2007 Pet Food Recalls

On the morning of March 19, 2007, I had just given my three elderly cats their favorite gravy-style food. My tiger-striped tabby cat Maui lay on the family room floor. Assuming she was just feeling puny, I gave her gentle rubs and settled in front of the laptop to scan the news. What I found horrified me.

On March 15, 2007, U.S.-based pet food manufacturer Menu Foods and the FDA recalled hundreds of products after a study resulted in the deaths of 9 cats. This nightmare would affect an unknown number of the millions of pets owned in the U.S. Recalls would last for months and result in such widely ranging death figures that no one knows what is accurate. Estimates range from 2,000 to over 15,000 pet deaths.

The facts

Menu Foods manufactured hundreds of types of pet foods, including expensive all natural brands. The recall eventually expanded to include 150 brands of canned, dry, pouch, and treat pet foods. Over $40 million in pet foods was recalled over the course of months with recalls reported in the U.S. Europe and South Africa. During the recall, the FDA reported just 16 kidney failure deaths. Reasonable folks knew differently.

The recalls were caused by melamine contamination of wheat gluten, a vegetable protein ingredient. Wheat gluten is the substance left over after washing wheat flour to remove starch. Scientists analyzed the tissues, urine, and kidneys of deceased pets to determine the cause of the poisoning. They found cyanuric acid, amilorine and amiloride, all by-products of melamine.

Melamine was also found in rice protein concentrate, another ingredient used in pet foods and farm animal feeds. A Chinese supplier had mixed melamine into the shipments. Melamine, an ingredient used in plastics and fertilizers, isn’t approved for use in human or animal food.

Real life consequences

After contacting my vet and meeting disinterest, I promptly contacted my mother’s veterinarian. I explained that all of my cats had eaten recalled food. He treated the situation as an emergency. Maui was placed on IV fluids for a week to flush her kidneys.

We switched foods and monitored the cats closely. After suspected additional poisoning due to additional recalls a few weeks later, Cleo received a week’s worth of IV fluids. The poisoning took its toll on her 17-year old body. Dude held his own with an occasional boost of fluids during his weekly vet visits. Vets have estimated the cost of treating affected animals at somewhere between $2-20 million.

Pet food companies

To reassure customers, pet food companies advertised all natural foods. Others posted ingredient lists on their web sites. Another wave of recalls resulted from cross-contamination due to inadequate cleaning of equipment during food preparation. Vets weren’t informed to check urine samples for crystallization, a sign of melamine poisoning, until weeks after the initial exposures. Still the FDA reported 16 pet deaths.

Pet owners and activists realized the pet food industry was entirely self-regulated. It was clear they had more political pull than one single pet owner did. So much money was involved that the loss of one treasured animal companion meant nothing. Except that it did.

Grassroots effort

Web sites and blogs focused attention on informing pet owners. Articles graced these sites amid requests to contact representatives to request changes in the FDA’s regulatory authority over the industry. Advocated compiled updated recall lists to serve their animal loving friends. These sites were well ahead of the news, FDA, and pet food companies in reporting the scope of the poisoning tragedy.

Pet lovers drove to groceries to notify store managers of recalled foods. There was no mechanism in place to remove recalled foods from store shelves. The heartwarming efforts of these vanguards, who updated sites around the clock, saved the lives of countless animals. These sites became the source for news outlets seeking the latest information.

Results of the pet food recalls

Two Chinese businesses and one U.S. company were indicted on charges of adulterating food products in February 2008. One Chinese company improperly labeled 800 metric tons of melamine-tainted wheat gluten to avoid inspection in China.

Pet owners were left with broken hearts, vet bills, and the ashes of their beloved pets. To this day, no one knows how many companion animals died. Cleo crossed the Rainbow Bridge just 4 short months after being exposed to the tainted foods. I must live with the guilt that I do every day, that out of love and care, I placed poison in my beloved animals’ food bowls.