Four Dog Food Brands Issue Recall Over Salmonella Contamination Amid FDA Warning

Four pet food companies issued recalls after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a warning Tuesday about pet food tainted with salmonella, after reports surfaced over the weekend about animals dying or becoming ill.

Two children also became ill after coming in contact with pet foods, the FDA said. The six animal cases were connected to consumption of Darwin’s Natural and ZooLogics pet foods, manufactured by Arrow Reliance Inc., over the period from Oct. 17, 2016, to Feb. 10, 2018. The company recalled the products after being alerted to positive findings of salmonella in samples of their raw pet food products, the FDA said.

The two reports of human illness resulted from contact with Raws for Paws Ground Turkey Pet Food. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture found salmonella while testing products made by the Minneapolis-based company.

"We believe this was an isolated incident. We have not received any reports of animals being sick," Raws for Paws said in a statement. "Food safety (is) very, very important. In 10 years of selling raw pet food, this is our first recall. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and wish those affected by illness a speedy and healthy recovery."

Redbarn Pet Products of Long Beach, California, recalled its three-packs of seven-inch Bully Sticks dog chews after the Colorado Department of Agriculture reported one sample was found having salmonella.

"We test every product lot before it leaves our manufacturing plant. This lot... was tested both at our Redbarn lab and by a third-party testing facility. Those tests were negative for salmonella or pathogens," the company's president Jeff Sutherland said. "Despite not being able to replicate these test results or receiving any negative reports from customers regarding these chews, we feel the best course of action is to recall this lot code of the product and keep our customers safe."

The Colorado Department of Agriculture also prompted the recall of Smokehouse Pet Products' four-ounce bags of Beefy Munchies for dogs after it found salmonella in two packages manufactured by the company.

"Smokehouse is proud of our consistent quality and safety processes in place. This is our first recall in 26 years of business," the manufacturer said.

Darwin’s Natural Pet Products recalled select lots of its Darwin’s ZooLogics dog food, which includes ZooLogics Chicken and Vegetable Meals for Dogs manufactured Nov. 2, 2017 and ZooLogics Duck and Vegetable Meals for Dogs manufactured Nov. 16, 2017.

The FDA issued a warning to manufacturers saying it has a zero-tolerance policy for salmonella or other harmful bacteria in pet food.

"Raw pet food is more likely than other types of pet food to contain salmonella and listeria monocytogenes. Pet owners who choose to feed raw pet food should be aware of the risks associated with these products," the federal agency said.

Salmonellosis is the food poisoning caused by the Salmonella enterica bacterium, which is mostly caused by eating food contaminated by salmonella. Symptoms of infection in people include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. The symptoms last up to a week and the majority of people recover without treatment, the FDA said. However, pets don't always have symptoms, which for them include vomiting, diarrhea, fever, loss of appetite and lethargy.