Can we get an all encompassing consumer protection czar, not just a financial one? ;)

FDA Announces Draft Compliance Policy Guide: Salmonella in Animal Feed
August 2, 2010

The Food and Drug Administration has published the Notice of Availability of Draft Compliance Policy Guide Section 690.800 Salmonella in Animal Feed in the Federal Register today. The draft CPG, when finalized, will help guide FDA staff’s regulatory policy relating to animal feed or feed ingredients that are contaminated with Salmonella and that come in direct contact with humans, such as pet food and pet treats.

Interested persons may submit written comments on or before November 1, 2010, to the Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), FDA, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. Electronic comments may be submitted to http://www.regulations.gov. Identify all submissions to the docket with the following docket number: Docket No. FDA-2010-D-0378.

I’m not sure if i know how to insert links here but I’ll try: http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeter.....220829.htm

Loved the comment by schnauzer that feeding her dogs quality leftovers helped her make healthier food choices. See…dogs are good for us!

1) Priorities. This seminar was in competition with at least a dozen others in the same time slot. It was tagged in the “large animal” columns, so some may not even have noticed it there.

Like any conference related to the work someone does, people tend to be looking for two things: 1) How they can do their job better (new techniques, better knowledge); and 2) How they can increase their income (mortgages, college to save for). Veterinarians are no different, and when you’re looking at a schedule that promises new insight to problems you see in practice EVERY DAY (inappropriate elimination, better, earlier cancer diagnosis) vs. something that was a pressing issue three years ago and is not common now (pets dying from tainted pet food) … well, you’re going to opt for a lot of column 1, a little of column 2 and figure you’ll read about the regulatory update in the journals.

2) Ancient history. As a person who worked for a public agency, I was actually pretty impressed with how much the FDA has accomplished in three years within their legal constraints, with countless stakeholders and high-powered players and through a change at the top of the pyramid, a change from one president to another.

But in a 24-hour news cycle, the response, however good, to something that happened three years ago just isn’t interesting anymore. We all crave the “new” and this is the “old.”

3) Sexiness. I spent a good chunk of my life covering public meetings. Meetings where decisions were made that affects people’s neighborhoods, their safety and certainly their tax dollars. These were open public meetings, with good public notification well in advance. Members of the public were rarely in attendance.

Regulatory matters are boring to most people, so most people figure everything is getting handled. Or that they’ll worry about it when they need to, because there are more pressing things to think about now.

You know, if I weren’t so wonky about regulatory issues and so personally knowledgeable about the 2007 pet-food recall, I myself would have chosen something from the companion-animal columns. But I was delighted to see the FDA there, and pretty darn happy with the progress on this issue so far.

But frankly, we need Congressional action to: 1) Give the FDA mandatory recall authority; and 2) Expand and fund the CDA’s public health role to include food-borne illness in animals. Until that happen — and don’t hold your breath — it’s clear the FDA is trying its best with the hand it was dealt.