The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to Midwestern Pet Foods after possible links were found between its products and the deaths of 130 dogs and illnesses in 220 others.
“Inspections of Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc.’s manufacturing plants revealed evidence of violations, which were shared across multiple plants and were associated with the illness or death of hundreds of pets who had eaten the company’s dry dog food,” Steven M. Solomon, director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, said in a statement.
In January, the company had voluntarily recalled several batches of its foods after the federal agency had found high aflatoxins in them. These toxins can cause illness as well as fatalities. In March, the pet food giant recalled other products due to contamination by salmonella.
The FDA had inspected the company’s facilities. In a press release, Steven M. Solomon, who is the director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine, FDA said that they had found evidence that there had been significant violations in areas including “Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Foods for Animals regulation.”
The director added that inspections of Midwestern Pet Food Inc.’s manufacturing plants showed proof of violations across multiple sites. The illness or death of hundreds of pets who had eaten the brand’s dry dog food could be linked to plant violations.
Four Midwestern sites were recently inspected as a response to the voluntary recalls made by the company in January and March.
The FDA has said that “Sportsmix” a popular Midwestern brand had high levels of aflatoxin or toxic mold. The levels were as high as 558 parts per billion, several hundred times more than the limit of 20 parts per billion. It was recalled in January.
In March, several additional brands were recalled after the FDA found that samples tested were positive for salmonella. The brands recalled included
- Canine X
- Earthborn Holistic
- Meridian
- Sportmix Wholesomes
- Venture
- Unrefined
- Sportstrail
- Pro Pac
- Pro Pac Ultimates
The FDA sent a letter to Midwestern Pet Foods Inc. on Tuesday. It has given the company 15 days to reply with the steps taken by it to address the violations that were found by the inspection team.
Approximately 130 pet deaths and 230 illnesses among pets have been reported to the FDA up to August 9 and these “may be linked to eating brands of pet foods manufactured by Midwestern,” according to the agency.
When contacted by multiple agencies, Midwestern Foods did not respond to anyone, as yet.
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