It was just a year ago when pet lovers found themselves in the middle of the nightmare of a massive pet food recall. Sadly many of the pets involved never woke up from that nightmare, and their owners are still trying to deal with it. Christie Keith, of Pet Connection answers the question, “has anything changed?”

A year ago, Canada’s Menu Foods announced it was recalling more than 60 million containers of dog and cat food sold in the United States. Although the name Menu Foods wasn’t familiar to pet owners, the recalled cans and pouches bore the labels of dozens of the most familiar and trusted brands in the marketplace.

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I didn’t guess when I began covering this story with Gina Spadafori at Pet Connection that it would turn into the largest consumer recall in history, trigger an international trade scandal, launch congressional hearings, spur proposed legislation on food safety and get both American and Chinese businesses owners indicted. I couldn’t have foreseen that the incident would put a spotlight on Chinese imports which would eventually reveal lead in children’s toys and toxins in toothpaste, and prompt the recent recall of the drug heparin.

But it’s equally hard to believe that after all that, the answer to the question “Could it happen again?” is probably “Yes.”

The reason for that is simple: None of the changes that might prevent a repeat of last year’s pet food recall have been implemented. There have been no improved inspections of pet food plants, no comprehensive overhaul of the patchwork of state, federal and industry manufacturing standards and regulations, no increased transparency and accountability — not even something as simple as printing the name and contact information of the actual manufacturer on pet food labels — and no revisions to pet food labeling laws. The Food and Drug Administration still does not have the authority to issue mandatory recalls.

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Dr. Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University and a well-known author of popular books on food safety, food politics and nutrition, has a new book, “Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine” due out in September. “I’d like to think that fundamental changes have occurred,” she told me. “The pet food industry as a whole took a big hit and everyone learned some lessons. Companies across the board are looking more carefully at sources, demanding and doing more testing and upping their quality controls.”

Unfortunately, she said, that’s not enough: “The industry’s responses are voluntary and they need to do more to restore trust. Food industries cannot be counted on to regulate themselves, and until there is better regulation — including FDA recall authority and better labeling — there will still be grounds for distrust.”

Nestle isn’t completely pessimistic, however. “I’d like to think that some good will result from this mess, and I do see hopeful signs,” she said.

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If the pet food industry or the FDA had put that kind of testing in place earlier, the 2007 recall may not have happened at all. The adulteration of protein concentrates with melamine and cyanuric acid was found to be both longstanding and widespread in China, so it seemed unlikely something like this hadn’t happened before.

And in fact, it had. The Journal of Veterinary Investigative Diagnosis recently reported that melamine and cyanuric acid contamination was responsible for the deaths of thousands of pets in 2004.

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A fix for that broken system may be coming, even if it’s a bit slow. The FDA recently announced a meeting where it will discuss changes in the regulation of pet food ingredients, processing and labeling with representatives from the pet food industry, government agencies, veterinary medical associations, animal health organizations and pet food manufacturers at that meeting. One group not on that list is pet owners, but they have asked to hear from us. Comments should be made on docket number 2007n-0487 at www.regulations.gov/.

The San Francisco Chronicle has the rest.

So what are you feeding your pets these day? And do you feel safe?

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