COMBATING ANIMAL HEALTH FRAUD

Health fraud flourishes in the animal drug and feed industries. Disease conditions in prized animals, such as racehorses or family pets, sometimes prompt animal owners to seek miracle cures and quick fixes. Additionally, products which promise greater profits to farmers and ranchers and products which promise certain conveniences or other advantages to animal owners may make for easy victims of health fraud.

Perpetrators of animal health fraud are easily able to target promotional campaigns to desired audiences. There are numerous trade press publications directed to consumers who are involved in various animal-oriented professions or avocations. There are dog fancier and hunting dog magazines, journals for pleasure horse or racehorse enthusiasts, and publications directed to all aspects of food animal production. Such publications allow for selected placement of advertisements, as well as provide mailing lists for health fraud promoters.

Not all false or misleading or inadequately substantiated claims made in conjunction with animal products are considered health fraud. The designation is normally associated with ineffective or unproven products for which a broad range of generalized medical/therapeutic or function claims or greatly exaggerated claims are made. For example, marketing an iron preparation intended for the prevention of anemia in baby pigs, in the absence of an approved NADA, would constitute a violation of the Act. However, it would not be considered health fraud since iron is essential to the prevention of anemia. On the other hand, marketing an electric shock device with claims to mitigate the effects of snake bite in cattle would be considered health fraud because the claim is false and without rational basis.

Health fraud products which present a direct health hazard to animals (or to humans) have the highest priority for enforcement. An example would be an electric dog training collar, which is shown to cause injury to dogs.

Economic fraud is of somewhat lower priority for enforcement in animal drugs and feeds. Examples include:

• harmless but unproven nutritional supplements which purport to make horses win more races, make sows produce larger litters, or make animals resistant to any number of diseases. MSM (methylsulfonyl methane) is an example.
• products which claim to "build blood," usually in performance animals, thereby increasing stamina, improving breeding, etc.
• pet foods to which certain drugs (such as chlortetracycline) are added with a claim for eliminating body odors associated with pets.
• enzyme products, and direct fed microbial products with live organisms which make therapeutic function claims for improving the health or productivity of animals.

CVM attempts to make information regarding significant trends in health fraud available to the public through issuances of press releases, talk papers, and the FDA Veterinarian, and through the FDA Public Affairs and Health Fraud Staff and other communications channels.

Veterinary products suspected of being fraudulent or otherwise misbranded or adulterated should be reported to the FDA District Office.

 Credits: US Food and Drug Administration