By Lisa Wade McCormick - ConsumerAffairs.Com

Responding to a ConsumerAffairs.com report, CANIDAE Pet Food denies that its products contain the painkiller acetaminophen, saying the claim came from “one report by one unconfirmed laboratory.”

The company, however, said it takes such allegations seriously and is now testing samples of its products.

As we reported on Thursday, toxicologists at ExperTox Inc. Analytical Laboratory of Texas detected acetaminophen in a sample of pet food identified as CANIDAE dog food. The lab issued that report on September 4, 2007.

We also confirmed the findings with the manager of the Deer Park, Texas, laboratory. “That is one of our reports,” Lab Manager, Donna Coneley, told us.

Coneley, however, said the sample arrived in a Ziploc bag and ExperTox cannot confirm the pet food is a CANIDAE brand. The lab’s customer, who was not identified because of a confidentiality agreement, identified the sample as CANIDAE pet food on ExperTox’s forms.

Coneley also confirmed the lab detected acetaminophen in the dog food, but pointed out that the report didn’t show the amount of painkiller found in the sample.

ExperTox’s report also revealed its toxicologists did not detect cyanuric acid or melamine in the dog food tested.

Melamine is the chemical that triggered this year’s massive pet food recall. In March, Menu Foods recalled more than 60 million containers of dog and cat food the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said were tainted with melamine. That’s a chemical used to make plastic and fertilizers. It is not allow in pet or human food.

Thousands of dogs and cats nationwide suffered kidney problems or died after eating the tainted food.

The FDA said it found melamine in the imported wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate used to make the pet food. FDA officials traced the source of that contamination to two now-defunct companies in China.

No CANIDAE pet foods were involved in that recall.

Acetaminophen Found In Other Brands...........

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