FDA Requires Permits for Low Acid Pet Foods
Apr 27th, 2008 by Teri
Pet Food Maker Cannot Transport Pet Food Says FDA
The pet food manufacturer Evanger’s Dog and Cat Food Company Incorporated has been ordered by the FDA to produce an Emergency permit to transport low acid pet food products from state to state.
Regulations from the FDA to “ensure safety from harmful bacteria or their toxins, especially Botulism”. * see FDA Overview, and Code of Federal Regulations.
The low acid canned foods (LACF) for short that Evanger’ produces is made by cooking their food at lower temperatures. The FDA requires that the food be cooked at proper temperatures for enough time to acidify the food or control water activity.
The conditions under which Botulism grows are:
packaging in the absence of oxygen
have a favorable PH and temperature for growth
contains water and nutrients
When a product is produced with a PH of 4.6 or less the FDA calls this the “Good Manufacturing Practices” and this inhibits the growth of botulism.
The FDA recently performed an inspection and found that Evanger’s processes, equipment and documentation to produce its ” low acid” canned foods for pets does not agree with the products prescribed documents.
This manufacturing process of making pet food “increases the risk of Botulism, causing bacteria to produce toxins in the food. Botulism can lead to serious illness and death in pets and people and it attacks the nervous system in cats and dogs.
Dr. Stephen Sundlog, Director of the Food Safety and Applied Nutrition stated the FDA uses a risk based approach to identify possible faults in pet food processing applications.
Evanger must now provide document that they have improved their processing procedures to ensure the products are safe.
Signs of Botulism in Animals:
While Botulism is very rare in dogs and cats it can be ingested by a pet eating a dead animal carcasses or rotting vegetables.
If you have fed your pets any of the low acid pet foods and you see the following symptoms, take your pet to the nearest emergency veterinarian clinic:
Facial nerve paralysis
unusual vision problems
difficulty in eating and chewing
problems swallowing
weakness and fatigue
As the botulism progresses the pet dies of heart paralysis or not being able to breathe properly.
The food manufacturers that use the process known as LACF
Low Acid Canned Food must adhere to scientific principals and regulations that produce a “safe” product.
Some foods used for human consumption have been known to be processed by the LACF method such as a chili sauce, tuna fish, mushrooms, canned green beans. Acids are added to foods such as pickles, pimentos, and marinated artichokes and must have a water activity greater than 0.85 to be acceptable under the regulations.
The FDA has ordered that all these manufacturers review their pet food processing methods or run the risk of requiring special permits. Really the FDA can do better than just a stalling mechanism to make it harder to transport these products from state to state. They can put a ban on this method of food production entirely.
If you are purchasing these types of pet foods be aware of the symptoms as they will appear within 8-12 hours of ingestion.
For more visit: FDA.org
Written By: Teri Salvador
Tags: FDA, low acid pet foods, Evangers pet foods, pet food processing methods, Botulism, sings of botulism, Pet food Safety, safety from harmful bacteria, Low Acid Canned Foods, LACF, symptoms of Botulism, FDA regulations, FDA.org
Exactly! Ban the products altogether rather than allow a repeat of last year’s poisonings.
Our “ingenius” methods of food production are bizarre. Cows are fed chicken renderings, pigs are fed dead dogs and cats. These may boost someone’s earnings, but they don’t make foods fit to eat.
Kathy,
I agree 100%. Why should these companies who are making a fortune manufacturing and selling animal foods be allowed to put just about anything they want into the food and then call it a “by product”? We as pet owners do everything we can to protect our pets and yet we have to worry that something will happen to them because of the carlessness of these companies. It’s about time the FDA stepped in with stricter rules.
Thank you for your comment Kathy, it is in the last 20 years that dog manufacturers have been adding dangerous chemicals to mask the odor of the decayed and diseased renderings. Chemicals such as koresene are used and end up in the pet foods.
I try to point this out in my articles - so that pet owners can have healthier dogs and live a long life. Thank you again for your comments.
Teri
Thank you Rita for your comment - and your right the additives are unhealthy and used as fillers for more profits. This corporate mismanagement because of greed has to stop and its up to the consumer to protest and buy organic products. I would not feed any dog - the top named manufacturers foods - and there is a definite consumer lack of trust- in these corporations.