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OUR MISSION The Pet Food Products Safety Alliance is a cooperative effort to promote pet food safety through citizen oversight, research, testing, public awareness and legislative reform. * Since 2004, there has been on average one pet food recall every three months. * The FDA has no authority to issue recalls. Recalls are voluntary at the discretion of pet food companies. * The pet food industry is for all practical purposes self regulated, with the main regulatory authority made up of pet food industry insiders and lobbyists. * With the exception of a few small independents, all U.S. pet food manufacturers are represented by a powerful lobbying organization, the Pet Food Institute, which shapes industry policy and practices, while managing public opinion and damage control when negligent industry practices result in dangerous or deadly pet food products being marketed to consumers. * Aggressive lobbying tactics have resulted in poor legislation, leaving pet owners with little recourse when their companion animals are harmed by dangerous or deadly pet food products. * Substandard ingredients are used in pet food products, without testing protocols in place to ensure the ingredients and finished pet food products are safe for consumption. The immediate focus of the Pet Food Products Safety Alliance will be to raise funds to support independent laboratory testing of potentially unsafe pet food products, identify toxins present in pet foods, and to create public awareness of the problems and issues. Through consumer participation and organization, the Pet Food Products Safety Alliance plans to work with its members, the public, and other organizations, in order to promote increased oversight, regulation and enforcement of pet food industry practices and a higher level of pet food manufacturer accountability to the individual consumers of those products. |