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Defend Our Pets . Org Committed to the health and safety of our pets. |
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Defend Our Pets . Org Committed to the health and safety of our pets. |
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PET FOOD INSTITUTE PROTEST The one group that has consistently opposed any new regulation of the pet food industry is the Pet Food Institute, a trade organization for many pet food manufacturers and distributors. Below, you will find a list of their active members who provide a method for e-mail contact. We ask that you contact all of these active members of the PFI and suggest that their membership in the PFI is OFFENSIVE to their customers. The PFI is consistently opposing reforms which would enhance pet food safety. Their customers are demanding: 1. Co-Maker Labeling – The actual manufacturer of a pet food should be clearly declared on all pet food labels along with contact information. 2. Country of Origin Labeling – Countries desiring to import pet food ingredients into our country should have their manufacturing and quality control procedures tested and certified by the FDA BEFORE any imports are allowed. Whether any ingredients imported should be labeled as to country of origin, or at the very least, labeled to expose lack of certification, some action must be taken IMMEDIATELY! 3. Ingredient Labeling – The current “code” that makes it incredibly difficult for a consumer to understand what is really in the pet food we buy, MUST BE REPLACED with a clear labeling of the percentage content by dry weight of all ingredients. 4. “Balanced and Nutritous” diet claims – Before any label can make such claims for the pet food being sold, long-term testing must be performed. At present, these claims are only marginally justified. 5. Marketing Claims – Words such as “Premium”, “Super-Premium”, “Organic”, “Holistic”, mean absolutely nothing from a regulatory viewpoint. The PFI staunchly defends the use of “marketing claims” as not falling under the regulatory control of the FDA. HOWEVER, false and misleading advertising claims are heavily regulated in other industries. 6. Inspections – We demand that funds be appropriated or “user fees” be levied to fund a radical increase in the number of inspections that are conducted to assure pet food safety. At the bare minimum, we need to have inspections of foreign production prior to shipping, inspections of shipments prior to transport, inspections of shipments as received in our country, manufacturers’ inspections of ingredients prior to use, and, finally, thorough inspections of final product before it is sold to the public. 7. Recalls – The FDA must be empowered to order mandatory recalls. The system of “voluntary recalls” is another example of the inmates running the prison. 8. “By-Products” etc. – All ingredients that are deemed “unfit for human consumption” must be so-labeled. The members should urge the PFI to support these goals, or the members should RESIGN! |
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