Being Aware of Pet Food Recalls Can Save Your Animal's Life

In recent years there have been several pet food recalls (cat and dog alike) that have left pet owners nationwide mystified as to why it has been happening. There have even been a handful of people who are convinced that some of the manufacturers are actually guilty of foul play. Thousands of pets have died as a result of tainted ingredients and even more became seriously ill. Suffice it to say, it has become cause for alarm as these pet owners depend on these commercial entities to package healthy foods and snacks for their animals.
Mycotoxins, which are toxins that are produced by different fungi, have been the major culprit. As a result of these tainted pet foods and snacks being discovered, the FDA has gotten involved and mandated that the commercial manufacturers issue these recalls. The goal of course is that the FDA and commercial manufacturers work in conjunction with one another to prevent further outbreaks of pet deaths and illnesses.

Sometimes, keeping your pet healthy is simply a matter of knowing what to look for as well as knowing what you should avoid. In other words, knowledge of what is going on is your most powerful weapon and could be the soundest way of protecting your pet. Here are 4 suggestions on how to prevent as well as spot potential problems. In the long run, you could be saving the life of your pet.

1. Always look for an expiration date on the container or packaging before you purchase canned or dry pet foods. In addition to helping you identify items that are about to expire and go bad, this is just a common sense move on your part. Additionally, chemicals that have been added for flavor, as well as preservatives added for longevity of product life can be potentially harmful to your pet. The best suggestion is that you feed your pet an organic food.
2. If there is no expiration date, check for either a foul odor or staleness. It's not likely that you will get your money back on expired pet food that you purchased, but this is not the key issue - you have a responsibility to not only your pet, but to the other owners and pets out there. So make sure that you report issues like this to both the commercial manufacturer as well as the retailer where you made the purchase.
   
   This is all well and good, but common sense would mandate that you rethink purchasing any consumable for your pet that is lacking an expiration date. Will you purchase food for your family that had an expired date or was about to expire soon? Here's more food for thought. What if that phone call you make instigates more action which eventually leads to another recall? And what if that recall saves the lives of a few thousand more pets?
3. Symptoms of abnormal or unusual behavior always warrant a call to your veterinarian. The earlier you treat the symptoms, the greater the chance of a quicker recovery. Unfortunately, many more pet's lives could have been saved had their owners responded at the first sign of these symptoms. Never take these situations lightly and contact your veterinarian immediately.
4. Always keep abreast of media reports regarding pet food recalls. Current news, media reports, and news updates are all over the internet. Simply type in "pet food recalls" into the browser/search bar and start doing your homework.
   

Here's a final tip. Avoid any information that commercial manufacturers publish regarding their products. Though the information they put forth may be accurate, remember that they produced the pet food or snack in question, and it is the job of that company's market department to "sugarcoat" the situation as much as possible so they do not lose market share.

Author: Jeff Nenadic