Pet Food Maker Can't Explain Deaths
Menu Foods Looking At Single Ingredient

POSTED: 3:45 pm EDT March 21, 2007
UPDATED: 6:26 pm EDT March 21, 2007

The pet food linked to the deaths of 16 animals has shown no signs of
contamination, the manufacturer says, and the company cannot explain why the
cats and dog developed acute kidney failure and died.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Paul Henderson, the chief
executive and president of Menu Foods, said Wednesday the company was
looking at a single ingredient. He wouldn't identify it, but the Food and
Drug Administration has said the investigation was focusing on wheat gluten.

"Our hypothesis is that it is that ingredient that in fact represents the
highest probability as to the cause," Henderson said. "But we have been
unable to prove that through scientific information."

The animal deaths have led to the recall of 60 million cans and pouches of
pet food sold throughout North America under 95 brand names.

"This is a puzzling and troubling experience for everybody within this
organization," Henderson said in an interview from company headquarters in
Streetsville, Ontario. "It is extremely disheartening that we haven't been
able to find the causative agent."

There have been tests on 10 cats that died, performed by an outside company
for Menu Foods. The results show only that the cats died of acute kidney
failure.

There have been widespread reports of kidney failure, some fatal, in pets
that have eaten the recalled brands. The company has confirmed the overall
deaths of 15 cats and one dog.

Menu Foods last week recalled "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat food. The
recall has sparked concern among pet owners across North America. It
includes food sold under store brands carried by Wal-Mart, Kroger, Safeway
and other large retailers, as well as private labels like Iams, Nutro and
Eukanuba. Call centers hired by the company received 47,000 calls over the
weekend, Henderson said.

"Our hearts go out to all of the pet owners across Canada, the United States
and Mexico for any losses they experience and certainly for the worry this
incident may be causing," Henderson said.

The FDA has sent investigators to New Jersey and Kansas plants operated by
Menu Foods.

Wheat gluten is a source of protein and was used to thicken the gravy in the
pet food, sold in both cans and pouches, according to the FDA.

A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes,
descriptions and production dates was available from the Menu Foods Web
site.

The company also designated two phone numbers that pet owners could call for
information - (866) 463-6738 and (866) 895-2708. Menu Foods is majority
owned by Menu Foods Income Fund of Streetsville. The company also makes
foods for zoo cats, but those products are unaffected by the recall.

Henderson said the company delayed announcing the recall until it could
confirm that the animals had eaten its product before dying. Two earlier
complaints from consumers whose cats had died involved animals that lived
outside or had access to a garage, which left open the possibility they had
been poisoned by something other than contaminated food, he said.

Wheat gluten itself would not cause kidney failure, but the common
ingredient could have been contaminated by heavy metals or mold toxins, the
FDA said.

Woman Sues, Seeks Class-Action Status

A Chicago woman sued Menu Foods on Tuesday, alleging the pet food
manufacturer delayed announcing a recall of 60 million containers of dog and
cat food despite knowing its products were contaminated and potentially
deadly.

Dawn Majerczyk, 43, said her orange tabby, Phoenix, fell sick last week just
two days after he ate a single package of Special Kitty. It is one of 95 cat
and dog food brands recalled by Menu Foods of Canada. Friday's recall came
two weeks after nine cats died during routine company taste tests of its
products, the Food and Drug Administration said.

Majerczyk said she took the 9-year-old cat to its first-ever veterinarian
visit the day of the recall. The cat had lost six pounds in four days and
was lethargic, dehydrated and nearly blind. She returned over the weekend to
have him put down after his organs began to fail. Her suit, filed by Chicago
attorney Jay Edelson, seeks class-action status.

"I want my vet bills and I want some compensation for what they did to my
kids -- and for the company's neglect," Majerczyk, a medical assistant in a
dermatology office.

The company said it had not seen the suit and had no comment. The FDA had no
comment on the com

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