Hill's takes steps to cope with pet-food recall

TOPEKA, KAN.— Hill's Pet Nutrition dispatched a 250-person team to collect its recalled products after they were snared in the large-scale pet-food contamination crisis from Menu Foods.

The move kicks off more crisis management following its voluntary recall, including a new call center, veterinarian-directed communications campaign, reimbursement for screening pets that ingested its recalled lots and refunds for recalled products, the company reports.

Hill's voluntary recall involved Prescription Diet™ m/d™ Feline Dry and Science Diet® Savory Cuts® chunk and gravy style canned cat food. The recall did not include Prescription Diet m/d Feline canned food because it does not contain any form of wheat gluten.

In a letter to veterinarians, Hill's President Justin Skala and Karen Padgett, DVM, chief of veterinary business channel in North America, report that the recall impacts less than 1 percent of the company's product volume.

The company remains in talks with the Food and Drug Administration and has been "cooperating fully since the outset of its investigation." The company opted to voluntarily recall these products in consultation with the FDA, company officials report.