Making Sense of
Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)
FDA Update Reassures Pet Lovers
At ACANA, we’re committed to making nutritious, healthy, and safe food for pets everywhere. That’s why we are pleased the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine, has shared it will not provide any further updates on Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) in connection with grain-free food until there is meaningful new information to share, because data up until this point has been insufficient in establishing a connection between the two.
DCM is a rare and scientifically complex disease that impacts approximately 1% of dogs in the U.S. Previously, Dr. Steven Solomon, former Director of FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, underscored:
- No pet food has been declared unsafe or linked to DCM: “FDA has not taken regulatory action against or declared any specific pet food products unsafe or definitively linked to DCM”.
- DCM is a complex medical condition about far more than diet: “Historically, DCM has been primarily linked to genetic predisposition in certain breeds, but in the context of these atypical cases, emerging science indicates that non-hereditary DCM is a complex medical condition that may be affected by the interplay of multiple factors such as genetics, underlying medical conditions and diet”.
Dr. Solomon’s full remarks from 2020 are available online here.
Our Pet Health Experts
We have numerous pet nutrition, food science and veterinary medicine experts on staff who oversee the creation of our foods. These valuable members of our team collectively have over 135 years of experience working in animal health and nutrition. To continually advance our products to meet the complex nutritional needs of pets, our team conducts in-depth reviews of existing scientific research and runs regular digestibility studies on all our products.
