If we’ve ever had a chance for things in pet food to change…now is it. Your comment is needed – and this is very simple.
Back in October 2013, the FDA announced many new proposed regulations that will govern the manufacturing and warehousing of pet food and animal feed. Their explanation of all the proposed regulations was over 600 pages in length – guaranteed to cause a headache trying to read and absorb it all.
These new regulations are ‘proposed’ – meaning that the FDA has not decided completely if the future laws will be the same as the ‘proposed’ rules. The FDA is asking for comments from consumers, ingredient suppliers, pet food/animal feed manufacturers, and stakeholder groups (such as lobby groups representing industry). And the agency says they will take into consideration everyone’s comments (such as if industry complains that they just can’t keep equipment clean or they need five years to establish record keeping). But…remember…the FDA says they will take everyone’s comments into consideration! If pet food consumers don’t tell the FDA how they feel…guess who’s comments they will be listening to? Industry.
And your comment to FDA can be very simple…
That’s it. Tell the FDA your pets are your family. You expect pet food to be…
• Made with the same quality of ingredients…
• Held to the same Good Manufacturing Practices…
• Held to the same transportation practices…
• Warehoused the same…
• And labeled the same…
…as food for any other member of your family would consume.
Tell the FDA your pets are family!
Please, please, please do this! Take five minutes and fill out the comment form on the Regulations.gov website.
Click Here to be taken directly to that page.
At the bottom of the form – under “Category” – select Individual Consumer or International Public Citizen if you are outside the US.
Please ask every pet food consumer you know to give their comments too. Please share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, forums…everywhere. And/or email this page to every pet food consumer you know. We have this one chance – let’s show the FDA how important our pets are to us. Post your comment – tell the FDA your pets are family!
If you’d like to read more about the proposed regulations…
Click Here to read the FDA pages.
Click Here to read my lengthy post detailing the regulations.
Click Here to read Mollie Morrissette’s post and her presentation given to FDA in California.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food
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
2014 List
Susan’s List of trusted pet foods. Click Here
Have you read Buyer Beware? Click Here
Cooking for pets made easy, Dinner PAWsible
Find Healthy Pet Foods in Your Area Click Here
Mollie Morrissette
January 1, 2014 at 4:03 pm
Just do it!
Martha
January 1, 2014 at 4:36 pm
DONE!!!!
Marsha
January 1, 2014 at 4:42 pm
Done!
Cheryl
January 1, 2014 at 5:04 pm
Done!
Debbie Moore
January 1, 2014 at 5:09 pm
My pets are not just animals, they are my family. Everything should be done to make their food safe, no matter what it takes!
Dorothy Sinkler
January 1, 2014 at 8:22 pm
I fully agree. When I was a little girl our dog ate table scraps and bones and everything else and lived to the ripe age of 16. Since that time we have more or less domesticated our pets, we give them the proper shots and their food needs are now different. I pay $2.95 per can of dog food because my dog had urinary bladder stones and is on a urinary diet (Canin SO). She eats half a can a day and I give her the dry urinary diet dog food as treats. I do not mind paying such a high price for her food but I certainly expect her food to be what a prescription diet calls for with no fillers. She is thriving on this special food and is doing very well. We consider our dog a family member and since we are taking such good care of her we expect the food manufacturers to do the same.
sherry ekelburg
January 1, 2014 at 5:22 pm
Done!
Susan McFadden
January 1, 2014 at 5:46 pm
Done! And re-posting!
Lynn
January 1, 2014 at 5:58 pm
Done!
Susan Thixton
January 1, 2014 at 6:00 pm
Thanks everyone!
Jane Eagle
January 1, 2014 at 9:05 pm
I sent this:
My pets are my family. I expect pet food to be…
• Made with the same quality of ingredients…
• Held to the same Good Manufacturing Practices…
• Held to the same transportation practices…
• Warehoused the same…
• And labeled the same…
…as food any other member of my family would consume.
Due to lax laws, unsafe ingredients, mistrust of pet food manufacturers, and non-existent enforcement/inspections, there are only a couple of foods I will buy; I mostly make my own. I have seen too many of my friends’ pets die from bad food.
Please do your jobs and protect us, or close your doors and go home.
My pets are my family.
Michelle
January 1, 2014 at 6:00 pm
Done
Judith
January 1, 2014 at 6:42 pm
Done, and shared on FB.
Judy Holley
January 1, 2014 at 7:16 pm
done 🙂
Jeanette
January 1, 2014 at 7:17 pm
Done, and shared on Facebook.
Susan Thixton
January 1, 2014 at 7:23 pm
Thanks again! I hope we can encourage thousands to comment. Keep sharing please.
Ken Kalligher
January 1, 2014 at 7:26 pm
Done
Patty
January 1, 2014 at 7:38 pm
I love my dog as much as my family.He is family and he should be treated as one with safe food.
Mandy
January 1, 2014 at 8:16 pm
My dogs are just as important as anyone else. They deserve a food that is healthy and wholesome at an affordable price. Safety is a no brainer!!!
Casey
January 1, 2014 at 8:21 pm
Done.
Sally Bahner
January 1, 2014 at 9:22 pm
Done and shared.
Janet Velenovsky
January 1, 2014 at 9:23 pm
Done!
Susan M.
January 1, 2014 at 9:34 pm
Done – and not as “Anonymous”
Linda Pruitt
January 1, 2014 at 9:54 pm
Done and Done
Ellie L
January 1, 2014 at 10:36 pm
I hope they pay attention. Pet food manufactures don’t even have to list what is actually in the bag of food if they don’t want to. Basically there are no standards right now.
No wonder the pet food industry is such a money making oasis for the greedy.
Barbara
January 1, 2014 at 10:58 pm
Done and sent to many others as well!
Dr. Amy
January 2, 2014 at 7:04 am
Done! And no, not anonymously. I hoped by putting my name and “health care professional” they might (??) consider my comments. I don’t think I said enough but at least I said something.
Rose Studdard
January 2, 2014 at 7:59 am
Just completed.
Linda
January 2, 2014 at 10:25 am
Done~
Johanna Bouchard
January 2, 2014 at 10:27 am
Done, thanks for bringing this to our attention! 🙂
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Mike Calo
January 2, 2014 at 11:50 am
Done!
D
January 2, 2014 at 2:03 pm
~Happy New Year to everyone. Thanks very much for your endless hard work in general, the info here & the link.
~My comment: Hello. Sadly, all too many human beings now call the other mammals “animals” – removing them, separating them from us. Reality is – we ARE a part of our world’s animal kingdom ourselves. However, as long as one can have the “us versus them” viewpoint, it makes it much easier to subjugate the “thems” in our world. Hence, as example of this, we see food for the domestic critters we humans “own” is not regulated in the same ways as is our human food. This is rather insane & it simply must stop. Not only for obvious reasons like ultimate human consumption (most people are not vegetarian) – what one feeds the critters raised for human consumption, one then also inadvertently feeds said humans. Also, many human beings consider their cats, their dogs & their other critters, to be family, rather than “pets”, “possessions” or “things.” Hence, why is it not necessary that ALL food be regulated properly?! All critters ought be fed healthy, good, solid, safe foods yes? And are not we, the consumer, entitled to read the truth on all product labels?! We ought be able to read about what is inside the package prior to our purchasing it. Do you wish to eat that pig who was fed rancid foods? Do you wish to drink that milk or eat those eggs which all are satiated with antibiotics & steroids?? You are already so doing if you are neither vegan nor vegetarian. And so, why is it okay to allow the creation of, and sale of, feed for dogs, birds, cattle, cats, horses, pigs, etc., to be w/out proper regulations, sanitary conditions, proper labeling, safe handling, as well as transporting & warehousing regulations, etc.???? Many things in human life strike me as totally insane & this is sure one of them. Sad state of affairs we have come to when consumers can be left in the dark re the products they purchase & then pass on to their families – which probably include at least one of those “other” animal species. We do our best to try to trust that our FDA will do its job, but yet, we keep finding out this is so not to be taken for granted. We, the consumer, must do our own research, bec sadly, big money is yet again, far more important than the health, well-being & safety of all animals, including we human ones. Thank you for your time; I pray you will do the only right thing here & raise the bar. ALL foods for ALL animals ought be equally scrutinized & held to the same standards as foods for we, the animal human.
(Yes, I am vegetarian & yes, I won’t be surprised if this post of mine never gets posted there. Lol.)
Tom Campbell
January 2, 2014 at 4:32 pm
My pets are my family. I expect pet food to be…
• Made with the same quality of ingredients…
• Held to the same Good Manufacturing Practices…
• Held to the same transportation practices…
• Warehoused the same…
• And labeled the same…
…as food any other member of my family would consume.
Due to lax laws, unsafe ingredients, mistrust of pet food manufacturers, and non-existent enforcement/inspections, there are only a couple of foods I will buy; I mostly make my own. I have seen too many of my friends’ pets die from bad food.
Please do your jobs and protect us, or close your doors and go home.
Beth VanDusen
January 2, 2014 at 5:35 pm
Done!
LLHughes
January 2, 2014 at 10:05 pm
I made our statement and put it into the Government but could not get into the original site on Regulations.gov as you had mentioned! It seems like the link to this was no longer in place. We voiced our feelings about the love of our pets as family and so on and hope it will do some good! We are all so concerned because we are captives of pet companies and don’t know if what we are feeding our beloved pets my be their last meal! Even the foods that are on the List we still are not sure are totally safe. We all need Our Government to finally make the move for safety in Pet food!!! LLH
Flick, Dot and Buzz
January 2, 2014 at 10:13 pm
Done, and thanks Susan, for sharing this opportunity to tell the FDA our thoughts… hopefully, they will listen if enough of us speak out. Thanks for all your hard work!
Julie Boudrie
January 2, 2014 at 11:00 pm
Because of “the industry” and the lack of control & regulation as to what is going in to my pets food; I am choosing non-commercial dog food. I feed my dogs a raw diet. We just lost our beloved 5 1/2 year old Yorkie on June 11, 2013. A Necropsy report read she died from eating spoiled organic food; she was not sick prior to eating Hills ID prescription food & the can I opened was opened the night before she passed away. Within an hour of eating she vomited & became lethargic. The next morning she died.
Respectfully,
Julie Boudrie
sebs
January 4, 2014 at 2:54 pm
Done!!
Linda
January 7, 2014 at 7:29 am
Done!! And passed along to friends. Thanks Susan.
Terri
January 8, 2014 at 9:25 pm
Done!!
Thanks for all you do to protect our pets. I’ve always fed my dogs people food with the premium kibble but am switching them away from the kibble and enjoying it as much as they are. I have one dog with an auto immune disease I’m hoping the new diet and a holistic vet can help him have a better quality of life. He has a sweet soul and doesn’t deserve to be sick
Sherry Goldsmith
January 12, 2014 at 12:35 am
Done! and shared!
Ian
January 28, 2014 at 9:14 pm
We don’t allow dogs and cats to provide (hunt) for themselves. Therefore, we must provide for them. Providiing them with what they would eat naturally, is our responsibilty.
Sue
February 27, 2014 at 7:10 pm
Done (i know im a little late on this being as its the end of February, lol). The food they eat should absolutely be regulated with higher standards, too many health risks while there isn’t.