After a number of voluntary recalls of chicken jerky pet treats made in China, pet owners are asking retailers for accountability in warning consumers of products recalled or thought to be potentially harmful by the Food and Drug Administration.
As part of the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, retailers are required to display visible warning signs at their registers when FDA identifies a "reportable food" for people or animals that could "cause serious, adverse health consequences or death."
However, some consumers whose pets became sick or died after consuming the treats say pet retailers are not following this rule and are calling for signs to be posted immediately after the treats or products are recalled or deemed potentially dangerous by FDA.
"All you need is an 8 x 11 piece of paper that can be posted at cash register that says 'this food has been recalled,'" said Tony Corbo, a lobbyist for the food program at Food & Water Watch.
There is no way to tell how many stores are complying with the law or not, making it difficult to implement the law.
Despite earlier recalls of Del Monte's Milo's Kitchen and Nestle Purina's Waggin Train and Canyon Creek Ranch chicken jerky treats, FDA says FSMA guidelines for posting warning signs are not applicable to these types of voluntary recalls because the treats are currently not considered a "reportable" food. And, even for items considered "reportable," such as Salmonella detected in dog food, FDA does not have a plan in place for monitoring stores that post or do not post a warning sign.