Chinese-made Dog Treats Continue to Cause Problem

It’s been almost five years since the Food and Drug Administration first notified pet owners and veterinarians about a concern with chicken jerky treats.  Initially, on the heels of the massive 2007 pet food recall, there were concerns with melamine contamination, salmonella or even toxic heavy metals.

In the intervening time, numerous news articles and postings in social media have warned people to stay away from chicken jerky treats that are made in China.  Sadly, despite more than 2,000 reports of illnesses, and even deaths of pets, we are no closer to understanding exactly WHAT the issue is.   And now, sweet potato and duck jerky treatshave been added to the “caution” list.

This week, we learn that despite the efforts of the FDA to go over to China and inspect the facilities where these treats are made, they were unable to obtain samples to bring back to the US for testing!  This is almost unbelievable to me! 
 
It appears that the Chinese would only allow samples to be tested in laboratories in China, not here in the US. Of course, the solution seems simple…don’t buy treats made in China.  But, the reality of the situation is that in this global economy, knowing whether or not the product was made in China or the ingredients came from China is not always easy to determine.  I encourage everyone to READ LABELS, front and back and look for fine print about anything coming from China.   If the label says “distributed by” instead of “manufactured by”, there’s a good chance that the product was not made here in the US.