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Welcome to Andy’s Take.
This week, at FDA’s request, United States Marshals seized tons of animal food products at a major pet food distribution warehouse because they were being stored under unsanitary conditions. While you know that the mission of the FDA is to protect and promote the health of you and your family, you may not have realized that our mission also includes safeguarding the health of your pets. In fact, both FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine as well as our Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition regulate the food and feed we give our pets and livestock, and the Center for Veterinary Medicine also regulates medicines for animals.
My take on this is that FDA remains committed to doing what is required to protect and promote the health of you and your family – including your family pet. The FDA will not allow a company to engage in practices of unsafe or unsanitary production or processing of food or feed that endanger the life of any person or any animal.
During an inspection FDA inspectors found that the pet food facility was heavily infested with various pests, such as rats, mice, and birds. The company was told to fix the problem, and when it was determined that the company had not made the necessary corrections, we had those products seized to prevent them from reaching your pet. I would like to reassure you that the pet food that is currently in retail stores is not involved in this problem and can be purchased and used with confidence.
Last week, I told you the best way to deal with a problem is to prevent it from ever happening. FDA is committed to using our resources and authorities to do just that. This week, we believe we prevented your pets from being harmed.
Press Release with more information
I look forward to giving you next week’s Andy’s Take.
Andy
Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D.
Commissioner of Food and Drugs
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