FDA Monitoring Pet Food Problems

In the November edition of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA), the Food and Drug Administration is asking that members of the Association to monitor pet food complaints:

“The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine is encouraging AVMA members to report complaints about pet food directly to the FDA, particularly in light of last year’s adverse events following contamination of ingredients with melamine.”

link: FDA asks veterinarians to report pet food complaints

Melamine is the chemical linked with the contaminated pet food scandal last year. It is also the chemical implicated in the present tainted milk fiasco in China. It is a positive step that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking with veterinarians. However, the FDA also could provide an online website and a toll free telephone number for the general public to report suspicions on questionable quality in pet food. The pet owners are the first to notice such problems.

This would be an additional security measure for pets. The problem is that, at the moment, the FDA is understaffed and underfunded. Such a suggestion for data collection from pet owners would fall into the “perhaps” category - and that is unfortunate.

Catherine Forsythe