PET FOOD RECALL
It's difficult to report "breaking news" in a column that is published weekly, but I will pass along the recent pet food recall information I have available before my deadline.

On Saturday, as I made my way into the shop, I heard the first mention of the pet food recall in a brief newscast on the car radio. Big box stores Wal-mart, Safeway and Kroger were listed as sources of the suspect food, so until we started getting snippets of information trickling in from our customers, I didn't have much to go on. By later on Saturday there had been several press releases issued, both from the cannery and from various manufacturers, and by Sunday, information was posted on several web sites.

The bottom line is that Menu Foods, producer of canned and pouched products for a number of pet food manufacturers, has issued a recall of "cuts and gravy" style foods that were released between December 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007, from their company plants in Emporia, Kansas, and Pennsauken, New Jersey. The products, sold under private-label and also contract-manufactured for some national brands, were distributed throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada. On the Menu Foods web site, 48 dog food brands and 40 cat food brands are listed for recall.

Of all the brands and formulas listed, Geronimo's carries only five of the suspect Nutro Products. These include four dog pouch products: Nutro Natural Choice Chicken and Brown Rice Entrée Slices in Gravy, Midwest Beef Stew Chunks in Gravy, Savory Lamb Stew Slices in Gravy and Turkey & Veggie Casserole Chunks in Gravy. Critical "Best by" dates for dog pouch products are December 3, 2008 through March 7, 2009.

Of the 16 formulas of 12.5 ounce canned dog foods being recalled, we carry only one, Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Adult Chicken & Rice Formula. Critical "Best by" dates for canned products are December 2, 2009 through March 7, 2010. No dry Nutro pet foods, biscuits, treats, or other canned or pouched Nutro products are impacted by the recall, and only those within the critical "Best by" dates cited above.

Geronimo's has removed all these products from our shelves and we urge our customers to stop using these products. Until we are further instructed by our manufacturers, return any product to us. Nutro products are 100 percent guaranteed and all returns will be refunded.

There are a number of other items on the recall list that we do not carry, but that the consumer could have purchased elsewhere, including foil pouch dog and cat wet food products sold under Procter & Gamble's Iams and Eukanuba brands. Look for code dates 6339 through 7073 followed by plant code 4197 on the bottom of the can. Even though Hill's Pet Nutrition has received no reports of illness, they are participating in the recall strictly as a precaution by citing certain Science Diet Feline Savory Cuts canned products.

A complete list of brands recalled is available from the Menu Foods web site www.menufoods. com/recall/product and we also have the master list at the shop.

The recall is in response to a small number of reported instances of dogs and cats in the United States becoming sick from kidney failure after eating these products. Menu Foods voluntarily initiated the recall after learning of instances of vomiting and renal failure. There have been 10 deaths reported so far. To date, testing of affected product has failed to produce a cause for the sickness, but Menu Foods did purchase wheat gluten, a protein source, from a new supplier, which has subsequently been dropped, during the production period in question.

Menu Foods has three plants in the United States and one in Canada which produce more than 1 billion containers of wet pet food per year. They are the largest contract manufacturer of the premium segment of canned pet food, producing multiple brands under strict client confidentiality that are then sold by supermarkets, mass marketers and pet specialty retailers. Large manufacturers such as Purina and Hills maintain their own private facilities for producing their foods, but the recalled Science Diet formulas were co-manufactured by Menu.

The scope of this recall is huge and could cost Menu Foods between $30 and $40 million. The last time there was a major recall was during the 2006 holiday season when foods manufactured at Diamond Pet Food Company's South Carolina plant were contaminated by a naturally occurring chemical from a fungus that occurs on corn.

Consumers should stop using the affected products immediately and consult with your veterinarian if any symptoms of renal failure are observed in your pet. Watch for loss of appetite, vomiting and lethargy.

Pet owners need to be educated about contaminated food and how your pet can react, but we should also be grateful for conscientious manufacturer's who so relentlessly pursue safety investigations to keep our pets healthy. Jan Jaeger is owner of Geronimo's, Ltd., Nantucket's pet supply and gift shop, and is a member of DWAA and CWA (Dog and Cat Writer's Associations of America). Her pets at home are Junior, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever and three cats. At the shop are the cats, Messrs. Fish and Chips, Flower bunny, Willie guinea pig and two budgies. Send e-mail to jan@geronimos.com.