My bad. I could not find the FDA letter to Evangers Pet Food on the FDA website and trusted them to provide an accurate press release to me. Thanks to an anonymous phone call late this afternoon – here’s more information on the FDA ending Evangers Warning Letter investigation.
The FDA letter to Evangers stating the end of the Warning Letter investigation states…
February 28, 2013
Dear Ms. Holly Sher and Mr. Joel Sher:
The Food and Drug Administration has completed an evaluation of your firm’s corrective actions in response to our Warning Letter (CHI-12-11) dated May 5, 2011. Based on our evaluation, it appears that you have addressed the violation(s) contained in this Warning Letter. Future FDA inspections and regulatory activities will further assess the adequacy and sustainability of these corrections.
This letter does not relieve you or your firm from the responsibility of taking all necessary steps to assure sustained compliance with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and its implementing regulations or with other relevant legal authority. The Agency expects you and your firm to maintain compliance and will continue to monitor your state of compliance. This letter will not preclude any future regulatory action should violations be observed during a subsequent inspection or through other means.
To the contrary, the Evangers press release stated “Evanger’s clears its name after a thorough investigation proves no wrongdoing”.
I did not read one statement in the FDA letter that said the FDA found no wrongdoing…did you? The February 28, 2013 FDA letter states Evangers has taken proper corrective action – “addressed the violation”. The FDA did not say the violations were dropped – that FDA found “no wrongdoing”.
Not good Evangers.
Thanks to the anonymous caller for directions to find the above letter on the FDA website!
To read the initial Warning Letter to Evangers Click Here
To read the Evangers Press Release Click Here
To read the FDA close-out letter Click Here
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
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Nina Wolf
March 27, 2013 at 9:54 pm
any verifiable information on the actual testing done on the product? Is it possible to track that down somehow?
Susan Thixton
March 27, 2013 at 9:58 pm
I’m sure Evangers would provide their results – I doubt FDA would.
Mollie Morrissette
March 27, 2013 at 10:10 pm
I got the same letter. It just looked as phony as a $3 dollar bill to me. Not only that, but I thought the timing of the letter was a bit tacky, when you consider that Mr. Sher was just busted for trying to bribe a witness in the jury trial where both Mr. & Mrs. Sher are accused of stealing over $2 million in utilities from the state of Illinois. Mr. Sher now faces three new criminal charges, including subornation of perjury, bribery and communicating with a witness, in addition to the original charge of Class 1 felony theft and money laundering. If they had any class they would hang their heads in shame, go hide under a rock, and quit tootin’ their dang horn.
Pacific Sun
March 27, 2013 at 11:50 pm
The story of Evanger’s is a perfect example of certain (especially one in particular) PF companies crying foul when they feel unfairly maligned. Check out one of Susan’s previous postings (http://truthaboutpetfood2.com/more-problems-for-evangers-pet-food-owner)
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Unfortunately when a company like this, has quite a few “coincidental” circumstances piling up against them, this “trend” bodes disaster! So what’s the easiest thing for a company to do? Not defend itself with actual, provable facts. But instead, to lash out at those bringing the details to the attention of the public. Anyway, back to the point. Which is about a PF company “spinning” the FDA’s close out comments regarding the results of one investigation. And that’s the meat of the matter, as Susan has further pointed out here. Such a company would say they’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing and their reputation is difficult to repair. The FDA actually says, “… it appears that you have addressed the violation(s) contained in this Warning Letter. Future FDA inspections and regulatory activities will further assess the adequacy and sustainability of these corrections.” Sustainability is the key phrasing here.
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Sure enough the close out letter challenges (warns) such a company to maintain the corrections. So if a company like this has been so unfairly maligned and misjudged by their skeptical public, then why would corrections be mentioned at all?? Much less the statement that they will be monitored for ongoing compliance? If you haven’t made any errors then why would you be responsible for corrections? My guess is, my opinion only, is that a company like this, has accumulated so many enemies over time, that they are (also) a danger unto themselves. Normally it might be said that the competition is or could be out to get them. Except that no matter what happens, such a company seems to be shooting themselves in the foot! Nobody respects the failure to be transparent, deceit, arrogance, the state of a physical plant, allegedly shortchanging employees, or any and all activities that have (at this point) put the safety and quality of the PF itself in jeopardy. That is, if the safety, accuracy of the products, and the quality ever existed in the first place! In fact, at this point with so many factors running contrary to reviving success, I would be afraid for the internal security of this type of company’s, entire operation
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Ellie
March 28, 2013 at 9:11 am
I would say the company out right lied about the entire circumstance in their letter. Very bad.
Riva
March 28, 2013 at 6:07 pm
With horrors I have just read the Press Release from Holly Sher and truthaboutpetfood.com. It is very clear in the FDA letter that Evanger’s was not cleared. I am amazed at the statement which clearly misstated the FDA letter. There is an inherent danger in doing this, in that it will assuredly open up more actions when the FDA becomes aware of this, if nothing else a close examination of Evangers. In addition- the false statement contained is a deliberate intent on the part of Holly Sher to mislead. As you know, misrepresentation of a Federal Agency statement is a very serious action. It also goes to show intent to deceive or mislead and shows the extent that Shers will go. It is not enough that the previous charges are serious (and are adding up) but it shows a pattern of intent to mislead whether it is a pet food distributor or the buying public. Intent is the clear basis for prosecution under the law and this is an example of this if there ever was. What will the Shers do next? The prosecutors are lining up and the U.S. Attorney will be next with this recent development (if they are not already in.)
Dawn
March 29, 2013 at 11:08 am
How can anyone TRUST this company? One scandal after another. We are pulling the line from our shelves.
Pingback: The Truth About the FDA Investigation into Evangers | BarkPark
Shawn Margolus
March 29, 2013 at 6:33 pm
Im curious to see how this close out letter is a bad thing that basically stating that the company is now in good standing.
Ellie
March 30, 2013 at 4:12 am
The company totally misrepresented what the FDA’s original charges were as well as what the investigation included. It then when on to claim that the FDA had found them clear on all charges which is not true at all either.
Shawn Margolus
March 30, 2013 at 2:34 pm
I went to the FDA website and looked at other close out letters. They are ALL the same. Wether the FDA said my bad or you’re ok now but… they issue the same
letter.http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/warningletters/wlSearchResult.cfm?company=&_1_issueDt=&_2_issueDt=&office=&subject=&hasResponseLetter=Both&hasCloseoutLetter=Yes&recsPerPageDef=500&Search=Search&errMsg=
Riva
April 8, 2013 at 10:09 pm
In reading the articles about the pet food recalls, I can only say that the ramifications of the problems will last for years to come,not just the legal issues and responsibilities of the sellers, but the effect on pets and their owners will last for years to come.It is unconscionable that Distributors & Retail Stores knowingly sold these products and support a pattern of looking the other way, and they are complicit in any harm to the pets themselves, which are often forgotten when issues like these arise,and the long term effect on the owners even as far as the owners’ health is concerned, not just the pet that is affected, also.
It is a sad commentary on today’s society when these type of things become known and there is not more of a public outcry.Very sad. Perhaps when legal suits are filed against a Distributor and the Retail Store for selling a Brand that continues to place our pets life in jeopardy we will then see improvements. Customers who purchase petfood from Krogers are finally filing lawsuits. Distributors continue to support Diamond, Evangers, Purina, P&G, and more and until they are held liable- nothing will ever change.
Ellie
April 9, 2013 at 3:54 am
This information rarely reaches the eyes of the typical consumer. Our media controls what stories are on page one as well as what ends up on page 101 or never makes it to print at all.
Sadly, media thrives off of money provided by the pet food industry as well as the human food industry. They rarely bite the hand that feeds them.