My best guess (and that’s really all it can be – as I’ve no inside info on this) is that Optima produces the dog food in the US, it’s distributed globally by their parent company (owned by Mars). It is legally imported and distributed in Taiwan by Natural Pet.

As Natural Pet already has a supply chain to China for selling a number of other pet foods (registered, I assume), it just piggy-backs the Optima sales on that.

The local distributor is just that, some dude with a business for bringing in products from Shanghai and distributing them in Suzhou. One such product is Optima dog food. He gets his stuff from a major consumer products distributor in Shanghai (mentioned freq. in the news reports). They are the buyers that purchase the stuff from Natural Pet.

As for the 4-5 months between the Olympics and Addie’s sickness – granted it was likely well longer than their usual supply chain takes to move the product, it was still long before the expiry date (September 2009 – I believe).

I realize that you would probably like to leave this whole episode behind you, but I have some questions if you don’t mind. I am an American living between LA and Beijing, and I too buy Optima for my dog (though it looks like I’m in for a change).

I’ve read several of your posts and various media reports about the aflatoxin incident and am left confused. I see reports saying the distributor was Natural Pet, a Taiwanese company, but that Australia and Chinese AQSIQ both deny having approved Optima’s import to the mainland. As you say, Optima is an American company, and you say “it’s very definitely made in the USA,” but Mars denies having produced the food. How do you know it’s made in the U.S.? Is it possible it’s an Australian subsidiary that produces Asia-bound food (this of course would not absolve Mars, but it does mean that the producer may not be the same as the one for the U.S. market)?

I would also like to know about the representatives you dealt with. If Optima itself does not distribute in China, who were these agents? Does Optima have representation here even though it does not distribute? Were the representatives from the Taiwan company, “Natural Pet.”

Finally, the most troubling. You say the reps told you the Olympic-related restrictions meant that pet food was left in the Guangzhou port. I see how that could produce the fungus, but Addie got sick in December! What kind of distributor is distributing food that’s over 4-5 months old BEFORE it even hits the shelves?! Who is the distributor in China?

I’m really sorry about Addie. I would hope that steps can be taken to avoid future disasters such as this, but who knows.

Thanks

If I was in the US and fighting a US corporation, I *might* have more ambition to do so. As it stands, there is a razor’s edge of a chance that anything remotely positive could come of pursuing it – and the only thing it promises for certain is months and months of time-consuming frustration.

None of which will bring my dog back, and all of which will act as a salt-in-wound reminder that she’s gone and how she died.

With that said, however, we all know how difficult it can be to do business with China (as well as other countries). If you go into any expat store in China you’ll see all kinds of brands/products many, if not most, of which were never intended for sale in China by the producer. Some of these products specifically contain a clause stating that no guarantees or warranties are granted if purchased outside a licensed/verified country. Fujitsu products carry this warning for electronic goods and I have seen it on some food products although none in my fridge bare this warning.

I guess the question I would pose (seeing your argument) would be what’s the threshold at which a company becomes negligent and thus liable. Assuming they are unaware of the sale in China would it be 10% additional sales volume to Taiwan, 100%? anyhow its just a question because I just can’t see a blanket blame cast upon the company particularly when product is being illegally imported to another country. Its hard to world police your own products.

Anyhow its just an aside. I am extremely surprised that Mars/Optima has not tried to contact you and get any identifying information from the bag. At the very least they could try to track down its real path rather than speculate about it. Ignoring the issue doesn’t seem to be helping their case.

I am sincerely sorry for your loss and hope that there is restitution at some point.

as there is no doubt they turn a blind eye to the added profits – illegally imported or not, a sale is a sale is a sale.

I really agree with this. My feeling is that Mars/Optima should be bending over backwards to find out what happened. Do you still have any packaging materials from the dog food? I’m wondering if you examined it for any sign that it was fake. I’d guess that some expert somewhere would be able to tell.
What’s really annoying to me is that in the Western news channels, they seem a little over-eager to blame China and to absolve the U.S. company from fault.

the increased exposure pretty much guarantees that the company responsible will be destroyed

Hmmm … no guarantee there, I’m afraid. Everyone’s scrambling to find a scapegoat.

My guess is that Mars/Optima doesn’t import directly to China because they can’t verify the quality of their product at the place(s) its being sold; a very common industry practice. If a business can’t trust that the reseller/distributor of its goods then it shouldn’t sell to them and it appears in this case that they indeed did not.

But surely they can notice the increased sales for a small country like Taiwan. I mean, we’re not talking a couple of bags – the Taiwan supplier is/was supplying much of mainland China with the stuff. They may be able to keep their hands clean by hiding behind what you’re saying, but they are still very much responsible, as there is no doubt they turn a blind eye to the added profits – illegally imported or not, a sale is a sale is a sale.

My guess is that Mars/Optima doesn’t import directly to China because they can’t verify the quality of their product at the place(s) its being sold; a very common industry practice. If a business can’t trust that the reseller/distributor of its goods then it shouldn’t sell to them and it appears in this case that they indeed did not.

What I would say is that Mars/Optima should provide a list of respected/trusted distributers and official distribution countries. This way if you find a bag of Optima dog food in China but Optima has not official export to China, consumer will know to be wary.

Yes, and Mars, Optima, or whoever manufactures it will happily pick up the extra sales volume (their unofficial share of the Chinese market). Scumbags.

Lazy Journalism indeed.