Further Pet Food Testing Being Conducted In New York
NY Lab Doing Further Pet Food Testing
The laboratory that identified the poison believed to be responsible for the death of pets around the country has started testing individual components of the tainted pet food to determine which ingredient was contaminated, officials said Monday.
Scientists at the New York State Food Laboratory on Friday identified aminopterin as the likely culprit in a poisoning scare that prompted the recall of 95 brands of “cuts and gravy” style dog and cat food.
Department of Agriculture and Markets spokeswoman Jessica Chittenden did not know when the lab would have results from the new tests.
The federal Food and Drug Administration has said the investigation into the pet deaths was focused on wheat gluten. Stephen Sundlof, the federal agency’s top veterinarian, said Friday it remains the suspected source of the contamination.
Scientists so far have offered no theories on how aminopterin got into the products of Menu Foods, which makes pet food for most of North America’s top retailers. Aminopterin, a derivative of folic acid, can cause cancer and birth defects in humans and can cause kidney damage in dogs and cats. Its use as a rodent poison is banned in the United States. more at link…
