On May 24th, 2010 the Food and Drug Administrations teamed up with the National Institutes of Health to launch a new website called the Safety Reporting Portal. The site is designed to allow veterinarians and pet owners to report adverse reactions to pet food and treats. It also allows manufacturers of animal drugs to report adverse reactions to their products.
I applaud the decision to allow electronic reporting of adverse events. I hope it will speed up the process. In the past, adverse events often required filling out reports for multiple agencies. Then it took a prolonged period of time for the mail to actually reach the intended agency. This is a result of the anthrax scare from many years ago. Hopefully, this new system will allow the FDA and NIH to identify problems quickly and disseminate information to the veterinary and pet owner population in rapid fashion.
Although I am in favor of electronic reporting, I have to warn you that the site is awkward to navigate. I would start with the FAQ’s page at www.safetyreporting.hhs.gov/fpsr/FAQ.aspx, then explore from there. The animal section contains a lot of great information although it often takes a little effort to find what you want.