Since a routine inspection in April identified issues regarding recordkeeping and manufacturing procedures at Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food Co. (Wheeling, Ill.), company officials have been working closely with the Food and Drug Administration to take corrective measures and to ensure that its canned foods will not cause sickness in pets or people.

The FDA ordered the company to obtain an emergency operating permit after finding significant deviations from the company’s prescribed documentation of processes, equipment and recordkeeping in the production of thermally processed low-acid canned foods. According to FDA, the deviations could have resulted in underprocessed pet foods, which can allow the survival and growth of Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium that causes botulism in some animals and in humans.

With the permit, Evanger’s was allowed to ship its canned pet foods out of state.

No Evanger’s products was recalled, and there was no any indication that any Evanger’s product was underprocessed, unsafe or contaminated in any way, said Holly Sher, president of Evanger’s.

“As our customers, retailers and distributors know, Evanger’s takes the quality and safety of its pet foods very seriously,” Sher said. “Evanger’s has a long history of using only human-grade ingredients in our products. The FDA has not called into question the wholesomeness of any ingredient we use. We are confident Evanger’s products continue to be safe, wholesome and natural, so confident that we continue to feed them daily to our own pets.”

 “As outlined in the Food Protection Plan, the FDA uses a risk-based approach to locate the areas of greatest risk for foods, and targets preventive controls and inspections to those areas,” said Dr. Stephen Sundlof, director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “The FDA’s authority to issue an order requiring an emergency permit is an enforcement tool designed to prevent unsafe foods from reaching consumers.”

For more information, contact Evanger’s at 800-288-6796 or visit www.evangersdogfood.com. [July 2008 PET AGE]