Chinese firm disputes FDA in pet deaths

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The Chinese company accused by a U.S. government agency of supplying hazardous materials found in recalled pet food shot back Tuesday, calling claims by U.S. officials "rumors" and reporting that samples of the substance had been sent to labs for testing.

The company said in a statement it "is astonished by recent rumors from the U.S. that melamine and aminopterin were found in Chinese-produced wheat gluten and traced to our company."

The company, Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Company Ltd., also said it is cooperating with the U.S. investigation, but "the situation, as depicted by these rumors, has never occurred."

The Food and Drug Administration -- which made the claim -- directed inspectors Friday to stop all wheat gluten imports from the company.

At least 14 pets died and hundreds have become sick from contaminated varieties of pet food from manufacturer Menu Foods Inc., according to the FDA, but veterinarians nationwide estimate the number of pets dead to be much higher.

Menu Foods recalled 60 million cans of wet pet food early last month after reports of sickened animals.

Executives of Menu Foods Inc (Charts)., the Canadian-based manufacturer of the pet food, told reporters Friday that it has ceased doing business with the company in China and that it would compensate consumers whose pets suffered from the recalled products.

Menu Foods President and CEO Paul Henderson said he is confident no other product lines were contaminated with the tainted wheat gluten, and the company will not expand the recall to other products.

The New York State Department of Agriculture and the Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University said a chemical used in rat poison was found in the recalled food but further tests have yet to confirm the rodenticide to be the hazardous agent.

The list of pet foods affected by the recall continues to expand, with Nestle Purina PetCare Company and Del Monte Pet Products adding products to the list.

Nestle (up $3.77 to $391.42, Charts) Purina voluntarily recalled all sizes and varieties of its ALPO Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food as part of the recall for tainted wheat gluten containing the toxic agent melamine, Purina said.

Nestle Purina said the recall it announced Friday affects only dog food with specific date codes. No Purina brand dry pet foods are affected by the recall, including ALPO Prime Cuts dry.

The melamine was found in the pet food additive wheat gluten that was imported from China. Melamine is a chemical used to make fertilizers and plastic utensils.

Del Monte (Charts) announced the recall Sunday of its pet treat products sold under the Jerky Treats, Gravy Train Beef Sticks and Pounce Meaty Morsels brands as well as select dog snack and wet dog food products sold under private label brands.

On Friday, the recalls extended into the dry pet food market after Hill's Pet Nutrition announced a voluntary recall of Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food as a precaution.

Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, and Donald Smith, a veterinarian from Cornell University, said at a press conference Friday that an independent lab identified melamine in the urine and kidneys of a dead cat and several sick ones after eating the wet pet food recalled earlier this month.

"The association between melamine in the kidneys and urine in the cats that died and what was in the food they consumed is undeniable," Smith said at a news conference.

A pet owner from Wisconsin filed a class-action lawsuit against Menu Foods seeking unspecified damages after her cat became seriously ill from its food. Menu Foods would not comment on the lawsuit.

A list of the 42 cat food and 53 dog food products involved in the Menu Foods recall is online at www.menufoods.com/recall.

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