• pretty kitty with blue eyes and long hair
    Ethics of Pet Food

    FDA says: “Food From Genetically Engineered Plants Is Safe To Eat”

    Today the FDA publicly declared that “Food From Genetically Engineered Plants Is Safe To Eat.” The agency says since there is no scientific proof that GMOs are bad, therefore, they must be safe. Following that logic, the agency says that genetically engineered foods are pretty much the same as traditional (or non-engineered) foods: “The agency is not aware of any…

  • Cat_walking_on_the_snow
    Reporting a Pet Food

    The FDA answers pet parents top questions about pet food and animal drugs

    Confused about cat food, perplexed by your pet’s puke, freaked out about pet foodborne illness, need the dope on animal drugs? Thankfully, our friends at the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) have been hard at work creating a fab new webpage for frazzled pet parents. It’s important that you get your answers straight from the…

  • Politicy + Politics

    FDA says AAFCO falls short, ingredients are neither approved or recognized as safe

    Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is facing an uncertain future with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA’s general advisors have told the Agency that AAFCO’s process for approving ingredient definitions “ultimately falls short” and “the majority of ingredients that are included in the AAFCO ‘official publication’ are neither approved food additives nor are they generally recognized as…

  • Politicy + Politics

    Will the FDA uphold the sanitary transportation of pet food?

    That depends. Don’t hold your breath though, because like most of the new proposed Food Safety Modernization Act rules relating to pet food and animal feed, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is holding pet food to a lesser standard than human food. But you probably want to know why such a rule is important and why the FDA has…

  • cow in field
    Blog

    Horrors: Human remains in animal feed fed to cattle

    Sometimes, the stories I hear about what goes on inside the pet food industry, beggar description. But, the story that follows definitely gets the prize for one of the most disgusting. A few days ago, when stories emerged about a Wyoming sugar and molasses manufacturing facility that had recalled sugar beet by-products fed to cattle, I didn’t think much of…

  • very mad kitty in snow
    Politicy + Politics

    Did the FDA kill the AVMA jerky treat resolution?

    A resolution before the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) that would have discouraged the feeding of jerky treats to pets was not adopted at the AVMA House of Delegates winter session Jan.10-11 in Chicago. According to a source, comments by FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine Director Dr. Bernadette Dunham on the contamination issue appeared to weaken support for the resolution.…

  • Mollie at the coast in California
    Politicy + Politics

    Poisoned Pets speaks at the FDA meeting; advocates safe pet food

    UPDATE: Just in case you missed my mini-speech/presentation to the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine when I spoke at the FSMA Public Meeting (below) on the Proposed Rule to Establish Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals in Sacramento, CA on December 6, 2013 (which I hope you didn’t!),…

  • pretty cat in tree snow winter
    Politicy + Politics

    The madness of recalls, FDA style

    NOTE: This gem of an article was unearthed from my dusty old Drafts file. Although the recalled products news is ancient history (January 2013), the rest of the article is still relevant and contains important information about the inexplicable madness of how recalls are conducted. Not only that, jerky pet treats are still on the market today. Today, [January, 2013]…

  • little kitty with big dog
    Advocacy Work

    Poisoned Pets speaks at FDA meeting on proposed animal food rule

    Last Friday I was honored to have the opportunity of speaking at a public meeting held by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Sacramento regarding the recently proposed rule that many hope will make sweeping changes to animal food regulation under the Food Safety Modernization Act. The meeting – the third and final such gathering around the country to…