COUNTERFEIT DOG FOOD = DEAD DOGS

First melamine, now counterfeit dog food enters the USA under familiar-sounding names like Diamond and Optima.  Knock-off pet food products hurt USA businesses and put us at risk.

Nel Liquorman, © TheDogPlace April 2009 - In early January 2009, there were reports that dogs were getting sick and dying across China. The culprit was believed to be Optima dog food, allegedly imported from Australia. We decided it was worth investigating.

The original manufacturer of Optima was Doane Pet Care Enterprises, which was bought by Mars, Inc. in 2006. The company is in Nashville, Tennessee. The Pet Food Industry Association of Australia stated that Optima had not been manufactured in Australia since 2006, and confirmed that it was never exported to China.

The People’s Republic of China’s office of Inspection and Quarantine investigated. It determined that Optima was not approved for import into China nor was it ever imported from Australia. In fact, Natural Pet Corporation, located in Taiwan, is widely reported as the distributor of the tainted pet food.

The Optima website in the USA is not the only site for Optima. There is a site in Taiwan which may be counterfeiting under the name Naturalpet.com.  At that website,  you will find their Taiwan address and phone number for the distributor, which is Natural Pet Corporation. Go to the products section and you will see Optima, Diamond, Super Saver, Holistic Recipe Solution, Devine, and Feed Rite as the brands they have available. 

There is a web address above the pictures of Optima pet food products. It looks like a web address for the USA brand of Optima but with a slight difference. There is a hyphen between optima and pet care (optima-petcare). The address www.optima-petcare.com will take you to a site that says the domain name is for sale. It also appears to be just a parking place for paid ads from many businesses, from insurance to dating services.

National Pet Corporation may be a legitimate distributor for Diamond’s Nutra Nuggets, which appears to have been exported in the past.  While the Taiwan distributor may be selling some legitimate products, it appears there is some funny business going on as well!

The China Daily Reported that the dog food packing producer for the Optima sold across China was Doane International Pet Products Australasia. Note: The Mars company has not indicated that it has a manufacturer by that name or that it’s products are distributed in Taiwan.

Australasia is probably not a misspelling.  It may represent a common trick used by counterfeiters. They use a spelling that is close that of the actual brand. You should beware of this subterfuge. With watches, it is often Rollex instead of the brand name Rolex. At first glance, it looks like the seller was an Australian company but the spelling is not quite Australia, and curiously, it adds on “Asia.”

Although Taiwan claims to be a republic, China maintains that it is part of their territory. Since products from China have proven to be more than problematic, should we not be watchful when it comes to products from what is, or once was their territory? Many Chinese imports have proven harmful, even deadly, not just in the USA, but around the globe. Here are just a few problems with Chinese goods to jog your memory:

Melamine - arrived in 2007 in wheat gluten. Many pets died when pet food companies added it to their foods.

Lead - a problem in many goods, lead was found in imported toys. Children are particularly at risk from this poison.

Sulphur - has been found in drywall. It has caused many health problems for people in newly constructed or remodeled homes, including some that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. It has been found to corrode copper wiring, pipes, and air conditioning coils, particularly in homes in warm, humid climates.

Formaldehyde – found in children’s clothing, it is believed to have sickened children in New Zealand. A couple of children died because it was flammable and their PJ’s caught fire. It is likely to be in any clothing, bedding product, or upholstery product imported from China.

From automobile tires to toothpaste, bad products from China have been recalled but only after damage brought it to the attention of our government agencies. Our country openly admits it can not inspect even a fraction of containerized shipments arriving at our ports every day. When we stop to consider that the people of Taiwan and China are infamous for counterfeit goods, how can we, as a sane nation, let anything from that part of the world into the USA?

If a pet food can be counterfeited, just imagine what could be looming in what has become a global economy. Since our government is powerless to protect us from contaminated pet food and human products, what can we do?

The answer is economic! As consumers, we must vow to stop buying goods that are made in China, Taiwan, or other questionable countries. Buying goods with labels that state Product of USA, Made in USA, or Manufactured in USA may be our best chance of staying alive or keeping our pets from being poisoned.

Evidence uncovered in this column led to Dishing Out Recalled and Recycled Dog Food, a June 1st Special Edition

  http://www.thedogplace.org/Articles/DogCare/Nutrition/09041-Counterfeit_Nel.htm