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A Day to Never Forget

Twelve years ago today, the deadliest pet food recall in history began.

Twelve years ago today, the deadliest pet food recall in history began.

It officially began on March 16, 2007 – the first recalls. But the pet deaths began months earlier. Per a personal account shared with us, pets began to die in December 2006. Before it was over, more than 150 different pet foods were recalled – thousands of pets died, thousands more suffered permanent kidney damage.

On March 16, 2007 it began with these recalls:

3/16/07 – Hill’s Pet Nutrition – can – melamine.

3/16/07 – P&G Pet Care – can/pouch – melamine.

3/16/07 – Purina Petcare – pouch – melamine.

3/16/07 – Menu Foods – can – melamine.

3/17/07 – Hill’s Pet Nutrition – can – melamine.

With each recall, hundreds to thousands of cats and dogs were suffering permanent kidney damage and dying from consuming the contaminated pet foods.

And then more recalls, one after another after another…

3/24/07 – Menu Foods – can – melamine.

3/30/07 – Hill’s Pet Nutrition – dry – melamine.

3/30/07 – Purina Petcare – can – melamine.

3/31/07 – DelMonte Pet Products – treats – melamine.

4/03/07 – ChemNutra (ingredient supplier) – ingredient – melamine.

4/05/07 – Menu Foods – can – melamine.

4/05/07 – Sunshine Mills – treats – melamine.

4/06/07 – DelMonte Pet Products – treats – melamine.

4/10/07 – Menu Foods – can/pouch – melamine.

4/17/07 – Natural Balance – dry/treats – melamine.

4/17/07 – Menu Foods – can – melamine.

4/18/07 – Wilbur Ellis (ingredient supplier – ingredient – melamine.

4/19/07 – Blue Buffalo – dry – melamine.

4/19/07 – Royal Canin – dry – melamine.

4/20/07 – SmartPak – dry – melamine.

4/25/07 – Wilbur Ellis (ingredient supplier) – ingredient – melamine.

4/26/07 – Diamond Pet Food – can – melamine.

4/26/07 – American Nutrition – can/treats – melamine.

4/26/07 – Chenango Valley Pet Foods – dry – melamine.

4/26/07 – Blue Buffalo – can/treats – melamine.

4/27/07 – Blue Buffalo – can – melamine.

4/27/07 – Sierra Pet Products – can – melamine.

4/27/07 – Natural Balance – can – melamine.

5/02/07 – Menu Foods (added products) – can – melamine.

5/03/07 – SmartPak Canine – dry – melamine.

5/04/07 – Cereal ByProducts Company (supplier to pet food industry) – ingredient – melamine.

5/11/07 – Royal Canin – dry – melamine.

5/23/07 – Diamond Pet Foods – dry – melamine.

Canned, dry, treats and even a ferret food were recalled; all were toxic to the hundreds of thousands of pets consuming them. The FDA received more than 300,000 phone calls from pet owners.

Notice in the above recalls, pet food ingredients were recalled too. ChemNutra – the largest supplier involved – “recalled all wheat gluten it had imported from one of its three Chinese wheat gluten suppliers.” The owners of ChemNutra were fined only $35,000.00 for their actions of selling adulterated pet food ingredients.

The FDA was scolded by the Office of Inspector General for the agency’s failure to properly notify pet owners, promptly trace the melamine contaminated ingredients, and promptly assure that contaminated products were off store shelves. The Inspector General report stated FDA “did not always adhere to its procedures” in their investigation of this pet food disaster.

Congress took swift action in 2007 to implement laws that were to prevent another deadly pet food disaster. Added to the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act was Section 1002 (a) Ensuring the Safety of Pet Food. These new laws required the FDA to establish:

ingredient standards and definitions with respect to pet food;

The above was significantly important for the future safety of pet food. With the 2007 recall, melamine was added to various pet food vegetable protein ingredients (example wheat gluten). The melamine dramatically increased the protein content (per analysis) of the ingredient. It was still wheat gluten, but wheat gluten with a toxic additive. Congress of 2007 realized pet food ingredients needed “standards” of quality – such as wheat gluten must be 99% wheat gluten with less than 1% impurities. Standards of quality would save lives.

Another section of the Ensuring the Safety of Pet Food laws were

processing standards for pet food;

Congress in 2007 recognized that none of the hundreds of pet foods recalled bothered to test ingredients prior to manufacturing. To prevent another deadly disaster, this law was written for FDA to establish safety standards of manufacturing.

And lastly, Congress recognized in 2007 that pet food labels did not provide pet owners with adequate information including this requirement in law:

updated standards for the labeling of pet food that include nutritional and ingredient information.

The Ensuring the Safety of Pet Food laws gave millions of pet owners hope. But…

Congress required FDA to implement the above significant pet food safety laws by September 2009. Year after year, FDA ignored the deadline. 2010, no Ensuring the Safety of Pet Food. 2011, 2012, 2013 – implementation of vital laws ignored. 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 passed with no FDA action.

And then in 2018, Senator Rand Paul submitted an addendum to an unrelated bill (Animal Drug User Fees) that completely wiped off the legal records Ensuring the Safety of Pet Food.

While the FDA and Congress has shown they have forgotten about all the pets that died in 2007, we must not. Thousands of pets died in 2007, thousands more survived but with permanent kidney damage.

Is pet food safer today than it was in 2007? No – it is not. The excess Vitamin D recalls that began in November 2018 and continued into 2019 are evidence that ingredient standards are needed, along with proper manufacturing standards of ingredient testing.

Remember the pets that died in 2007, and all the pets that have died since due to a lax regulatory system – by sending an email or letter to your Representatives in Congress.

Example letter:

Today is the 12th anniversary of the beginning of the deadliest pet food recall in history – March 16, 2007. In 2007 Congress promised pet owners the future of pet food would be safer writing Section 1002 (a) of the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act – Ensuring the Safety of Pet Food. FDA ignored the deadline of September 2009 year after year. Then in 2018 the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions voted to completely delete these significant pet food safety laws in an addendum submitted by Senator Rand Paul to S. 2434 Animal Drug and Animal Generic Drug User Fee Amendments of 2018.

In just the time frame since Congress deleted Ensuring the Safety of Pet Food Section 1002 (a) countless pets have been poisoned and died by excess Vitamin D in multiple pet food brands – not one manufacturer bothered to test their products for safety in advance of distribution to pet owners. In recent years we’ve seen numerous recalls for a euthanasia drug found in pet foods, FDA admitting to industry “pentobarbital in pet food is more of a problem than we thought.” And sadly pet food is currently linked to thousands of dogs suffering and dying from diet-related heart disease.

This must stop. Please take immediate action to reintroduce into law Ensuring the Safety of Pet Food giving pet owners pet food ingredient standards and improved definitions, improved pet food manufacturing standards, and updated labels – just as we were promised in 2007. Require FDA to complete the task within 6 months. We have waited long enough for safe pet food.



Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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16 Comments

16 Comments

  1. Cannoliamo

    March 16, 2019 at 11:10 am

  2. chris

    March 16, 2019 at 12:05 pm

    Everytime I send a letter to my senators and reps, they just send me a generic letter back stating why they can not do it. When we lived in Montana, the rep told me that if he supported gmo labeling, that it would make the small farmers go out of business. Most people in office forget what they knew before they went in and they only support the companies that line their pockets so that they can continue to live rich lives.

  3. Lily Clair

    March 16, 2019 at 3:58 pm

    My experience has been similar to Chris’ experience: Colorado senators and representatives have a form email where they thank me for contacting them; welcome my interest in the topic by simply plugging in a the name of the topic; and the last paragraph states they “will keep my comments in mind” when they vote. Absolute trash and noncommittal. I’ve written them so often and received so many of their form letters that I haven’t even opened them for months — no point. I don’t vote for the jerks, but others obviously do.

  4. Sherri

    March 16, 2019 at 4:21 pm

    We do have to continue to fight and to make our voices heard. Unfortunately waiting for the government to eventually do the right thing is unlikely to ever happen, not to any degree that will actually protect our pets. There is only one way to protect your pet and that is by not feeding any commercial pet food. However the majority of pet owners refuse to do the research and educate themselves, preferring to blindly follow along, believe the TV commercials, pet food packaging claims, and believe their vets, no questions asked. Until more people wake up and access the information that is literally at their fingertips, this pet food idiocy will continue.

    • ~Pet Owner~

      March 16, 2019 at 5:41 pm

      Until more people wake up and access the information that is literally at their fingertips, this pet food idiocy will continue. Now there’s an encouraging statement.

      Let’s face it folks, the people making comments here wouldn’t even know what they do, which is enough to broaden their knowledge through “information that is literally at their fingertips” without Susan Thixton FIRST doing all the research, documentation and reporting. How do I know that? Because Susan’s material comes up in 80% of all PF topic searches, and the difference is usually copy-cat material.

      We can sit here (smugly, right?) not following along, nor believing the TV commercials and the pet food packaging claims, not including ourselves as under-educated Vets, no questions asked, … because someone already put into the effort, the time, energy and the heartbreak it took (and continues to take) to get us all here.

      IMO it’s our turn to pay it forward, if Susan suggests writing a letter, to put into the record, the continuing demand of every PF consumer. And whether or not it’s ignored doesn’t diminish the responsibility that both THEY and OURSELVES have for correcting the situation, which is pushing forward the cause! The time wasted on assuming the existence of apathy is exactly what lawmakers (read that again, those who make the laws) count on. Are we going to wait until a perfect storm arrives, like who exactly are those shining White Knights going to be?

      They are US folks.

      A thousand letters is better than zero.

  5. Donna

    March 16, 2019 at 5:18 pm

    And your very long list of recalled products does not include the pet foods where consumers discovered there were problems (toxins), but those products were never recalled. I had independent testing done on a pet food and toxins were detected (melamine and others). I tried to work with the pet food company. They denied any problems, even though later they told me their manager at the manufacturing plant knew there was a problem. They denied I had sent a sample to the manufacturing plant and even posted to a forum that I refused to send a sample — even though I had documentation of which employee signed for the sample when it was received at their plant several weeks prior to their post. They had their attorney call me at 9pm trying to intimidate me. The quote never to be believed again – they said I was the only complaint they had received. Yet many others had posted to a forum stating they had contacted this same company, even posting photos of the product.
    The FDA published a press release stating they had secured samples of several pet foods that consumers privately had tested. The laboratory confirmed to me they would never release any samples without my permission. Thus, the FDA never got a sample from me.
    What I learned during that time is frightening about the pet food system, and even our human food chain. I have home-cooked for my dogs since the phone call I received from the laboratory warning me about the findings.
    This is an issue that we must not forget, and we must never stop holding every entity involved accountable.
    I applaud your dedication to this, Susan.

    • ~Pet Owner~

      March 16, 2019 at 6:04 pm

      Thank you.
      You’re one brave PF consumer (incl. your group) who braved threats and intimidation.
      What we learned is that the Industry is full of thugs.
      And without your action nobody would’ve believed it.

  6. Chuck Linker

    March 16, 2019 at 11:23 pm

    the only solution is to forgo your convenience– not true anyway– and get a holistic recipe from a trusted holistic vet and make batches of you own human grade canine food.
    it is not expensive and not a task as you may think. know the reasons if you love your pet(s).
    lots of choices of protein, root veggies, dark green veggies, grain, flax soil, etc.

    you pets will live longer if you exert a little effort than commercial kibble & canned food offers. just do it !

    the pet food industry is run by marketing. dont’ be a victim or allow you pets to suffer because you don’t THINK you have time. MAKE THE SMALLL AMOUNT OF TIME IF YOU LOVE LOUR PETS. THEY WILL RETURN THE LOVE.

    IT COST LESS $$ & WILL PROVE ITSELF.

    YOUR PETS ARE AS IMPORTANT AS YOUR SPOUSE/CHILDREN. PROVE IT

  7. Barbara McWha

    March 17, 2019 at 12:24 am

    Thank you for all the hard work and research you do for us. There are millions of pet owners. If we all just wrote one letter, we would be heard eventually. As long as FDA employees are paid by the pet food companies, though, it will be a battle. What about conflict of interest? Can no lawyer fight for us?

  8. Debbie Damesworth

    March 17, 2019 at 1:40 pm

    My cat died in that pet food recall. She was 13 years old and I gave her Iams canned food because the doctor told me to try some soft food for her teeth and gums. She was only eating the dry Iams. So 4 days later, she was gone. Now this is a passion of mine to teach pet owners what to look for in an ingredient list and what to stay away from. We researched and found Life’s Abundance, never have had ANY recalls, and have been with them for the past 12 years. Our new cats are now 12 years old, very healthy and happy.

  9. Cannoliamo

    March 17, 2019 at 2:36 pm

    Aren’t you the owner of Qualipet.net in Northville, Michigan, whose sole purpose for commenting here is for self promotion and increased pet food sales?

    http://www.qualipet.net/

  10. Carolyn Gray

    March 18, 2019 at 12:02 pm

    Summary of Dr. Paul’s amendment:

    – Requires the FDA to review, if submitted by the petitioner, data from studies conducted in foreign countries.

    – Requires the FDA to post the following information on its website: the number of petitions for animal food additives that are pending, and how long those petitions have been pending, as well as the number of animal study protocol proposals that have been pending for over 50 days, and those that have received an extension.

    – Requires the FDA to provide petitioners with information on the required contents of the petition. If they require additional studies beyond what the petitioner has proposed, the FDA must provide a scientific rationale for that requirement.

    – Strikes FDAAA section 1002(a)(1), which requires the FDA to issue regulations establishing “standards and definitions with respect to pet food,” due to its conflicting nature with the FFDCA and to address the uncertainty it causes for the FDA/AAFCO relationship.

    – Requires the issuance of guidance, within 18 months, to include the recommended format for submission of existing data related to animal food additives, including foreign data, the number of days in which the FDA will respond to such data, circumstances under which the submission of study protocols are recommended, how the FDA will inform the person submitting those protocols if the review will take longer than 50 days, and best practices for communication between the FDA and industry on the development of pre-submission data packages.

    Why can’t we ask everyone to send Paul Rand our supreme disapproval of his amendment. Can we contact FOX news and other agencies to expose his agenda. And remind everyone of the horror of 2007, which I myself either did not know, or had forgotten.

    Susan I hope you can help with this to get it going and how we can help.

    • Susan Thixton

      March 18, 2019 at 12:15 pm

      From what I’ve been told, the law is gone now – there is no reinstating it. We need it to be introduced again and passed with a very firm deadline for FDA to complete. I certainly agree pet owners should contact Senator Paul and tell him of their disapproval of his actions (I did that). But moving forward, we need a Senator to submit a new bill with the same language except a firm deadline for FDA to complete. I have tried and tried to get the same Senate Committee to meet with us, but all they will provide is a meeting with staff.

  11. barbara burton

    March 21, 2019 at 2:33 pm

    So sad that this has to happen. Our pets need our protection

  12. Popcicle

    March 22, 2019 at 12:48 am

    Just break it down for pet owners. What should we do? Ask Congress to do what exactly? Name the bill and name the problem for us to specifically request. Just asking for increased pet food safety by the FDA, is this the basic request we should be begging for? Congressmen are very busy and unless letters and emails are very specific, they will get brushed aside no doubt. What do you suggest is the “simplified” direction pet owners should take?

  13. Pixie

    June 26, 2019 at 9:33 pm

    I lost my jillybean to this God awful petfood recall that killed so many beloved pets who I’m sure were more like family.. she was 9. I’m still heart broken she died in my arms March 29 2007…I had her since she was born. She looked like Morris the cat but a female… beautiful ginger color.the day she died I died with her. I’m heartbroken still after all these years and so sad that this happened

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