FOR MORE INFORMATION

Tom McPheron
Phone: 847-285-6781
Cell: 773-494-5419
e-mail: tmcpheron@avma.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 24, 2007

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.

— CORRECTION to AVMA's March 23 press release, "Menu Foods Pet Food Recall Expanded, AVMA Advises." Menu Foods did not expand the voluntary recall of its ‘cuts and gravy’ style dog and cat food manufactured at its facility in Emporia, Kansas between December 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007. The list of brands and products being recalled remains the same. In an effort to ensure the effectiveness of the recall, retailers are being asked to remove all of the recalled brands and products, regardless of date, from their shelves, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This procedural change will ensure that suspect products are not inadvertently left on the shelves.

While this recall includes 90 brands across the entire manufacturing spectrum, it represents only 1 percent of available pet food products. A complete list of affected foods is available on the AVMA Web site at www.avma.org. If you have any of the products identified on these lists, regardless of date, immediately stop feeding them to your pet.

"Should you suspect that your pet is ill, contact your veterinarian immediately. They will run comprehensive tests to determine the nature of the illness and if it is, in fact, renal failure," said Dr. Roger Mahr, DVM, AVMA President. "The veterinarian will then contact the FDA complaint line in his or her state. It is extremely important that detailed veterinary records are kept in order to determine if the illness is due to the recalled products."

While studies have detected aminopterin, a rodenticide, in Menu Foods samples, the FDA stated Friday that it has not yet determined if this is the cause of 16 confirmed animal deaths.

For current information about managing suspected cases of renal disease associated with this recall, visit the AVMA Web site at http://www.avma.org/aa/menufoodsrecall/veterinarian_info_acvim.asp.

In response to the aminopterin finding, the Animal Poison Control Center at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has issued new information for pet owners on its Web site at http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=press_032307.

Please monitor the AVMA Web site (www.avma.org) for the latest information on the recall. Consumers with questions for the manufacturer can contact Menu Foods, Inc. at 1-866-895-2708. Consumers with questions about individual brands can find contact information for those companies on the AVMA Web site. A list of veterinary internal medicine specialists can be found at the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine at www.acvim.org, or by calling Jenn Armbruster, Communications & Media Relations Manager, at 1-800-245-9081.