Natura Pet Products Inc. of Santa Clara says it will cancel a manufacturing agreement with embattled Menu Foods and operate its own pet food manufacturing plant.
The announcement Monday comes following further nationwide pet food recalls involving dog and cat food that might have been tainted with wheat gluten from China.
Although not implicated in the recent massive Menu Foods canned food recall, Natura says it will either acquire or build a canning plant so that the company can exercise complete control over its product lines.
Natura says the canned foods that Menu Foods made for it were manufactured in a Menu Foods South Dakota plant, rather than in the affected Kansas and New Jersey plants.
“We take very seriously our responsibility to provide healthful and safe products for the thousands of dogs and cats that eat Natura pet foods,” says Peter Atkins, one of Natura’s founders and owners, in written comments. “To do this effectively we must ultimately control the manufacture of all products that we sell.”
Natura owns and operates the plants that make its dry pet foods and its baked treats and biscuits. Until it begins its own canning operation, the company says it will have one of its own quality control employees on-site in South Dakota to oversee the production of its products. Natura has also instructed its buyers to utilize ingredients from domestic suppliers only.