BUSINESS
Two Weeks, Two Recalls — And This Is Not The First Of This Major Pet Food Company’s Troubles With FDA
FDA spox tells TCR, “FDA has received at least one report about Sunshine Mills products in that timeframe…” In both recalls, the major pet food company noted that “no illnesses have been reported in association with these products to date.” That’s a statement Sunshine may no longer be able to make.
Pandemic Puppy Fever: Too Many Pets, Not Enough Vets, And More Health Insurance — For Dogs
Americans may have less money to spend, but what they have, they appear to be spending on their dogs and more notably, on pet health insurance, a relatively small but exponentially growing market as Americans discover that their dog’s health insurance policy can be better than any policy the human members of their families have access to….
Pet Food Titans Mars, Purina, and Hill’s Face Claims From Dog and Cat Owners For Fraud and False Advertising
A class action suit against sellers of prescription pet food (including Mars, Hill’s, Purina, two veterinary hospital networks, and retailer Petsmart) that was filed by six California dog and cat owners in 2016 was revived by a federal court last week, overturning a district court ruling. The claims are based on California consumer protection laws.
California Vet Board Revokes DVM and Hospital Licenses. Two weeks later, the hospital remains open and he continues to work there, a local paper reports.
The Mountain View Voice is reporting today that although California veterinarian Tejpaul Ghumman’s license was revoked by the state’s Veterinary Medical Board (VMB) earlier this month along with his ‘premise license’ to operate Alta View Animal Hospital, which he co-owns, Alta View Animal Hospital continues to be open for business and Ghumman is continuing to work there.
VIN News Refuses To Issue Correction
TCR is requesting a correction or clarification in a VIN News story by reporter Edie Lau. Lau has not yet made any changes to her story, nor has she responded to TCR’s most recent e-mail. TCR is publishing the exchange with Lau in full:
Oxford University Press CEO Responds With Apparent Acquiescence to Journal’s Non-Disclosure Disclosure
On Monday morning, Oxford University Press chief executive officer Nigel Portwood declined to answer questions about how OUP supervises its journals and oversees its policies with regard to conflicts of interest and disclosure. His answer was limited to an apparent acquiescence to the Journal of Animal Science’s limited addendum ‘for clarity,’ which did not concede or specify the authors’ direct conflict of interest in a controversial article about canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) – a progressive heart disease that can eventually lead to congestive heart failure – and possible links to certain types of diets.
Responding to Conflict of Interest Questions, Journal of Animal Science Publishers Say They Will Add Statement ‘For Clarity’ to Controversial DCM Article. Statement Will Acknowledge Authors’ Ties to Industry.
Wulster-Radcliffe, who is the chief executive officer of the American Society of Animal Science, which publishes the Journal – emailed the statement following a week of controversy in veterinary circles stirred up by the article and the ties that its authors have to the pet food manufacturers that sell diets often referred to by veterinarians as BEG diets…..
CONTROVERSY SWIRLS AROUND JOURNAL’S NON-DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICTS IN DCM ARTICLE. Journal CEO says inquiry is underway.
Controversy is swirling around a prominent science journal’s article that defends the pet food industry against charges that one of its products endangers canines. Last week, the Journal of Animal Science — which describes itself on its website as “one of the most frequently cited peer-reviewed, agriculturally oriented research journals in the world” — and whose publisher is Oxford University Press — published an article that seeks to debunk the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s reports about its investigations into cases of canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) – a progressive heart disease that can eventually lead to congestive heart failure – and possible links to certain types of diets.
