PetAg Targeted in Baby Animal Formula Online Hoax

You may have seen the reports or gotten an email stating that PetAg, a leading manufacturer of baby animal formula, has been shipping tainted product and that their KMR and Esbilac formulas have sickened and killed many animals in 2009. The reports go on to say that even after PetAg admitted there was a problem, the tainted product remains on the shelves.

The only problem is, there is no record of the admission on PetAg's website, in fact, they post a categorical denial of any problem with their products, stating in part:

"PetAg announced today that in a February 4 discussion with Food and Drug Administration officials, the company was notified that a complaint received about one of its dry formula products was "spurious." The FDA official notified the company that it was not conducting an investigation.

The company previously notified its customers that it was the victim of an activist group distributing misinformation about the company and its products through the internet."
(The PetAg letter to customers is reprinted below)

Another red flag is that no information is readily available at FDA website even after a thorough search, nor does any major news source cover the story.

As promised, here is the letter PetAg sent out to its customers.

Dear PetAg Customer:
Your work is vital to the humane and compassionate development of our pet animals and wildlife. At PetAg, we consider ourselves to be your partner and the reason we are in business is to improve the health of animals. This orientation guides all of our action.

Anything that distracts us from this important work is unfortunate. Therefore, we are saddened to inform you that our small company has been targeted by what we believe to be is a fringe animal activist group. This group is posting false information about the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and about our company and our products. They are maliciously broadcasting that PetAg product is tainted.

There is no problem with PetAg’s products and the FDA has issued no reports. Simply put, the FDA has informed us that it views the one complaint registered with the FDA from this activist group as without merit, “spurious”. We have sent our distributors and retailers a statement to this effect which we reviewed with the FDA before we sent out the information. Please view our website at www.petag.com for our comments.

All of our animal formula products are safe to use as long as they are stored and used as directed by our label. We test and retest product prior to shipment to make sure it is safe. Our powder formula milk replacers, Esbilac® and KMR®, are made from all natural real milk so it is possible for them to sour when exposed to severe prolonged heat stress. This souring is naturally-occurring — though rare — and the same as when fresh milk is left out of the refrigerator too long. Instructions for properly storing powdered formula to avoid this phenomenon are on the label. Our product is not defective and concerns about its freshness are immediately answered through a simple smell test (the product should appear creamy white and have a faint sweet, milk-like odor).

If you have any questions, please contact PetAg’s technical service department at 800-323-0877 between 8 AM and 5 PM EST. We are grateful that our friends and loyal customers are helping us communicate the truth about our products. We are proud of our 50 year history in helping you to save animal lives and, we’re excited about the improvements we’ve developed that now make our formulas better than ever.
Thank you ever so much again.
PETAG INC.

255 Keyes Ave. • Hampshire, IL 60140 • Phone (847)683-2288 Fax (847)683-2343