From: "Rich Gauszka" 

This disaster appears to be quite widespread. The news here in Michigan for
the last few days starts out with the local pet owners whose pets have
either died or are seriously ill.


"Robert Comer"  wrote in message
news:46053ea3$1{at}w3.nls.net...
> My cat died of kidney failure a few months ago.....
>
> --
> Bob Comer
>
>
> "Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
> news:46044f00{at}w3.nls.net...
>> http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2975912&page=1
>>
>> March 23, 2007 - The president of pet food maker Menu Foods, which last
>> week issued a recall of 60 million cans and pouches of pet food after a
>> rash of animal sickness and death, said today that the company would
>> reimburse pet owners who can trace their pets' illnesses to the company's
>> products.
>>
>> Earlier today, New York State veterinary health investigators announced
>> that the pet food responsible for pet deaths around the country was
>> contaminated with the rodent poison aminopterin.
>>
>> Investigators, meanwhile, are looking into whether the rat poison came
>> into the United States on an ingredient used in the recalled food. ABC
>> News has learned that Menu Foods bought wheat gluten, the only ingredient
>> changed in its plants, from China. That possibility raises questions
>> about the safety of pet and other food products in the United States.
>> The chemical can cause kidney failure in dogs and cats, said Donald
>> Smith, dean of Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine,
>> during the conference.
>>
>> Scientists at the state's food laboratory in Albany, N.Y., made the
>> discovery a week after Menu Foods issued its recall.
>>
>> "This is one step in a long process that will lead us to know what has
>> happened and how it has happened," Smith said.
>>
>> Aminopterin is not registered for use as a pesticide in the United
>> States, and it has been known as a potential source of birth defects in
>> humans.
>>
>> Interestingly, trials are under way to test the chemical's effectiveness
>> in the treatment of certain types of cancer.
>>
>> ABC News first reported that the rodenticide may have been present in the
>> wheat that was imported from China and used by Menu Foods, according to a
>> source close to the investigation.
>>
>>
>
>

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5