Food & Water Watch has delivered a petition on behalf of “animal parents” to the FDA against pet treats and food made in China. They want the agency to implement Section 211 of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that would inform consumers about the dangers of these treats. Under that rule, grocery stores will have to post notices in conspicuous places telling consumers about contaminated food products, including pet food.
Terry Safranek, a founding member of APAPTFMIC (Animal Parents Against Pet Treats & Food Made in China), said in a statement, “I lost my beloved dog Sampson in January 2012 to poisonous pet jerky treats made in China. Since 2007, FDA has reported that 600 dogs have died and over 4,600 have gotten sick and the common denominator is that all of these pets consumed imported jerky treats from China. While I appreciate the effort that the agency has made to look at this problem, China is still being permitted to export these products to the U.S. and we are no closer to finding out what is killing our pets.
Food Poisoning Bulletin has been following this issue for years. In October 2013, FDA released a report that showed a drop in pet illnesses since Nestle and DelMonte recalled their chicken jerky dog treats imported from China. That shows there is likely some connection between the illnesses and the imported food. There’s also a connection between illnesses in Australia and imported pet treats from China.
And in August 2012, the Chinese government refused to let the FDA test the jerky treats in anything other than a Chinese lab. The FDA does warn pet owners that these jerky treats are not necessary in an animal’s diet, and to watch out for signs of illness if you do choose to feed your pet these products.
I lost my beloved companion Marley after giving him smokehouse brand sweet potato and duck jerky treats that the company gets from china. No one should lose their loved pet this way, yet thousands do. Thousands of cases..yet the same products are still being sold to unsuspecting and well meaning pet owners who end up tragically losing their beloved pet..while the companies get profits form sales. sickening and extremely unethical. The FDA needs to hold these companies accountable already. They are just as guilty as the companies themselves for not extending safe food measures to pets.
I’m very sorry for your loss. And it’s really horrible what’s been happening.
Why do we continue to refer to the poision as Chicken Jerky???? DelMonte may have recalled JERKY but they are still putting PUPPERONI CHICKEN STICKS on the shelves. My beloved cocker spaniels were poised in 2012 by DelMonte and they continue to kill our pets. They should pay dearly for what they have done. If people would just stop purchasing ANY SO CALLED TREAT!!! ~ DELMONTE AND NESTLES would be hurt in their wallets. AMEN!!!! All they say on their packing is “Distributed by DelMonte” they get the crap from China. There are thousands of pets killed, NOT the 600 reported.