A year after Menu Foods scandal, pet food off the radar of regulators

TORONTO — A year after the tainted pet food scandal at Menu Foods (TSX:MEW.UN) rattled animal lovers and sent the company's stock into a freefall, the pet food industry has slipped off the radar of Canadian regulators and other agencies.

Saturday marks a full-year since dog and cat owners were sent into a panic over the possibility that food they were giving their pets could be tainted by wheat gluten laced with poisonous melamine. The chemical used for making plastics was added by a China-based supplier as a cheap way to make the food look like it had higher protein levels, but it was also killing some pets that consumed it. Since then, little has been done in Canada to ensure that pet food is any safer, aside from continuing to rely on companies to self-regulate and monitor their international suppliers.

After the recalls started last year, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency began a review of its responsibilities to pet food and, according to their website, "determine if room for improvement exists within the Canadian system." On Friday, it appeared as though nothing had changed.

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