The answer is: rat poison

This article in the Toronto Star reports that researchers at Cornell have found Aminopterin in samples of recalled pet food from Menu Foods.  Aminopterin is an ingredient in rat poison, and less commonly, it’s used as a chemotherapy drug.  It was found in wheat gluten which was imported from China, so I don’t know how they’ll ever find out how the product was contaminated.  How about pet food manufacturers just use ingredients from plants which they can inspect, and which fall under the type of regulations consumers expect?

This horrible incident underscores the need for a central database where veterinarians can track unusual pet deaths.  It would be a great way for veterinary epidemiologists (are there such people?) to look for patterns of illness and to react quickly.  By the way, if you want to stay really up-to-date on all the latest news about the pet food recall, I recommend reading the blogs Pet Connection and Itchmo.  Yes, I’ve always got my two cents to put in, but they’re both doing a great job of staying right on top of all breaking stories.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 03/23 at 04:40 PM

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