Beware when handling food...

...from PetCo.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080619/us_nm/petco_raid_dc_1

Officers Raid Petco warehouse, Alleging Infestation

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. law enforcement officers on Thursday raided a warehouse outside Chicago operated by Petco Animal Supplies Inc and seized pet food it alleged had been stored under unsanitary conditions there, the U.S. Attorneys Office in Chicago said.

The raid and seizure at the Joliet, Illinois facility, which serves Petco stores in 16 states, came one day after Patrick Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, filed a civil lawsuit against Petco and obtained a warrant to make the seizures.

A spokesman for Petco, based in San Diego, California, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

According to the complaint, an inspection of the facility by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April found evidence of rodent and bird infestation.

Although the FDA warned Petco management in late April of their findings, a follow-up inspection in May found continuing evidence of widespread rodent and bird infestation, according to the complaint.

"Investigators at the May inspection continued to see live and dead rodents and birds on or around the food containers, some of which had been gnawed and defiled by excrement," according to a government statement.

The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act permits the seizure and condemnation of food, including animal food, that has been adulterated or held for sale under conditions where it might have been contaminated.

The suit seeks permission to destroy any contaminated animal food stored in the Joliet facility, which supplies the company's stores in Illinois, Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.

(Editing by Carol Bishopric)