Dog owners warned of treats made in China

by Wayne Havrelly

Bio | Email | Follow: @HavrellyKGW

kgw.com

Posted on August 31, 2012 at 5:29 PM

Updated yesterday at 8:38 PM

PORTLAND -- Complaints have been pouring into the FDA about chicken jerky treats for dogs made in China.? The dog owners believe the treats made their dogs sick and in some cases killed them.?

The Food and Drug Administration tells Unit 8 they haven't been able to pinpoint the source of the contamination, so they can't recall the products which are sold under many different brands.

Link:?FDA?FAQ on product

"Seven or eight dogs got very sick a few weeks ago, we heard about it and it was a pretty big scare," said Kathleen Kramer the Manager of Sellwood Dog Supply.?

Kramer says in the past three weeks she's heard from several customers looking to buy locally made jerky treats because they believe their dogs were sickened by the treats made in China.

The FDA has issued three separate warnings, and just this week, the agency posted on it's website that the Chinese government would not allow their inspectors to test the manufacturing facilities in question.?

Some consumer groups believe that alone should be enough for a recall.

"I'm going to be very blunt, I think food safety is being trumped by our trade policies," said Tony Corbo with? Food and Water Watch.?

He says the new food safety law signed into law by President Obama in 2011 tightens safety standards for animal food.? However, the law still hasn't been fully implemented.? It's bottled up in the White House Office of Management and Budget.

One dog owner who is just learning about the potential danger from the pet treats believes American consumers can make a big difference.?

"I think it's incumbent on consumers voting with their pocketbooks and tell the businesses if they're not going to manufacture here in a way that can be supervised then we won't buy it," said dog owner Liz Collins from Portland.?

So how do you know exactly what's in your pet food and treats?? Kramer recommends you call the consumer number on the back of the product and ask if the company manufactures it's own pet food.?

If they don't make it, ask where it's made.?

In many cases, the answer is China.

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Source: http://www.kgw.com/news/local/Safety-Of-Dog-Treats-Made-in-China-Under-Investigation-168216846.html

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