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Subscribe to RSSFederal health regulators quietly flexed new food safety muscles last week when they threatened a Denver pet treat maker with the Food and Drug Administration’s first mandatory recall of potentially tainted products.
Kasel Associated Industries pulled all pet treats manufactured at the Colorado facility from April 20, 2012 to Sept. 19, 2012 because the products -- ranging from pig ears and salmon jerky to buffalo hearts and dried bull penises -- may have been contaminated with salmonella.
The move was the third recall since September of Kasel products, and it came only after the company originally refused to voluntarily recall products. In December, FDA officials issued a warning advising consumers to avoid the products.
But inspections in September revealed significant problems with salmonella contamination, including tests that showed that 48 of 87 swabs of the plant’s environment turned up the bacteria that can cause illness in pets and humans.
In addition, there were documented problems with rodents and insects, including larvae, flies, worms, beetles and “cockroach-like” insects, according to FDA inspection reports.
As the conclusion of a second inspection on Feb. 14, FDA officials issued a final notice to Kasel to cease distribution and conduct a voluntary recall before the agency took mandatory action.
Such hearings -- and the mandatory recall authority -- are part of the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, which grants sweeping new authority to regulate producers.
FDA officials said they have received “a small number’’ of complaints of illness in dogs who were exposed to the treats. Salmonella infection can be transmitted to humans who come in contact with the treats or pets who’ve consumed them, but FDA has received no reports of human infections.
The Kasel treats are sold by various big-name retailers, including Target, Petco, Sam’s Club and Costco.
The recall of the U.S.-made treats is not related to the FDA’s ongoing investigation of illnesses and deaths in dogs and cats exposed to chicken jerky pet treats made in China.
Pet health advocates have clamored for the FDA to use the FSMA authority to force mandatory recall of the foreign-made treats, which have been blamed for deaths of 500 dogs and nine cats, and illnesses involving 3,243 dogs at last count.
Jalil Isa, an FDA spokesman, said that the Kasel recall involved a “reasonable probability” that the Colorado-made pet treats were adulterated.
“The FDA continues to investigate jerky pet treats from China, along with its partners in the Veterinary Laboratory Response Network,” Isa said in an email.
In the meantime, several varieties of chicken jerky pet treats made in China, have been recalled from store shelves after New York agriculture officials detected unapproved antibiotics in the products.
Nestle Purine PetCare Co. recalled its popular Waggin’ Train and Canyon Creek Ranch brand dog treats, and Del Monte Corp. officials recalled their Milo’s Kitchen Chicken Jerky and Chicken Grillers home-style dog treats from shelves nationwide.
In addition, Publix stores recalled private Chicken Tenders Dog Chew Treats and IMS Pet Industries Inc. withdrew its Cadet Brand Chicken Jerky Treats sold in the U.S.
Related stories:
- More recalls of US-made pet treats
- 3 big brands may be tied to chicken jerky illness in dogs, FDA records show
- China stiff-arms FDA on jerky pet treat testing, reports show
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Kasel Associated Industries needs to be closed permanently as do any other manufacturers who thumbe thier nose at the FDA and food safety in general!
Finally, the FDA showing some backbone. For people who think we don't need any regulations, check out the history of this company, which continued to willfully distribute tainted goods and apparently, didn't care about repercussions.
I don't get it?
Republicans and right-wingers have ASSURED me that regulations and government enforcement agencies are unnecessary because businesses will regulate themselves. After all they don't want to kill their customers or customers pets by selling salmonella contaminated products! (Just like they don't want to kill or maim or damage the health of their employees.)
Hmmmm. Interesting. Looks like some businesses WILL try to get away with a certain number of acceptable losses without recalling their potentially tainted products.
Go figure.
I don't see a whole heck of a lot of backbone here TraceyS. I see a lot of "if you don't stop, we will make you" said by the FDA how many times now? The FDA had always been scared to do ANYTHING! They are not issuing amandatory recall at all, they are warning they "might". So they inspecteed the plany last September, 5 months ago! And it failed the inspection, YET this company was still allowed to produce and SELL their products that continue to do harm.
I am fine with regulation, but it needs to actually happen! If not what are we spending our money on?
Tha tainted alcohol wipes that killed at least 2 people were forma facility that had failed an FDA inspection liek 2 times, yet was still producing these items then they killed people. Now that's what I call "oversight"....NOT!
How about some pet owner starting a facebook page to get information on other dog owners so a class action lawsuit can be filed. Companies do not care about one person, but they do care and you get their attention if they are facing a class action lawsuit. I don't like lawsuits more than most people, but sometimes you have to do it for a loved one whether it be another human being or pets. Pets do not deserve to be poisoned by China treats or some company here in the U.S. either. People that have lost pets need to work together to compile a list of names so they can get a lawyer to represent them. And one more thing, if you can only afford China treats, then please give your pet to someone else that can afford the extra dollar. Your pet deserves better than China treats. Read the label and put it back no matter if it is on sale or it is cheaper. A pet is part of your family, and if you don't feel that way, find your pet a new home.
i agree, our animals deserve better than Chinese-made crap, and if you disagree, then you just don't get it. At least keep China- made products away from your human children!!!
"manufactured at the Colorado facility from April 20, 2012 to Sept. 19, 2012" You should at least READ the article before you rant, these treats were made in COLORADO, not China.
The shelves in the stores are minus duck and chicken jerky treats.There's only one brand at Target and is more expensive that the other ones that were pulled from the shelves.If a food manufacturer,whether it's for human or animal consumption,has a bacterial problem one time they should be shuttered.Maybe harsher punishments will force these manufacturers to run their business in a more serious and healthful manner.
Nite Shade, you should follow the news more carefully. I am a bit depressed that the Obamanauts are so eager to go after a NON-union shop in Colorado after a national pet supply chain has continuously sold "duck jerky" from China that has KILLED dozens of pets. You and your pal Glen want to bring politics into this one, stick with the facts, not your leftist crap. Why won't Barry deal with contaminated Chinese imports, yet get all righteous over a US product. Hmmmm...he needs to be able to borrow from China to drive his leftist fantasy land. maybe he targets non-union shops?
WTF kinda treats are YOU eating?!?!
Maybe to answer your question, 'Barry' wasn't mentioned, and those companies importing the tainted Chinese Chicken Tenders pulled their products from shelves and further distribution; the US cannot go to other countries to inspect their food processing plants or anything else, let alone the fact of slashed budgets on an already understaffed FDA has been creating nearly overwhelming diffuculties in THIS Country due to Republican cries over cuts and jobs while they continue to add pork to every bill, continue to sell their votes on K Streetm create no jobs and obstruct rather than offer actual solutions which do have poitive outcomes for Americans besides the UltraRich(both Parties do this) and undermine anything which might even hint at progress.
Since you went Political. BTW, there are a few things you could/can find wrong with Obama, but dog treats and imports are not on this list. Drilling in the Artic, even considering allowing Kestone XL, not regulating fracking and continuing to give the GNOP much to much leverage in negotiations may be some you should look into, as he has basically dept most W Bush Policies, Wars and Corporate Advantage in place.
Get your rants straight! LOL
Peace
So much for the business community self policing.
Everybody needs to take a minute, to think about how different this would have been had Romney won in November. Think about the thousands of executive orders that would have been issued by now, gutting all of our regulatory agencies.
Mitt Who?
It should have been noted in the story that Nestle and Del Monte pulled their products "voluntarily" as concerned manufacturers and not at the hands of the FDA who did nothing about the probelm.
When the Big Industries have the sense to at least not further the damage, both for their products AND reputation, everybody wins that did not already lose their Beloved Pet.
If they could keep conditions above standards at all times, it would be and everyone wins. Period. Overall, these are thankfully anomalies overall in the US, at least to this degree. The level of Factory Farming animals has diminshed the desire, if not ability, to consume meat from farms such as those FF's as we are not well informed as to the source of what is in the Lunch Meat Section of Publix.
Yet overall, we as a People will swallow about anything they feed us. it appears.
Personally I stopped buying commercial dog and cat treats long ago. Most of them look and feel like plastic. Who knows what's in them. Plus they're ridiculously expensive. Now we just buy a package of cheap beef franks break them into pcs for our dog (at least knowing they're made for people worries me a little less) and I bake a $4 Walmart Chicken and freeze the meat in baggies for a month's worth of healthy wholesome cat treats.
I think you're all missing the point. The FDA holds pet food manufacturers to a higher (arguably unreasonable) standard than the USDA does for human food manufacturers. Did you know Foster Farms recently refused to recall salmonella tainted chicken that sickened 130 people and put 30 of them in the hospital? Here is the text of their press release saying why they refused to recall their product:
We're talking about meat processors here. Salmonella is part of life and they all (at least I hope) take steps to mitigate the issue. The fact the USDA allows infected human grade chicken to remain on shelves but the FDA shuts down pet food companies for even a whiff of salmonella is a head-scratcher.
Yes, I work for a pet treat company (my products are not meat based thankfully) but I live under the fear the FDA could shut me down on a whim when they are powerless to do the same with competitive products coming from overseas (like China). They are not allowed to take swabs in foreign production facilities and must schedule visits to those facilities weeks in advance. And when they get there, they're only allowed to walk through and look at things. And often times the QA manager in those facilities is "unavailable" for FDA inspectors. We don't get the same luxury here in the U.S. All of this drove my decision to NOT produce meat based treats - simply too much risk.
So before you bitch about unsafe this or scary that, do some homework. I employ more than 10 people here in the U.S. and not a day goes by that I don't think about co-producing out of country to save costs and headache.