22,000 Americans Tell FDA to Protect Consumers From Risky Pet Treats from China

Washington, D.C.—Today, Food & Water Watch, on behalf of Animal Parents Against Pet Treats & Food Made In China (APAPTFMIC) presented officials of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with a petition containing over 22,000 names urging the agency to implement Section 211 of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that would inform consumers of the dangers of Chinese pet treats. That section of the FSMA would require grocery stores to post notices in conspicuous places informing consumers of contaminated food products, including pet food.

“I lost my beloved dog Sampson in January 2012 to poisonous pet jerky treats made in China,” said Terry Safranek, a founding member of APAPTFMIC.  “Since 2007, FDA has reported that 600 dogs have died and over 4,600 have gotten sick and the common denominator is that all of these pets consumed imported jerky treats from China. While I appreciate the effort that the agency has made to look at this problem, China is still being permitted to export these products to the U.S. and we are no closer to finding out what is killing our pets. FDA should ban these products from coming into our country until we figure out what is going on. Short of that, FDA should implement this section of FSMA that would inform consumers of the dangers of these products,” continued Safranek.

“We applaud the efforts of APAPTFMIC to educate the public on this very important issue,” said Executive Director for Food & Water Watch Wenonah Hauter. “FDA is overwhelmed by food imports from China whose food safety record is atrocious. Our trade policies have put consumers and their pets at risk from foreign countries such as China that provide little oversight of the food they produce and export. We need to let our government officials know that this has to stop. This petition is an important way of delivering that message,” added Hauter.

For more information about tainted pet treats from China, visit:

• http://foodandwaterwatch.org/insight/china-sneaks-its-chicken-man’s-best-friend
• https://www.facebook.com/pages/Animal-Parents-Against-Pet-Treats-and-Food-Made-in-China/235390426550583