After the Menu Foods Recall: One Owner's Cost, Choices and Caution

After the 2007 Menu Foods pet-food recall, this owner experienced severe illness in two cats, high veterinary bills, and a shift away from commercial wet food. The piece outlines immediate responses - switching to vet diets and kibble or homemade meals - questions about the recall's scale and manufacturer reach, and the need to document expenses for reimbursement or legal claims.

What happened to our pets

In 2007 my household was hit hard by the Menu Foods pet-food recall. We had two cats and a young dog. The dog largely recovered, but both cats developed kidney problems after eating affected wet food. We spent more than $3,000 on veterinary care in a few weeks and were left exhausted and worried.

The scale and my concern

News reports at the time focused on dozens of confirmed deaths, but thousands of pet owners reported illnesses and injuries to veterinarians and regulators. The full scale of suffering felt much larger at home than early headlines indicated.

Menu Foods is a large contract manufacturer of wet pet food and supplied many well-known brands during that period. I originally read that Menu Foods produced roughly 80% of North American pet food brands; that figure surprised me and needs verification. ¹

What we changed immediately

We stopped feeding any wet commercial food to our pets. At the time, the contamination was linked to tainted wheat gluten containing melamine, which was added to some ingredients sourced from overseas. Wet formulas were disproportionately implicated, so we shifted to kibble where possible. Evidence about dry-food risk varied by brand and batch, so that assessment should be checked for specific products. ²

We switched the cats to veterinary-prescribed renal diets and bought vet-supplied canned food at roughly $2 a can. For the dog we prepared homemade wet meals using human-grade ingredients while relying on commercial dry food from brands not linked to the recall.

Brand choices and distrust

If our pets had not already been sick, I would have favored established, independent brands and veterinary diets over affected mainstream wet products. At the time we considered several options, including higher-end dry kibbles and Purina lines for dry and wet - but brand safety depended on whether Menu Foods or another co-packer produced the specific formula. That made shopping stressful.

I remember yawning suspicions about deliberate tampering. I couldn't rule out malicious intent then, though investigations later focused on contaminated ingredients entering the supply chain rather than terrorist acts.

Reimbursement and follow-up

Menu Foods publicly offered to reimburse veterinary expenses for pets injured by the recalled products. We contacted the company and the recall call center, but the process felt slow and uncertain. There were later legal actions and settlement discussions, and anyone with claims should check official recall pages and court filings for the current status. ³

What I learned

• Keep vet receipts and document everything.

• If a recall affects a brand you feed, stop the product immediately and call your veterinarian.

• Consider veterinary-prescribed diets for sick pets and human-grade food or trusted dry formulas for others.

• Verify brand manufacturing sources and recall notices before switching.

1. Confirm the estimated percentage of North American pet food brands manufactured by Menu Foods in 2007.
2. Verify the total number of reported pet illnesses and deaths linked to the 2007 recall.
3. Confirm whether reimbursement programs or legal settlements covered veterinary bills and the current status of any claim processes.
4. Check evidence about the relative risk between wet and dry pet foods in the 2007 contamination (which formulas/batches were affected).