Agency claims there is no investigation, so records should be released, site argues

ConsumerAffairs.com has appealed the refusal of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to release lab results, citizen complaints and other documents related to NUTRO pet food.

The consumer Web site has received more than 800 reports from consumers who say their pets became ill and, in some cases, died after eating NUTRO products. ConsumerAffairs.com first requested the FDA documents under the Freedom of Information Action (FOIA) last spring, but the FDA denied the request, saying that granting it could interfere with law enforcement proceedings.

Questioned by ConsumerAffairs.com reporter Lisa Wade McCormick, an FDA official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that the request was denied because the agency was investigating NUTRO. But the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) then issued a press release claiming that NUTRO was not being investigated.

The CVM is not the FDA division that handles complaints about pet food and is not the division to which the FDA employee who confirmed the investigation is assigned.

“Though the reports on whether the FDA is investigating Nutro have been conflicting, the FDA’s official position is that there is no pending investigation of Nutro. Therefore, the FDA may not rely on the ‘law enforcement’ exemption of FOIA because, according to the FDA, there is no pending enforcement proceeding against Nutro,” said Cameron Stracher, a New York attorney who represents ConsumerAffairs.com.

Despite the FDA’s denial that it is investigating NUTRO, consumers have confirmed that FDA inspectors came to their homes investigating their pets’ deaths.

In one instance, the FDA investigator told a consumer that he had learned of her pet’s death by reading her complaint on ConsumerAffairs.com.

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~Sandy G.

Manage your photos on a cruise

From Komando.com

Q.   Soon I’ll be going on a two-week cruise. I have a digital camera with a 1GB memory card. How can I offload my pictures while at sea? I want to be able to fill the card several times.

A. You have several options for managing your photos. The easiest would be to get extra memory cards. As you fill them, just stick in new ones. When you get home you can download all of your photos.

Most digital cameras use either Memory Stick or SD memory cards. Extra memory cards are cheap. You can easily find a 1GB card for under $10. You can get a 4GB card for around $20. Some cameras can take higher capacity cards. These can range from around $50 to $100. And they can hold as much as 16GBs.

I’d recommend extra memory cards. It’s such a cheap and easy solution. But it’s not the only one.

You could get a handheld photo storage device. These devices are about the size of an iPod. You’ll find models that store between 30GB and 250GB. They can pull the photos right off your memory card.

Several companies make these devices. Try Epson, Jobo or Wolverine. For devices without a screen, prices start around $150. You’ll spend upward of $500 for one with a screen.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

~Sandy G.