Not what I usually post to this blog, but I figured spreading the word would not hurt.
Rat poison has been found in tainted pet food that has been linked to the deaths of at least 14 pets, the New York State Department of Agriculture announced today.
The toxin, identified in samples of pet food tested at Cornell University, is aminopterin, a derivative of folic acid, the department said. The substance is not approved for use in the United States.
“We are pleased that the expertise of the New York State Food Laboratory was able to contribute the identifying agent that caused numerous illnesses and deaths in dogs and cats across the nation,” the state agriculture commissioner, Patrick Hooker, said in a statement.
Spokeswomen for the department and the university would not comment on how aminopterin may have gotten into the pet food. [Full story]
Why the FDA felt the need to round up 50 cats and dogs and feed them the tainted food to see if they die (seven did) instead of just doing this in the first place, I don’t know. It’s still scary. I’m kind of wondering what those “savory cuts” came from now, though … rats?
A list of the wet food brands affected can be found on Menu Foods’ Web site; it includes major brands like Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, etc.
