Pet food recall: Pets Best will pay 100 percent
By Christie Keith
March 26, 2007
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Veterinary insurance company Pets Best sent out an announcement expressing their sympathy for “every pet family affected by the recent pet food tragedy.” And then they put their money where their mouth is:
In response to this recall, we have committed to all those affected by the recall to pay claims at 100% up to policy limits, waiving the deductible and co-payment, which we will recoup ourselves from the manufacturer.
Company founder Dr. Jack Stephens told me in a phone call that they don’t really know if, when, and how that reimbursement from the manufacturer will happen. “It just seemed like the right thing to do,” he said.
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I feel Menus behavior-stonewalling-spin is criminal.
I can’t imagine what a terrible shock it would be if these Pet Food Brands actually had to invest and build gleaming new factories in the United States. Creating employment and opportunities and retooling for the future.
Just awful!!! What an awful thought!
Comment by Steve — March 26, 2007 @ 5:55 pm
menu food should pay every vet bill,and since the went to china for that rat poision wheat that killed so many pets they should replace every one with a new pet,they caused this heartache on us pet owners.
Comment by gigi — March 26, 2007 @ 6:05 pm
Steve, the manufacturing plants are in the States (Emporia, KS and Pennsahauken, NJ).
As to Best Pets, I emailed my pet insurance company, VPI, a few days ago. I told them that if I had the chance, based on Best Pet’s proactiveness in regards to this dilemma, I would switch to their insurance. To date, VPI has nothing on their website about the recall and what they are going to do about claims. Unfortunately, I’m in NYS and can’t get Best Pets Insurance here.
Comment by Elderta — March 26, 2007 @ 6:29 pm
Menus top brass aren’t going to come clean with the public because if they admitted to fault either because of this China Wheat theory or experimental or tainted products that backfired, went into production, and ended up in the channel out into retail they would be screwed. Excuse my French.
Probably the damage is already done and they will be lucky if they can recover at all from this in the long run.
Comment by Steve — March 26, 2007 @ 6:30 pm
I had an interview with the news director at a local radio station today. I had contacted him on Friday to request that they give the story more coverage.
[Parts of] the interview should air tomorrow morning on star105.com or 105.5 if you are in/near McHenry County in Illinois.
The news director, Stew Cohen, was nice, and I hope I gave him enough good material to produce a story that makes a difference.
Comment by Pamela J. Betz-Baron — March 26, 2007 @ 6:33 pm
Best Pets Insurance just gained a customer.
Comment by Gayle — March 26, 2007 @ 6:37 pm
Comment by Elderta — March 26, 2007
Elderta I am aware of that.
Durbin says many pets “are now suffering as a result of a flawed pet food inspection system.” Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut says the FDA never visited the Kansas plant mentioned as a possible source of contamination, and the last time it visited a New Jersey plant that was also implicated, was in 2004.
http://ciproud.com/content/ful.....p;cid=1696
Comment by Steve — March 26, 2007 @ 6:42 pm
Interesting comments about Best Pet’s. In my opinion VPI used to be an excellent company but they have really gone down hill in the last couple of years. They are taking a long, long time to process claims and they seem to be trying very hard to deny or reduce payments. I hope other companies like Best Pet’s fill the gap if VPI continues to sink. My last experience with VPI (Sept. 2006) was awful.
Comment by MFEMFEM — March 26, 2007 @ 7:06 pm
I cancelled my VPI last year because they weaseled out of almost everything on a claim I submitted. I like the idea of having insurance for my pet because I don’t want to have to make a decision about my dog’s health based solely on what I can afford to spend. But VPI did not provide the service I was paying for. Best Pets Insurance has the correct mindset on the current crisis, and I’m hopeful that they will be a reasonable alternative to VPI.
Comment by Gayle — March 26, 2007 @ 7:15 pm
We’re on full spin cycle now.
NY lab doing further pet food testing
2007/3
By MARK JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer 19 minutes ago
ALBANY, N.Y. - The laboratory that identified the poison believed to be responsible for the death of pets around the country has started testing individual components of the tainted pet food to determine which ingredient was contaminated, officials said Monday.
Department of Agriculture and Markets spokeswoman Jessica Chittenden did not know when the lab would have results from the new tests.
The federal Food and Drug Administration has said the investigation into the pet deaths was focused on wheat gluten. Stephen Sundlof, the federal agency‘s top veterinarian, said Friday it remains the suspected source of the contamination.
Some pets that ate the food suffered kidney failure, and the company has confirmed the deaths of 15 cats and one dog. The FDA has reported more than 4,400 calls from concerned pet owners.
“It‘s a very challenging set of procedures,” he said. “We have to keep in mind there are other things out there that could potentially be hazardous. We are working very hard to confirm it was aminopterin.”
The company recalled products packaged from Dec. 3 to March 6 and advised retailers last week to remove all the products from their shelves to verify the dates they were packaged. Products not made between those dates can still be sold.
FBI spokesman Stephen Kodak said the agency is “not involved in any way, shape, or form.” He said the FBI would likely only get involved if evidence pointed to the products being tampered with while on store shelves.
Comment by Steve — March 26, 2007 @ 8:08 pm
I pray that the Bio-terrorists are not watching this little fiasco! The possibilities are truly very very scary.
Comment by Sue — March 27, 2007 @ 7:13 am
I have some experience contracting with insurance companies. I know in the long run, the insurer will hold the bill and will have the greatest motivation of anyone to recover costs and prevent future losses.
If I were a pet owner or news reporter, I would have these companies on my speed dial.
Comment by Robert Chapin — March 27, 2007 @ 8:15 am
This makes me sick. I have been watching my cats for any little sign of illness. The way I see is they should pay to get any animal who ate this food tested. I don’t care if they are sick or not. It would stop the deaths. I will NEVER buy any food of theres again.
Comment by Kelly — March 27, 2007 @ 9:20 am
Has anyone had animals become sick or die from eating IAMS slow cooked chicken (blue and orange can). This product is not on the recall list. It is made by menu foods.
Comment by betty — March 27, 2007 @ 9:40 am
I lost my cat, Punkin, on March 17th to Menu Foods’ negligence. Punkin was my baby, and I miss him terribly. I can’t help thinking that it was my fault. I bought the food and fed it to him. It would be nice if Menu Foods would help us pay for our tragedies. But I’m sure that’s a pipe dream.
Comment by Helen Riley — March 27, 2007 @ 9:06 pm
I posted this on another thread as well. For those of you who used IAMS, they are paying all vet bills regardless of if your cat got sick.
You need to contact their 1.800.882.1591 number and speak with a specialist. Do not request this of the person who answers the phone - they will not help you with this. Their specialists will take your information and get back to you with an SR#. They realize that they must take responsibility for peace of mind for folks who have no way of knowing if their cat consumed any of the specifically recalled food.
I urge folks to contact them - this is a PR nightmare for them and they are doing what they can to retain a customer base. They have lost my business but I intend to claim all of my vet bills.
Comment by Carole — March 28, 2007 @ 11:46 am
I can’t help myself from checking this website daily to see the numbers climb higher & higher. I to lost my cat STARR from this recalled food. I have called my vet, e-mailed & called all available numbers to report my cats death. I even called my local news station to ask for some direction. I can’t even get a call back from the FDA??? And yet all reports of animal deaths are still few??? They can’t even get the true numbers right. Ain’t it funny how we can watch & call into American Idol (Millions of us) and they can get the numbers right??? Something is truly wrong with our system. It’s not till we experience a tragity that realize we are not equiped to handle it. Wake up people. Lets try to change this.
P.S. I would have never fed my cat rat poison intentionally. So why did Menu Foods allowed me to do so??? It’s all about $$$ to them.
Comment by Tammy K — March 28, 2007 @ 1:25 pm
I think its time we emailed our US Representatives. We do not any Food products fro China allowed in this country. I am getting ready to do just that using congress.org.
Comment by betty — April 23, 2007 @ 11:19 am
Does anyone know of a lab that you could send a sample of food to so it could be tested for Melamine. I have a sheep. Toward the end of last year, I bought a new bag of food (DUMOR). She had been eating this food ever since I got her (about 2 years). Anyway, From the first time I gave her food from that bag, she would not eat it. I dewormed her and tried it again. She would not eat it. I was also feeding her plain whole kernal corn, which she continued to eat. I still have the rest of the bag. I would like to get it tested, if it doesn’t cost an arm and a lig.
Comment by betty — April 23, 2007 @ 12:01 pm