Tell the FDA Commissioner Clean Up The Pet Food Supply

[Shallah Kali]

http://ga3.org/campaign/petfoodsafety?qp_source=petfood_blogs

Suggested Letter - edit it to suit yourself and use the above link to send.

For more than 100 million Americans, a cat or dog is part of the family. That's why the recent pet food contamination crisis, a tragedy that has lead to the illness or deaths of thousands of pets across the country, has hit so close to home.

It's time for the Bush Administration and the FDA to act. The current pet food inspection system is deeply flawed, and the events of recent weeks have made that tragically clear.

Here are the 3 main problems that the FDA must address:

** Reporting delays. One of the companies that produced the contaminated pet food, Menu Foods, apparently knew of potential problems for 3 weeks before notifying the FDA. The FDA must demand timely reporting from pet food manufacturers -- and then punish companies that fail to alert them to problems.

** Inspections. In the last 3 and a-half years, less than one-third of pet food manufacturing plants has been inspected by the FDA and the Menu Foods facility, that produced much of the contaminated pet food, has never been inspected by the FDA. The FDA must work with states to establish uniform rules and regulations for inspecting all pet food manufacturing facilities.

** Information sharing. Thanks to blogs, non-government websites, and the news media, we were alerted to the pet food contamination crisis. But the FDA must create a better process for collecting information to respond more quickly -- so veterinarians, pet owners, and other members of the public can alert the FDA more easily in the future.

The more than 100 million Americans who love and own pets take their responsibility seriously. Now it's time for the FDA to take their responsibility seriously as well.