TCR Challenges FDA Over DCM Redactions, Refusal to Update Website
Today, Yale Law School’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic filed an appeal letter on behalf of TCR and Emily […]
Today, Yale Law School’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic filed an appeal letter on behalf of TCR and Emily […]
This afternoon, The Canine Review received records by email responding to a Freedom of Information Act request we filed earlier […]
To crystallize how urgent the matter is to a significant portion of the general population (about 70 million American households […]
“No, as a veterinary general practitioner, I would not, and do not, recommend this food at all,” Dr. Jessica Self wrote on Facebook. “Farmers Dog, and other boutique diet companies, are centered around marketing tactics that are shady and confusing to non-veterinary consumers. Let’s look at the term “Human Grade.” There was no legal definition for “Human Grade” until a few years ago; and this term only pertains to pet foods.
On Monday, February 7, misinformation about animal health came from a surprising source: the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
“FDA to end updates on dilated cardiomyopathy and grain-free food,” AVMA writer Coco Lederhouse’s headline declared. She explained that, the FDA had decided that the reports “do not supply sufficient data to establish a causal relationship with reported product(s).” In other words, the reports don’t indicate that there’s a problem, so the FDA is no longer going to provide new reports.
Coincidentally, on the same day of the AVMA’s story, preeminent veterinary nutritionist Lisa Freeman at Tufts updated her highly regarded Petfoodology blog with an article that makes the best case possible for the urgent need for these records to be updated consistently and made public.
The AVMA’s press officers declined to provide contact information for Ms. Lederhouse, whose name is in the byline of the AVMA story. TCR contacted president Lori Teller, chief veterinary officer Gail Golab, head of policy Isham Jones, and four different press aides at least twice each over a three day period for comment regarding the erroneous story and did not receive any response.
During the same week in which the FDA told The Canine Review that the agency would need 3-4 months to respond to our appeal of its first denial (now, there are two appeals going on three) of our request for expedited processing, America’s veterinary profession’s main trade group, the AVMA, sent a grossly inaccurate story to tens of thousands of animal health professionals, declaring that the matter of diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs was effectively closed.
TAKEAWAYS You may unknowingly be feeding your dog a diet that’s putting him at risk for sudden death. All […]
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It’s been nearly three years since the FDA issued its last update on a deadly heart condition’s connection to certain […]
Good news for journalists, consumers, and veterinarians. Sarah B. Kotler, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Freedom of Information chief, […]