"My Classic trusted me to care for him and now he's dead at 10 months because I fed him tainted food" Texas dog owner Marlene Braun laments after her poodle died of kidney failure last week after eating Nutro dog food.

Marlene isn't alone as many pet owners across the United States are grief stricken after their pets have died or become seriously ill following more than 60 million cans of tainted pet food being recalled.

Some 50 brands of dog food are affected and 40 for cats. There are many flavors and different styles of packaging affected, both cans and pouches. Two of the leaders in pet foods, Iams and Eukanuba, are both affected. They have code dates 6339 through 7073 followed by a plant code of 4197. People with the recalled products are asked to stop using it immediately.

Primarily affected are 13.2-ounce cans of beef cuts and gravy dog food and 3-ounce cans of turkey and gravy cat food.

Marlene, a dog breeder, lost one of her dogs to kidney failure and another one has become seriously ill.

'We understand that your pets aren't just companions, they're important members of your family", the promotional blurb says at the website for Nutro Products, a premium, top-shelf pet food that Nutro advertises is made from quality ingredients for every life stage.

Like many pet owners, while Marlene is mourning the loss of her pet, she is mad too because she's not getting answers from the Nutro and she says the companies involved are busy pointing the fingers of blame at each other.

The lawsuits have already begun.

The recall was made late last week by the Canadian company, Menu Foods which sells dog and cat food under dozens of different brand names including Wegman's, Science Diet and Iams.

A Chicago woman has sued Menu Foods, alleging that the pet food manufacturer delayed announcing the recall of the 60 million cans and pouches of dog and cat food, knowing that its products were contaminated.

Dawn Majerczyk, 43, said that her cat, Phoenix, became sick two days after he ate a package of Special Kitty, one of the brands recalled by Menu Foods.

The federal Food and Drug Administration has confirmed that 14 pets have died from eating the tainted pet food.

For a list of recalled pet food brands visit http://www.menufoods.com/recall/.

For a list of recalled dog food, http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_dog.html.

For a list of recalled cat food, http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_cat.html.

Consumers with questions can also call (866)895-2708.

You can also visit the Food and Drug Administration web site at www.fda.gov. Consumers who wish to report adverse actions or other problems can go to http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html to contact the FDA complaint coordinator in their state.

Veterinarians says that pet owners should watch their pets for such symptoms as increased water intake, increased volumes of urination, unwillingness to eat, vomiting and lethargy. If they see any of those signs in their pet, they should take their pet to their vet as soon as possible.

Kidney failure can come on quickly or take a long period of time. Although Menu Foods has set up two hotlines, with the volume of calls, it is nearly impossible to get a response. Pet owners should visit the above listed websites to see learn about what brands are affected and other information pertaining to the recall.

The pet food affected was manufactured between Dec. 3 2006 and March 6, 2007.

The recall is limited to "cuts and gravy" style pet food in cans and pouches manufactured at two of Menu Food Income Fund's United States facilities. These products are both manufactured and sold under private-label and are contract-manufactured for some national brands.

Menu is the leading North American private-label/contract manufacturer of wet pet food products sold by supermarket retailers, mass merchandisers, pet specialty retailers and other retail and wholesale outlets. In 2006, the Fund produced more than one billion containers of pet food.

Just a month ago, on Feb. 14, Menu Foods announced that its gross profit for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2006, had increased 75.2% or $5.9 million compared to 2005.

Sales for the last quarter ended December 31, 2006, were reported as $87.9 million, up 3.6% or $3.1 million compared to the same quarter last year. Menu attributed this increase to the effect of pricing adjustments to pass through cost increases to Menu's co-pack customers and the price increases initiated on can and pouch sales to Menu's United States private-label customers, together with other variables, had the effect of increasing sales by $6.7 million.

A Long Island couple is suing Menu Foods after their two and half year old bull mastiff Princess died of kidney failure on March 9, a day after eating "Natural Choice" wet food, sold under the Nutro name.

Four dogs owned by a Philadelphia woman became ill after eating some of the tainted pet food and one of them died. Margie Hilgreen said that the dog's liver was damaged, her kidneys and intestinal tract.

"It gets me mad, to see on the news they think these animals are a piece of property. They're not. They're your kids".

The recall was prompted by the deaths of nearly a dozen animals. According to confirmed reports by the FDA, at least 14 cats and dogs have died and many other pets are said to be suffering from kidney failure.

The FDA has sent investigators to plants in Pennsauken, NJ and Emporia, Kan., trying to determine the source of the problem. Much of the tainted food was sold at major store chains including Price Chopper, Safeway, Kroger and Wal-Mart and was sold not only in the U.S., but also in Mexico and Canada.

According to Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, the cause of the contamination is still being investigated. He said they have no firm leads but "suspicion remains focused on a possible contamination of wheat gluten, used to thicken the gravy in the "cuts and gravy" pet food sold in pouches and cans.

Menu recently changed its supplier for wheat gluten and according to Sundlof, that is "the only change that coincided with the reported deaths". The broker who sold the wheat gluten to Menu has not yet been publicly identified but Sundlof said the broker got it from a variety of sources and the FDA is trying to trace it back.

According to a FDA spokesperson, pet food plants are not routinely inspected and inspections done are prioritized based on risk with pet foods being lower in priority that foods for human consumption.

According to the spokesperson, the Menu Foods plant in Kansas has never been inspected by the FDA and until the recall, the source of all the consumer complaints was the Kansas plant. 3-21-07

© 2007 North Country Gazette