The health and wellbeing of Australian pets is our number one priority. We remain deeply saddened that a number of Australian dogs that consumed ADVANCE Dermocare dry dog food have been diagnosed with unexplained megaoesophagus.

As pet owners ourselves, we feel for those who have lost their dogs to megaoesophagus, or whose dogs have been diagnosed with the condition.

We learnt on the evening of March 23, that two household pets had been diagnosed with megaoesophagus, a fact which led us to voluntarily recall ADVANCE Dermocare dry dog food within 24 hours. We were deeply saddened to hear the news and acted promptly to ensure product was swiftly recalled.

Testing continues at pace to support the investigation by U-Vet at the University of Melbourne, and other experts to get to the bottom of this issue.

We continue to speak with pet owners to provide support, and to offer to reimburse vet bills for the diagnosis and ongoing treatment of megaoesophagus. As part of these discussions, we have been encouraging pet owners to seek legal advice so that they can make the decision that is best for them. Each of these occasions is a personal story involving a pet owner and their pet, and as such, we are unable to comment on them publicly.

As a strong supporter of the Australian Standard (AS 5812-2017) for the Manufacturing and Marketing of Pet Food, we support the introduction of regulation that continues to strengthen our local industry and demands the very best for pets and will work collaboratively with industry and government to ensure its timely introduction.