Recent Examples of FDA Ignoring Concerns in Pet Food

Behind the scenes we (TruthaboutPetFood.com) continually try to hold the FDA accountable for enforcing law in pet food. Below are some of our recent communications with FDA…

On January 28, 2026 we sent FDA the following message regarding pet food labeling laws the agency is charged with enforcing: 

On the FDA website, the agency states “The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) requires that all animal foods, like human foods, be safe to eat, produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances, and be truthfully labeled.” With regards to ‘truthfully labeled’, can the FDA explain why no regulatory action has been taken on the Meow Mix Original Choice cat food label? This particular cat food label includes images of a grilled piece of chicken breast, a piece of roasted turkey, and two fillets of fish. However the ingredients included in this pet food are meal ingredients; chicken by-product meal, turkey by-product meal, salmon meal, and ocean fish meal.

Please provide a full explanation for us to share with pet owners to how this pet food is “truthfully labeled” as required by federal law.

The FDA did not respond to our request for an explanation. On March 12, 2026 we followed up with the agency sending this:

Can CVM provide a response to my questions in the email from 1/28/26? Or provide explanation to why the agency will not respond to my 1/28/26 email.

To current day (9/15/26), the FDA has not provided an explanation as to how this Meow Mix Original Choice Cat food is truthfully labeled as law requires (laws that FDA is charged with enforcing).

---

On July 6, 2026 we asked the FDA to provide us with ingredient identification/labeling requirements for commonly used pet food ingredients: 

The USDA processes condemned material in slaughter facilities into “tankage“. My question is – what do regulations require this tankage material used in pet food to be identified to the consumer as? Such as from a USDA chicken slaughter facility – is tankage identified on a pet food label as chicken or chicken meal? 

The FDA did not answer our question.

---

On September 15, 2025 we sent the FDA the following questions regarding our concern the agency is withholding information about the risk of avian flu in kibble pet food and withholding information about the risk of avian flu to cats that go or live outdoors:

FDA has issued multiple public alerts regarding raw pet food, the potential of raw pet food being contaminated with HPAI. However, diagnosed cats that consumed a raw pet food only make up 4% of the total (USDA statistics, 145 total diagnosed domestic cats since May 2022). What style of food did 96% of the cats consume? What percentage of cats were indoor only cats? What percentage of cats had access to outdoors?

If – this is an assumption because you have not provided pet owners with any information other than on raw pet foods – 96% of the diagnosed cats were outdoor cats, isn’t FDA being negligent to not warn the public to this significant risk?

If – again an assumption because you have not provided these details – 96% of the diagnosed cats consumed a kibble pet food, isn’t FDA being negligent to not warn the public to this significant risk?

The point is, pet owners CANNOT properly protect their pets when FDA is ONLY providing information about 4% of the cases. We deserve all of the information, and promptly.

The FDA did not answer our questions.

---

On May 29, 2025 we asked the FDA if pet food label updates developed by AAFCO would be implemented by FDA. FDA had recently ended a long-standing relationship with AAFCO, and we wanted some type of assurance that the label updates would still be recognized by FDA.

With FDA’s departure from AAFCO, what is going to happen with the AAFCO Pet Food Label Modernization? Will those label changes be implemented or not? 

In this instance the FDA responded within a week:

Dear Ms. Thixton:
Thank you for contacting FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). We would refer you to: https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-food-feeds/fda-letter-stakeholders-acknowledgment-expiring-fda-aafco-mou in response to your below inquiry.
Sincerely,
AskCVM

But the response received from FDA provided no answer to my original question. On June 5, 2026 this follow up was sent to FDA:

The link you sent has absolutely no information regarding the AAFCO Pet Food Label Modernization. So…can you respond to my question originally sent? Will the label changes be implemented or not? 

A few days later the FDA responded to our second request, BUT again the agency did not answer our (very simple to answer) question.

We would refer you to our previous response.

---

Back in 2022, we filed a Citizen Petition (an official request asking the agency to take action) with FDA requesting the agency abide by federal law in regulating pet food. Specifically we quoted numerous federal laws in reference to misleading pet food ingredient names. Even though the FDA is required by federal law to provide their response with 180 days, the FDA took 1,333 days to provide us with their formal response to our request. The FDA said no – they will not enforce law.

On April 13, 2026 we asked the FDA to reconsider filing a Petition for Reconsideration. In our reconsideration request we provided the FDA with further evidence that pet food consumers are being misled directly due to FDA’s lack of enforcement of law. And we asked the agency to provide us their decision regarding reconsideration within 45 days.

To current day – September 15, 2026 – the FDA has not provided us with a response to our Petition for Reconsideration (155 days later).

Despite FDA’s lack of responses to many issues, we WILL continue to ask them for answers.

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Consumer Advocate
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food

Find Healthy Pet Foods in Your Area Click Here