Why hasn’t FDA updated pet owners on DCM Investigation? – Truth about Pet Food

The FDA has been silent on their investigation into a potential link between pet food and canine heart disease for almost 8 months. Why?

The FDA issued their first notice the Agency was investigating a possible link between canine heart disease and pet food in July 2018. The next FDA notice about DCM came about 7 months later in February 2019. And then in late June 2019, FDA issued a third update on their investigation of DCM’s possible link to pet food.

But for the last (almost) 8 months, FDA has remained silent on their investigation. FDA told industry at a recent event “As for public updates, there are none planned at this time.” FDA stated they were “waiting until it had new information to report” for another public update.

A veterinarian who spoke at this same industry event – Dr. Joe Bartges, DVM, Ph.D., professor of medicine and nutrition in the Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the University of Georgia – was critical of the FDA pet food/DCM investigation. The PetFoodIndustry.com post on the event stated:

• He said he “loathes” the term BEG (boutique, exotic proteins, grain free) diets, coined by one of the veterinary groups. (A few people in the audience applauded that statement.)
• “When you only look for what you want to see, you will only see what you wanted to look for,” he commented, referring to the data and analysis issued by FDA and some veterinary groups to date.
• His own analysis of data released by FDA showed a huge jump in cases in 2018 – because FDA told veterinarians and owners to report cases, he said. Plus, the majority of cases were in dog breeds with either a familial association or genetic predisposition to DCM.
• He also shot holes in FDA’s June 2019 announcement naming pet foods that had been implicated in the cases, saying some on the list were specific products, while others were entire brands or even companies, making it difficult to assess if there truly were issues with certain products.
• “Vets are bad at taking down data,” he said, explaining that most of the cases did not have a complete diet history for the dog, and other things consumed could be playing a role.

Is the FDA waiting for new information – not giving pet owners an update into the potential link of pet food to DCM investigation – to protect their own reputation?

For close to a decade, the FDA investigated jerky treats imported from China. In a 2016 update on the Agency’s investigation into the many pet deaths and illnesses linked to Chinese jerky treats the FDA stated: “We understand the love and devotion pets provide, and we are determined to find the answer to this mystery.” But they never found the answer; after years of FDA investigation, pet owners have never been provided the reason Chinese jerky treats killed and sickened thousands of dogs. And then – with no public notice – at the August 2019 AAFCO meeting, FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine Director Dr. Steven Solomon causally mentioned the Agency’s investigation into jerky treats was considered “resolved” even though they are still receiving reports of sick or dying pets linked to the treats. The Agency’s investigation failed, and they ended it without admitting to pet owners their investigation failed.

Is the FDA not providing a pet food/DCM investigation update because they don’t want to admit this investigation might fail too? But even if it is going down that path, don’t pet owners still deserve the update?

Opinion: I believe most pet owners understand that every puzzle cannot be solved. We may not like it, but if FDA would be transparent with pet owners – talk to us – we would be more likely to understand. Even if you don’t have an answer to all of our questions – at least be honest about that. Tell us what you do know and tell us even if it means your reputation might take a hit.

The FDA needs to do MUCH better about communicating with and listening to pet owners. We began asking the FDA to meet with pet owners back in October of 2018. The Agency has never fully agreed to meet with us and has never provided a date to plan for such an event. FDA regularly meets with industry, but NEVER meets with pet owners. This needs to change.

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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