FDA launches online Safety Reporting Portal for foods and animal drugs

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The Food and Drug Administration has developed the new Safety Reporting Portal to allow online reporting of safety problems relevant to foods, including pet foods and other animal feeds, and animal drugs.

"The portal will be a key detection tool in improving the country's nationwide surveillance system," said Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, FDA commissioner. "We will now be able to analyze human and animal safety-related events more quickly."

The Safety Reporting Portal allows veterinarians and the public to submit electronic reports about safety problems with pet foods. Veterinarians and the public should continue to report problems with animal feeds other than pet food by calling their regional FDA consumer complaint coordinator. Veterinarians and the public should continue to report adverse events related to animal drugs directly to the manufacturer, which must provide the information to the FDA.

The reporting portal allows the food industry and public health officials to submit electronic reports on problems with pet foods and animal feeds as well as human foods under FDA jurisdiction. Manufacturers of animal drugs may use the site to report adverse events.

The new website also provides directions for where to submit safety reports that the portal does not yet accept. The AVMA provides advice here on how animal owners and veterinarians may report problems with animal drugs, pesticides such as flea and tick products, veterinary biologics, pet foods, and animal feeds.

The AVMA continues to advocate for strong systems to report adverse events relevant to products used in veterinary medicine.