This author is not sure that the total financial or emotional impact of the 2007 Pet Food Scare will ever be totally calculated. As a concerned pet owner whose best friend was affected by this scare and survived

This author is not sure that the total financial or emotional impact of the 2007 Pet Food Scare will ever be totally calculated. As a concerned pet owner whose best friend was affected by this scare and survived, I do know our dog no longer eats pet food.

According to Consumer Reports, an attorney for Stephen S. Miller, co-owner of ChemNutra Inc., said his client, Miller’s wife, Sally, and the company plan to enter guilty pleas at a hearing June 16, according to court papers. The Millers and ChemNutra, along with two Chinese companies, were indicted in February 2008 on charges that ChemNutra imported wheat gluten tainted with the chemical melamine, which was then sold to pet food makers.

According to Wikipedia ChemNutra imported ingredients for food, animal feed and pharmaceuticals, so the impact of the products they imported had the potential to have a more far reaching impact than just pet food.

As this author has continued to stress, managing and keeping supplier information fresh and accurate is a constant challenge for all retailers. Food recalls such as the 2007 Pet Food Recall can be mitigated by following the correct processes and keeping up with and holding suppliers accountable to food industry safety standards as we discussed during yesterdays post.

As we are not aware of the plea arrangement in this case, we may never know the financial impact to retailers, wholesalers, suppliers, employees and shareholders that were negatively impacted by companies using ChemNutra as a source of ingredients.

What we do know is that thousands of dogs and cats gave their lives when all they do day in and day out is trust us to keep them safe. What a shame.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.