Petco Says It’s Pulled All China-Made Jerky Treats As Fear Of Pet Sickness Looms

(Dan Domme)

It’s been seven months since Petco and PetSmart announced they’d both be removing cat and dog treats made in China over pet sickness fears, and this week the former says it’s ready to pull all the products from its stores and online.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says initial tests haven’t connected the jerky and rawhide treats to a spate of pet illnesses and the death of 1,000 dogs in the country since 2007, Petco said it’s yanked all remaining Chinese treats from its site and all it’s 1,300 or so stores.

This marks the first major national pet retailer to pull the treats. PetSmart says it’ll follow suit at its 1,300 stores by March, reports the Associated Press.

The FDA has been looking into the treats after more than 4,000 complaints of sickened pets as well as deaths came in, claiming that the pets had eaten chicken, duck, or sweet potato jerky treats from China. The agency is still investigating despite a lack of a confirmed connection in the lab thus far.

From now on, all Petco treats will be made in the U.S. or in places like the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and South America, the company’s vice president said.

Petco Removes China-Made Treats Amid Pet Sickness Fears [Associated Press]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist