Pet food maker Menu Foods recently announced a comprehensive settlement was reached that will resolve all of the claims made by pet owners that contaminated food led to the death of their pets.

Millions of units of pet food were recalled by the company in March 2007 after it was discovered that samples of the food contained a chemical called aminopterin, which has been used to induce abortions, kill rats and treat cancer.

While this initial finding was later rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, food samples were tested again and found to contain melamine, a chemical used to make plastics. Wheat gluten imported from China were found to be the source of the melamine.

A lawyer for Menu Foods said the company expects total costs associated with the recall to be nearly $54 million.

The company plans to have a fully prepared settlement agreement by May 1.

Source: The Associated Press

K9 Commentary:

I think nearly every pet owner was in some way affected by the food recall last year. The recall was so widespread and publicized, it really opened peoples’ eyes to what exactly goes into the food we feed our pets. Cindy and I pay more attention than ever to what we feed our dogs and cats. It’s pretty crazy the different stuff you’ll find listed as ingredients in popular pet food brands: Glutens, by-products, mellow-yellow-blah-blah #6–basically, it’s a simple concept: Just like humans, better food equals healthier lives. So spring for the good stuff already!