WASHINGTON (AFP) — Canadian pet food manufacturer Menu Foods, blamed for the deaths of dozens of cats and dogs in North America, has set up a 24-million-dollar settlement fund to deal with a slew of US legal suits.
In March 2007, the company recalled 60 million cans and pouches of food made in the United States and sold under 95 different brand names after reports that house pets were falling sick and dying after eating their products.
The recall cost Menu Foods between 30 and 40 million dollars, and was prompted by the deaths of five company pets and nine laboratory cats of renal failure. Veterinarians in Canada and the United State subsequently reported similar cases.
An investigation by the Food and Drug Administration found the chemical melamine, also used in the manufacture of plastics and pesticides, in wheat gluten imported from China and used in the Menu Foods products.
Hundreds of people have filed for compensation from Menu Foods, and the company announced Friday that it was setting up a fund to meet the claims.
The fund would "allow a potential recovery of up to 100 percent of all economic damages related to the pet food recall that were incurred by pet owners and persons who purchased recalled pet food in the United States and in Canada."
A hearing will be held in a New Jersey federal court next Friday to validate the agreement, while negotiations are underway for a similar deal in Canada, the company said.
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