It affects the US and Canada. There's a Canadian woman who's very sick
because she had a rescue dog who was reluctant to eat. She thought his
problem was stress and insecurity, and she ate some of the food to
encourage him to eat. It worked, and now they're both seriously ill.

The scary thing is that the major news media HERE have been very slow
to give it any significant coverage. They're only starting to make
note of the fact that the "sixteen confirmed deaths" is from the very
beginning of the scare and consists mostly of the animals in Menu
Foods' feeding trial to determine if the reports they were getting
really were caused by their food. In states where the state
veterinarian is asking veterinarians to report deaths and illnesses
apparently related to the food, there are generally over a hundred
each. You can barely tell that from the major news coverage, though.

All the major pet food corporations have something on the recall list.
So far there's no actual evidence that ANY dry foods are affected,
though, and there are smaller companies that have no foods on the
recall list, and companies that don't do business with Menu Foods and/
or don't use any wheat gluten in any of their products.

Foods not on the recall list:
http://petsitusa.com/blog/?p=210

The list of foods recalled:
http://localhostr.com/files/3b3e7c6af17ef0677e5c.pdf

It's very scary. The fact that the list has expanded to include foods
that were considered "safe" alternatives at the beginning makes
everyone even more nervous and more inclined to panic. My new dog--her
breeder feeds ONE of her dogs Alpo because she likes it better than
what the other dogs are getting. So of course it turns out that this
dog's favorite flavor is the exact product that just got added to the
recall list. Fortunately, the product codes are different, and the dog
appears to be okay, but she's had her last can of Alpo for the
foreseeable future, and quite possibly forever.

Whether you're feeding your pets something high-end because you
believe it's the highest-quality food for them, or something lower-end
because it's what they really like, or what you can afford, you've got
a scarily high chance of having made the wrong choice, and
accidentally poisoned your pet.

Lis

SOME RECALLED PET FOODS IN BELGIUM, OTHER EU NATIONS 03/26/07

Here's a 3/22/07 press release from the Belgian Food Agency:
Belgium has imported 40 boxes each containing 24 items. The Food
Agency is trying to find out where these products have been sold but
has not received any information from the USA supplier as yet. It is
also possible that there is more than this amount on the Belgian
market, possibly through import from other EU countries. Europe has
imported a total of 3440 boxes.

Belgian Food Agency Press Release (in Dutch)
http://www.favv-afsca.fgov.be/home/press/doc07/2007-03-22_Menu_foods_nl.pdf
http://tinyurl.com/36x7co

PDF translanted from Dutch to English

COMMUNICATION:
Serious problems with cat feeding of the American firma menu Foods
inc.

The federal food agency FAVV was informed by means of RASFF-systeem
(warning system of the European Commission) that a number European
lands cat fodder from the United States from the firma menu
originating Foods inc had introduced. In the United States kidney
problems were determined at cats which have with this feeding.
Wet feeding of the mark menu Foods inc. where problems became are
determined:

o Choice complete Care Adult Rich in Chicken & Liver
o Choice complete Care Adult Rich in Turkey with Broth
o Choice complete Care Kitten Rich in Chicken & Liver
o Choice complete Care Light Rich in Chicken & Liver
o Choice complete Care senior person Rich in Chicken & Turkey
o Choice complete Care Kitten with Ocean fish & Tuna
o Choice complete Care Kitten Rich in Salmon with
o Ocean fish

It will draw lots about this only with packing of 85 gr with as
minimum durability dates which those falls between 03/12/2008 and
07/03/2009.
Belgium has 40 lays in a coffin with each time 24 items introduced.
The food agency tries retrieve where these products are offered buy
but until now further information still no of the American firma have
received. It can however also be that there on the Belgian market
more
than this quantity has arrived by import from other European Member
States. In sum conducted Europe 3440 lay in a coffin in.
Although it concerns here only a limited number of quantities, the
food agency wants use here too the precaution principle. Persons who
keep cats and that cat feeding will have bought of American produce,
to be advised examine if their cat tin feeding was produced by the
firma menu Foods Inc. if, however, and these agrees to above data
(durability date, 85 gr and ingredients), then brings back she best
this feeding to their sale point.

F.A.V.V. WTC III - Simon Bolivarlaan 30 - 1000 Brussel Meldpunt voor
de consumenten: Tel. 0800 13550 http://www.favv.be

A.F.S.C.A. WTC III - Bd. Simon Bolivar 30 - 1000 Bruxelles Point de
contact pour les consommateurs : Tel. 0800 13550 http://www.afsca.be

No it is not  PETA got a report and passed it on.  Anything that PETA has to
do with is subject to suspicion

According to PETA--not exactly a reliable source, and not exactly a
friend to pets and pet owners. They routinely kill surrendered pets
that the former owners expected that PETA, being an "animal rights
organization" would rehome, because PETA believes it's an
insupportable affront to any animal to live in close dependence on
humans. PETA's goal is that we should have NO pets; the purpose of
their current antics is to convince pet owners that there is NOTHING
we can safely feed our pets.

And no, a grieving pet owner, with no supporting veterinary
information, and no information at all about the cat's age or previous
health, is not evidence, either. A two-year-old cat with kidney
failure raises suspicion of toxicity somewhere as one serious
possibility; a sixteen-year-old cat with kidney failure simply does
not, not unless there's other evidence to suggest it. The cat's age
and previous condition are not mentioned; just the final diagnosis.
And details matter: Ten years ago, my four-year-old cat died suddenly
of acute renal failure. Should I have suspected tainted food? Well,
maybe--except that it was the same food I was feeding my other two
cats, who were fine, and the cat that died was the runt of her litter,
always tiny and with close to zero body fat. She had congenital
defects in her internal organs, and four years was just all that was
in her. The cat mentioned in the story may have been like her, or may
have been a vigorous, healthy two-year-old, or may have been an
otherwise-healthy but elderly fifteen-year-old. We don't know. The
story gives us nothing, except the pet owner's grief, and PETA's
shameless exploitation of it.

Lis