Chinese pet food exporters have expressed shock and concern about US pet food retailers' decision to remove Chinese products from shelves and called for objective and fair treatment of made-in-China products.

Petco announced early last month that it has removed all remaining Chinese-made dog and cat treats from its website and stores nationwide because of concerns they have sickened thousands of pets and killed 1,000 dogs in the United States since 2007.

In response to the decision, the Pet Food Articles Inspection and Quarantine Branch of China Entry and Exit Inspection and Quarantine Association said that "there is no direct evidence of a correlation between the pet snacks manufactured in China and the disease and death of pets in USA".

"De-shelving with no reason will result in trade losses of the importers/exporters of the two countries and cause a misunderstanding by US consumers about pet snacks manufactured in China," the association said in a statement provided to China Daily.

The US FDA said initial tests have not connected the Chinese jerky and rawhide treats to the illnesses. The San Diego-based company and its rival PetSmart said in May that they want to ban the snacks.

The association said that most of Chinese enterprises do OEM for US brands, and raw, auxiliary materials and production technology are in accordance with the requests of US importers.

The association said the incident has affected many Chinese pet food enterprises, with the reason for de-shelving given as product quality based upon groundless suspicion.

"We wish the US retailers to treat pet snacks manufactured in China objectively and fairly, and US consumers not be misguided by groundless suspicions," it added.