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Pet Food Regulations

It Shouldn’t Be This Much of a Fight

Here is the latest on our battle to provide pet food consumers a voice with FDA. Two Senators from Florida are trying to help, but the FDA is simply refusing to meet with pet food safety advocates.

It shouldn’t be this much of a fight to get a pet food consumer voice with FDA, but it is.  Here is the latest on our battle to provide pet food consumers a voice with FDA.  Two Senators from Florida are trying to help, but the FDA is simply refusing to meet with pet food safety advocates.

Several weeks ago I sent the following letter to my Florida Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio….

Senator,

I ask for your assistance to help pet food consumer advocates establish open communication with FDA relating to the safety of pet foods and treats.  I represent pet food consumers in Florida and across the U.S. through Association for Truth in Pet Food (as head advocate).  Open dialogues/meetings has been provided to human food safety advocates for years, however no voice is provided to pet food consumer advocates with regulatory authorities.  

Just a few examples of the desperate need for a pet food consumer voice with regulatory authorities…

Did You Know?  
•    FDA Compliance Policies allow pet foods to violate the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
•    In the U.S. pet foods can make false or misleading claims in advertising and there is no regulatory authority to protect consumers.
•    Pet food labels have completely different nutritional information as is stated on human food labels.  Such as: in human foods, the nutritional content (such as protein and fat) is stated as ‘actual’; in pet foods, protein and fat is stated as ‘minimum’ (example: fat can be stated as 5% on the pet food label however the actual fat content of the food could be 20% or more).  
•    In human foods the ingredient ‘chicken’ implies meat; in pet foods ‘chicken’ can be only chicken skin and bones – no meat.  

In February 2013, human food consumer advocate Tony Corbo – senior lobbyist for Food and Water Watch spoke with Sharon Natanblut (Communication and Public Engagement Staff FDA/CVM) at the monthly consumer advocate FDA meeting; Ms. Natanblut told Mr. Corbo CVM would be open to establishing regular dialogues with pet food consumer advocates.  Taking action on this opportunity, Association for Truth in Pet Food quickly gathered numerous pet food consumer advocates (including several veterinarians) who were willing to volunteer their time meeting with FDA.  A letter introducing the consumer advocacy representatives and requesting regular meetings with FDA was sent on February 25, 2013 (to Michael Taylor, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine with copy to Sharon Natanblut).

Association for Truth in Pet Food representatives followed up with Sharon Natanblut in mid-March.  After a 30 minute or so conversation, Ms. Natanblut asked the representatives to give her 10 days to “work things out” on FDA’s side.  Ms. Natanblut asked for a reminder email be sent to her in 10 days.

In late March 2013 – as requested – a reminder email was sent to Ms. Natanblut.  To date, no response has been received from Ms. Natanblut or Mr. Taylor.

In mid April 2013, another request was sent to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg and CVM Director Bernadette Dunham; to date, no response.

It is clear the FDA is not interested in providing pet food consumers a voice.  However just because the FDA has no interest in open dialogue with pet food consumer advocates doesn’t mean it isn’t vitally important and necessary.  Remember, existing pet food regulations allow pet foods to violate federal food safety law, allows misleading and false pet food advertising, and forces pet food consumers to learn completely different ingredient definitions and labeling guidelines than human foods.  Please contact FDA’s Dr. Margaret Hamburg and CVM’s Bernadette Dunham requesting pet food consumer advocates be provided with regular dialogues with FDA.  Without your assistance, I am confident FDA will continue to ignore the pet food consumer voice.

One last note…as you are probably aware, the FDA has investigated thousands of pet deaths related to Chinese imported chicken jerky treats over the past six years.  In January 2013, NY Department of Agriculture testing discovered illegal antibiotic drug residues in the imported dog treats; however FDA has not confirmed or denied the thousands of pet deaths is/was related to the illegal drugs found in the treats.  In January 2013, Association for Truth in Pet Food provided FDA with scientific evidence linking the illegal drugs found in the treats to the thousands of pet illnesses and thousands of pet deaths; several veterinarians have also since confirmed the illegal drug connection.  However to date, the FDA has not responded to the scientific evidence they were provided.  

Again…without regular open dialogues provided to pet food safety advocates, pet food consumers and the pets they love are at risk from inferior pet food products.  As one of my Representatives in Washington, I ask you to contact FDA for me.  Please tell them to begin meeting with pet food consumer advocates including myself representing Association for Truth in Pet Food.

Susan Thixton

Senator Nelson and Senator Rubio very promptly responded to my plea.  Senator Nelson stated he would inquire with FDA on our behalf and after a phone call to Senator Rubio’s Tampa, FL office, Senator Rubio agreed to inquire with FDA on our behalf as well.

We await to hear what FDA tells Senator Rubio, but Senator Nelson just provided me with the following response his office received from FDA…

Venkatesh, Ruba (Bill Nelson)
Subject:  Inquiry regarding Ms. Susan Thixton

From:  U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Sent:  Monday June 03, 2013 1:37 PM
To:  Venkatesh, Ruba (Bill Nelson)

Greetings, Rupa-  It was nice speaking with you today.  As we discussed on the phone, FDA has communicated with Ms. Thixton on numerous occasions through her work as a blogger on her website, TruthaboutPetFood.com.  Our communications with Ms. Thixton have included responding to her requests to FDA’s media contacts and coordinating a telephone meeting in December 2012 to discuss her concerns about FDA’s role in the regulation of pet food.  We have also offered for her to join in on the semi-regular meetings we have with industry groups.  Ms. Thixton’s request for individual meetings has been challenging to accommodate, as FDA is unable to meet individually with all groups, given the nature of the Agency’s regulatory breadth and limited resources.  However, communication with interested parties is important to us, and we continue to work to determine how best to fulfill Ms. Thixton’s request.

Thank you,

Melissa Stringfellow
Office of Legislation
Food and Drug Administration

Upon receipt of the above from Senator Nelson, I promptly called the Orlando office and spoke with Ms. Venkatesh (Senator Nelson’s office) informing her this FDA response to the Senator was less than truthful.  She requested I explain the discrepancies of the FDA response and fax them to the Senator’s office (faxed 6/10/13).  Below is that letter…

Senator Bill Nelson
c/o Rupa Venkatesh

Senator Nelson,

First, I can’t thank you enough for your efforts to provide pet food consumers a voice with FDA.  However you should be aware that the FDA’s response to your request was less than completely honest.

FDA’s response to you – from Melissa Stringfellow, Office of Legislation states “We have also offered for her to join in on the semi-regular meetings we have with industry groups.”  This is completely false.  FDA has never offered me (or any other pet food safety advocate) the opportunity to participate in regular meetings.  

As I shared with you in my initial request for assistance, Sharon Natanblut (Communication and Public Engagement Staff FDA/CVM) spoke with Tony Corbo of Food & Water Watch in February 2013 asking if CVM was doing enough for pet food consumers.  Mr. Corbo responded “No”.  As an experienced consumer advocate, Mr. Corbo instructed us (pet food consumer advocate Mollie Morrissette and myself) to send FDA an official request for regular dialogue between pet food consumer advocates and FDA.  This request was sent on February 25, 2013 to Michael Taylor, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine with copy to Sharon Natanblut.  To date – almost four months later – the FDA/CVM has not provided us a response to our request.  

FDA’s response to you stated “FDA has communicated with Ms. Thixton on numerous occasions through her work as a blogger on her website.”  It needs to be noted, that our request for regular dialogues between pet food consumer advocates and FDA was not sent from “a blogger”.  The request was sent from our official pet food consumer stakeholder group Association for Truth in Pet Food – not from my personal pet food education website TruthaboutPetFood.com.  

FDA meets often with “stakeholder groups” for input on various issues.  As example on March 6, 2013 FDA announced they will hold public meetings with food-animal producers and veterinarians regarding use of antimicrobial drug use.  The FDA scheduled five meeting across the U.S. with these stakeholder groups (April through June in Kentucky, Washington, Colorado, South Dakota, and Texas).  

Pet food consumers are without doubt, the largest stakeholder group involved in the pet food industry.  Yet the FDA continues to dismiss us as bloggers or emotional pet parents.  We have done our part by officially establishing a consumer advocacy organization properly registered with the state of Florida.  We have members all across the U.S., Canada, and Japan.  We ask for FDA to do their pet and acknowledge our consumer advocacy association.

FDA’s response to you stated in December 2012 FDA provided a phone meeting with FDA “to discuss her concerns about FDA’s role in the regulation of pet food.”  This is not correct information.  FDA provided me, Mollie Morrissette, and Tony Corbo with a 45 minute meeting to discuss FDA’s ongoing (6 year) investigation of jerky treats imported from China linked to thousands of pet illnesses and deaths.  Pet food regulation was not discussed during this meeting.  The meeting was very helpful and we thanked FDA for the opportunity publically and personally at the time.  

FDA’s response to you also stated I requested “individual meetings” with FDA.  This is again incorrect.  We asked CVM for regular dialogue – the same that is provided to human food advocacy groups and industry stakeholder groups – with various representatives of pet food safety including veterinarians and consumer advocacy.  Some of the top and most pet food safety knowledgeable veterinarians in the U.S. have volunteered their time to participate with FDA, along with several pet food consumer advocates.  

All we are asking for is regular open dialogue with FDA/CVM.  This is provided to human food advocacy groups, various industry stakeholder groups including pet food industry stakeholder groups.  It should be provided to pet food consumer stakeholder representatives and veterinarians.  Pet Food consumer stakeholder groups and pet food safety advocate veterinarians might not have offices in Washington D.C. or have million dollar a year budgets for travel and woo-ing FDA, but that shouldn’t make us any less significant.  We all have phones, access to Internet and a huge concern for the safety of pet food.  If FDA truly wishes the safety of pet food to improve, then it is time they open their doors (and ears) to the other voice that has been pleading to be heard for years.  The consumer voice.

Susan Thixton
Association for Truth in Pet Food

Sincere thanks to Senator Bill Nelson for stepping forward for pet food consumers with FDA.  I’m very hopeful Senator Rubio is at this moment taking similar actions with FDA on our behalf.

We wait.

 

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible

What’s in Your Pet’s Food?
Is your dog or cat eating risk ingredients?  Chinese imports?  Petsumer Report tells the ‘rest of the story’ on over 2500 cat foods, dog foods,  and pet treats.  30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. www.PetsumerReport.com

 

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2013 List
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16 Comments

16 Comments

  1. Yvonne McGehee

    June 10, 2013 at 4:25 pm

    Thank you so much for doing all this work on the behalf of all of us. I did notice in the last response to Senator Nelson, some typos, such as this one, “We ask for FDA to do their pet and acknowledge our consumer advocacy association.” Not that it matters to the content, but it may slightly diminish the effect to have a few typos in the letters. It’s hard to catch typos, but maybe someone can proof-read for you to help with this.

    Thank you again,
    Yvonne

    • SeeSea

      June 10, 2013 at 5:47 pm

      I noticed that typo also – “to do their pet” should be “to do their part”. That’s unfortunate, but it’s most likely that the entire letter won’t be read by any legislator, or FDA, or staff. They typically just scan over these type of letters, and only read each word if it is legally prudent to do so.

  2. Marsha

    June 10, 2013 at 4:41 pm

    I sure hope that the two of them are able to help.
    But I am just now sure about Senator Nelson.

  3. SeeSea

    June 10, 2013 at 6:05 pm

    FDA, like so many other government agencies, are good at their game…. psychopathic deflection. They respond with so many lies that now you spend time arguing their lies.

    I think Association for Truth in Pet Food needs a volunteer legal advisor. It seems somewhere in the USA there is a pet lover who is an attorney who could assist with this dialogue.

  4. Bonnie Chavarria

    June 10, 2013 at 7:21 pm

    Susan, your response to Senator Bill Nelson was brilliant, factual, clear, powerful and concise. As far as the typo computers often insert typos where there are none so that can be explained away. You are a voice for the voiceless, our beloved family pets. We will prevail. My fur babies send appreciation for your relentless efforts to provide the direction that consumers must have a voice.

  5. Leandra Little

    June 10, 2013 at 7:25 pm

    Thank you so much Susan for all you do. Please extend my thanks to Senator Nelson. I am a constituent as well and appreciate his help in lending his voice to ours on behalf of the animals. Please keep the pressure up on the FDA Senator Nelson.
    Leandra Little
    Holmes Beach, Fl 34217

  6. Lesliek

    June 10, 2013 at 7:47 pm

    Would it be ok for us to send a copy of this to our own Senators & Congressmen ?

    • Susan Thixton

      June 10, 2013 at 7:50 pm

      Yes! Anyone that wishes can copy and personalize the message to their own Representatives in Washington. Thank you to all that do.

  7. Kent Petersime

    June 10, 2013 at 8:03 pm

    Thanks Susan for everything you have done for the love of Pets. I’ve been a member of yours for quite a while and have followed you closely. I pray that your Stamina holds up against our Mostly corrupt Government with either no action or lip service to your letters. I’ve been sending letters to the South Carolina Representatives and Senators in Washington on our Constitutional rights and have at least a hundred letters, not counting emails and at least 99% is stamp mail. Once in office they have their own agenda and the promises are like a cloud in the sky passing by. I wish you Luck and all the best in your fight.

  8. Peter

    June 10, 2013 at 10:28 pm

    It would be hard for the FDA to accommodate this request, given that they have been given authority to “administer” the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (1938), which is intended to ensure safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics. But for pet foods, the FDA has decided that federal law is… well, its just not federal law. FDA Compliance Policies offer a loophole for pet food manufacturers to bypass provisions of the FFD&C Act.

    FDA is taxpayer funded, too…

  9. chuck

    June 11, 2013 at 5:34 am

    Let’s us all keep pushing for these politicos up state to act reasonalble and think of their animals and family rather than what other politicians they share martinies with at lunc.

    If they have the brains to be elected , they should have half that brain power left to be reasonalble and agree with each other. Vote for the good of the animals not maintain the same tired thinking rather than consider their own rethinking of this matter.

    Someone get the word to the capital that animals are helpless and need all the help any human can offer for the animal’s survival.

    Thnx Susan.

  10. Caroline Snyder

    June 11, 2013 at 8:47 am

    The FDA is, essentially, owned and operated by Monsanto.. and so, by default, Michael Taylor, head honcho and former VP of Monsanto, surrounded by former Monsanto staff. Monsanto’s Round-up-Ready and Bt Corn, together with GMO Soy/Sugar.. fuels the likes of Nestle Purina with its toxic raw materials for pet food and agricultural feed. They will stay quiet on the issue.. period.. with powerful corporate interests at the helm. Your State Dept of Agriculture is way less likely to be influeneced in this way! Is BENEFUL by Purina KILLING or SICKENING Dogs? Post YOUR Story!
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/533765719991738/

  11. ellie

    June 11, 2013 at 9:19 am

    Just one small part of what our monstrously huge government has become. Totally out of touch with the citizens who supply the money to fund these agencies. Government agencies were originally established in order to protect the people of this country. Now they are so out of control that citizens cannot even communicate with them. Who is serving who here? They can’t even give Susan a proper acknowledgement.

  12. SeeSea

    June 12, 2013 at 8:50 am

    Government doesn’t care and won’t improve much in the next decade. There likely won’t be much improvement in the next century by your government. So, the solution is ….. make your own healthful decisions about what you feed your pet. Nobody is forcing a pet owner/lover to buy Purina or Beneful. Do you eat BK or McD? If not, why not? For all the $$$ that people waste on crooked charities (see TampaBayTimes.com 06/09/13) and non-essentials, spend your money wisely. VOTE WITH YOUR WALLET, and encourage others to do the same.

    My husband and I are USA poverty level income category, and yet we consume organic foods, and our large dog is fed completely raw (primarily meat, fat, organs, bones). I am also the volunteer coordinator for a local raw foods co-op. Efforts others can make are these: purchase clean pet food; encourage family, friends, neighbors, colleagues to feed their pets clean food; donate bags of high quality kibble to shelters.

  13. sherry ekelburg

    June 12, 2013 at 10:04 am

    Hi Susan, I am the person who was asking for help about the claim for purina and filing a report to the fda. I also asked Mary Straus for help understanding how to read the guaranteed analysis chart. I feel like an idiot now because I was wrong about thinking that there was too much, but was really ok. But it goes to show how hard it is to read their labels, and it isn’t right. Any normal label will go by a serving, not a kilogram! I spoke to my assemblyman about the supplements being too much. Now I have to apologise to him. But I will give him this information, and hopefully he can help out and contact the fda.

  14. Kim Jarvis

    June 14, 2013 at 5:45 pm

    I know that Bill Nelson will do all he can to help, but don’t hold your breath about Rubio. I don’t know if he knows how to think for himself or if he’s just not allowed to. I have written to him about different things on several occasions & all he does is spout the party line.

    The FDA is owned & operated by the pharmaceutical companies, big agribusinesses, major pet food companies (Purina, etc.) & Monsanto. They really don’t care about us or our pets.

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