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How to Report a Pet Product Problem to the FDA

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You give your dog some food, treats, or medication…and then he gets sick. After contacting your vet, what’s the next step?

To prevent the spread of illness through possibly contaminated or tainted pet products, it’s a good idea in the US to report your complaint to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

As the FDA receives reports, they investigate and look for patterns–ones that can sometimes result in further investigations and eventually a recall.

Two Ways to Report Pet Food or Medication Problems

The FDA has two ways to report your pet product problems:

  1. You can use the Safety Reporting Portal. You can sign up for an account or make a report as a guest.
  2. You can call your state’s Consumer Complaint Coordinators. Not every state has a Consumer Complaint Coordinator; smaller states may share the same call number. Below you’ll find a list of phone numbers by state for contacting the FDA with your complaint.

Information to Gather Before Your Call

Regardless of which method you choose to report the problem, you need to have some information on hand when you make the report.

Regarding the product, you’ll need to know the exact name of the product. It’s best if you have the original product packaging so you can report the Lot Number, Best By date, UPC code, and weight of the product. (This is one good reason to store your dog food with part of the original product packaging, even if you choose to store the food in a different container.)

You’ll want to be as descriptive as possible regarding the problem with the product. Even if you didn’t serve the product to your pet, you can report that it had a bad odor, that the container was swollen, etc.

If you served the product to your dog, you’ll need to supply information on your pet such as:

  • his age
  • weight
  • any pre-existing conditions he has
  • how much of the product he consumed
  • what signs of illness he exhibited
  • when he became ill
  • the results of your veterinarian’s examination. If your vet did any lab work on your dog, have those results handy, too.

Phone Numbers for Making an FDA Complaint

Here’s a list of the FDA Complaint Coordinators by state:

StatePhone Number
Alabama866-289-3399
Alaska800-353-3965 (toll free)
Arizona303-236-3044
Arkansas855-630-2112 (toll free)
California (Northern)— zip codes 936xx & higher; and zip codes not covered by southern CA510-337-6741
California (Southern)— zip codes 90xxx – 92xxx, 93000-93199, 93400-93499, 93510, 93532-93539949-608-3530
Colorado303-236-3044
Connecticut800-891-8295 (toll free) 
Delaware877-689-8073 (toll-free) 
District of Columbia410-779-5713
Florida 866-337-6272 (toll free) 
Georgia404-253-1169
Hawaii808-522-8011 X1100
Idaho800-353-3965 (toll free) 
Illinois312-353-7840
Indiana313-393-8189
Iowa855-202-9780 (toll free)
Kansas855-202-9780 (toll free)
Kentucky513-322-0546 
800-437-2382 (toll free) 
Louisiana866-289-3399
Maine800-891-8295 (toll-free) 
Maryland410-779-5713
Massachusetts800-891-8295 (toll-free) 
Michigan313-393-8189
Minnesota612-758-7221
Mississippi866-289-3399
Missouri855-202-9780 (toll free)
Montana800-353-3965 (toll-free) 
Nebraska855-202-9780 (toll free)
Nevada510-337-6741
New Hampshire800-891-8295 (toll-free) 
New Jersey973-331-4998
New Mexico303-236-3044
New York 866-446-9055 (toll-free) 
North Carolina404-253-1169
North Dakota612-758-7221
Ohio513-322-0546 
800-437-2382 (toll free) 
Oklahoma855-630-2112 (toll free)
Oregon800-353-3965 (toll-free) 
Pennsylvania877-689-8073 (toll-free) 
Rhode Island800-891-8295 (toll-free) 
South Carolina404-253-1169
South Dakota612-758-7221
Tennessee866-289-3399
Texas855-630-2112 (toll free)
Utah303-236-3044
Vermont800-891-8295 (toll-free)  
Virginia410-779-5713
Washington800-353-3965 (toll-free)  
West Virginia410-779-5713
Wisconsin612-758-7221
Wyoming303-236-3044
Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands800-332-0127 (toll-free)
Paris Permenter
This post originally appeared on DogTipper.com and is the sole property of DogTipper.com.