Hey, FDA -- is our pets ' food safe yet?

I didn't actually pay that much attention to the series of stories about Nutro pet foods at ConsumerAffairs.com. Nutro sells a lot of pet food, and the number of reports I was hearing out on the Internet and at the dog park just didn't seem disproportionate to the size of their market share.



I mean, I hear from readers all the time that such-and-such a food made their pets sick, or this drug or vaccine or vet killed their pets. I'm sure it's sometimes true, but a story has to rise above the usual background noise to get my attention, and this one hadn't.



And to be honest, the "is Nutro safe?" part of it still hasn't. But the part where ConsumerAffairs.com reporter Lisa Wade McCormick filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FDA and had it turned down because the documents she requested were part of a law enforcement proceeding certainly has.



Because by the very next day, not only Nutro but the FDA had issued strong statements denying any such investigation was taking place of the company -- a denial they confirmed for us here at Pet Connection.



So all of a sudden I'm very, very interested, because I don't see how the FDA can deny a FOIA request on the basis of an investigation it's now saying it's not conducting. I mean... either you're investigating Nutro and need to keep the documents for law enforcement purposes, or you're not, in which case, you need to give them to McCormick when she asks. Pick one, guys.



So I wrote the FDA and asked them what was up with that, and I eventually did hear back from a spokesman in their press office. And what I heard both confused and surprised me. I write about it my column at SFGate.com this week:

When I asked the FDA why it denied the FOIA request given that there was no investigation of Nutro, I got a terse e-mail response. "Investigations may involve materials and information obtained from parties other than the investigation's target," Michael Herndon, a spokesman, wrote. "Beyond that we cannot comment."



I'm not absolutely sure what that means, but it seems the FDA is investigating another company, and since the requested documents about Nutro are part of that investigation they can't be released to the public. It would be nice to get some clarification on that, but apparently the one thing the FDA says that you can believe without hesitation is "no comment."



This isn't the first time I've had trouble prying information out of the FDA. On April 26, 2007, I was on a media conference call when Captain David Elder, director of the FDA's Office of Enforcement, denied that the agency knew of any new pet food recalls in the pipeline. A few hours later, Costco announced it was recalling one of its canned Kirkland brand pet foods, followed by five more recalls that night.



When I talked to Costco vice-president of food safety Craig Wilson, he told me that the recall was initiated because the FDA labs had discovered melamine in some of its pet foods and told them about it.



I asked the FDA why Elder had said that there were no more recalls expected on the same day that six of them were announced, at least one of which was prompted by information from the FDA itself.



Herndon, after a lengthy delay, told me, "We found later that other FDA officials did know about it, but Captain Elder didn't have that information available when the telebriefing began."



Which I guess was a defense based on the old adage that one should never blame on malice that which can be explained by incompetence, but it doesn't inspire much confidence, not for those of us who have to figure out what to feed our pets for dinner that night.



Which is the whole problem. Consumers can't entirely trust what the FDA tells them, in no small part because they often seem to have industry's best interests at heart rather than the public's. After all, they still have almost nothing to say to the press and public, but issued a statement clearing Nutro within a single day.



But the agency isn't really doing its best for industry, either. If pet food companies viewed the FDA as a competent, disinterested watchdog on the public health, they could compete openly in a transparent marketplace. Then, if some Internet hothead started slamming their products, they could point to an FDA statement and reasonably expect people to believe it.



Instead, Nutro is left to mop up after a PR mess made all over the Internet, pet owners have no idea what to believe or what pet food to buy, and the FDA has nothing more to say.

Read the whole thing, including comments from McCormick, ConsumerAffairs.com founder Jim Hood, and Nutro's Monica Barrett, here.

Comments

[Jane]

I pray the FDA is looking into Canidae. My dog has not completely recovered from consuming that food. Just the idea of Canidae continuing to sell something so harmful to our pets is making me ill!

[Gina Spadafori]

Meanwhile, the FDA has its panties in a bunch over Cheerios.



Fail.



Level. Rebuild.

[YesBiscuit!]

Comment by Ingrid King — May 14, 2009 @ 8:56 am



If our govt. agencies are not going to work for us then:

1. I want my money back.

2. Dissolve the agencies.



Until then, I'm going to keep demanding they do their job.

[VJ]

Christie, would there be any benefit if you wrote Senator Durbin and asked him to investigate? Just asking.

[Jane]

Ingrid, don't make me feel worse than I already do for continuing to feed my dog the Canidae. I DID research it years ago before starting my dog on Canidae. My local pet store didn't tell me Canidae changed their formula, or outsourced to Diamond. I am truly SICK over hurting my wonderful dog and by posting here I am trying to let other Canidae users be aware of the slightest change in their dog; change in coat, itching, weight loss, vomiting, change in stool, lethargy, and gas to name a few. Pet owners have been feeding Canidae for years with good results, but now when their dogs begin to exhibit these symptoms, the Canidae is the last cause they think of. If I had known earlier about the switch in Canidae, my dog would not have become so very sick. The FDA CAN help because the makers of Canidae will not admit the problem and continue to sell their product. It is going to take someone like the FDA to stop them.

[Therese]

Good idea, YesBiscuit! Let's just start filing FOIA after FOIA until we narrow it down and figure out who they really are investigating!



And now...back to my regularly scheduled "pet food recall" google.

[EmilyS]

oy....

[Carol V]

I saw your article during my daily "pet food recall" google that I have done just about every day since March 17, 2007....Liked it alot!

[YesBiscuit!]

So who is the FDA investigating then if not Nutro? Do we have to file FOIA request on every company in the market until we get a hit? Boy if that FDA worked for me, I'd give them what-for... Oh, never mind.

[Phyllis DeGioia]

"Never blame on malice that which can be explained by incompetence" - that clarifies so much in life, doesn't it? But it's like the PR version of "I don't remember" during an investigation.



I agree with Christie that the FDA cares more about industry than consumers.

[Leslie K]

They are investigating Evangers. I don't know if they are looking at other pfc's or not.

[Gina Spadafori]

That would be great, Ingrid, except that without regulatory oversight backed by the power of LAW there's NO WAY to know for sure what we're buying and eating, informed decisions or no.



Everyone can't put in their own garden and/or live off their own land.



There's a reason why the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was passed. Now, it has to be put into play again, for the protection of us all.

[Ingrid King]

I think we need to stop looking to our government agencies for answers and start making our own decisions about what we put into our bodies and into our pets' bodies. Educate yourself and then make the best informed decision you can based on your research. Find credible sources for your research. And most of all, use common sense. Just my $.02.

[Jane]

Thanks Leslie, but it was Canidae All Life Stage dry kibble dog food. Go to consumeraffairs.com/pets/Canidae then scroll down the page and read about hundreds of sick, and some have died, dogs. Ours being one of them.

[Scott Moore]

It's been over a year now since I started making my own dog food. It was nerve wracking, constantly watching for signs of deficiency but slowly I have come to trust my eyes. I have healthy happy dogs and will never buy commercial again. That's $40 a month some pet food company will never see and directly linked to a lack of trust.

[Leslie K]

Jane- The special agent I spoke to is looking for anyone who had trouble with any food Evangers makes. If it was canned Canidae,Evangers makes that & you can pm me at www.itchmoforums.com to get his contact info. Same for anyone else who had trouble of any kind with them.

[Janeen]

"Boy if that FDA worked for me, I’d give them what-for…"



But see... the thing is, they DO. They work for *us* the taxpayers. But they serve the food companies.



IMO one of the biggest problems with FDA is the large number of people who go back and forth between jobs in industry and with FDA.



Given the difficulty in suing the gubmint, I also wonder why the FDA bends over backwards to avoid saying anything that might be misconstrued as negative about corporations - even (as we see here) when it is to the potential detriment of consumers.

[Susan Fox]

Interesting about possible problems with Canidae.



We recently settled on Canidae kibble and canned after needing to get the collie boy off Nutro (loose stool 1-3 times a week). We add a big spoonful of organic canned pumpkin to two cups kibble and a half can of wet and he's normal now stool-wise. Canidae is working fine for him. Good coat, good energy. He has a sensitive digestive system, so we are always vigilant about how he's doing with the chow.



The cats like the kibble. One maybe a little too much. We've had to start exercising portion control with The Princess. She was beginning to resemble another one of her nicknames too much again- The Bon Bon (real name: Persephone).

[sadiesmama]

Demonte's Radiance dog food was among those recalled. There are two service dogs in my household who are having great difficulty finding food that agrees with them. Radiance did not make them sick and I understand the recall. Could Del Monte come up with another vegetable and rice food?

[Carol V]

The actual manufacturer of commercial pet food is not always on the label...I have found the name of the company selling it but that does not mean they actually make it in their facilities--they outsource it (remember the Menu Foods shock we all got about that) and if you are very lucky, you might find out who actually manufactures it--although I am hardly ever told when I call--they say it is proprietary... I feel if we are the ones buying it, we have a right to know...so I guess if they actually revealed this manufacturing secret it would edumacate too many of us !!

[Kim]

I just want to clarify - I don't know if Canidae has outsourced or not - Jane mentioned that they had outsourced to Diamond, and I was looking for further details.



However, Carol is correct - few companies do, in fact, manufacture their own foods. Those that don't go to great lengths to ensure that it does not appear this way.



Even companies that do generally produce their own food sometimes outsource to other facilities. Wellness, for example, has shut down several of their own plants - Go! was outsourcing to Merrick for their US supply during their recall a few years back... Many companies even outsource to *several* different companies - making it difficult, if not impossible, for the consumer to truly have any control over who/where their food is made.



You know what I want from the FDA first and foremost? Enforced transparency from companies. Easy to read labels, ingredients, and countries of origin. No more "meat by-products" or "powdered cellulose." Be specific! I want it to read true - exactly WHAT each ingredient is, not the accepted AAFCO definition. The ENGLISH definition. While you're at it, mention what grade it is and where it came from. Oh, and ensure that companies are REQUIRED to release information regarding suppliers, and those suppliers are required to release information regarding sources.



Did I mention enforced mandatory recalls? Yeah, mandatory recalls. Am I the only one who is INCENSED that the government does not have this ability?

[Anne T]

Appreciative applause Kim! But not just on Pet Foods, I want this transparency on all products considered 'food' for all consumers! We can't make an informed decision about what we buy unless we are told.

Thankfully our Farmer's Market opened for the season yesterday! Fresh eggs, organic bakery products, vegetable and herb seedlings and fresh asparagus. Life took a turn for the better.

[Susan Fox]

So, Canidae is made by Diamond? That is not disclosed anywhere on the packaging or on their website. Au contrair, the website makes it sound like they make it themselves. Sigh.



Ok, Kim, I'll take your word for it and we won't take any chances. Time to change food again.



Back to Innova? Solid Gold? Suggestions? Home cooking isn't really an option for now.

[Kim]

Can I ask exactly *what* was outsourced to Diamond? ie, who is making the kibble, who is sourcing the ingredients, who is performing the quality control, etc...



We've heard nothing about Canidae, with the exceptions of the general complaints received when companies change the formula without changing the packaging (which seriously needs to STOP).



However, I wouldn't touch anything made by Diamond with a ten foot pole. I don't think there's a pet food company out there with a worse track record for poor QC and inferior ingredients. Staggering, too, when one considers just how many brands they are responsible for. :O(



Personally, we make a lot of our food, and the food that we do purchase comes from companies with high levels of transparency, and human quality, local, GMO-free ingredients. HOWEVER, Gina and Christie are right - ANY consumer should be able to purchase ANY pet food on the shelf and not be concerned about tainted ingredients/toxic meals.

[Kim]

That can't be a complete Diamond list... Diamond also makes Chicken Soup.



Natural Balance too!? Sheesh... I had no idea. The Solid Gold is also news, although not a surprise. It's always had that Perfume De Playdough.



I'm seriously considering moving to northern Saskatchewan and just farming everything I need in my own backyard. Scarier and scarier... :O(

[Colorado Transplant]

Kim--I guess I was not sensitive to the mice and their feelings.



I was just thinking about the fun the cats would have.

[Colorado Transplant]

You mean Kim was kidding?



I had to hurry up with my comment before because the filtering system demonstrator was coming. Only cost $1200. Unfortunately he had not cleaned it up from the last house where people smoked. Now my house smells like we are smokers, which we are not.



Then he wanted to sell us a vacumm for $2400. We did not let him try it because we said it would scare the cats. It would have probably thrown dirt all over the place.



I wonder if I should get some government agency to check on the safety of his filtering system.

Some agency that works as well as the FDA, perhaps!

[Kim Thornton]

Colorado Transplant, didn't that hurt the mice...?

[Gina Spadafori]

Kim ... hahahahahaha!!!! Mice sewn together! Smarty-pants.

[Gina Spadafori]

You have to know Kim and her VERY dry sense of humor. It's even better after a drink or two after a day at some pet trade show or other.



Fortunately, I've had the pleasure. What do you think, Kim? Know you for 20 years, maybe?

[The OTHER Pat]

RE: Canidae being made by Diamond:



Remember www.thepetfoodlist.com has a manufacturers page. Upon looking through it I found the following:



DIAMOND

Manufactures dry foods



Diamond Pet Foods

PO Box 156

Meta, MO 65058

800-442-0402

Locations: Gaston, SC; Latrop, CA; Lubbock, TX; Meta, MO; Palm Coast, FL



Foods manufactured:

Artemis

Canidae

Kirkland Signature Brand Pet Food

Natural Balance

Solid Gold Health Food for Pets



And this:



EVANGERS

Manufactures canned foods



Evangers Dog and Cat Food Company, Inc.

221 Wheeling Road

Wheeling, IL

847-537-0102



Foods manufactured:

Artemis - Holistic Pet Food

Blackwood Pet Food

Canidae

Life4K9



And this:



SIMMONS PET FOOD

Manufactures canned foods



Simmons brands include:

Twin Pet

Strongheart

kitty

Fit & Active

Healthy by Design



Foods manufactured:

Canidae

[Colorado Transplant]

We went to the Farmer's Market last Tuesday and bought some tomatoes and bread grown and made by the local people.



I got two mice for my cats sewn together by a local craft person.



It was real good feeling I had coming away from there.

[Anne T]

Aren't Farmer's Markets the BEST? You are supporting locally produced, sustainable agriculture. The purveyors in my area are members of the state organic growers' association, which sets higher organic standards than FDA, of course. The crafts available are just an added treat!

[Sandi K]

I still think that if the PFC's really wanted change, they would and could do it but instead they have Pet Food Institute to help fight against changes that might mean increased trust. If they truly felt FDA was hurting them as an industry, they could do more to change that on their own, they dont need FDA changing the rules to step up to the plate and do the right thing. I think they like that FDA is non-effective, they can use them as an excuse and also hide behind the rules that protect them and not have to be responsible to the consumer. As an industry there is sooooo much they could be doing IF they wanted to.....I think they are perfectly happy with the way things are, the more their secrets are hidden the better for them.

[The OTHER Pat]

That's right! Although - in the section of the website that simply lists information about the foods by name, the Chicken Soup entry tells you to "see Diamond".



I know Therese (the site owner) posts here from time to time. Perhaps if she sees this she can comment and clarify.

[Susan Fox]

Thanks, Other Pat! I appreciate having that information.

[Gina Spadafori]

I also wanted to add a thank you to Christie, Gina and Pet Connection for still staying on these stories.



Comment by Sandi K — May 16, 2009



Hey, what can I say? We LOVE PETS. Of course we're following this. :)

[Sandi K]

I also wanted to add a thank you to Christie, Gina and Pet Connection for still staying on these stories. Consumer Affairs and Pet Connection are among only a handful of places left that we have left fighting for our pets.



Also just a thought, but dont PFC's keep complaint records? Cant FDA or someone ask to look at those Nutro records to see if the number of complaints have increased or are similar, etc? Oh geesh what am I thinking, I expect records a company would hand over would be so cleaned out, they would be worthless. Sigh....never mind.

[Anne T]

Funny how this works. The more popular and bigger a company becomes whether it's foods, clothes, cars or what have you, the more it's product integrity goes down hill.

[Carol V]

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/05/nutro_foia04.html



Consumeraffairs is appealing the denial...

[Pat in Raleigh]

I'm seeking information about PetAg's KMR Step Two product for kittens being weaned off KMR Kitten Milk Replacement formula. I've got three 8 week old bottle feeders whose mom was a semiferal spayed 4 weeks after they were born and her milk supply dried up so I've been supplementing it with regular KMR formula until about 4 days ago. They did beautifully on the KMR and were perfectly healthy at 7 weeks of age when I took them to our rescue group for their Intranasal/Intraocular FVRCP vaccination. A couple of days later they developed stuffy noses (assuming that was due to the local inflammatory immune response to the vaccine challenge), but got over that quickly and were just fine until today. Three days ago I switched them from plain KMR to the KMR Second Step (produces a thick gruel) product at the advice of our group's president. They have received that plain and also mixed with high quality kitten canned foods (the same foods that did not upset their stomachs when mixed with regular KMR). Today they developed musturd colored diarrhea that within hours turned to WHITE diarrhea that smells just like the KMR Second Step product! I've removed that from their bowls and replaced it with what I was formerly feeding. However they are now lethargic and also suddenly sneezing again.



Has anyone had adverse effects in kittens when feeding KMR Second Step? Have there been any problems reported for this product?



Thanks for any information you ahve available.



- Pat