pet food maker, embroiled in a massive pet food recall over tainted wheat gluten from China that has been blamed for pet deaths, has lost two contracts representing about 4.5 per cent of sales last year.
“The first customer cancelled orders for pouched food while continuing a canned food contract, he said. The other company opted to make its own canned food.
“But Henderson said he wasn’t able to tie the sales losses directly to the pet food recall.
“They don’t necessarily share the rationale for their decision. It would be speculation on my part,” Henderson said in a conference call.
“The contract losses are on top of an announcement made March 16, the day of a major recall, that Menu was losing cuts-and-gravy product orders from its largest customer. The company represented about 11 per cent of sales.”
As per the Wikipedia article on Menu Foods, I’d believe the largest customer who cancelled cuts & gravy foods was P & G. Menu has removed the about us/customers page from its website. But–we can find a copy from May 2006 by using the URL at the Internet Archives:
http://web.archive.org/web/200.....omers.html
“Menu is a private-label pet food manufacturer to 17 of the top 20 North American retailers (including Ahold USA Inc., Kroger Company, Safeway and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. as well as leading pet specialty retailers in North America (including PetSmart, Inc. and Pet Valu Inc.).”
Mr. Henderson, it’s too bad your nose doesn’t get longer with each lie you tell; it would be taller than the Sears Tower in Chicago when you lie down.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:05 pm
brief excerpt:
http://www.commondreams.org/ar.....5/31/1564/
Zheng Xiaoyu Meet Lester Crawford
by The Corporate Crime Reporter
Zheng Xiaoyu meet Lester Crawford.Lester Crawford is the former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Zheng Xiaoyu is the former head of China’s equivalent of the FDA.
Both have been convicted of crimes committed while in office.
Earlier this week, Zheng was sentenced to death.
Earlier this year, Crawford was sentenced to three years probation.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Thanks menusux, I haven’t seen that web page in a while–since mid March I believe!!
May 31st, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Such cute puppies at the header on their website — are these the ones they murdered in house to prove what they already knew?
If Menu makes or cans it or has any hand in it, then boycott any company that contracts with them for life. No exceptions.
Here are three:
Blue Seal
Performatrin Ultra
Trader Joe’s
Shame on you, TJ. Drop your relationship and condemn this company that you lay down with.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:33 pm
menusux Says:
May 31st, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Some PF manufacturers got smart…
But not smart enough!
From the news story: “The first customer cancelled orders for pouched food while continuing a canned food contract, he said. ”
Is this Iams? or another who still uses these people? Canned food is no harbor.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:44 pm
If you boycott a company for life to get them to change canneries, what is the incentive? How about boycott until they change canneries if you otherwise would buy from them? I am NOT going to boycott Natura for life for having used Menu. They are looking for another canner and said they were going to get away from Menu even before the recalls began to expand.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:04 pm
LorieVA Says:
May 31st, 2007 at 12:28 pm
The pet food I was going to send away to have tested is no longer going to happen, the companies make it impossible to catch them read this tid bit below
*****
Dang! I was hoping you’d finally get somewhere with all of this. But thanks for posting and letting us know. How much ya wanna bet they package it that way on purpose, just for that reason.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Debbie4747,
Youknow that is what one of my friends and myself said also. They have the CYA thing down to a science. What a joke. What would be the chances of me gettin glucky on the first try………………..I would just be out 150 bucks. I hate this whole mess. I wish someone wanted to get them as bad as I do and would do the testing for free just to bring them down. They are pretty much waliking around scott free.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Helen Says:
May 31st, 2007 at 1:44 pm
If you boycott a company for life to get them to change canneries, what is the incentive?
No animosity intended toward the questioner.
There is some value in your question, but for me it would depend on the following:
Did they condemn Menu Foods without compromise or apologia? Did they announce publicly the despicable behavior of their former partner? If so, how long did they delay? Do they admit their part in this tragedy on their corporate website? These should be counters for every firm involved — not just Natura.
Hopefully, Natura had a response different than Wysong which felt so strongly about Menu (and still does obviously) that it was important to slander all pet owners as not “understanding.”
Looking for a new canner is different than having a new canner — and in the interim, the line should be discontinued. Any company that lay down with these “things” needs to stand up and join the people here in working toward the final day of MF’s door being open. I suspect this would go a long way to ameliorating some of the anger. But it is solely in their corner.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:32 pm
The timeliness of the recall… meaning, “I got to sell my stock and make some money before we announced the recall and the price of my stock went down”
I guess they conveniently “forgot” that consumers were calling with ill pets, as early as December, and that they didn’t test until… February, I believe, and by killing pets to do so.
I guess they have to lie to themselves so that they can feel better about how it all turned out - after all, they saved so many pet’s lives because they came forward first. Unbelievable!
In the early days of the recall, I printed out every single article, feeling that some of those articles would disappear from cyberspace and I clearly remember reading that complaints from pet owners started in December, so I fail to see how 3 MONTHS later, was some great timing!
My vent of the day.
On a serious cat note, one of my fur-children, Hacoona, had a seizure on Sunday morning. She came out of it and is okay (THANK GOD!) BUT she, along with all my cats did eat the recalled food. I know it was not one of the listed symptoms, but I just felt it was worth mentioning. And her blood work came back perfect just a week ago.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Comment by: menusux Says: May 31st, 2007 at 12:57 pm
I can guess that the second company mentioned is Natura. They have been saying they will be making their own canned foods.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Lisa Clay, I have copies of articles too and CBC News printed on March 16th what you said—Menu was getting calls in December from US pet parents—I wonder who CBC News talked to back then as obviously they are saying something else now.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Lisa Clay
What food were you feeding your cat?
How long ago did it last it tht food?
Siezures have been reported in some cases of this pet food fiasco and bloodwork some times is not affected, or is affected and takes up to a month to elevate. Geisha bloodwork was normal on first day of ER visit her CRE double with in 3 weeke of that visit. Sometimes it takes 3 weeks to a month to show up.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:45 pm
ok let me get this-now -we added melamine to our feed routinely so then we tested and found melamine in our feed so told the FDA..( who we know won’t do anything to us, praise satan!)?
what the hell haven’t they put in pet food and animal feed-? how about that old sofa you were gonna throw out? got some old auto parts here…..
do they not even understand being you know food companies that there is a food CHAIN and humans could be effected by whatever they feed cows or pigs? mad cow meant and means nothing to these clearly evil people.
‘ appropriate regulatory action’? what does that mean- loll around for a few months doing nothing? suggesting the company stop using melamine- if they so desire, you know nothing is binding…?
May 31st, 2007 at 2:47 pm
I was feeding the recalled Nutro products, Evo Canned Cat & Kitten, Halo Spot’s Stew and Merrick. I stopped the Nutro immediately, stopped the Evo because it was made by Menu Foods (but in the South Dakota plant) and kept feeding the Merrick & Halo Spot’s Stew. I have since added Artemis Holistic canned and have some Evangers on order.
I stopped the Nutro and Evo in March, had blood and urine tests done on all 3 cats within a week. Hacoona had perfect blood and urine in her March tests. I had taken her in last Thursday for dental work, but because she is thin, they didn’t want to do the surgery. She had more blood work done (May) and it also came back perfect. The vet is going to run a test on a stool sample (as soon as I can get one).
Since I am so paranoid anyway, I will repeat the blood work on the other 2 cats just to see how it compares to the March numbers.
I had read that symptoms can show up long after the food has been eaten, but that they have no way of knowing for how long.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Yes, I remember so well when I realized that the first contact (what I called in another post weeks ago, “the canary coughed”) about the death food was killing in DECEMBER as reported by Canadian sources and that my cat was dead due to this criminal delay. Later, March 16 became “oh-so” important on all corporate and media communications.
For chicanery and lies, it is much like the “16 deaths” we all had to suffer for so long.
May 31st, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Lisa Clay
I know this whole thing is so scary, I still watch my 2 kitties like a hawk its been over 2 mos now and I still worry, that they are going to relapse. Every once in a while they need PEPCID but other than that they seem well. Fingers crossed the siezure was just a fluke.
Any time you want to take a big spoon and feed some of this crap to the PFI I will help you.
May 31st, 2007 at 3:31 pm
Does anyone know the codes for other plants? Like 1161
,1159 etc. who or where these plants are?
Thanks
Geees Lorie, I was hoping you could take a Bite out of them with your foods/tests! I’m rally sorry you couldn’t. But Save them anyway Ok!
May 31st, 2007 at 3:33 pm
“Menu was the first manufacturer to act, with its recall initiated weeks ahead of other manufacturers. Our proactive action in recalling suspicious product, despite the fact that it tested clean for all known toxins, undoubtedly saved the lives of many cats and dogs.”
WHAT!
May 31st, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Ya Ya
I am so bummed about the food also, but trust me I am keeping it. Just in case, i just wish i was rich and could afford to have all 20 cans tested. : (