SMOKEY POINT Local stores reported that they responded to the recent recall of certain Menu Foods dog and cat products with speed and caution.
Clyde Ellis, store manager for the Arlington Haggen Food and Pharmacy, explained that his store initially pulled all IAMS products as a precautionary measure, even though the recall is limited to cuts and gravy style pet food, in cans and foil pouches.
Better safe than sorry, said Ellis, whose store had placed the non-recalled brands of dog and cat food back on its shelves by March 23. Folks love their pets and only want them to consume whats safe, so we do the best we can for them.
Cherie Myers handles public affairs for Safeway Food and Drug stores throughout the Pacific Northwest, including those in Arlington and Marysville, and she assured the store chains customers that it had also originally recalled more than just the specific products listed by Menu Foods.
Myers noted that Safeway has been checking the frequently updated Menu Foods Web site on the recall, at www.menufoods.com/recall, to make sure theyre remaining current.
The recall affects 42 brands of cat food and 53 brands of dog food, all of which are listed on the Menu Foods Web site. For those whose pets might have consumed recalled products, the Web site also provides a list of symptoms of kidney failure, including loss of appetite, vomiting, weakness, disorientation and changes in water consumption and urination.
If you suspect that you have fed the recalled pet food to your cat or dog, Menu Foods requests that you save any remaining pet food, as well as the can or pouch it came in. Open cans or pouches may be double-bagged in sealable plastic and kept in the freezer.
Menu Foods also requests that pet owners keep copies of all their receipts for food purchases, as well as all their vet records and bills, since theyve hired a firm to handle pet owners concerns. Menu Foods has issued a statement that, if its products cause pet sickness or death, they will take responsibility.
Questions specific to each pet owner will be answered by their call center, at 866-895-2708, and recalled pet food may be returned to the retainers it was purchased from for a refund.