Monday, April 9, 2012

Petfood industry critic challenges FDA consumer education video


    A recently released video from the US Food and Drug Administration aimed at educating consumers about petfood is now being challenged by a petfood industry critic, who posted her own video challenging the US Food and Drug Administration’s claims. 
    The six-minute video from the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, “FDA and Pet Food,” informs consumers of the information required by law to be included on pet food packaging, such as a pet food ingredients list that uses the “common or usual” name for each ingredient.
    “The rules for listing and naming ingredients allow purchasers to know what was used to make the product and to compare ingredients in one brand of food to another,” video narrator and Center for Veterinary Medicine veterinarian, Bill Burkholder, says.
    However, petfood industry critic Susan Thixton's five-minute “Response to FDA Pet Food Video” on her website criticizes the Food and Drug Administration video, saying it is “full of misleading statements”about information such as pet food ingredients and their names. Thixton says in her video that “a consumer must become their own private detective to learn the truth about what they’re feeding their pet.”
    The Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine did not comment on the video. Kurt Gallagher, spokesman for the Pet Food Institute, said Thixton’s video was “rife with inaccuracies and misrepresentations.”
    “Petfood is the most highly regulated food product, with the exception of infant formula,” Gallagher said.

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