Canine Crusader

Mary Peng is a pet owner, a pet lover, and the business brains behind the International Center for Veterinary Services (ICVS). A veteran of the health care profession, she now devotes her time and energy to overseeing the business operations and community awareness programs of the ICVS. Agenda met up with Peng to learn more about her work to improve food safety, and what it says about China’s regulatory landscape as a whole.

What have you seen in terms pet food safety?
Pet ownership in China is fairly new, and so the pet food market is also new. But the industry has grown very quickly, and also chaotically. There are not really a lot of laws and regulations, and on top of that, it is always difficult to enforce things in a country this large. People are swayed by advertising; they’re seduced by foreign import brands, and someone inevitably decides to fulfill this demand. Where there is a demand, there will be a supply. This is where the problem of fake foods and parallel imports originates.

Many people like to blame these problems on the government, but the China actually exercises tremendous regulatory supervision over food and drugs – there’s a Chinese State Food and Drug Administration, there’s a General Administration of Quarantine and Inspection, and other quality assurance bodies. But there are also many channels for illegal imports, and because these products are often transported in less than ideal conditions, there really is no guarantee that they are safe, even if they are the original brand. This is why it makes sense to buy products that are legally sold in China, because if products aren’t legally registered, and they haven’t been tested and approved by the appropriate authorities, then they’re black market smuggled goods, and this is where the danger begins.

Pet food safety is not the only thing you need to be aware of. Another big problem that we see is counterfeit drugs and vaccinations being given to animals. Most people aren’t aware of how strictly China controls rabies vaccinations, and it is very difficult to obtain the legal license to become a vaccination clinic, and to maintain it. It requires veterinary clinics to have a special pharmacy, and the government conducts frequent random checks to ensure that none of the vaccines go missing. If you’re getting your pet vaccinated, you need to look for the big, golden sign that is given to these establishments, because if they don’t have it, your pet is not being vaccinated, but probably being injected with saline solution or vitamin B.

What characterizes a legally registered pet food product?
A lot of things. Legally registered products have SFDA approval, they’ve undergone inspections from the General Administration of Quarantine and Inspection, they have an authorized, designated distributor that handles all of their local clients, and they only sell to retailers who promise to ensure good quality and good storage conditions. For example, Iams/Eukanuba has a designated distributor in China. They import directly from the manufacturer, and that distributor oversees the whole supply chain. They control the way the food is brought here, make sure it’s stored in temperature-controlled warehousing, that everything is within expiration date, they monitor all of the trucks that send the product around the country, they deal with authorized retailers with whom they have contracts. And if there’s ever an issue with quality, you can contact the distributor, and they’ll take it away and do a lab test on it, and if there is some sort of quality issue, they’ll take full responsibility. They’ll replace the product, they’ll refund the money, and if any animal is sick, they take responsibility if there is a direct link between the food they sell and the health of the animal.

What kind of problems have you seen arise from parallel imports?
The pet food safety issue really came into the news in February of 2009 with a product called Youge, or Optima. It was not sold in China by the manufacturer or any of its authorized distributors, but was smuggled in. Legally, it was never intended for sale in China, and the manufacturer, which I believe is an American company, was equally stunned to find out that their products had wound up in China. It was warehoused for a long time during the Olympics, when companies couldn’t distribute many of their products because of national security concerns. The product was kept in very hot, not temperature-controlled, warehouses in southern China for months and months, and it got moldy. There is a very toxic mold called Aflatoxin, which basically destroys the liver. Animals started to get sick and develop liver failure, and twenty or thirty of them died. Now, as a consumer, you would never know -that this was a dangerous product, because it was sitting on the shelf alongside products that were legally registered, and if your dog is one of the ones that got sick from it, you have no legal recourse. The most you can do is start to alert the appropriate government bureaus, and they’ll probably start an investigation, but that takes a long time. The best thing to do is to be an educated pet owner and consumer.

When talking about toxic food, we usually hear about fake goods. How much of the problem can be attributed to illegal imports versus fake goods?
I would say that the parallel imports are the bigger share of the market as opposed to the outright counterfeit. But there are counterfeit products too, and the counterfeits are so good that you really need the manufacturer’s staff to come and look at the packaging to tell the difference. This is another reason that it’s best to buy from bigger retailers and more reputable retailers. At ICVS we have a retail pet shop, and we won’t buy from any vendors that aren’t legally licensed by the SFDA. I also ask for their contract with the manufacturer, and double check it with the manufacturer directly. We understand the China market better than anyone, and we have a commitment to all of the pets and their families.

A lot of my clients come in when a new pet shop has opened up and ask me if their products are legitimate. When I take a look at what they’ve got on their shelves, I know for sure that a number of them are not. So please, be very careful. If you’re not sure, visit our website, or if you have any questions, contact us. We’re more than happy to help you. And there are legally registered pet foods at all price points. So there will be something that is affordable for every family.

So, if you suspect that your animal may have been poisoned, what would be the first symptoms to look for?
Well, it depends on what the poison is. After all, sometimes they just eat something bad off the street. But some of the more classic symptoms are vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. There might also be excessive drooling, or pain in the abdomen. But anything that doesn’t look right to you is probably not right. Trust your instincts. You know your pets’ behaviors and personalities better than anyone – probably even better than the doctors upon an initial consultation. And if you think something’s wrong, call your hospital and bring your pet in sooner rather than later. Sometimes animals just go off their food – they stop eating it. If it goes on for more than a day, that should be a red flag. Bring your pet in and bring its food in, along with its packaging. This helps us alert the manufacturer that there might be a quality issue with one of their products. There are some very big American brands that everyone knows, and everyone loves, and that I constantly see on the shelves around town, and nobody knows that they’re parallel imports.

Article from Agenda, issue 71, Jan 13-Jan 26. To read more from the most recent issue of Agenda, download the PDF here. To find a copy, contact our distribution department at distribution@agendabeijing.com with an idea of where you work, live or play and we'll tell you where you can find one near you.