We who are about to call the FDA about a pet food recall issue blog for you

In case you've been under an Internet rock, you might have missed the news that the FDA has issued an alert about Vetsulin, an insulin product for diabetic dogs and cats, warning that is formulation may be incorrect and it might thus fail to act correctly in patients who are using it -- which in the case of diabetes is not a minor problem.



The short version: If you're using it, call your vet. She might not actually know about the alert yet, so if you're the first to tell her, you might want to have the alert handy, as well as this FAQ from the drug's manufacturer, BigPharma giant Intervet/Schering-Plough.



So, I was mulling over the wording of the alert when an email popped into my inbox, cc'd to Marion Nestle. It was a reader, asking if either of us had any thoughts on the fact that Wysong Pet Food is saying that they didn't issue an press release about their ongoing pet food recall because "the matter was of small enough consequence that we have even been told by the FDA that a news release is not necessary."



Huh, I thought. Good question.



That was on Saturday, and I figured that Monday morning I'd talk to the FDA and see if that's true. And then reality, in the guise of a "wake up and smell the coffee!" note from Marion, reminded me that getting comments from the FDA is getting to be right up there with getting them from, well... industry.



Worse, actually, because sometimes industry will actually talk to you. FDA? Not so much.



It's not just us pet food junkies getting the cold shoulder. From the Society of Professional Journalists:

The Association of Health Care Journalists and SPJ are fed up with federal agencies’ use of public information officers to chill the flow of information. The two groups sent a letter this week to the FDA urging the agency to stop requiring interviews between reporters and government employees to be approved by PIOs and attended by PIOs.



This practice has become widespread throughout all levels of government, and it needs to stop. While PIOs play an important role in answering questions and facilitating interviews, they are hampering the flow of information when acting as delaying middle-men or go-betweens. Having information transmitted through a middle person is hearsay and fraught with accuracy problems – a disservice to the public.



If you cover an agency that practices this form of information control, don’t put up with it. Request that the higher-ups put an end to it. And if they don’t see the importance of direct communication, then circumvent the Big Brother channels and talk to people directly, as journalists must do to ensure accuracy. It’s our duty to get it right.

So wish me luck as I call a government agency and attempt to pry information out of it without having to file a Freedom of Information Act request.



Although, on the other hand, that's not actually a terrible idea...

Comments

[Nancy Freedman-Smith CPDT]

When I read the headline, I thought you were organizing a phone call campaign to the FDA and politicians and basically spearheading and demanding change. That is what needs to happen. What do we need to do, get a million signatures? We can do that. I like to consider myself pretty connected, but I did not know Vetsulin was recalled. I only read a portion of what came flying across my screen about Vetsulin, and I thought Vetsulin was a vaccine for canine flu and that it was in short supply. My orignal alerts had them lumped together and I stopped reading before I finished the alert. I figure if I didn't know, how would some eldery couple down the street with an diabetic cat know? I got the Vetsulin alerts dumped in with canine flu alerts. I read most animal related news that cross my screem, esp when it comes to health alerts, and I missed it, so seriously time for change. Paging Pres. Obama. Wonder what the first family feeds their dog.

[H. Houlahan]

Today is a federal holiday.



Better check back tomorrow.

[Shelly]

Veterans Day is Wednesday.

[Carol V]

It is a shame that there appears to be little change in the FDA and getting the word out to vets (and others too I am sure---not just vet medicine) as I remember way back in those dark days of March 2007 after the news broke about contaminated pet food and while the second of my affected cats was fighting to live at my local vet's hospital---I was the one supplying info to them there --from here and Itchmo and other pet blogs--He had said that I knew more of what was going on then he did...that made me so mad but knowing here we are almost 3 yrs later and still having to worry if our vets know about this latest alert...makes me even more madder...What the heck do we need to have to happen to change things????? I am afraid to know....

[Carol V]

I also can not wait to see if indeed the FDA thought the Wysong recall was "small enough consequence"---and I wonder if any dog owners whose dogs became ill from the food have seen that statement??

[EmilyS]

more "change you can believe in"...

[Jan]

Perhaps where we should start is in lobbying our representatives in Congress to give the FDA the money to hire enough people to do their job properly. My understanding is that the agency has been cut to the bare bones by previous administrations. If anything, it should be 2 or 3 times the size it is now, in addition to having the protection of the people, not the protection of the companies, as its primary focus. Funny how we could spend so much money bailing out a bunch of irresponsible bankers and not adequately fund the agency that is supposed to be keeping us safe.

[Gina Spadafori]

This is very true: The previous admin wholly believed in gov't so small you could put it in a bathtub, as Grover Norquist so notably advocated for. The only reason what was left wasn't drowned in the bathtub was the need for enough gov't to serve its corporate masters -- big pharma and big food, in this case.

However, the FDA has a massive contingent of Public Information Officers ... more than enough to do the job of getting information out if that was the goal.

The FDA long ago lost its way, its core mission and its governing ethic.

[Sandi K]

Ive contacted my State's reps in Congress dozens of times since the 2007 pet food recalls and I know many others have as well. What do we do in the meantime, while we are waiting for the people in charge to see the light, if they ever do? We keep seeing these recalls where they either dont put out a public press release or if they do put something out, its apparently still not considered an official recall that requires them to get the product removed from sale and away from our pets. I keep seeing phrases in these statements issued by the companies, that they have no reports of affected pets. Of course they dont because most people wouldnt think to look at the product as the possible cause and without effective public notification & recall protocols in place, most people wont learn of these. Their pet falls ill, they take them to the vet, the vet isnt aware of the problem with the product so how can they know to even look for possible effects related to the product problem?



I am so glad that Christie is trying to get more answers in this Wysong issue. Im hoping that perhaps the person you talk to at FDA has "the gift of gab" this morning or perhaps they added some truth serum to their coffee. We can still hope. Fingers are crossed for you!

[Snoopys Friend]

When is a recall "Small" enough that pet owners should not know of it? finding out about recalls should be easy not only because it promotes our pets health and well being but it is the morally correct avenue to take - recalls should be made readily public, not swept under the carpet - well it just was of such little consequence - uh?

[Sandi K]

Right on Snoopy's Friend, apparently it wasnt of such little consequence to a couple of the more recent comment posters at this previous PetConnection blog....a store owner who says they were never notified of the Wysong problem and pet owners who have had very sad consequences as a result:



http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2009/10/13/recall-wysong-dog-food/#comment-478179

[Snoopys Friend]

Pets are dying from this of such little consequence - Wysong better prove they can do better towards our pets and take a proactive stance or they may just find themselves out of business - I hope (one reason to want to hush things up). Shows where there heart is - in their pocketbooks.



If I lost my beloved dog because of recall gone amiss, for lack of timely notification, upset is not the half of it. Shame on Wysong.

[Cathy Z.]

Thank-you Pet Connection; what would I do without you! Nemerah says, "Thanks for keeping me safe."

[Christie Keith]

Here is my update:



FDA is being less then helpful with this. They're currently refusing to comment because the agency is "still actively looking into the situation." It looks like Gina and I are going to file a Freedom of Information Act request.

[Carol V]

“still actively looking into the situation.” Huh..thought they said this was of "small consequence" which gave me the impression "their part" was done...I can't wait to see where this goes...thanks Christie and Gina!

[dkm]

Gee. If we just axed the FDA, think of the small amount of money we'd shave off the Federal budget. Since potentially harmful 'voluntary' recalls that are of "small consequence" except to the pet owners are of no importance, and this tax funded body can't be bothered alerting us in a timely fashion or release meaningful information that might help us make wise food decisions, who needs them? We might as well take the same chances our paleolithic ancestors did getting their food.

Must be fun to share a bed with two partners: Big Pharma and Agribusiness, oh and all those lobbyists too. FDA theme song loosely based on the Beach Boys "And we'll have fun fun fun while the public pays!"

[Sandi K]

Thank you Christie and Gina for trying to get this information for all of us.

[The OTHER Pat]

Comment by Christie Keith — November 10, 2009 @ 2:54 pm



FDA is being less then helpful with this. They’re currently refusing to comment because the agency is “still actively looking into the situation.” It looks like Gina and I are going to file a Freedom of Information Act request.



Is this going to be expensive? Can we donate to help with the cost?

[Gina Spadafori]

Christie's in Seattle, trying to be offline. (Seems she's actually managing it, too, whodathought?) You all know she has been through a lot lately, losing both her Mom and Rebel within a short period, and she needs some downtime. She'll update on this situation next week. :)

[The OTHER Pat]

Okay. Well, if it's going to be expensive, please let us know!