It's been 24 hours since the FDA last responded to my follow-up questions to yesterday's press conference about the pet food recall.
More than 24 hours since reporter (and veterinarian) Dr. Debbye Turner of CBS News asked "should we expect any additional voluntary recalls among pet food in the coming days and weeks?"
More than 24 hours since David Elder of the FDA replied to her, "We aren’t aware of any other potential recalls at this time involving either pet food produced from contaminated wheat gluten or from contaminated rice protein concentrate. As we say time and again, the investigation is open, we continue to follow the trail, but we don’t have anything else that we expect to emerge."
And yet, just before Turner asked her question and Elder made that response, Costco announced a recall of some of its Kirkland Signature dog foods due to melamine contamination in the food - contamination detected, they told me, by the FDA itself.
Which makes me wonder, wouldn't finding melamine in un-recalled pet foods in its own labs have itself been reason to "expect any additional voluntary recalls among pet food in the coming days and weeks"?
Then examine the fact that within 16 hours of Turner's question and Elder's reply, six recalls in addition to the one from Costco were announced - Harmony Farms, Natural Balance (expansion of previous recall with new products), Blue Buffalo (recalled their entire product line after recalling one run of one kitten food previously), Canine Caviar, Mulligan Stew, and Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul.
Seven new recalls, at least one of them prompted by a finding from the FDA's own testing, within hours of the FDA saying "we don’t have anything else that we expect to emerge."
UPDATE: I got an email from the FDA's press office at 7:39 PM Eastern Time:
We found later that other FDA officials did know about it but Captain Elder didn't have that information available when the telebriefing began. A press release from Diamond Pet Food has since been posted on our website http://www.fda.gov/... . We also expect additional recalls from Sierra Pet Products and Blue Buffalo Company. Attached is American Nutrition's announcement.
The very recalls I'd been asking him about, and that we'd already reported at PetConnection, yesterday.
Remind me again why we have an FDA? Oh yeah:
The Food Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938 (U.S.C. Title 21, Chapter 9): "The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation's food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation."
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