In June, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association notified the American Veterinary Medical Association that CVMA had received reports of Fanconi syndrom-like symptoms in dogs, similar to those cases reported in 2007 by AVMA that were found to be associated with chicken jerky treats made in China.
AVMA issued an alert to its members, recommending vigilance for any suspected cases in the US, as well as to state veterinary medical associations and allied organizations. In the alert, AVMA said it has not received any recent reports from US veterinarians about potential toxicities from chicken jerky treats and that AVMA has not yet determined the extent of the problem.
Visit AVMA's website for more information on the jerky treat alert.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
RECALL: Nestle recalls Cat Chow, Friskies dry cat food due to Salmonella
Nestle Purina PetCare Co. recalled select bags of its Cat Chow and Friskies brands of dry cat food over concerns of Salmonella contamination.
The food was shipped to distributors in Colorado, Idaho and Oregon, USA, and in turn, may have been distributed to other western states, according to the company.
The recalled products are a 6.3-pound bag of Cat Chow Naturals Dry Cat Food (UPC 17800), and 3.15- and 16-pound bags of Friskies Grillers Blend Dry Cat Food (UPC 50000). All products have a “Best By” date of “AUG 2012,” and are marked with a date and production code of “10331083 13” or “10331083 06."
Nestle said there have been no consumer complaints or reports of illness, but that customers who purchased the affected products should throw them away and contact the company for a refund at +1.800.982.6559 or visit Nestle's website for information.
The food was shipped to distributors in Colorado, Idaho and Oregon, USA, and in turn, may have been distributed to other western states, according to the company.
The recalled products are a 6.3-pound bag of Cat Chow Naturals Dry Cat Food (UPC 17800), and 3.15- and 16-pound bags of Friskies Grillers Blend Dry Cat Food (UPC 50000). All products have a “Best By” date of “AUG 2012,” and are marked with a date and production code of “10331083 13” or “10331083 06."
Nestle said there have been no consumer complaints or reports of illness, but that customers who purchased the affected products should throw them away and contact the company for a refund at +1.800.982.6559 or visit Nestle's website for information.
AVMA publishes report on Salmonella in pet food
A report in the June 1 Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association outlines recommendations for pet owners on how to avoid pets being sickened with Salmonella from pet food.
The report, written by Kate S. KuKanich, DVM, Ph.D., details the circumstances under which Salmonella organisms are most often ingested and includes a history of Salmonella outbreaks associated with petfood and treats. In addition, the report offers recommendations on how pet owners can minimize the risk of infection for both their pets and families.
For a copy of the report, contact AVMA.
The report, written by Kate S. KuKanich, DVM, Ph.D., details the circumstances under which Salmonella organisms are most often ingested and includes a history of Salmonella outbreaks associated with petfood and treats. In addition, the report offers recommendations on how pet owners can minimize the risk of infection for both their pets and families.
For a copy of the report, contact AVMA.
Watch: pet food safety featured on business show
The cable TV show "Business Day with Terry Bradshaw" featured a segment on petfood safety in the June 18 episode. The segment, sponsored by Extru-Tech Inc., discusses reasons why petfood safety is so important and covers measures being taken to ensure food safety, including the Food Safety and Modernization Act recently implemented by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Participants in the segment include Scott Krebs, executive VP and COO at Extru-Tech; Greg Watt, chief executive of Watt Publishing Co., which publishes Petfood Industry magazine; and James Marsden, PhD, a food safety expert from Kansas State University.
The segment, part of the show's Doing Business in a Global Economy series, shines a spotlight not only on petfood safety -- which, in the wake of ongoing recalls and the new FSMA law, has become a keen interest for petfood manufacturers, suppliers and pet owners alike -- but also on the overall petfood industry.
Watch our industry's turn in the spotlight here.
Participants in the segment include Scott Krebs, executive VP and COO at Extru-Tech; Greg Watt, chief executive of Watt Publishing Co., which publishes Petfood Industry magazine; and James Marsden, PhD, a food safety expert from Kansas State University.
The segment, part of the show's Doing Business in a Global Economy series, shines a spotlight not only on petfood safety -- which, in the wake of ongoing recalls and the new FSMA law, has become a keen interest for petfood manufacturers, suppliers and pet owners alike -- but also on the overall petfood industry.
Watch our industry's turn in the spotlight here.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
FDA unveils global food safety strategy
The US Food and Drug Administration unveiled its "new global strategy" for increasing food safety inspections under the Food Safety and Modernization Act.
FDA's report, "Pathway to Global Product Safety and Quality," outlines four main approaches the agency will take to better monitor foreign food suppliers.
FDA says it will work with foreign counterparts to assemble global coalitions of regulators; develop a global information system and networks that will allow regulators to share real-time data and resources across markets; expand intelligence gathering capabilities, with an increased focus on risk analytics and modernized information technology capabilities; and will allocate its resources based on risk, using third parties from the public and private sectors to audit and verify compliance of international suppliers with US food safety requirements.
"The FDA and our global regulatory partners recognize this new reality and realize we must work proactively and collaboratively to address the challenges we face," said Dr. Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of food and drugs. "The FDA must further collaborate and leverage in order to close the gap between our import levels and our regulatory resources."
FDA's report, "Pathway to Global Product Safety and Quality," outlines four main approaches the agency will take to better monitor foreign food suppliers.
FDA says it will work with foreign counterparts to assemble global coalitions of regulators; develop a global information system and networks that will allow regulators to share real-time data and resources across markets; expand intelligence gathering capabilities, with an increased focus on risk analytics and modernized information technology capabilities; and will allocate its resources based on risk, using third parties from the public and private sectors to audit and verify compliance of international suppliers with US food safety requirements.
"The FDA and our global regulatory partners recognize this new reality and realize we must work proactively and collaboratively to address the challenges we face," said Dr. Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of food and drugs. "The FDA must further collaborate and leverage in order to close the gap between our import levels and our regulatory resources."
Where does pet food rank among reported food safety incidents?
The June/July issue of Food Safety magazine includes an article about how food safety is a leading concern for CEOs of human food companies. The authors -- Pat Conroy, Frank Oehl and Craig Henry, PhD, of Deloitte & Touche LLP -- include a couple figures from the US Food and Drug Administration's Reportable Food Registry Annual Report released earlier this year.
One figure (labeled 2 on this page in Food Safety) shows that of 229 entries to the Reportable Food Registry from September 8, 2009, through September 9, 2010, 86, or 37.6%, were because of Salmonella, followed by 80 (34.9%) for undeclared allergen/intolerances. (That Salmonella ranks highest is no surprise, especially considering a recent report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that Salmonella infections in humans increased 10% from 2009 to 2010.)
Keep in mind that these entries encompassed human food, animal feed and pet food. In the other figure (1) on the page, the number of food safety reports is broken down by "commodity," with animal feed and petfoods lumped into one. From this view, it appears entries for animal feed/petfood, at 28, far outweighed all others.
But diving into the original FDA report, you'll see that isn't the case: If you add up all the "commodities" comprising human food entries, as this figure (4) shows, human food represented the majority of the 229 entries into the registry with 201, 88% of the total. Pet food, with only 13 entries, was just 5%, while animal feed 15 entries, or 7%.
Another figure in the FDA report, which once again combines animal feed with pet food, shows 13 of those 28 entries were because of Salmonella, with three for foreign objects and 12 for an undefined "other."
While this sort of data and detail can make one's eyes glaze over after a while, the authors of the Food Safety article cite another compelling statistic. A consumer study their company conducted on food showed, among other things, that 73% of respondents are more concerned now than five years ago about the food they eat. That's up from 65% in 2010.
With people increasingly treating pets like human family members, that concern no doubt extends to pet food.
One figure (labeled 2 on this page in Food Safety) shows that of 229 entries to the Reportable Food Registry from September 8, 2009, through September 9, 2010, 86, or 37.6%, were because of Salmonella, followed by 80 (34.9%) for undeclared allergen/intolerances. (That Salmonella ranks highest is no surprise, especially considering a recent report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that Salmonella infections in humans increased 10% from 2009 to 2010.)
Keep in mind that these entries encompassed human food, animal feed and pet food. In the other figure (1) on the page, the number of food safety reports is broken down by "commodity," with animal feed and petfoods lumped into one. From this view, it appears entries for animal feed/petfood, at 28, far outweighed all others.
But diving into the original FDA report, you'll see that isn't the case: If you add up all the "commodities" comprising human food entries, as this figure (4) shows, human food represented the majority of the 229 entries into the registry with 201, 88% of the total. Pet food, with only 13 entries, was just 5%, while animal feed 15 entries, or 7%.
Another figure in the FDA report, which once again combines animal feed with pet food, shows 13 of those 28 entries were because of Salmonella, with three for foreign objects and 12 for an undefined "other."
While this sort of data and detail can make one's eyes glaze over after a while, the authors of the Food Safety article cite another compelling statistic. A consumer study their company conducted on food showed, among other things, that 73% of respondents are more concerned now than five years ago about the food they eat. That's up from 65% in 2010.
With people increasingly treating pets like human family members, that concern no doubt extends to pet food.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Nielsen, MyWebGrocer partner to measure online supermarket sales
Nielsen, a consumer analytic company, entered into a strategic alliance with MyWebGrocer to measure US online supermarket sales of consumer packaged goods.
The agreement enables Nielsen to provide consumer packaged goods companies, such as pet food companies, with information regarding consumers’ online supermarket purchases. Nielsen acquired a license to MyWebGrocer’s e-commerce sales information collected from 60 US supermarket retailers and says it plans to measure approximately 30% of all online supermarket sales.
“We’re making it possible for the first time for CPG companies to understand online shoppers with the same rigor we apply to offline shopping analytics,” said John Burbank, president of Strategic Initiatives at Nielsen. “We can share our insights into what decisions and purchases shoppers are making online, where and when.”
The agreement enables Nielsen to provide consumer packaged goods companies, such as pet food companies, with information regarding consumers’ online supermarket purchases. Nielsen acquired a license to MyWebGrocer’s e-commerce sales information collected from 60 US supermarket retailers and says it plans to measure approximately 30% of all online supermarket sales.
“We’re making it possible for the first time for CPG companies to understand online shoppers with the same rigor we apply to offline shopping analytics,” said John Burbank, president of Strategic Initiatives at Nielsen. “We can share our insights into what decisions and purchases shoppers are making online, where and when.”
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