Just a few years ago, the FDA alerted pet owners to a potential problem (stress potential) in pet food. In July of 2018, the FDA notified the public that the agency was investigating a potential connection between pet food and cases of canine heart disease.
Although this 2018 notice does not specifically state how many adverse event reports the FDA has received related to canine heart disease, it appears from this first public notice – not many. “Medical records for four atypical cases of DCM, three Golden Retrievers and one Labrador Retriever, show that these dogs had low whole blood levels of the amino acid taurine. Four other cases of DCM in atypical dog breeds, one Miniature Schnauzer, Shih Tzu and two Labrador Retrievers, had normal blood taurine levels..”
With no known cause, and very few consumer complaints – the FDA alerted the public that they were investigating a potential issue with the pet food.
The public FDA pet food alert was picked up by the media across the US resulting in more events being reported to the agency. A year later, in 2019 the FDA stated that “Between January 1, 2014 and April 30, 2019, the FDA received 524 case reports of diagnosed dilated cardiomyopathy.”
Answering the question on why the FDA decided in 2018 to alert the public to a potential pet food problemagency said:
“The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) felt the responsibility to shed light on a signal brought to our attention and solicit reports from pet owners and veterinarians who may be aware of related cases..”
Fast forward to today (1/17/24)…the “signal” The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine noted today…
In about a five-week time frame, the Facebook Group Saving Pets One @ a Time (Pet Owner and veterinarian volunteers) has received 957 reports of sick pets, 234 of which have died.
As of now (1/17/24), the FDA does not feel any responsibility to shed light on the current issue and does not solicit reports from pet owners and/or veterinarians who may be aware of related cases.
It is not known how many of the reports of sick or dead pets have been submitted to the FDA, or whether the agency has received more than 957 reports collected by a pet owner group.
Why don’t we know? Because unlike in 2018 with a potential (unconfirmed) grain-free pet food link to dog heart disease, the FDA refuses to feel the same responsibility to alert pet owners as they did in the past.
The FDA does not give information to anyone – including the mainstream media.
Why is the FDA handling this current situation differently?
When asked how many adverse event reports the agency has received about a potential current pet food issue, the FDA is asking everyone (including the media) to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that can take months (even years) to receive.
But…during their investigation into a potential (and never proven) link between grain-free pet food and heart disease in pets, the agency provided all the reports they received in public – without the need to file a FOIA request as they require for current pet food concerns.
In 2019, the FDA released the brand names involved in adverse event reports the agency received related to a potential (and never proven) link. But this time the FDA remained silent about the brands involved.
The significant difference between how the FDA handled reports of sick/dead pets in 2018 and how the FDA handles the current issue…it’s amazing…
Is the FDA protecting the manufacturers involved in the current situation? Or…
Are the makers of pet foods currently linked to pet illness and death not cooperating with the FDA? Perhaps pet food company lawyers are strongly suggesting that the FDA remain silent on this current issue?
We do not know.
What we do know is that we need answers from the FDA.
As the FDA remains silent, pet owners are encouraged to write their representatives in Congress. Ask your Representative to urge the FDA to alert pet owners to what ‘signals’ they are currently seeing in pet food and what they are doing about it.
Example email:
There seems to be a health issue with pet food right now. Reports from individual pet owners of sick and dead pets collected by a volunteer group of pet owners are increasing daily – so far this one group collected 957 reports of sick pets, 234 of which died. The FDA has failed to keep US pet owners updated, refusing to disclose any information on how many reports of sick or dead pets the agency has received or whether the agency is investigating on behalf of these pets.
I urge you to contact the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine for answers. The FDA has alerted the public in the past about various pet food safety issues, and pet owners certainly deserve some answers now.
To find your Representative in Congress, Click Here.
On behalf of sick and dead pets, on behalf of their worried or grieving families, take five minutes and write your Representatives. The FDA can ignore us, but Congress isn’t that easy to ignore.
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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