The Food and Drug Administration is investigating a dog food manufacturer for possibly being linked to the deaths of more than 130 animals and causing 220 pets to fall ill.
The agency sent a warning letter to Midwestern Pet Foods on Tuesday.
The letter comes in response after four Midwestern Pet Foods manufacturing plants located in Oklahoma, New York, Indiana, and Illinois were inspected and revealed to have "evidence of significant violations."
In a statement, Steven M. Solomon, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, said the plants "revealed evidence of violations, which were shared across multiple plants and were associated with the illness or death of hundreds of pets who had eaten the company's dry dog food."
"The FDA is dedicated to taking all steps possible to help pet owners have confidence that the food they buy for their animal companions is safe and wholesome," Solomon said.
In January, Midwestern recalled Sportmix dry dog food after finding dog food samples to contain high aflatoxin levels.
In March, Midwestern recalled several more of its brands, including CanineX, Earthborn Holistic, Venture, Unrefined, Sportmix Wholesomes, Pro Pac, Pro Pac Ultimates, Sportstrail Sportmix, and Meridian, after samples taken tested positive for salmonella.
The agency said that as of Aug. 9, they are "aware of more than 130 pet deaths and more than 220 pet illnesses that may be linked to eating brands of pet food manufactured by Midwestern."
The FDA said Midwestern has 15 days to respond to the warning letter to state "the specific steps they have taken to correct any violations."
Failure to do so could result in them facing legal action.
