KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasPet Food Recall Resource Center

Pet Food Recall Resource Center

(May 31) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting livestock and fish/shrimp feed manufacturers about a voluntary recall of U.S.-made products used in feed production because several have been found to contain melamine and related compounds. Read more.

(May 23) -- Diamond Pet Foods announced that it has recalled a limited quantity of Nutra Nuggets Lamb Meal and Rice Formula dry dog food in 40 lb. bags because of melamine cross contamination. To date, no animal deaths have been reported.

This action is limited to Nutra Nuggets Lamb Meal and Rice Formula dry dog food in 40 lb. bags with production codes of NLR0404A2SL or NLR0404B2SL, "Best Before" Oct. 9, 2008.

Read more about Diamond Pet Foods recall.

(May 8) -- There is new information about the pet food recall that has killed several dogs and cats. The New York Times is reporting the manager of the Chinese company responsible has been arrested.

Menu Foods' latest product recall information.

The Chinese government and the Food and Drug Administration say the company did not declare the wheat gluten it shipped to the U.S. as a raw material for feed or food, and because of that it was not inspected.

Scientists are uncovering answers as to how the poisoned wheat gluten turned deadly.

Last week, a Canadian scientist mixed together a few drops of melamine and cyanuric acid. Those are the two unauthorized chemicals found in the pet food. In less than a second, the two formed a mass of crystals. It was those crystals found in the kidneys of animals that ate the tainted food.

Dr. Perry Martos, of the University of Guelph, said, "If you can imagine an instantaneous kidney stone, that's essentially the way I would perceive it."

There have been dozens of recalls in the past two months.

(May 3) -- There's another scare for pet owners, pet food manufacturer, Menu Foods is expanding its recall. The expansion comes after a recent study revealed possible cross-contaminations between melamine tainted products and other foods that were made during the same time.

Among the items on the new list is Wegmans Sliced Beef and Gravy Cat Food in 3-ounce cans, dated Dec/06/09 to Jan/24/10 and with a UPC code of 77890-76381.

Click here for Menu Foods' latest product recall information.

The expansion includes cuts and gravy pet food, as well as other products that were not made with the contaminated wheat gluten supplied by ChemNutra Inc., but were manufactured during the period the chemical-laced gluten was used.

The recall now includes pet food products in the United States, Canada and Europe.

More than 100 brands of pet food have been recalled since March.

(Apr. 27) -- The Las Vegas company, ChemNutra was one of the companies that imported the contaminated pet food ingredient from China.

April 26 - NEW INFO: Pet-Food Maker, Ingredient Supplier Searched in FDA Investigation

ChemNutra CEO Stephen Miller told Congress that his company might have been lied to. Miller says the Chinese company where ChemNutra bought the products may have intentionally added the melamine.

Blog your concerns, share your thoughts about the Pet Food Recall

Meanwhile, there are now concerns about the nation's human food supply in the wake of the massive pet food recall.

The Food and Drug Administration now plans to test imported vegetable proteins at companies that imported the ingredients to make everything from pizza dough to infant formula, and protein shakes to energy bars.

The ingredient list includes wheat gluten, corn gluten, corn meal, soy protein and rice bran.

Word of the testing comes after officials announced that hogs might have been fed some of the melamine-tainted pet food. It's not known if any of those hogs entered the human food supply.

(Apr. 24) -- There are new details about the pet food recall. Health officials now say some of that contaminated pet food was fed to hogs in as many as six states. It's not clear yet if any of the hogs entered the food supply for humans.

Meanwhile, lawmakers heard testimony about what caused the deadly outbreaks Tuesday. The FDA admits it knew about some of the contamination problems but that there wasn't much it could do about them.

Food safety officials have quarantined hogs at farms in California, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and possibly Ohio. The urine of hogs in some states has tested positive for the chemical, melamine, the Food and Drug Administration said.

"At this point, I don't have a definitive answer other than to say that the issue is being addressed,'" Stephen Sundlof, the FDA's chief veterinarian, told reporters when asked if any of the hogs had entered the food supply. A poultry farm also may be involved, he added.

One former FDA deputy commissioner says the agency is so under-staffed and under-funded that it would be a challenge to prevent future outbreaks. 

Now lawmakers say food safety standards need a complete overhaul.

Investigators have found melamine in at least two imported Chinese vegetable proteins used to make pet foods. The chemical likely was used to skew analyses that measured the protein content of the ingredients, wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate.

Sources: KLAS-TV and The Associated Press