Category: food safety

Party Animal Inc. sues Evanger’s because of drug in dog food

Party Animal Inc. has filed suit in federal court against Evanger’s Dog and Cat Food Co. Inc. because dog food Evanger’s produced for Party Animal was found to be contaminated with the animal euthanasia drug pentobarbital.

The Food and Drug Administration confirmed the presence of the drug during testing after a consumer complaint. Two varieties of Party Animal’s Cocolicious dog food tested positive for the drug, which was found earlier this year in Evanger’s branded dog food after several dogs became ill. One of those dogs died despite emergency medical care.

On April 24, Party Animal recalled 13-ounce cans of “Cocolicious Beef & Turkey” dog food, lot 0136E15204 04 with a best-by date of July 2019, and “Cocolicious Chicken & Beef” dog food, lot 0134E15 237 13 with a best-by date of August 2019, after learning about the potential contamination from a customer.

The 13-page suit, filed May 5 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, lists eight complaints and claims damages in excess of $20 million. Also named as a defendant in the case is Evanger’s sister company, and Nutripack LLC.

The complaint outlines several counts, including:

  • Breach of written contract;
  • Breach of oral contract;
  • Breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing;
  • Fraud;
  • Negligent misrepresentation;
  • Breach of implied warranty;
  • Breach of express warranties; and
  • Implied indemnity.

In February, Evanger’s recalled certain production lots of Evanger’s brand “Hunk of Beef” and Against the Grain brand “Pulled Beef” canned dog foods after pentobarbital was found in samples of both products. Evanger’s expanded the recall in March 2017 to include all products manufactured using meat from a single supplier during a specific time period.

In its own $20 million lawsuit, filed in Cook County, IL, on April 25, Evanger’s named Bailey Farms LLC as the supplier of meat used in the recalled dog foods, accusing the meat company of breach of contract, breach of implied warranties and fraud.

Party Animal’s fraud complaint against Evanger’s is based on the manufacturer’s claim of USDA organic certification for the two recalled products.

Bailey Farms LLC is not listed as a certified organic operation in the USDA Organic Integrity Database. Therefore, meat supplied by Bailey Farms would not qualify for the USDA’s organic certification.

According to the database maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Evanger’s received certified organic status for certain of its products in 2010. “Cocolicious Beef & Turkey,” and “Cocolicious Chicken & Beef” canned dog foods were added to the USDA organic database effective Aug. 14, 2015.

This article first appeared on Food Safety News and is reposted here with permission

Death by a Thousand Cuts

Donald Trump has declared war. Not on North Korea; not on ISIS or Iran. Certainly not on Russia.

Donald Trump has declared war on the Food Safety Modernization Act.

Trump has not asked Congress to repeal the act or to void its regulations. He knows that would not happen. Instead, he has launched a stealth attack via the budgetary process. An attack on the underpinnings of the country’s food safety enforcement system.

Last week, the Trump White House submitted its budget proposal to Congress. Buried within a single line of the more than one thousand-page budget was the following information:

Foods Program
2016 Actual spending: $1,002,000,000
2017 Estimated spending: $985,000,000
2018 Proposed spending: $910,000,000

That’s correct. Spending on food safety activities under Trump is already on the decline and, if he has his way, will continue to decrease year by year until the Food Safety Modernization Act is nothing but an empty shell. Emasculated due to lack of funding.

How does this compare with the previous administration’s funding? Since the 2011 enactment of the Food Safety Modernization Act, funding for the Foods Program has increased year over year at least in line with inflation, except for 2013 (the year of the infamous budget sequester – the 10% across-the-board cut to all discretionary spending programs).

Actual Spending on Foods Program
(Inflation-adjusted value of 2011 spending in brackets for comparison)
2011: $836,244,000
2012: $866,920,000 ($853,550,000)
2013: $796,638,000 ($866,052,000)
2014: $882,814,000 ($880,101,000)
2015: $903,340,000 ($881,146,000)
2016: $1,002,000,000 ($892,262,000)
2017 (est’d): $985,000,000 ($909,054,000)

We were already nearly four months into the fiscal year by the time Trump’s occupation of the Oval Office began, mitigating his impact on the Foods Program spending for 2017. However, his budget proposal for 2018 will reduce spending on the FDA’s Foods Program to less than the actual dollars spent in 2011, when adjusted for inflation.

The Animal Drugs and Feed Program, which encompasses approval of veterinary drugs and enforcement of pet food safety, fares even worse.

Animal Drugs and Feed Program
2016 Actual spending: $159,000,000
2017 Estimated spending: $158,000,000
2018 Proposed spending: $108,000,000

The Animal Drugs and Feed Program has been the runt of the FDA litter for many years, its year-over-year funding having failed to keep up with inflation more often than not. Yet, in an age when pet food safety is more important to more people than ever before, Trump has proposed to cut the budget for this program by 32% in real dollars and by 38% in inflation-adjusted dollars (based on 2011 dollars).

Spending on the Animal Drugs and Feed Program has not been this feeble since 2008.

Actual Spending on Animal Drugs and Feed Program
(Inflation-adjusted value of 2011 spending in brackets for comparison)
2011: $158,771,000
2012: $156,909,000 ($162,057,000)
2013: $147,774,000 ($164,430,000)
2014: $164,313,000 ($167,098,000)
2015: $175,024,000 ($167,296,000)
2016: $159,000,000 ($169,407,000)
2017 (est’d): $158,000,000 ($172,595,000)

Other federal departments and agencies are not immune to the disease of deregulation by financial starvation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, and others too numerous to list here also are affected. Trump’s war on government regulation is unrestricted. And he is using the budget process as his primary weapon.

It is not a coincidence that I revived eFoodAlert when Trump took office. In the absence of robust and well-funded FDA enforcement programs, it is up to each one of us to provide the necessary vigilance. To recognize and report food safety issues. And to raise our voices in support of the regulatory and enforcement activities that are the essential underpinning of the Food Safety Modernization Act.

Remember Peanut Corporation of America. Remember De Coster Egg Farms. Remember the illnesses and deaths that resulted from the cavalier attitudes of the principals in both companies. Lack of enforcement breeds lack of compliance.

Trump has declared war on clean water, clean air, and food safety. It is time to fight back.

New E. coli O121 outbreak in Canada sickens six

Six residents of British Columbia were infected with E. coli O121 between February and April 2017, according to a report issued last Friday by the BC Centre for Disease Control (BC CDC).

Lab tests on a sample of flour recovered from the home of one of the victims revealed the presence of a strain of E. coli O121 that was genetically identical to the strain found in the six outbreak victims. Neither the flour nor the microbe are a match to the nationwide outbreak of E. coli O121 illnesses that has been simmering in Canada since last fall.

The flour suspected of being behind the most recent outbreak was identified by BC CDC as “Rogers all-purpose flour in a 10kg bag with the lot number MFD 17 Jan 19 C” and was sold in Costco stores beginning in January 2017.

According to the Company’s website, Rogers Foods Ltd. mills its own flour in two locations: Armstrong and Chilliwack, BC. Its products are distributed across Western Canada and into Ontario.

In a statement posted on May 20th on its website, Rogers Foods Ltd. acknowledged the positive test result, while emphasizing that the microbe was found in a bag of flour that had already been opened. The Company also indicated that the production lot from which the E. coli O121 had been recovered was sold exclusively in Costco Wholesale stores in British Columbia.

According to a spokesperson for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the BC CDC has formed a BC Outbreak Investigation Coordinating Committee. CFIA is participating in the investigation by carrying out an inspection of the manufacturing facility, while also conducting tests of flour samples drawn from the production date corresponding to the postive sample reported by the BC CDC.

As of this evening, no formal product recall has been announced. Nevertheless, BC CDC is recommending that consumers dispose of Rogers All-Purpose Flour (10kg bag; Lot #MFD 17 Jan 19 C) as a precaution.