FDA Fielding Dog Treat Complaints
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Digital Vision/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to identify the source of the possibly tainted pet jerky treats that may have killed nearly 600 pets and sickened more than 3,600 of them since 2007.
There was a flurry of health-related complaints beginning in January 2007, FDA spokeswoman Shelly Burgess said. The complaints waned in January 2013, when some products were removed from the market after testing positive for unapproved antibiotics. But the agency continues to receive reports of illness tied to jerky treats.
“Most of the jerky treats implicated have been made in China,” the FDA stated on its website. “Investigators have tested more than 1,200 samples but haven’t uncovered what could be causing the illnesses.”
“Pet owners should be aware that manufacturers do not need to list the country of origin for each ingredient used in their products, so packages that do not state on the label that they are made in another country may still contain ingredients sourced from China or other countries that export to the U.S.,” the FDA website states.
The treats are sold as jerky tenders or strips and are made with chicken, duck, sweet potato, dried fruit and in combinations of these ingredients. Dozens of brands have been implicated. But because the source of contamination has not been identified, the FDA has yet to issue a recall.
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