“Independent plants obtain animal by-product materials, including grease, blood, feathers, offal, and entire animal carcasses, from the following sources: butcher shops, supermarkets, restaurants, fast-food chains, poultry processors, slaughterhouses, farms, ranches, feedlots, and animal shelters.” And although it is unlikely, it is possible considering the several accounts of its occurrence that have emerged over the years. No one, particularly the rendering industry, will ever admit that pets could be in pet food. The most likely source of the product is that it came from an independent render where controls are seldom in place. And since pentobarbital is heat-stable, the drug residue survives the rendering process undegraded. And consumers are encouraged to report any problems to the FDA immediately.īefore any discussion of the possibility that euthanized pets are in pet food, pentobarbital is never used to euthanize livestock species – that means cows, pigs, chickens or any other livestock – ever.
Meanwhile, the FDA is keeping track of reports of any pet illnesses connected with the drug contamination in these products and are carefully monitoring the situation as it unfolds. Consuming high levels of pentobarbital can cause coma and death. For anyone who has had to put their pet to sleep they have seen the effects, but for those who have not, the symptoms of pentobarbital poisoning are drowsiness, dizziness, excitement, loss of balance, nausea, nystagmus (eyes moving back and forth in a jerky manner) and inability to stand. While the amounts of pentobarbital are reported by the manufacturer and the FDA to be low enough not to cause serious problems, consumers should know what the effects of a euthanizing drug are on a pet. While the FDA is investigating the matter to learn the “potential source and route of the contamination,” Smucker’s only attempt to salvage their eroding reputation is to point their finger at one of their suppliers, saying they’ve “identified the root cause to be a single supplier and a single, minor ingredient, used at one manufacturing facility.” Smucker’s offers no other explanation or apology, nor do they appear to be contrite or have any remorse for their failure to audit their suppliers, admitting only that they are “extremely disappointed that pentobarbital was introduced to our supply chain.” To put a finer point on it, the detection of any amount of pentobarbital in pet food is a violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act-simply put, pentobarbital should not be in pet food. The FDA said they are “issuing this notice in order to make pet owners aware of the firm’s action.” The alert is reassuring, particularly as Smucker’s has been covertly withdrawing the affected product from stores in the last week after the catastrophic discovery – without informing consumers.įriday’s alert says the FDA’s evaluation of the testing of the dog food does indicate that pentobarbital was in indeed in the products and that the drug should never be present in pet food in any amount and as such the product is adulterated. The alert came hours after Smucker’s press release that four popular brands of dog food – Gravy Train, Kibbles ‘N Bits, Skippy, and Ol’ Roy – were being withdrawn from stores nationwide for contamination with sodium pentobarbital. The FDA issued an alert Friday warning consumers to avoid feeding four brands of dog food contaminated with pentobarbital – a drug typically used to euthanize pets – manufactured by the J.M.
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