Glad since we purchased a recalled dog treat made in China, we are very careful and buying only USA made products.

I don't think you can tell much from the slim info on product packaging. The country of manufacture is listed, but says nothing about where the primary ingredients are from.

So problematic ingredients from China will not be listed. If you spend ten bucks versus one dollar at the local dollar store the odds are better that ingredients are domestic.

Too bad the USA has such lax product regulations. To give a different example, ethanol in gas is a state regulation. So in my state the gas station pumps do not have to list the ethanol of 10%, while other states have to list their 1%. The only way I found out my states ethanol max was a local newspaper story which wrote about the fight to increase it to 15%!

It's easy enough to give "people" food treats that have at least gone through inspections although that's no guarantee.
I use bits of simply cooked chicken or beef as the dogs don't do well digestively with fish.

I just started making my own Chicken Jerky treats, got this recipe from a friend:

Super easy dog treat recipe, as it only contains 1 ingredient--Chicken Breasts!!

1) Simply cook the chicken breasts in the oven at 425F for approx 25 min----or till they are fully cooked!!

2) Then Set oven to 175F

3) Slice the COOKED chicken into thin strips

4) Using a bakers pan--I lined it with Parchment paper (easy clean up) Put the cooked chicken strips onto the pan

5) cook at 175F for approx 2.5 hrs!

6) Let cool and store in fridge.

They come out, just like jerky! Doesn't take them long to eat it, but it makes a very healthy treat, and only a few minutes of prep time,and no worries that it came from China!!

I figured it would be quicker to cook them on our griller first--and yes it was--but it leaves the top crispy, so made it difficult to cut, so probably best to just do them as described above. So even with 1 ingredient, I somewhat failed!! Dogs loved them--and our fussy cat who does not eat any type of treats, enjoyed it!!

It looks as though the FDA is going to get more involved in the making of pet food (see link below) but it will be interesting to see the outcome.

And, although this is off-subject, has anyone seen this statement before? "The US Department of Agriculture allows beef produced with beta-agonists to be labeled hormone-free, antibiotic-free and "natural," as the drugs do not fall into the same class as either growth hormones or antibiotics".
So, I guess that means the hormone and antibiotic-free eggs I've been buying are probably loaded with drugs that don't fall into the same class of hormones and antibiotics!
The food industry is slowly killing us.................

Here is a link that might be useful: FDA to regulate

I agree with Bumblebeez that the safest and easiest dog treats are human grade. I buy a package of cold cuts from the deli each week, ham, turkey, whatever, and also cut up a chunk of local cheddar cheese into bite sized bits and store in a baggie in the fridge.

I stopped feeding commercial petfood after the poisoning debacle of 2007. I cook my own dog and cat food from human grade meat. It's extra work but worth the peace of mind.

I just read the New York Times article "Concerns About Jerky Pet Treats" (11/5/2013?). It had more info on the subject than the short article my local paper ran.

60% of problem reported were gastrointestinal illness
30% kidney ailments

One woman filed a lawsuit after her two dogs were taken ill, one died, against the manufacturer. But she seems to have settled with an agreement that prohibited her from revealing the manufacturers name. Companies love these types of settlements that keep company names and documents from the public.

Interestingly, the NYT story says the dog owner was a reporter, Jordan Smith, from the Austin Chronicle. Well why not, we as a society put our own interests so often ahead of society as a whole.

Glad folks post this news. I was at Walmart and noticed a young couple looking at dog treats. I passed this info along. They didn't know. Said thanks for the warning.

Thanks, newbuyer2007.