It has been more than a year since contaminated pet food from Menu Foods killed hundreds of beloved pets. It’s been even longer since contaminated pet food from Diamond Pet Foods sickened and killed dogs and cats around the country.
So what’s happened since then to protect our pets from contaminated food?
The good things:
- Pet food safety legislation has been passed. The FDA Amendments Act of 2007 will set up an early warning system to help quickly identify contaminated food and outbreaks of associated illness. This should be happening by September 2008.
- A pet food industry commission has made suggestions to help improve the safety and quality standards of pet food. The FDA should establish pet food standards and definitions by September 2009.
- Over the past year, the pet food industry has taken a good, long look at what safety measures have been lacking, and what needs to be done. It may take time, but manufacturers and pet health care professionals will be taking steps in the right direction.
- The Pet Food Institute in Washington, D.C. is working with pet food retailers and the FDA to improve how recalls work and how information is passed to pet owners.
- An agreement was signed in December 2007 between the U.S. and China that will improve the safety of certain imported products, including pet food and treats.
The not so good things:
- Current federal legislation relies on manufacturers to voluntarily recall contaminated pet food. Some experts fear that voluntary recalls gives space for too much error, and would prefer mandatory recalls governed by the FDA instead.
- There is no national tracking system to monitor pet illness and deaths from contaminated food. It is next to impossible to get a definitive account of how past or future contaminated foods will affect the pets of the country.
- The agreement between the U.S. and China relies on China to provide product safety, although FDA inspectors will have more access to Chinese production facilities.