Another pet food company said Sunday it is recalling some of its products after learning that an ingredient used in its products was tainted with a chemical.

Del Monte Pet Products said in a news release it is voluntarily recalling some of its dog and cat treats after concluding that one ingredient, wheat gluten from a supplier in China, contained melamine. But it didn't say whether the recall applies to products sold in Canada, and officials couldn't be reached to comment.

The recall affects the following U.S. brands:

  • Jerky Treats Beef Flavor Dog Snacks.
  • Gravy Train Beef Sticks Dog Snacks.
  • Pounce Meaty Morsels Moist Chicken Flavor Cat Treats.
  • Ol' Roy Beef Flavor Jerky Strips Dog Treats.
  • Ol' Roy Beef Flavor Snack Stick Dog Treats. 

On Saturday, Nestlé Purina PetCare Canada told customers its products are safe after company officials in the U.S. announced a recall of dog food that may contain a chemical forbidden in pet food.

The recall south of the border affects all sizes and varieties of Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with specific date codes.

U.S.-based Purina said that wheat gluten containing melamine, a chemical used in fertilizers in Asia and to make plastics and laminates, was provided for the manufacturing of the dog food by the same company that also supplied Ontario-based Menu Foods Inc.

The contamination occurred in a limited production quantity at only one of Purina's 17 pet food manufacturing facilities in the U.S., the company said.

Consult veterinarian

Consumers are urged to immediately stop feeding their dogs Alpo Prime Cuts products with the date codes listed on the company's website and consult with a veterinarian if they have any health concerns with their pet.

Mississauga-based Menu Foods and the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates the pet food industry in the U.S., declined to identify the company that supplied the contaminated wheat gluten.

Purina Canada issued a news release Saturday, saying pet owners can continue to feed their animals all of its Canadian wet and dry products, including but not limited to the following brands:

  • Pro Plan.
  • Friskies.
  • Purina ONE.
  • Fancy Feast.
  • Dog Chow.
  • Purina Veterinarian Diets
    Cat Chow.
  • All Purina Branded Treats.
  • Beneful.
  • Alpo.

In mid-March, Menu Foods recalled "cuts and gravy"-style dog and cat food in cans and pouches manufactured at two U.S. facilities between Dec. 3, 2006, and March 6 after it received a number of complaints from customers.

Kidney failure

Since then, there have been 16 confirmed suspicious deaths of cats and dogs in the U.S. The animals suffered kidney failure after apparently eating products by Menu Foods.

The recall affected 53 brands of dog food and 42 brands of cat food sold under private-label and supermarket house brands across North America.

Menu Foods has said it thought one of the food's ingredients used to thicken the gravy in the cuts and gravy-style food, wheat gluten, was the source of the toxin. The company had been receiving the wheat gluten from a new supplier, which it has since dropped.

Hill's Pet Nutrition said late Friday that its Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry cat food included the tainted wheat gluten. The FDA said the source was the same unidentified company. Hill's, a division of Colgate-Palmolive Co., is so far the only company to recall any dry pet food.

The cat food in question is sold in both Canada and the United States.

with files from The Associated Press