Human error led to embattled Mississauga-based Menu Foods using contaminated ingredients in 28 varieties of pet foods recalled this week, a vice-president of the company says.

“It was due to a clerical error in the shipment of that product that was shipped here,” Randall Copeland, executive vice-president of sales and marketing, said yesterday.

Copeland said the company didn’t realize the shipment originated in China, where it’s believed the melamine originated.

“We found we had transshipped a product and there was a clerical error and it did not show the correct product and country of origin,” Copeland said. “We thought it was product of the USA,” he added.

About 200 25-kilogram bags of contaminated wheat gluten made its way to the company’s Streetsville plant from another plant in Kansas. The wheat gluten contained melamine, a chemical used to make plastics and pesticides. From December 2006 to January 2007, the tainted wheat gluten was used in the production of pet food.

Menu Foods extended its list of recalled pet foods on Tuesday and for the first time included foods manufactured in Streetsville. The recall was prompted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which detected melamine in food coming from the plant.

Prior to this, Menu Foods had recalled only foods made at its Kansas and New Jersey plants, saying they were the only facilities to take delivery of tainted wheat gluten. Toronto Star

CCN Matthews Menu Foods Press Release April 12, 2007 expanded recall list

Menu Foods recall page

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