Petco has banned Chinese treats from its stores out of concern a line of jerky treats is poisoning dogs and cats.
The FDA began investigating Chinese chicken, duck and sweet potato jerky treats after it got word of more than 4,800 pet illnesses, but has not confirmed a connection, reported the Los Angeles Times. Even so, Petco pledged to rid its stores of all Chinese treats in May, and announced Monday the deed is done.
As of October, more than 5,600 dogs, 25 cats and three humans reportedly became ill after eating the Chinese jerky treats. The FDA has tested the treats for Salmonella, pesticides, mold, arsenic, lead and a number of other known contaminants, but has not yet determined what is making the pets sick.
“While there is no direct, definitive link identified by the FDA between the reported illnesses in cats and dogs and China-made treats, as a trusted source to our customers, we decided pet parents’ concerns about the safety of China treats was significant enough to pull these products from our shelves,” John Sturm, Petco vice president of pet nutrition and merchandising, told CBS News.
Symptoms include lack of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, and increased urination, and may occur hours or sometimes days after eating the treat, reported the LA Times. In severe cases pets have been diagnosed with gastrointestinal bleeding and kidney failure, and some cases have resulted in death.
Petco hopes to replace the $30 million in sales of the Chinese treats by expanding its selection of products from New Zealand, Australia and the U.S.
The FDA continues to investigate.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.