Pet Food Recall

On March 16, Menu Foods, Inc. recalled dog and cat foods produced at two of its facilities between Dec. 3, 2006, and March 6, 2007, and sold under a number of different brand names. Several other companies also have voluntarily withdrawn products from the market.
The FDA regulates that can of cat food, bag of dog food, or box of dog treats or snacks in your pantry. The FDA's regulation of pet food is similar to that for other animal feeds. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) requires that pet foods, like human foods, be pure and wholesome, safe to eat, produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances, and be truthfully labeled. In addition, canned pet foods must be processed in conformance with the low acid canned food regulations to ensure the pet food is free of viable microorganisms
Animal Feed Safety System (AFSS)
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in August 2003 its intention to make its animal feed safety program more risk-based and comprehensive. The modernized Animal Feed Safety System (AFSS), which is expected to be completed in 2007, will incorporate risk-based, preventive control measures for ensuring the safety of animal feed. FDA with State assistance is developing a AFSS framework document that identifies the current major processes, guidance, regulations and policy documents that address feed safety and the documents that should be developed to make the Agency's feed safety program comprehensive and risk-based. Public meetings were held in September 2003 and April 2005 to share draft plans and documents, and to solicit comments.
Feed Contaminants
There are two classes of feed contaminants. The first is a toxic or deleterious substance that is an inherent, naturally occurring constituent of an animal food and is not the result of environmental, agricultural, industrial or other contaminations. Examples of this class include some of the mycotoxins, such as aflatoxin and fumonisin, the glucosinolates, and the heavy metals, like lead and cadmium. The second class is made up of industrial toxic or deleterious substances, which are not naturally occurring and are increased to abnormal levels in the animal food through mishandling or other intervening acts. Examples of this class are the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and certain pesticides, like DDT (1,1’-(2,2,2-Trichloroethylidene)bis[4-chlorobenzene]). CVM may prohibit any detectable amount of a contaminant or establish a regulatory limit for the contaminant, taking into account the protection of the public health, the extent to which the presence of the contaminant cannot be avoided, and other ways in which the consumer may be affected by the presence of the contaminant.