Pet Food Recall, One Year Later

I'm back from SXSW, and I spent most of the last three days sleeping and trying to find some tiny little spark of energy. So far, not so much, although I got the dogs out for a long, long walk yesterday -- the first since I came home. I guess tramping all over Austin wore me out, along with the massive sleep deprivation and oh yeah, did I mention not being able to get or stay online? /whine

This is nothing, of course, compared to what happened the day after I got home from Austin last year, which was the first in what turned out to be dozens of pet food recalls due to contamination with melamine and cyanuric acid.

My article on this for SFGate.com actually ran in the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday, and now it's on their site in two locations, which is a bit confusing, even to me. But here it is:

I didn't guess when I began covering this story with Gina Spadafori at Pet Connection that it would turn into the largest consumer recall in history, trigger an international trade scandal, launch congressional hearings, spur proposed legislation on food safety and get both American and Chinese businesses owners indicted. I couldn't have foreseen that the incident would put a spotlight on Chinese imports which would eventually reveal lead in children's toys and toxins in toothpaste, and prompt the recent recall of the drug heparin.

But it's equally hard to believe that after all that, the answer to the question "Could it happen again?" is probably "Yes."

Full story here.

My Pet Connection colleague Kim Campbell Thornton also did an excellent story marking the sad anniversary on MSNBC.com:

One year after contaminated pet food killed potentially thousands of dogs and cats, few safety measures have gone into effect.

While pet food safety legislation has been passed and an industry commission has made recommendations to improve the safety and quality standards for pet food, some critics say the efforts, even when they are fully implemented, may not amount to much more than the fox guarding the hen house.

Full story here.

Comments

[ol cranky]

While pet food safety legislation has been passed and an industry commission has made recommendations to improve the safety and quality standards for pet food, some critics say the efforts, even when they are fully implemented, may not amount to much more than the fox guarding the hen house.

I'd say that's a pretty accurate statement, especially since China has made it abundantly clear that they believe the onus of wuality control belongs on the importer, not the Chinese manufacturer or Chinese government. In other words, Buyer Beware!

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