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MONDAY, March 19 (HealthDay News) -- Officials at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday said they are "still very early" into their investigation of as many as nine domestic cats and one dog died within a few days of consuming moist pet food made by a Canadian company.
The deaths have spurred a massive recall of more than 60 million packages of "cuts-and-gravy" style dog and cat food involving some of the best-known brand names.
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"So far, we have not identified any causes of kidney failure," Dr. Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the FDA, stressed in a press conference held late Monday. "These could include mold and heavy metals. It appears that some of the food may have been contaminated from an outside source."
The company, Ontario-based Menu Foods Inc., had suggested the illnesses might be linked to their use of a new supplier of wheat gluten, a protein used in the foods. The FDA officials said they weren't sure if wheat gluten is responsible or which company supplied the wheat gluten.
In addition, the agency is not sure that only pet food was contaminated. "Right now we don't think people are at risk," Sundlof said.
The reported deaths were limited to pets that took part in a product taste trial conducted by the company, according to U.S. health officials. The FDA at the teleconference said the agency had no reports of other pet deaths as a result of the tainted food.
The company announced the recall over the weekend for pet food made at a plant in Emporia, Kan., and another in New Jersey between Dec. 3, 2006, and March 6, 2007.
According to Sundlof, the recall involves almost 1 percent of all the pet food sold in the United States.
The recall involves moist-variety pet food only, sold in sealed packets in the United States, Canada and Mexico under 50 brand names of dog food and 40 brand names of cat food.
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