Chinese Officials Deny FDA Testing Request For Nestle Purina Jerky Treats

If your dog dies from eating a jerky treat from Nestle Purina, you might be able to place the blame on government officials in China. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was recently denied permission to collect samples from production facilities in the country after officials in the country demanded that all samples be tested at China’s government run testing locations.

The FDA conducted April inspections at four jerky treat manufacturing sites in Liaocheng and Jinan, China, and they found that many labs never conducted tests or rarely conducted sample gathering.

Tests would allow officials to determine if tainted raw materials, including meat used in treats, were being fed to more than 78.2 million dogs in the United States.

While the FDA inspection did not find any violations in April, officials warned of problems including a torn gasket door on a mixer and broken supports on metal screens.

The agency launched its investigation after 2,000 reports of illnesses or deaths were reported in US dogs. Those household pets had all eaten jerky treats made in China, and officials could find no other links between the pets.

The FDA has tested hundreds of treats over the years and has found no significant threats, which makes the Chinese governments decision to restrict independent testing all the more strange.

In the meantime, dog owners who lost a pet to the alleged deadly treats have called on Nestle Purina to demand that samples be released to the FDA.

Nestle Purina, in the meantime, has decided to ignore the issue and potential danger to dogs, noting that inspections have not demonstrated problems with its products.

Nestle also continues to blame Chinese officials for the lack of independent testing.

Keith Schopp, the firm’s vice president of public relations, tells NBCNews.com:

“Nestle Purina will continue to cooperate fully with FDA to assist its investigation.”

Do you think Nestle Purina should work to release samples for independent testing?