Comments on: 2007 pet-food recall an epic fail for the FDA http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2009/09/10/2007-pet-food-recall-fail-for-the-fda/ Blogging by a team of pet-care experts led by Dr. Marty Becker. Sun, 21 Mar 2010 13:43:12 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Dennis http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2009/09/10/2007-pet-food-recall-fail-for-the-fda/comment-page-1/#comment-474929 Dennis Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:11:33 +0000 http://www.petconnection.com/blog/?p=8960#comment-474929 Rhetorically speaking, too bad we don't have an IG office that oversees Congress so they can comment on how it failed miserably to do anything useful to address or prevent further pet food poisonings. Indeed all that occurred is that now we humans can also get the very same melamine poison in our own imported food and ingredients thanks to Congress and the Administrations trade treaties. All just so that corporations can make more money. Yes, don't bother replying and telling me the IG offices are toothless. We all know that too. Not to mention that they report to the whims of the current administrations, making them politically neutered. If that isn't bad enough, we still have the same Congressionally allowed U.S. pet food oversight by a fox-in-the-hen-house industry membership group that permits large variances in nutritional additive quantities in pet food such that it can endanger the pets' health if followed to the extremely low or high percentages as permitted. Strange how that works. So some Canadian pet food is apparently safer with its human grade ingredients if we aren't making our own. We should have learned from this. Congress protected its donors. The donors pay to make sure they aren't adversely affected. And the FDA did its job of protecting the corporations. Big Government at its finest. Rhetorically speaking, too bad we don’t have an IG office that oversees Congress so they can comment on how it failed miserably to do anything useful to address or prevent further pet food poisonings. Indeed all that occurred is that now we humans can also get the very same melamine poison in our own imported food and ingredients thanks to Congress and the Administrations trade treaties. All just so that corporations can make more money.

Yes, don’t bother replying and telling me the IG offices are toothless. We all know that too. Not to mention that they report to the whims of the current administrations, making them politically neutered.

If that isn’t bad enough, we still have the same Congressionally allowed U.S. pet food oversight by a fox-in-the-hen-house industry membership group that permits large variances in nutritional additive quantities in pet food such that it can endanger the pets’ health if followed to the extremely low or high percentages as permitted. Strange how that works. So some Canadian pet food is apparently safer with its human grade ingredients if we aren’t making our own.

We should have learned from this. Congress protected its donors. The donors pay to make sure they aren’t adversely affected. And the FDA did its job of protecting the corporations.

Big Government at its finest.

]]> By: Dr. Tony Johnson http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2009/09/10/2007-pet-food-recall-fail-for-the-fda/comment-page-1/#comment-474795 Dr. Tony Johnson Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:25:12 +0000 http://www.petconnection.com/blog/?p=8960#comment-474795 That was a truly frightening episode, and those of us treating the sick and dying pets had no clue what was going on. The public was panicked, and we had very little accurate information to tell them. Hopefully, with a little oversight from higher on up the governmental food chain, this sort of thing will have a more rapid response and better dissemination of information when it happens again. It is a little amazing when a government body charged with protecting the safety of our food and medications says it has 'limited resources'. <i> Sorry - your dog/son/cat/daughter died of bad drugs/rotten food because of our limited resources. </i> I am going to start screening my own food and drugs by feeding them to the neighbors. If they don't take ill, I should be fine. That was a truly frightening episode, and those of us treating the sick and dying pets had no clue what was going on. The public was panicked, and we had very little accurate information to tell them.

Hopefully, with a little oversight from higher on up the governmental food chain, this sort of thing will have a more rapid response and better dissemination of information when it happens again.

It is a little amazing when a government body charged with protecting the safety of our food and medications says it has ‘limited resources’. Sorry - your dog/son/cat/daughter died of bad drugs/rotten food because of our limited resources.

I am going to start screening my own food and drugs by feeding them to the neighbors. If they don’t take ill, I should be fine.

]]> By: Dr. Patty Khuly http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2009/09/10/2007-pet-food-recall-fail-for-the-fda/comment-page-1/#comment-474783 Dr. Patty Khuly Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:50:14 +0000 http://www.petconnection.com/blog/?p=8960#comment-474783 Read this today and knew you'd be posting on it. It's impressive, this tail-between-the-legs approach of the FDA. Gotta say it's impressive when they know they've been beat. Now, if only they would stop blaming it on their lack of funding. I mean, actually enforcing your own rules has got to be cheap––you would think. It remains to be seen whether any of this browbeating actually bears any fruit. Read this today and knew you’d be posting on it. It’s impressive, this tail-between-the-legs approach of the FDA. Gotta say it’s impressive when they know they’ve been beat.

Now, if only they would stop blaming it on their lack of funding. I mean, actually enforcing your own rules has got to be cheap––you would think.

It remains to be seen whether any of this browbeating actually bears any fruit.

]]> By: Susan Fox http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2009/09/10/2007-pet-food-recall-fail-for-the-fda/comment-page-1/#comment-474779 Susan Fox Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:49:22 +0000 http://www.petconnection.com/blog/?p=8960#comment-474779 I'd say that it's like a hundred lawyers at the bottom of the sea...a good start. The FDA needs to be able to issue mandatory recalls, just for openers. I’d say that it’s like a hundred lawyers at the bottom of the sea…a good start. The FDA needs to be able to issue mandatory recalls, just for openers.

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