Reports of illness tied to pet jerky treats drop

For the first time in seven years, complaints that jerky pet treats made in China are sickening and killing America’s animals, mostly dogs, have fallen sharply, federal officials said Thursday.

Between May 1 and Sept. 30 last year, 270 complaints of illnesses tied to the treats were received, down from about 1,800 complaints filed with the Food and Drug Administration in the previous reporting period.

That’s the lowest tally since the FDA first began warning consumers in 2007 about possible ties between chicken jerky treats and pet illnesses, including digestive troubles, kidney failure and a serious condition known as Fanconi anemia.

Overall, however, the agency has logged more than 5,000 complaints involving 5,800 dogs and 25 cats — including about 1,000 dogs that died after reportedly eating the popular treats. Three people also were sickened, including two toddlers and an adult who admitted snacking on the chicken, duck or sweet-potato treats.

And the FDA has still not identified a source or a cause for all of the suffering.

“This is the lowest amount that we have gotten thus far,” said Siobhan DeLancey, an agency spokeswoman. “We’re not sure if this is because the products are off the market, because people are more aware of the problem, or because some of the products have been reformulated.”

The decline has puzzled other experts who have been tracking the problem, including Kendal Harr, a veterinary clinical pathologist with a private practice in Mukilteo.

“I haven’t had a single case report since spring,” said Harr, who has been conducting tests in connection with the jerky-treat problem for years.

The drop in complaints follows reports that two of the nation’s top retail pet care chains, Petco and PetSmart, announced plans to pull jerky treats made in China from store shelves by this year. And it comes after a $6.5 million class-action settlement between Nestle Purina PetCare Co. and its subsidiary, Waggin’ Train LLC and dozens of pet owners who claimed their animals were injured or killed by eating chicken jerky treats.

But it’s small comfort for pet owners.

Suzanne Dinning, 64, of Tumwater said the death of her 7-year-old Chihuahua, Randi, in 2012 was tied to consumption of the jerky treats. The tiny dog developed kidney failure after eating Healthy Hide brand triple-flavor pork, beef and chicken chews, according to a complaint filed with the FDA.

Because of the drop in complaints, the FDA will now issue complaint reports annually instead of every six months, the agency said. The agency will continue to devote significant resources to the problem, however, and will post non-routine updates if warranted.

Pet owners and animal advocates have criticized the agency for years for not identifying a source or cause of the animal illnesses and deaths. Agency officials have countered that they’ve tested treats for a wide range of possible contaminants and pathogens, asked the nation’s veterinarians to share their case reports and, in several cases, conducted necropsies on animals that consumed the treats — all to no avail.

Jerky-treat makers have consistently said that there is no proven link between their products and the pet poisonings. FDA officials said they couldn’t demand recalls of the treats because there was no proof of contamination.