BRANDS of pet food widely available in Australia have been recalled from supermarket shelves in the US following reports that several cats and dogs had died after eating the affected product.

Menu Foods, the Ontario-based company that produced the pet food, said yesterday it was recalling dog food sold under 48 brands and cat food sold under 40 brands, including Iams and Eukanuba.

Those two brands are popular in Australia, having been imported from Canada since 1980.

While there have been no reported cases of pets in Australia falling ill after eating the food, Menu Foods' North American spokesman said an unknown number of cats and dogs had suffered kidney failure and about 10 had died.

Menu Foods chief executive and president Paul Henderson said the company was still trying to figure out what happened.

He said that the company had received an undisclosed number of complaints that dogs and cats were vomiting and suffering kidney failure after eating its products.

The company makes pet food for 17 of the top 20 North American retailers. It is also a contract manufacturer for the top branded pet food companies, including Procter & Gamble Co.

TheAustralian.com