What Exactly Did Menu Foods Give to the NY Lab?
Or to ask another way, why isn’t aminopterin found in any other samples? If Menu Foods supplied the NY lab with the sample, and that sample was the ONLY one that was ever linked with amiopterin (which has since been pretty much debunked), how did aminopterin get in it?
BTW, when aminopterin was announced as a possible cause, Menu Foods’ stock jumped up more than 25%. Only to come back down when the result was found inconclusive.
We thought about this because the manufacturers of melamine and aminopterin are now issuing their own releases that seek to deflect blame from those substances. Clearly, no one is blaming them for the pet deaths, but the idea that their product killed kittens and puppies is something neither of them want. Interestingly, they claim that “[aminopterin] is not, and has never been, actually used as a rodenticide.” So how did it get the “rat poison” moniker? FDA?
Poopcity has more info about the press releases.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:55 am
The aminopterin is being debunked by the FDA, which has shown zero honor in this affiar. The lab stands by its analysis.
The FDA has refused to release the names of all suppliers, and the brand names and packaging of all products so persons working in the industry can report instances of the products being used, especially for human food.
Aminopterin causes terrible, terrible birth defects.
Aminopterin will cause renal failure in carts while melamine causes crystals in the urine and kidneys of cats. Aminopterin would clearly explain the pet deaths while melamine may not
THe FDA has lost all respect from me
April 15th, 2007 at 8:37 am
Here is Syntrex’s explanation of the “rat poison” monicker: “The reference to the use of Aminopterin as a rodenticide (i.e. rat
poison) dates back to a 1951 patent issued to the American Cyanamid Company
that is commonly cited by a variety of reference textbooks including the
Merck Manual.(1) ‘To our knowledge, Aminopterin is not, and has never been,
actually used as a rodenticide. The preparation of the molecule is complex
and expensive. It is also unstable in the environment due to degradation by
light and heat,’ said Dr. Zebala.”[http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/03-30-2007/0004557052&EDATE=]