このページは、@wiki で 2007年04月17日 15:08:30 GMT に保存された http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/03/27/pet.food.recall.ap/index.html キャッシュです。
ユーザがarchive機能を用いた際、@wikiが対象サイトのrobots.txt,meta情報を考慮し、ページを保存したものです。
そのため、このページの最新版でない場合があります。 こちらから 最新のページを参照してください。
このキャッシュ ページにはすでに参照不可能な画像が使用されている可能性があります。
@wikiのarchve機能についてはこちらを参照ください

@wikiはこのページまたはページ内のコンテンツとは関連ありません。

このページをキャッシュしたwikiに戻る

Recalled pet food blamed for more than 100 deaths - CNN.com Skip to main content
CNN.com
Search
Home Asia Europe U.S. World Business Tech Science Entertainment Sport Travel Weather Specials Video I-Reports
U.S. News

Recalled pet food blamed for more than 100 deaths

Story Highlights

• Veterinary group reports 471 cases of pet kidney failure
• Pet food maker confirms 16 deaths; searching for source of contamination
• Banned rodent poison aminopterin has been cited as the likely culprit
Adjust font size:
Decrease fontDecrease font
Enlarge fontEnlarge font

ALBANY, New York (AP) -- At least 471 cases of pet kidney failure have been reported in the 10 days since a nationwide recall of dog and cat food and about a fifth of those pets have died, a veterinarians' information service said Tuesday.

The maker of the recalled pet food has confirmed the deaths of only 16 pets.

Paul Pion, founder of the Veterinary Information Network, which counts 30,000 veterinarians and veterinary students as members, said Tuesday the number of reported kidney failure cases had already grown higher than the 471, but he said he wouldn't have an updated tally for a few days.

Of the reported cases, he said, 104 animals have died. The network's survey results were earlier reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Pion, a California veterinarian, said only 10 percent to 20 percent of the people who belong to his Web site had responded to a request for information.

"If we're only getting 10 percent of the veterinarians, you can do the math," he said.

Scientists at the New York State Food Laboratory last week identified the rodent poison aminopterin as the likely culprit in the scare that prompted the recall of 95 brands of "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat food by the maker, Menu Foods of Ontario, Canada.

Some pets that ate the recalled brands suffered kidney failure, and the company has confirmed the deaths of 15 cats and one dog. Aminopterin, a derivative of folic acid that was once used to induce abortions and is now banned as a rodent poison in the United States, can cause kidney damage in dogs and cats.

Scientists so far have offered no theories on how aminopterin got into the products of Menu Foods, which makes pet food for most of North America's top retailers.

Researchers at the New York food lab, Cornell University and other labs were still working Tuesday to pinpoint which ingredients were tainted with the poison, officials said. They also said there could still be undetected hazards in the food.

Sam Bornstein, a spokesman for Menu Foods, said the company has not yet updated the number of confirmed pet deaths. He said testing to determine the source of the aminopterin and how it got into the food "is continuing aggressively" but Menu did not have any new results.

The company on March 16 recalled products packaged from December 3 to March 6 and advised retailers last week to remove all the products from their shelves to verify the dates they were packaged. Products not made between those dates can still be sold.

The recall covered products carrying names of major brands including Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba. The food was distributed throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico by major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kroger and Safeway.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said the investigation was focused on the ingredient wheat gluten.

Testing has not been easy.

Wheat gluten has "been a real difficult sample to work with," said Daniel Rice, director of the New York food lab. "It's real sticky, gummy. If you can imagine wet flour and you're trying to get that into solution and put that into an instrument."

Veterinary Information Network provides a secure site where veterinarians share clinical information and other resources such as conference schedules and continuing education courses.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Follow Related Topics

Search TopicE-mail Alerts

story.shop.gi.jpg

Peggy Britt-Vidal shops for pet food last week after returning cans of Iams pet food in Miami, Florida.

Advertisement
CNN U.S.
CNN TV How To Get CNN Partner Hotels Contact Us Ad Info About Us Preferences
Search
© 2007 Cable News Network.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map.
SERVICES » E-mail RSSRSS Feed PodcastsRadio News Icon CNN Mobile CNN Pipeline
Offsite Icon External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pipeline Icon Pay service with live and archived video. Learn more