Alpo Prime Cuts added to pet food recall 8,000 complaints sent to FDA

The parent company for Alpo dog food announced Friday that it was recalling some of its canned wet dog foods that may contain contaminated wheat gluten, adding its name to the long list of pet foods already recalled.

At 4 p.m. Saturday, two workers at Shaw’s grocery store on Main Street in Bangor were pulling all of the Alpo products that contained wheat gluten. The store had posted signs letting customers know what others were included in the national recall of some 100 brands.

The contaminated canned and pouched cat foods and dog foods contain wheat gluten that has been found to contain a chemical found in plastics and pesticides.

Nestle Purina PetCare Co., based in St. Louis, Mo., voluntarily recalled all sizes and varieties of its Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food, with specific date codes.

One of the company’s 17 pet food manufacturing facilities, located in Crete, Neb., used wheat gluten from China supplied by the same company that sent grain to Menu Foods Inc. in Canada. Menu Foods recalled 42 cat food brands and 53 dog food brands on March 16 after some pets became sick and others died.

“Purina is confident that the contaminated wheat gluten has been isolated to this limited production quantity of Alpo Prime Cuts canned products,” the company Web site states.

All 13.2-ounce and 22-ounce Alpo Prime Cuts cans and 6-, 8-, 12- and 24-can Alpo Prime Cuts Variety Packs that are marked with four-digit date codes of 7037 through 7053 followed by plant code 1159 should not be fed to animals, it states.

“Consumers should immediately stop feeding Alpo Prime Cuts products with the above-listed date codes to their dogs and consult with a veterinarian if they have any health concerns with their pet,” the company says.

Because of a name change earlier this year, the recall also covers Alpo Prime Entrees in Gravy with Chicken, Rotini Pasta & Vegetables with the same date codes.

Since Menu Foods manufactures Mighty Dog pouch products, another Purina product, that item is part of the March 16 recall.

An official with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which regulates pet food, said more than 8,000 food-connected complaints have been received from pet owners since the recall began.

The FDA confirmed that at least one dry pet food manufacturer had received a shipment of the contaminated wheat gluten, but declined to release the name until it’s confirmed the tainted wheat gluten was used to make dry pet food.

Menu Foods has reported to the FDA 18 pet deaths that are directly associated with the recalled items.

Some Bangor and Brewer area residents believe their animals died from the contaminated pet foods, and attorneys for a Portland woman whose two cats are ill have filed a class-action lawsuit against Menu Foods.

A complete list of the nearly 100 recalled brands can be found at www.menufoods.com.