We cannot confirm or deny that Purina pet foods are currently experiencing a problem, only Purina or the FDA have the knowledge and/or authority to do so.
We can report that many pet owner complaints of sick and dying pets have been shared with the public in recent weeks. TruthaboutPetFood.com heard from a pet owner with multiple sick pets linked to Purina pet foods (which also reviews the food), and our local pet store shared pet today (1/4/24) that they have also heard from many pet owners reporting sick pets linked to Purina pet foods.
Today (1/4/24) we sent the FDA this message:
I guess the FDA/CVM knows, but social media is exploding with reports of sick and dead pets linked to Purina pet foods. One website reports that they received “82 dogs, and 14 cats” reports of sick pets with “10” deaths.
Can you provide me with how many adverse event reports the FDA/CVM has received on any Purina pet food since 12/1/23?
Can you tell me if the FDA/CVM is currently or planning to investigate these issues?
Thank you –
Susan Thixton
Added after original posting: The FDA responded to my questions providing the following information…
“The FDA is aware of reports of pet illnesses and is in the process of reviewing those reports.
We encourage pet owners or their veterinarians to submit reports of illness or other adverse events associated with pet food directly to the FDA by following the instructions on this page: How Report a Pet Food Complaint.“
All reports of pet illness and death must be reported to the FDA.
If your pet has an illness or death that you believe is linked to ANY pet food, a report should be submitted to the FDA and/or your state feed official. For more information on who and how to report an incident, Press here.
Unfortunately, Purina doesn’t have the best record of cooperating with FDA investigations (which could make an FDA investigation more difficult). In 2012, there were many consumer complaints about Purina Beneful pet food. In an FDA disclosure post, the agency said “In 2012, CVM received approximately three consumer complaints per month related to Nestle Purina Beneful dry dog food. In January 2013, CVM received an influx of consumer complaints that occurred after a media report implicated Beneful dry dog food as a potentially harmful dog food product..”
Linked to these consumer complaints, the FDA investigated three Purina plants, however Purina did little to assist the agency’s investigation. FDA investigation of an Arizona Purina plant, Purina acquiesced to the FDA “view the records, but do not take copies of the records unless approved by the firm’s legal counsel.”
During the same inspection, Purina told the FDA that they were “routine contamination testing“of substances,”but this analysis will not be described because the method is classified to the company as proprietary information.”
Also, “According to a denial from Nestle Purina, the manufacturing facility was unable to provide the actual content or weights of the individual ingredients that went into the involved lots…”
In another FDA inspection of Purina Pet Food around this time, the FDA reported:
“The company is in direct contact with the Purina corporate Regulatory Affairs office in St. Louis, MO during this inspection.”
For Purina: Consumer reports indicate that there are some issues with some of your foods. We encourage Purina to be fully transparent in any FDA investigation and not to repeat the lack of transparency issues of the past.
Resources for concerned pet owners: The Facebook group Saving One Pet @ A Time documents all the complaints they receive. This is a members only group, but any pet owner can join and follow the reports posted.
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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