Nearly a month has passed since the initial Menu Foods recall cleared 60 million pet food items from store shelves, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned today that not all of the affected product was removed. Since the recall, the FDA says it has conducted 400 checks of retail stores across the country to determine whether the recalled products were in fact taken off of shelves. Most retailers are complying, the FDA said, but not all of them. The government agency charged with leading the investigation into the recall that has affected nearly 100 brands of pet food, called on both pet owners and retailers to remain vigilant as more items were recalled as recently as yesterday. “FDA’s priority is to make sure that cats and dogs have safe food to eat,” said Stephen Sundlof, DVM, director of FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. “Many of us are pet owners and animal lovers, and we want pet owners to feel assured that we are doing everything we can to make sure that all contaminated food is off the shelves.” Sundlof is expected to testify on the FDA’s role in the recall to a Senate hearing led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) later today. The senator previously questioned the FDA’s effectiveness at handling the situation. The FDA has compiled a full list of the recalled products, which can be found at http://www.fda.gov/ora/fed_state/recalls/Recall.xls. It contains 5,511 individual entries. 04-12-2007
