The Ministry of Agriculture has issued recall notices for four types of cat and dog snacks found to contain salmonella and heavy metals following inspections of 156 commercially available pet food products.
The inspection has been broadened to include more types of pet food products, partly due to reports of suspicious cat deaths seemingly related to tainted snacks, Department of Animal Welfare Director Chiang Wen-chuan (江文全) said last week.
The ministry inspected 32 dog food products, 82 cat food products and 42 products for cats and dogs, he said.
Photo: Su Chin-feng, Taipei Times
Simple Sense uncooked chicken pate produced on April 10 and Fuzzywuzzycare dehydrated duck esophagus produced on June 14 were tainted with salmonella, ministry officials said.
Meanwhile, Mao Siao San crispy shark cartilage produced on June 14 and Cat Pool freeze-dried salmon and shark cubes produced in December last year were tainted by salmonella, and contained 0.7 parts per million (ppm) and 2.5ppm of mercury respectively, they said.
The legal limit is 2.5ppm.
Salmonella infection can result in disorders in pets, from indigestion to sepsis, while mercury and arsenic are toxic and can lead to heavy metal poisoning, Chiang said.
The ministry has informed local animal welfare agencies to launch investigations to identify liable parties and remove the tainted products from shelves, he said, adding that the companies are responsible for alerting suppliers and customers.
As the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) does not give the government a mandate to regulate pet food manufacturing facilities, the ministry can only impose fines on companies, Chiang said.
The ministry is working on a law on animal food safety standards to establish pet food factory certifications and empower regulators to shut down repeat offenders, he said, adding that a preview of the law could be unveiled next month at the earliest.
In other news, a high number of badgers have tested positive for rabies in Taichung. In response, the Taichung City Animal Protection and Epidemic Prevention Department has urged people to have their pets vaccinated as soon as possible to ensure the health and safety of humans and animals.
A zoonotic disease, rabies can be transmitted between animals and humans, and can cause neurological symptoms that can spread among other mammals, the department said on Saturday.
The overall rabies vaccination rate in Taichung has increased from 44.83 percent in 2021 to 47.69 percent last year, the National Audit Office said.
As the target of a 70 percent vaccination rate has yet to be attained, the office has urged the Taichung City Government to adopt measures to meet that goal.
It also questioned why the city government has not been active in handling cases of owners who do not vaccinate their pets within one year, affecting the municipality’s efforts to combat rabies.
In response, the department said it has been looking into vaccination records of pet owners for the past three years, adding that pet owners who have not vaccinated their pets per regulations can be fined NT$30,000 to NT$150,000.
Additional reporting by Su Chin-feng
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