Made in the U.S. of ...China?

The FDA has reported several complaints since 2007 about chicken jerky treats manufactured in China, dogs have become ill and for some it has even proven fatal. I had not heard of these complaints until last week when the story circulated again on the internet and so for the last two months we have been feeding Charlie the Welcome Home Chicken Jerky treats available at Centinela Feed. From the first bite we knew he was hooked, the minute the bag came out he would make a beeline for his bed and sit patiently waiting for his favorite treat. He has never become ill from the treats, but after reading the FDA report we were naturally concerned. I scoured the back of the package, but found no information about where the treats were manufactured, so I called the number listed. A very kind customer service representative confirmed that the treats are in fact manufactured in China, but she tried to assure me that the plant is inspected regularly and that they have never received any complaints from customers. We decided that although we have had no issues, we will no longer be giving Charlie the treats. Anyone who followed the news this past year is aware of all the appalling recalls to come out of China, from toys to tainted milk, so for me it was a no brainer.

Now the hard part: finding something to replace Charlie's favorite tasty treat. After 20 minutes in Centinela Feed yesterday it quickly became apparent that all brands of Chicken Jerky are manufactured in China, along with a great deal of other dog treats. We finally settled on some flavored milk bones, which he seems to like although it's no jerky. Later in the day while running errands we stumbled on a small local pet store where we found some promising candidates. I selected a bag of dehydrated sweet potatoes which have a similar consistency to the jerky, fingers crossed that Charlie feels the same.