Menu Food Sues ChemNutra Inc. Due to Tainted Pet Food Ingredient
Posted by
Greg OwenMay 24, 2007 5:45 PMA lawsuit was filed on Monday by Menu food as a result of the tainted pet food ingredient that was supplied to them by ChemNutra, Inc. Menu Foods is now asking for damages substantially in excess of $75, 000. ChemNutra fired back the claim that Menu Foods waited weeks prior to advising them of potential problems. The pet food ingredient, wheat gluten, contained melamine, which is a toxic chemical used in plastics and pesticides.
Referencing the Chinese, ChemNutra made the following claim "We are concerned that we may have been the victim of deliberate and mercenary contamination," In a game of pointing fingers everywhere but at themselves, ChemNutra, with respect to Menu Foods, went on to say "They didn't tell us or the public what they knew and when they knew it. "If Menu Foods had acted as a responsible corporate citizen, Menu Foods could have saved consumers - and pet owners, specifically - needless pain and suffering."
Clearly, one of the many questions that must be address here is where does the responsibility of the exporter and the recipient of the imported products begin and end. It has long been known that the rules for importing many products are far from stringent. The European Union's rules are stricter in many areas, but their system also leaves much to be desired. At the end of the day, while all of the finger pointing goes on, real people are suffering greatly. Innocent animals have paid for this fiasco with their health and more animals than we know have died horrific deaths. Tragically, the recall continues to widen, and although many vets do not suggest home cooking for pets it seems like a viable solution at this point and time. The risk of contaminated pet food being ingested by our pets is just too high.