Posted Monday, April 28, 2008, 12:34 p.m., EST

Evanger's Dog & Cat Food Co. continues to make and distribute products.

Most important, no product had been recalled nor is there any indication that any product was under-processed, unsafe or contaminated in any way, Evanger’s reported.

Specifically, the FDA reported that it has issued an order requiring Evanger’s to “obtain an emergency permit from the FDA before its canned pet food products enter interstate commerce.”

“We have no information to indicate that any products in market are unsafe,” according to Kimberly Rawlings, an FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition spokesperson, when asked whether shipped products could continue to be distributed, sold or fed.

The FDA’s concerns centered on deviations from “prescribed documentation of processes, equipment and recordkeeping in the production of the company’s thermally processed low acid canned food products,” which it said could potentially allow the survival of a bacterium that causes botulism.

“There have been no known incidences of spoilage, leakage, botulism or toxin found in product,” Rawlings stated, referring to Evanger’s products. She said the deviations included that Evanger’s had not filed most of its processes with the FDA, did not always record critical process information, and that its retort supervisors had not attended the required training schools.

“The FDA has not called into question the wholesomeness of any ingredient we use,” said Holly Sher, Evanger’s president. “We are confident Evanger’s products continue to be safe, wholesome and natural, so confident that we continue to feed them daily to our pets.”

The Wheeling, Ill.-based company acknowledged that the FDA raised certain record-keeping and other issues with the company following a recent inspection, and said that it is currently working closely with the FDA and a food processing consultant to satisfy any lingering concerns.

The inspection was related to Evanger’s canned foods and did not cover its dry pet food products.

“The order includes all low-acid canned pet food, except those products for which the firm provides information supporting that the food is free from microorganisms of public health significance,” Rawlings stated. “The center has evaluated one of these requests and found no objections to shipment of the requested products in interstate commerce.”

The company encouraged distributors and consumers seeking additional information to contact its customer service department (800-288-6796) or check for updates on its website.

The FDA had not issued any such order since the early 1990s until July 2007, Rawlings said. Since then, the FDA has issued three. The FDA is scrutinizing canning processors more closely in light of “human botulism illnesses and recalls that occurred due to under-processed hot dog chili sauce, and potentially under-processed canned green beans.”

The FDA has come under fire in the past couple years for lax inspection and enforcement efforts. <HOME>