Table of Contents

• Latest News
• Vegetable Protein Import Alert (China)
• Advice for Pet Owners
• Advice for Veterinarians
• Advice for Retailers
• For More Information

Latest News

Find up-to-date information concerning this recall at the following web sites:

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

• FDA’s Pet Food Recall/Tainted Animal Fee

Import Alert

The FDA Office of Regulatory Affairs issued an Import Alert to its Districts to detain, without physical examination, all vegetable protein products from China for animal or human food use due to the presence of melamine and/or melamine analogs.  This action was a result of investigations by FDA that the source of the melamine used in the contaminated pet foods was this company.

Advice for Pet Owners

If you believe you have any of the recalled pet food(s), stop feeding it to your pet immediately!

• Verify the product codes on the product packaging against the recalled food lists. Iams pet food has a guide on their Web site on how to read a product code.
  
  
• If your pet is sick, contact your veterinarian. Symptoms include vomiting, lethargy, diarrhea, decreased appetite, increased thirst/urination. The animals have been diagnosed with renal (kidney) failure and more than 16 animal deaths are being investigated, although experts expect this number to increase. Your veterinarian can order laboratory tests to check your pet's kidneys. Then, if your pet is sick, contact your veterinarian. Symptoms include vomiting, lethargy, diarrhea, decreased appetite, and increased thirst/urination. The American Veterinary Medical Association is working with animal poison experts to identify appropriate treatments.  More information from the American Veterinary Medical Association.
  
  
• Contact the retail establishment to determine how to return unused pet food products. You may want to keep copies of receipts.
  
  
• Select alternative pet foods from the non-recalled brands.
  
  
• If you believe your pet has died because of contaminated pet food, contact your veterinarian and the FDA consumer complaint coordinators for your state. For Michigan, the FDA coordinator is located in the Detroit District office at (313) 393-8100. You may also want to contact the manufacturer through the links provided on the FDA Pet Food Recall page.
  
  
• You may want to document your situation as best as you can, keeping records such as receipts, veterinary bills, a timeline and product labels or packaging.
  
  
• Visit the ASPCA Pet Food Recall Resource Center

Advice for Veterinarians

Report adverse reactions or other problems that may be connected to the use of these products to FDA by contacting the complaint coordinator in their state. For Michigan, the coordinator is located in the Detroit District office at (313) 393-8100.

Check out information being provided by:

• Michigan Veterinary Medical Association, 517-347-4710
• American Veterinary Medical Association, 847-925-1329

Advice for Retailers

If you stock, or think you may have stocked, any pet food products  from the affected companies:

• Check the lists of recalled pet foods (see links above) and recheck them frequently for updates to ensure you know which products pose a potential risk to your customers’ pets.
  
  
• Make sure that the recalled products are removed from the point of sale. Verify that you have removed the correct products from sale.
  
  
• At no point should any of the recalled products be diverted to salvage!
  
  
• Wait for further instructions from your distributor or supplier concerning return or disposal of recalled products.
  
  
• Be sure to clearly mark recalled product so it will not accidentally be returned to the sales area.
  
  
• Pet food products returned by consumers should also be marked as recalled products and returned to your distributor.

 

For More Information

• For more from the Food and Drug Administration on Pet Food and Pet Food Contamination Response:
• If you have further questions on the pet food recall, contact the web sites or phone numbers listed above or call the MDA at 1-800-292-3939 or send MDA an email.