This post is a rare exception to the topics we usually cover. The regulatory failure involved is important for pet owners to know to protect their pets.
Recently a lawsuit against Seresto flea collars was settled for $15 million. Pet owners will be eligible for “up to $13” for each collar purchased, and “If your pet dies in a manner ‘allegedly related’ to wearing a Seresto product, you are eligible for $300 plus medical expenses and burial or cremation fees..”
At the same time the lawsuit was settled, the US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General released a damning report stating that the EPA had failed to comply with legal requirements of pesticide products, putting pets at risk. .
The Inspector General Report stated:
“from 2012 to 2022, the EPA received more than 100,000 incident reports related to Seresto pet collars.”
“EPA’s response to reported pesticide incidents involving Seresto pet collars did not provide assurance that they could be used without causing unreasonable adverse effects on the environment, including pets.”
“…it did not comply with the pesticide registration review process for the active ingredients flumethrin and imidacloprid in Seresto pet collars.“
“The Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) did not conduct or publish domestic animal risk assessmentsthat it has promised to do in the work plans for these two pesticides;“
“…continued use of inadequately included animal safety studies in 1998 (Guideline 870.7200);“
“…there are no standard operating procedures and a measurable standard to help determine when animal pesticide products cause unreasonably adverse effects in the environment, as required by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.”
“Additionally, EPA does not collect enough data in the Pesticide Incident Reporting System and reporting process that EPA needs to assess the unreasonable adverse effects of pet products.”
“Furthermore, according to a long-serving EPA scientist we interviewed, EPA’s 1998 Guideline 870.7200 for accompanying animal safety studies was inadequate, and the OPP lacked standard operating procedures and a to help determine when pet products may cause unreasonably adverse effects on the environment.”
In other words, it appears that the EPA approved this flea and tick product based on outdated safety standards that did not protect the pets on which the product was used – and basically ignored for years the incident report that received by the agency on the collar, again not protecting the pets on which the product was used.
The safety of pet products is low on the list of concerns for most regulatory agencies. FDA authorizes pet food that violates federal law that allows waste ingredients to be thrown into pet food (allowing illegal sick animals and animals that have died other than slaughtered use in pet food). State authorities are again following the FDA’s lead that allows waste to be thrown into pet food without warning or disclosure to consumers. And now we get confirmation that the EPA has followed the same ‘who cares’ attitude regarding pet flea and tick products.
The Office of Inspector General’s report gave us this explanation for why the EPA’s handling of the Seresto collar was investigated:
“As a result of media coverage in March 2021, the US House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, now the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, launched an investigation.“
This tells us that if we (pet owners) want regulatory authorities to be held accountable for their regulation of pet products, we need to have a loud and persistent voice. Members of Congress need to hear from us over and over again, until they listen.
Our thanks to the Office of the Inspector General for holding the EPA accountable and thanks to the US House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Accountability for insisting on an investigation.
To read the Inspector General’s full report, Press here.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Buyer Beware of Author, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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