Royal Canin Canada is in a current lawsuit. Their vitamin D level were out of whack and caused renal issues as well. When Canidae is about the same price with better ingredients.. I'd go with Canidae.
Mar 21, 2007 01:46 PM
Curtis Rush
Staff Reporter
Two Toronto law firms have jointly filed a national class action lawsuit against pet food manufacturer Royal Canin Canada Co. seeking $60 million in damages.
Law firms Rochon Genova LLP and Himelfarb Proszanski LLP are seeking compensation for all those who purchased Royal Canin dog or cat food since Aug. 1, 2004.
The claim is not related to the recall last Friday of 60 million tins of pet food manufactured by Menu Foods Income Fund of Mississauga after 9 animals died as a result of taste tests administered by Menu Foods. In total, 14 animals have died in the U.S.
Wheat gluten is suspected. The product was traced to the Menu Foods facility in Emporia, Kansas. The recall affects various canned products made at that plant between Dec. 3 and March 6.
No official reports of death have been documented in Canada, but the pet food industry is not regulated in this country so it is hard to determine numbers of pets affected since there is no central reporting agency.
Royal Canin Canada, based in Guelph, said in a statement that no Royal Canin Canada products are linked to any current safety issues regarding Menu Foods.
However, Menu Foods is at the centre of at least one lawsuit in the U.S.
The legal action against Royal Canin alleges that certain types of dog or cat food contain excessive amounts of Vitamin D, which causes illness or death in pets.
The proposed lead plaintiff is Janet Grixti of Whitby, who said her 5-year-old Chocolate Labrador Retriever named Mocha developed chronic renal failure and will have to endure this condition for the rest of his life.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
Royal Canin said today it will not comment publicly because the matter is before the courts.
Meantime, the Mississauga-based company at the centre of the massive pet-food recall says veterinary scientists from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., are leading the search for the ingredient suspected of killing cats and dogs in Canada and the U.S.
"Everybody is concerned, but we're working around the clock to get to the bottom of this," said Menu Foods spokesperson Sarah Tuite. The company has given the scientists samples of suspect food and also tissue from animals that died.
Stephen Sundlof, director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine, which is part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said his agency has been flooded with calls, some reporting that pets died after eating.
About a dozen pet owners and vets have called the Toronto Star with suspicions of animals becoming ill or dying after eating the suspect food.
Menu Foods told the FDA it received the first complaints of kidney failure and deaths among cats and dogs from pet owners on Feb. 20. It began testing to find the source on Feb. 27.
During those tests, the company fed its product to 40 to 50 dogs and cats, Sundlof said. The breakdown of dead cats and dogs wasn't immediately known but he said the contamination appeared more deadly to cats.
Menu Foods has reported it knows of just nine dead cats and one dog.
Meantime, Menu Foods' CEO Paul Henderson told Canadian Press today that initial reports of illness and death did not immediately raise any alarms.
Henderson said Menu Foods consulted veterinarians who cared for the affected animals.
He said the vets believed the pets were outdoor animals that had somehow ingested some type of poison.
It was only when six animals died during routine taste tests of the food in the second week of March that the company launched an investigation leading to last Friday’s recall.
Henderson he says his heart goes out to worried pet owners for their distress.
Lisa Clarke told the Star yesterday her 9-year-old German Shepherd-Labrador mix suddenly started ailing seven weeks ago after eating some of the food.
The dog became extremely thirsty and, two days later, went into seizures and was admitted to a vet clinic for tests and medication. "He survived, but it also cost us $3,000," said the Toronto resident.
No cause was confirmed. She has tried unsuccessfully to contact Menu Foods.
"My vet says we have to run a bunch more tests. I don't know what to do," she said, adding she wants Menu Foods to pay for any additional screening. "We love our dog to death, but we can't afford $2,500 for an MRI for our dog."
At the Super Pet store on Yonge St. near Lawrence Ave. dozens of concerned customers have been phoning.
"In this area people treat their pets like their children," said the store's Nikki Vanhuisstede.
Though the shop carried at least one product on the recall list, she said there's no shortage of similar pet foods that weren't on the list.
Vanhuisstede said wet foods account for about 25 per cent of overall food sales at the store and the specific type of wet food on the list only accounts for about 5 per cent.
Menu Foods says it now has two toll-free numbers – 1-866-895-2708 and 1-866-463-6738 – for pet owners to call after reports that thousands of people couldn't get through. Information is also available at the website
http://www.menufoods.com/recall.
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/194285