FDA issues warning to pet companies for selling unapproved antibiotics

Ehren Wynder
·2 min read
UPI
Chewy Inc. was among nine pet companies the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to Thursday for selling unapproved animal antibiotics. The animal products in question are marketed for small pets such as birds and aquarium fish. File Photo/Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Dec. 14 (UPI) -- A popular pet e-commerce company is under fire for distributing unapproved antibiotics for fish and other small pets.

Chewy Inc. was among nine pet companies the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to Thursday for selling unapproved animal antibiotics.

The animal products in question are marketed for small pets such as birds and aquarium fish. They contain antibiotics such as amoxicillin, penicillin, tetracycline and erythromycin, and are being illegally marketed over the counter, the FDC claims.

According to the FDA letter issued to Chewy CEO Sumit Singh, the drugs on Chewy's site marketed for fish Aqua-Mox, Aqua-Mox Forte, Aqua Ceph, Aqua Ceph Forte, Fishbiotic Cephalexin, Aqua-Cipro Forte, Aqua-Doxy, Aqua-Zole and Aqua-Zole Forte are not FDA-approved for their marketed use.

The letter also listed Aqua-Zithro, which is marketed for birds, as not FDA-approved.

The agency said it was concerned using these drugs without medical oversight could lead to immunity among the microorganisms these products are designed to kill.

"These unapproved animal drugs pose a two-fold risk to public health," said Tracey Forfa, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. "First, these products haven't been through the FDA drug review process, and we don't know whether they're safe or effective, or even contain what the label states. Second, inappropriate use of medically important antimicrobials contributes to the development of antimicrobial resistance, which affects both human and animal health."

Chewy Inc. is a Florida-based pet e-commerce company that distributes over 3,500 brands for dogs, cats, reptiles, fish, birds, farm animals and other small pets, according to its website. The company had a total year-to-date revenue of over $11 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Eight other companies received warning letters, including:

  • American Aquarium Products

  • Aquanest Biotic

  • Aquarium Pharmacy LLC

  • California Veterinary Supply

  • Kraft Drug

  • Midland Veterinary Services LLC

  • Silver Lease LLC

  • Valley Veterinary Clinic LTD

The FDA said it will take legal action against these companies if they do not respond to the letters within 15 days with how they plan to address the violations.