Most of the 2011 reports – 283 of them – were filed after FDA issued an updated warning to dog owners on November 18th, 2011.
As I reported last November, FDA continues to warn pet owners that chicken jerky products imported from China may be associated with the development of Fanconi-like syndrome in dogs who eat the treats on a regular basis. Similar problems have been reported in Canada, according to the Canadian Veterinary Medicine Association.
Unfortunately, neither FDA nor the Canadians have been able to identify an ingredient or contaminant in the chicken jerky dog treats that would account for the illnesses. “Testing is ongoing,” Alvey reported to me yesterday by email. “We have tested samples from all over the country for microbial pathogens (salmonella) and chemical toxicants and so far, nothing has come back positive,” she added.
FDA is encouraging consumers to submit illness-linked samples of pet treats to them for analysis. “[w]e would most certainly want to try to obtain a sample of a consumer’s pet product if they still had it and they were reporting it in association with a pet illness to the FDA,” Alvey stated.
Unfortunately, unless and until FDA can determine the presence of an adulterant (microbiological or chemical) in the pet treats, the agency is unable to request a recall. As always, suspects – including pet treats – are innocent until proven guilty.
Mollie Morrissette has been following this story closely, and has written several informative articles, which can be found on her Poisoned Pets blog site.
Jeepers, Phyllis! Thanks for the plug! I am honored.
And thank you so much for going the extra mile and helping me help a consumer clear up her confusion regarding the protocol for submitting samples to the FDA.
Thank you too Laura, the pet parent I will refer you to is indebted to you.
By: Mollie Morrissette on February 7, 2012
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Reblogged this on Poisoned Pets and commented:
Phyllis Entis (aka foodbuglady extraordinaire and one heckuva smart cookie) of eFoodAlert was kind enough to help me out and in the process got an update on the jerky treat issue from the FDA as well, as per her special request. Oh, and she was kind enough to mention moi, that’s right, yours truly, in her article.
By: Mollie Morrissette on February 7, 2012
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[...] food safety friend Phyllis Entis wrote about the 184 reports of dog illnesses resulting from chicken jerky dog treats made in China. Those reports were from this year alone. Pet [...]
By: Illness Reports Cause Dog Owners to Worry | ConsumerBell on February 8, 2012
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