If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Worries of imported products from China continue. The day before Valentines Day a small shard of metal was found in a child’s valentine candy - thank goodness it was discovered before a child was hurt. This candy, like so many other recalled products recently - was made in China.

I don’t know how long it’s going to take China to get their act together or if they ever will - but concerns of imported Chinese products and ingredients are real and on-going.As a pet owner - you must be very diligent to avoid any pet food, treat, toy, anything that your pet could consume - that is made in or has an ingredient from China or other risky countriesor be ready to accept the consequences.

It’s not my intention to scare the socks off you - but it is my intention to motivate you enough to find out where everything you give your pet is from.Tainted or toxic or dangerous imports from China have been headline news for over a year now - starting with the pet food recall that is one year old this month.I am on the FDA’s recall announcement email list - and I receive emails just about every single day regarding recalled products (all products, not just pet food).Butbetter than 60% of all of these recalls have to do with imported products or imported ingredients.The biggest concern for all pet owners was the tainted wheat and corn glutens and since that catastrophe there has been headline recalls from Chinese imported tires, toothpaste, dog treats, children’s toys, and now candy.

Don’t be complacent about what you feed your pet. Do not be misled into thinking that no new pet food recalls means all is well. Recalls happen almost daily mostly due to imported products. You don’t want to be caught off guard - not knowing if your pet’s food or treats contains some ingredient(s) from China or any other country that has inferior quality control than U.S. standards.

I’m by no means 100% happy with the FDA or the CVM and their efforts to protect our pets (and our kids, and us!) - but we are head and shoulders above China.I think the FDA has a long way to go - and I am very hopeful they will continue to make changes to protect us and our pets. The one thing that is certain - for right now - the risk from Chinese imported products and ingredients is much higher than that of U.S. ingredients.

Pleasefind out where every ingredient in every product your pet consumes is from.It takes a simple phone call to the manufacturer - it might take ten minutes of your day for each manufacturer.But that ten minutes could turn out to be a life saver.Be pro-active for your pet’s health.

When you call a pet food or pet treat manufacturer - ask them if they use all U.S. ingredients.You might get an answer like’yes, we use all U.S. suppliers’.Nope, that’s not the information that you need - the supplier or distributor might be a U.S. company, but the actual ingredient could come from China.This is exactly the case with the contaminated wheat and corn glutens from a year ago.If you hear the ‘U.S. suppliers’ response, ask more questions’Do any of the ingredients in your pet food or pet treat originate from countries other than the U.S.?’Tell them you want to know if any ingredient in the pet food or treat is made in or grown outside the U.S.From my experience in asking over 30 different pet food/treat manufacturers these questions for Petsumer Report - you can tell pretty quickly which manufacturers are using all U.S. ingredients and who is not.The companies that use all U.S. ingredients - with the few expected exceptions like lamb and venison from New Zealand - are quick to tell you.The ones that don’t - the companies that might purchase minerals, vitamins, or glutens from China - take you on an investigative journey before they finally give up the information you deserve to be told.

Please know - it is NOT that all Chinese imported ingredients or products are dangerous to your pet.It is that they have a history - a scary history - that has proven to be potentially dangerous and shows no signs of real improvement. It’s simply a huge risk to feed your pet a food or treat with ingredients from China.

Tags: Dogs

Popularity: 4% [?]

Share This