Canada-based Menu Foods and other companies that were involved in last year’s massive recall of pet foods have agreed to pay a combined $24 million to pet owners. The settlement, which was outlined in papers filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Camden, N.J., still needs court approval. A hearing has been scheduled for May 30. Under the settlement, the companies will pay all of the pet owners’ documented expenses for the injury and death of their pets as a result of consuming the recalled products, Reuters reported. The recalls were first announced in March 2007 after dogs and cats became ill or died as a result of eating the tainted food. The contaminants were discovered to be melamine and cyanuric acid, which were in ingredients from China that went into pet food in the United States. <HOME>
