Menu Foods
Encyclopedia
Menu Foods Limited, based in Streetsville
in Mississauga, Ontario
, Canada
, and was the largest maker of wet cat and dog food in North America, with its products sold under 95 brand names, which the company identifies as supermarkets, big box and pet product retailers and wholesalers. It was bought out by Simmons Pet Food in August 2010.
In March 2007, after numerous animals fell ill and died during quality-control tests, the company recalled over 60 million containers of food. Subsequent to the recall, the Animal Health Laboratory at the University of Guelph
in Ontario, identified contaminants in some of the recalled food: aminopterin
(a chemical used as rat poison), melamine
(a plastic precursor that may also be used as a fertiliser
), and cyanuric acid
(which is commonly used to stabilise chlorine in swimming pools). If consumed by themselves, isolated doses of melamine or cyanuric acid should not cause health issues in pets. However, when these two chemicals are mixed together, an insoluble crystal is formed, that can rapidly obstruct the kidney
s and cause renal failure
. The incident has been labelled "one of the largest consumer-product recalls in North America
n history".
, Safeway
, Wal-Mart
, Pet Valu, Kroger
, and Ahold
USA. It is also a contract manufacturer of branded pet food products, manufacturing for five of the top six branded companies in North America
, including Procter & Gamble
, for which it is the exclusive supplier of canned wet pet food sold under the Iams
brand, P&G having sold its South Dakota
plant to Menu Foods in 2003.
Menu Foods also produces Loblaws
' President's Choice, A&P
's Master Choice, Sobeys
's Compliments, Safeway's Select,
Eukanuba
, and Nutro.
Menu is the only private-label supplier and contract manufacturer in North America offering wet pet food in pouch format.
Menu's production facilities are located in Emporia, Kansas
; Pennsauken, New Jersey; and Streetsville, Ontario
. The plants produce wet pet food in aluminum and steel cans at a rate of 1,000 cans per minute, or 1,110 85-gram pouches per minute. Jointly, the plants are able to produce over one billion containers a year.
Paul Henderson serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Menu Foods. Mark Wiens is
Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer.
reported on March 16, 2007, that Menu was recalling dog food sold under 53 brands, and cat food sold under 42 brands, after an unknown number of animals suffered kidney failure after eating it. Chief Executive and President Paul Henderson said the company had received an undisclosed number of complaints that pets were vomiting and suffering kidney failure.
At least 471 cases of poisoning have been reported and 104 animals have died.
Streetsville, Ontario
Streetsville is an established community located in the northwestern corner of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on the Credit River...
in Mississauga, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and was the largest maker of wet cat and dog food in North America, with its products sold under 95 brand names, which the company identifies as supermarkets, big box and pet product retailers and wholesalers. It was bought out by Simmons Pet Food in August 2010.
In March 2007, after numerous animals fell ill and died during quality-control tests, the company recalled over 60 million containers of food. Subsequent to the recall, the Animal Health Laboratory at the University of Guelph
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
in Ontario, identified contaminants in some of the recalled food: aminopterin
Aminopterin
Aminopterin , a 4-amino analog of folic acid, is an antineoplastic drug with immunosuppressive properties used in chemotherapy. Aminopterin is a synthetic derivative of pterin. Aminopterin works as an enzyme inhibitor by competing for the folate binding site of the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase...
(a chemical used as rat poison), melamine
Melamine
Melamine is an organic base and a trimer of cyanamide, with a 1,3,5-triazine skeleton. Like cyanamide, it contains 66% nitrogen by mass and, if mixed with resins, has fire retardant properties due to its release of nitrogen gas when burned or charred, and has several other industrial uses....
(a plastic precursor that may also be used as a fertiliser
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
), and cyanuric acid
Cyanuric acid
Cyanuric acid or 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triol is a chemical compound with the formula 3. Like many industrially useful chemicals, this triazine has many synonyms. This white, odorless solid finds use as a precursor or a component of bleaches, disinfectants, and herbicides...
(which is commonly used to stabilise chlorine in swimming pools). If consumed by themselves, isolated doses of melamine or cyanuric acid should not cause health issues in pets. However, when these two chemicals are mixed together, an insoluble crystal is formed, that can rapidly obstruct the kidney
Kidney
The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...
s and cause renal failure
Renal failure
Renal failure or kidney failure describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood...
. The incident has been labelled "one of the largest consumer-product recalls in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n history".
Overview
Menu Foods manufactures both low cost and high end pet food products. It manufactures pet food for 17 of the top 20 North American retailers, including PetSmartPetSmart
PetSmart, Inc. is a retail chain doing business in the United States and Canada engaged in the sale of specialty pet supplies and services such as grooming and dog training, PetSmart PetsHotel dog and cat boarding facilities and Doggie Day Care.- History :...
, Safeway
Safeway Inc.
Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...
, Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
, Pet Valu, Kroger
Kroger
The Kroger Co. is an American supermarket chain founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported US$ 76.7 billion in sales during fiscal year 2009. It is the country's largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume and second-place general retailer...
, and Ahold
Ahold
Ahold is a major international supermarket operator based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Ahold is listed on Euronext Amsterdam and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.-History:...
USA. It is also a contract manufacturer of branded pet food products, manufacturing for five of the top six branded companies in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, including Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
, for which it is the exclusive supplier of canned wet pet food sold under the Iams
Iams
Iams is a brand name for dog food and cat food manufactured by Procter & Gamble . The company sells pet food for cats and dogs formulated for puppy/kitten, adult and mature. Its products are developed by nutritionists and veterinarians and can be found in three main formulas: ProActive Health,...
brand, P&G having sold its South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
plant to Menu Foods in 2003.
Menu Foods also produces Loblaws
Loblaws
Loblaws is a supermarket chain with over 70 stores in Canada, headquartered in Brampton, with stores across Ontario and Quebec. Loblaws is a division of Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada's largest food distributor...
' President's Choice, A&P
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, is a supermarket and liquor store chain in the United States. Its supermarkets, which are under six different banners, are found in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. A&P's liquor stores, known as...
's Master Choice, Sobeys
Sobeys
Sobeys is the second largest food retailer in Canada, with over 1,300 supermarkets operating under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales of more than $14 billion CAD in 2009...
's Compliments, Safeway's Select,
Eukanuba
Eukanuba
Eukanuba is a brand name of dog and cat foods, owned and manufactured by Procter & Gamble . The company produces seven formulas for dogs based on age, breed and performance area. All formulas include the Eukanuba Vital Health System™ which consists of clinically proven ingredients in six areas that...
, and Nutro.
Menu is the only private-label supplier and contract manufacturer in North America offering wet pet food in pouch format.
Menu's production facilities are located in Emporia, Kansas
Emporia, Kansas
Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 24,916. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 and 35 on the Kansas Turnpike...
; Pennsauken, New Jersey; and Streetsville, Ontario
Streetsville, Ontario
Streetsville is an established community located in the northwestern corner of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on the Credit River...
. The plants produce wet pet food in aluminum and steel cans at a rate of 1,000 cans per minute, or 1,110 85-gram pouches per minute. Jointly, the plants are able to produce over one billion containers a year.
Paul Henderson serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Menu Foods. Mark Wiens is
Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer.
Store-brand cat food retailers
The following is a partial list of retailers that sell or sold store-brand cat food manufactured by Menu Foods. (The source material was revised and as of 2 May 2007 no longer lists retailers, only brands. A similar list existed for dog food.)- A&P SupermarketsThe Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea CompanyThe Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, is a supermarket and liquor store chain in the United States. Its supermarkets, which are under six different banners, are found in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. A&P's liquor stores, known as...
(The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company) - DeMoulas' Market BasketDeMoulas' Market BasketDeMoulas Market Basket, more commonly known as Market Basket, is a chain of 66 operating supermarkets in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. It has stores from central New Hampshire to Bristol County, Massachusetts with headquarters in Tewksbury, Massachusetts...
- Food LionFood LionFood Lion LLC is an American grocery store company headquartered in Salisbury, North Carolina that operates approximately 1,300 supermarkets in 11 Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states as well as Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia under the Food Lion, Harveys Supermarket, Bloom, Bottom Dollar...
- FoodtownFoodtown| area_served =| key_people =| industry = Retail| products =| services =| market cap =| revenue =| operating_income =| net_income =| assets =| equity =| owner =...
- HannafordHannafordHannaford may refer to more than one thing.* Hannaford, North Dakota, a town in North Dakota* Hannaford Bros. Co., a supermarket chain* Samuel Hannaford & Sons, a Cincinnati-based architectural firm founded by Samuel Hannaford...
- H-E-BH-E-BHEB Grocery Company, LP is a privately held San Antonio, Texas-based supermarket chain with more than 315 stores throughout Texas and northern Mexico. The company also operates Central Market, an upscale organic and fine foods retailer.H-E-B ranked No...
(As Hill Country Fare) - Hy-VeeHy-VeeHy-Vee is an employee-owned chain of supermarkets located in the Midwestern United States. Over 100 of its supermarkets are located in Iowa, with additional stores in Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and now Madison, Wisconsin...
- KrogerKrogerThe Kroger Co. is an American supermarket chain founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported US$ 76.7 billion in sales during fiscal year 2009. It is the country's largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume and second-place general retailer...
(As President's Choice) - LoblawsLoblawsLoblaws is a supermarket chain with over 70 stores in Canada, headquartered in Brampton, with stores across Ontario and Quebec. Loblaws is a division of Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada's largest food distributor...
- MeijerMeijerMeijer, Inc. is a regional American hypermarket chain based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1934 as a supermarket chain, Meijer is credited with pioneering the modern supercenter concept in 1962. About half of the company's 196 stores are located in Michigan, with additional locations in...
- PetsmartPetSmartPetSmart, Inc. is a retail chain doing business in the United States and Canada engaged in the sale of specialty pet supplies and services such as grooming and dog training, PetSmart PetsHotel dog and cat boarding facilities and Doggie Day Care.- History :...
- Price ChopperPrice ChopperPrice Chopper Supermarkets is a chain of supermarkets headquartered in Schenectady, New York. The chain began operating as Central Markets in Schenectady, New York in 1933 and changed its name to Price Chopper in 1973. It is presently owned by the Golub Corporation and run by Neil and Jerel Golub...
- Safeway Inc.Safeway Inc.Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...
- Save-A-LotSave-A-LotSave-a-Lot is a discount supermarket chain headquartered in Earth City, Missouri, near St. Louis, United States. The subsidiary of Supervalu comprises approximately 1,250 stores in the United States with over $4 billion in annual sales....
- SobeysSobeysSobeys is the second largest food retailer in Canada, with over 1,300 supermarkets operating under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales of more than $14 billion CAD in 2009...
- Wal-MartWal-MartWal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
(As Ol'Roy and Special Kitty) - Wegmans
- Winn-DixieWinn-DixieWinn-Dixie Stores, Inc. is an American supermarket chain based in Jacksonville, Florida. Winn-Dixie has ranked number 24 in the 2010 "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" based on 2009 fiscal year estimated sales of $7.3 billion by Supermarket News. and was ranked the 43rd largest retailer in the...
Recall
The Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reported on March 16, 2007, that Menu was recalling dog food sold under 53 brands, and cat food sold under 42 brands, after an unknown number of animals suffered kidney failure after eating it. Chief Executive and President Paul Henderson said the company had received an undisclosed number of complaints that pets were vomiting and suffering kidney failure.
At least 471 cases of poisoning have been reported and 104 animals have died.
External links
- Menu Foods Pet Food Recall Website (Archive)
- News Alert on Menu Foods Pet Food Recall - U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationFood and Drug AdministrationThe Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
(FDA) - FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinators
- Menu Foods Lawsuits & Filings
- Unofficial pet death registry - Universal Press SyndicateUniversal Press SyndicateUniversal Press Syndicate, a subsidiary of Andrews McMeel Universal, is the world's largest independent press syndicate. It distributes lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and other content. Popular columns include Dear Abby, Ann Coulter, Roger Ebert and News of the Weird...
Pet Connection - Menu Foods recall timeline and fact sheet - Itchmo.com