Nearly a month has passed since the initial Menu Foods recall cleared 60 million cat and dog food items from store shelves, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned today that not all of the affected product was removed.
Since the dog food recall, the FDA says it has conducted 400 checks of retail stores across the country to determine whether the recalled products were in fact taken off of shelves. Most retailers are complying, the FDA said, but not all of them.
The government agency charged with leading the investigation into the recall that has affected nearly 100 brands of cat and dog food, called on both pet owners and retailers to remain vigilant as more items were recalled as recently as yesterday.
“FDA’s priority is to make sure that cats and dogs have safe food to eat,” said Stephen Sundlof, DVM, director of FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. “Many of us are pet owners and animal lovers, and we want pet owners to feel assured that we are doing everything we can to make sure that all contaminated food is off the shelves.”
Sundlof testified on the FDA’s role in the recall to a Senate hearing led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) on April 12. The senator previously questioned the FDA’s effectiveness at handling the situation.
The FDA has compiled a full list of the recalled products, which can be found at http://www.fda.gov/ora/fed_state/recalls/Recall.xls. It contains 5,511 individual entries.
For more information about the dog food recall, visit www.dogchannel.com/dog-news/dog-food-recall-updates.aspx.