May 27, 03 Agence France Presse

The US Food and Drug Administration said in a statement issued Monday it learned from the government of Canada that "rendered material" from the diseased cow may have been used in dog food.

Brian Evans, the chief veterinary official with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, said Tuesday that dry dog food, with the brand name of Kibble, may have been distributed in both Canada and the United States. He told reporters, however, that there was no known case of any dog suffering from any variety of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease.

He said cats have been known to contract a feline version of the disease.

The cow in question tested positive one week ago for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, sparking a scare over the safety of North America's beef supply.

The FDA noted that "there is no evidence that dogs can transmit the disease to humans."

The US agency said it notified the US pet food firm, The Pet Pantry International, of Carson City, Nevada, which distributes products for the Canadian manufacturer, Champion Pet Food in Alberta.

"Even though there is no known risk to dogs from eating this dog food, as a prudent measure to help assure that the US stays BSE-free, The Pet Pantry International is asking its customers who may have purchased the suspect product to hold it for pickup by the distributor so that the dog food will not mistakenly be mixed into cattle or other feeds if any of the dog food is discarded or otherwise not used to feed dogs," the FDA said.

The suspect dog food was produced between February 4 and March 12, and was packaged in 50-pound (23-kilo) bags.

"FDA is working closely with the Pet Pantry International to assure for proper disposal of the recovered product," the agency said.

The FDA said Canadian officials indicated none of the meat from the diseased cow was used for food for human consumption.

Officials are still not certain of the birthplace of the black Angus cow confirmed last week to have the disease.

If the cow is confirmed to have been born in Canada, it would become the first homegrown case of mad cow disease in North America.