Don't mess with our pets
I was talking with a St. Louis retailer today for a story about food safety (bagged salad sales are slowly coming back to where they used to be, he is selling the H E double toothpicks out of Veggie Wash) and he brought up the pet food recalls.
"This pet food thing has blown me away," he said. This retailer, who works at store level, said one lady accused the store of being a "cat killer" because he hadn't pulled a particular brand from the shelves when in fact he had been closely following instructions about the recall.
Now, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill, have issued a news release that said FDA officials have indicated to them that the Chinese Government has blocked requests from the FDA to send personnel to China to inspect the facilities suspected of producing the contaminated products.
From the release:
"It is unacceptable that the Chinese government is blocking our food safety inspectors from entering their country and examining facilities that are suspected of providing contaminated pet food to American consumers," said Durbin. "
“At time when China is exporting more foods into the U.S, the Chinese are refusing to allow our inspectors in to the country to investigate the source of the pet food contamination. The FDA needs to be allowed to investigate this so we can better protect our pets and identify the source of the source of the problem. While we have a significant trade relationship with the Chinese, the investigation of the contaminated product comes first,” said DeLauro.
Additionally, DeLauro, the Chairman of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, will further explore FDA’s inspection of imported foods in a follow-up hearing before the subcommittee.
Durbin and DeLauro have been actively engaged on food safety issues for over a decade. This Congress they introduced legislation that calls for the development of a single food safety agency and the implementation of a food safety program to standardize American food safety activities (The Safe Food Act – S. 654 and H.R. 1148 in the Senate and House respectively). The Illinois senator said legislation he has introduced to consolidate all federal food safety responsibilities into a single, independent agency has taken on new urgency because of a possibly heightened need to respond quickly and effectively to any acts of bioterrorism or agroterrorism. Currently, there are at least 12 different federal agencies and 35 different laws governing food safety. With overlapping jurisdictions, federal agencies often lack accountability on food safety-related issues.
TK: We may see an international incident over Fido. China isn't helping their cause by refusing to allow FDA inspectors in, and they may be sabotaging their efforts to win future access to the U.S. market for commodities like fresh apples with their steadily worsening reputation in food safety issues. And finally, China - don't mess with our pets.
posted by Tom Karst @ 12:11 AM
2 Comments:
Not to overlook our own back yard as well.
April 17, U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Natural Balance Pet Foods issues recall on
specific dog and cat food products. Natural Balance, Pacoima, CA, is issuing a voluntary
nationwide recall for all of its Venison dog products and the dry Venison cat food only,
regardless of date codes. The recalled products include Venison and Brown Rice canned and
bagged dog foods, Venison and Brown Rice dog treats, and Venison and Green Pea dry cat
food. Recent laboratory results show that the products contain melamine. The recall was
prompted by consumer complaints received by Natural Balance involving a small number of
cats and dogs that developed kidney failure after eating the affected product. The source of the
melamine appears to be a rice protein concentrate, which was recently added to the dry venison
formulas. Natural Balance does not use wheat gluten, which was associated with the previous
melamine contamination.
Source: http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/naturalbalance04_07.htm l
24. April 16, U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Dog chews recalled. T.W. Enterprises of
Ferndale, WA, Monday, April 16, alerted consumers that it is recalling certain dog chews it
markets because they may be contaminated with Salmonella. Samples tested by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) of the product indicate that the dog chew products
manufactured by T.W. Enterprises may be contaminated. People handling these treats can
become infected with Salmonella. T.W. Enterprises Inc. manufactured these dog chews and
distributed them throughout the U.S. under its name. The affected products were distributed
before March 22, 2007 to retail locations and are non−coded, i.e. they have no batch code or
other identifying marks. T.W. Enterprises has made contact with all of its consignees and has
been informed the affected product has been pulled from store shelves.
Source: http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/twenterprises04_07.html
It's strange that I buy spinach, tomatoes, cantaloupes, green onions with no fear at all and STILL have that jar of Lot 2111 Peter Pan peanut buttter on my desk, but I'm feeling a little queasy about buying my next bag of Science Diet.
I think a lot of other pet owners are like me and feel a sense of helplessness when it comes to pet food.
Maybe some people feel that way about produce still. I certainly hope not.
The produce industry has done PLENTY to reassure me.
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