Toronto lawyer claims problem with excessive Vitamin D in pet food

My father sent me this story from the Toronto Sun:  Barking up the wrong tree in pet food recall?

In the story, Toronto lawyer David Himelfarb claims that he’s taken samples from hundreds of Royal Canin products in the Toronto area, and test results are consistently showing excessive amounts of vitamin D.  He doesn’t give exact numbers, but I assume the testing is being conducted because Himelfarb is the lawyer leading a $60-million class-action negligence suit against Royal Canin after a recall last year of a number of Royal Canin’s prescription diets.  All the foods recalled contained excessive amounts of vitamin D3 which had led to high calcium levels and renal failure in some pets.  Royal Canin claims that the problem has been remedied, and that the only affected products were seven specific prescription/vet-only diets.  If Himelfarb has actual data, test results, and lot numbers to prove that there are still problematic Royal Canin products on store shelves, I hope he’s planning to release them immediately, and I certainly hope Royal Canin is looking into this as well. 

The story is quite confusing, given that only the Toronto Sun has the specific version I linked above, while other news outlets like the CBC are sharing this story with an oddly-worded headline:  Suit claims pet food maker Royal Canin with deadly amount of Vitamin D.  That version of the story was released about eleven days ago, and makes no reference to Himelfarb’s current allegations.  I can’t figure out if Himelfarb really means that Royal Canin products on the shelves right now still contain excessive vitamin D, or if he means that some of the recent pet deaths could have been of pets who ate Royal Canin last year or early in 2007.  The problems caused by excessive vitamin D3 can take a while to manifest.

The Toronto Sun is a fairly obscure newspaper, at least in American circles, so I thought the first link was worth posting.  The Sun can also be “tabloid-ish”, and I wish the story they published had been more specific about David Himelfarb’s current statements.  I hope some other news agency will get on this story and clarify it as soon as possible.

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Edited on Monday to add:  I’ve emailed the attorney in this story, David Himelfarb, to ask him to clarify his comments.  So far I haven’t had a reply, but if I hear anything, I promise to post about it immediately.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 04/01 at 08:40 AM

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  1. Good lord - can we feed nothing but people food?!? Last night Sprocket had flank steak. Finnovar doesn’t like that but he’s really into fried chicken from the Publix deli - go figure.

    (Not to imply that the above is their main diet, not at all, but it’s a weird day when Publix fried chicken is the only thing I feel good about feeding.)

    Posted by Helly  on  04/01  at  10:51 AM

  2. I just emailed the lawyer quoted in the story to ask if he thinks Royal Canin food is contaminated *now*, or if he just meant it used to be contaminated, before it was recalled in early 2006.  I hope I’ll get an answer.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  04/02  at  01:38 AM

  3. Everyday we are hearing of more pet food recalls.  I am seriously starting to consider home cooking for my crew.  The problem is.. I don’t even home cook for my husband.  grin

    Posted by Coll  on  04/02  at  08:00 PM
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