Topeka ? A pet food manufacturer that recalled 60 million cans of its products last month has sued another company, alleging that an ingredient the second firm supplied was contaminated.

Menu Foods Midwest Corp., based in Emporia, is seeking damages “substantially in excess of $75,000” and wants to force ChemNutra Inc., of Las Vegas, to pay costs associated with the recall of dog and cat food.

But a New York attorney for ChemNutra said it is examining whether it has legal claims against Menu Foods. ChemNutra contends Menu Foods waited several weeks to notify it about potential problems.

According to Menu Foods’ lawsuit, wheat gluten sold to Menu Foods Midwest, an affiliate of Menu Foods Ltd., by ChemNutra contained melamine, a chemical found in plastics and pesticides and not approved for use in U.S. pet food by the Food and Drug Administration.

Menu Foods filed its lawsuit Monday in Lyon County District Court in Emporia.

“ChemNutra represented itself to Menu Foods and the North American food market as a business that imports high-quality nutritional and pharmaceutical ingredients from China to the United States,” the lawsuit said.

Menu Foods Ltd., based in Streetsville, Ontario, recalled its products after 16 pets, mostly cats, died from eating contaminated food. Other manufacturers also recalled animal food, and the company said it now faces more than 50 lawsuits.

But ChemNutra said a Chinese supplier is responsible for its shipments of contaminated wheat gluten. In a statement on the company’s Web site, chief executive officer Steve Miller said a Chinese company was recommended to ChemNutra by a “reliable source” and provided apparent proof that its wheat gluten was safe.

“We are concerned that we may have been the victim of deliberate and mercenary contamination,” Miller said in the statement.

China’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it had banned melamine from food products, but rejected the chemical as the cause of pet deaths in the U.S.

Officials with the FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture acknowledged during a teleconference Thursday that they’re investigating the presence of other chemicals similar to melamine in wheat gluten, rice protein and pet food products salvaged for animal feed. But they said the dead pets had melamine in their food, their urine and in some cases, their kidneys.

“There’s a very strong association,” said Daniel McChesney, a veterinarian and FDA administrator. “Melamine is surely associated with the deaths of these pets.”

Marc Ullman, the New York attorney for ChemNutra, said the lawsuit doesn’t provide an accurate picture of how events unfolded.

“They didn’t tell us or the public what they knew and when they knew it,” Ullman told The Associated Press. “If Menu Foods had acted as a responsible corporate citizen, Menu Foods could have saved consumers – and pet owners, specifically – needless pain and suffering.”

An attorney for Menu Foods in Kansas City, Mo., was not available and did not return two messages left Thursday at his office.