Thursday, March 21

Another Recall Alert! This Time Natura

There have been so many recalls lately, what is going on?  This is the 4th recall of food or treats since February.  Please be sure to check your food and treats each time you see a recall alert, if your dog ingests anything that is contaminated it could be deadly.  The scariest part of the recalls is that these are not little brands, these have all been popular, major brands.  Especially this latest recall, the brands effected are very popular.

Below are the last 4 recalls from the most current (Natura, which includes California Natural, EVO, Healthwise, and Innova) back.  Thank you Dogster for your detailed information.



Pet-food maker Natura Pet Products Inc. announced a huge recall of its dry dog and cat foods earlier this week because they may be contaminated with salmonella.
It's the first recall by the company in more than 21 years. However, the recall involves many different varieties of food in four extremely popular brands: California Natural, Evo, Healthwise, and Innova. 
The list of affected products by these brands is long; check here for specific titles and descriptions, sizes, lot numbers, and UPC codes.  
According to the company, the affected products were made in a single production facility during a two-week window in December 2012. Routine testing by the Michigan Department of Agriculture collected from a single retail location tested positive for the presence of salmonella.
No illnesses have been reported. As a precautionary measure, the company is voluntarily recalling all products from this production window. 
The affected products were sold in bags through veterinary clinics, select pet specialty retailers, and online in the United States, Canada, Korea, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Costa Rica. The product expiration dates range from Dec. 17, 2013, to Jan. 2, 2014.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "pets with salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever, and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian."
Again, be sure check the full list here if you use any of these brands.
For more information, call Natura Pet Products Inc. at (800) 224-6123 or visit the Natura Pet website.



Bravo is recalling two-pound tubes of Bravo's Raw-Food Diet Chicken Blend for Dogs and Cats because of the presence of salmonella. 
An example of the hanging tag (with a date not involved in the recall) 
The recall affects only those tubes made on June 14, 2012, and no other sizes or Bravo products are involved. Look for the ID code 6 14 12 on the white hang-tag attached to the bottom of the plastic film tube. The tubes went out nationwide to distributors, retail stores, and Internet retailers.
While Bravo's own third-party testing did not detect salmonella, routine testing by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture done on samples collected from a single retail location tested positive for presence of salmonella, according to the FDA
There have been no reports of illness. 
According to the FDA, "pets with salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian."
Obviously, a raw food product containing chicken is something to handle carefully, but Bravo appears to have a good system in place, despite this episode. According to its Quality Assurance page, every Bravo raw diet product is sent to an independent laboratory, Northeast Labs, and tested for the presence of bacteria -- and the results of those tests can be sent to customers. 
"No product leaves our plants until we receive confirmation the the product has tested to be free of bacteria," it reads. "We do not subcontract production of any of our products to outside third-party sources. We carefully select the sources from which we buy the raw ingredients, we control how it is handled after delivery to our plant, we control every step of the manufacturing process, and we use human grade ingredients and no animal by-products in any of our formulas."
To contact the company, call 866-922-9222.

Steve's Real Food of Murray, Utah, a maker of raw dog food, is recalling five-pound bags of Turducken Canine Diet (eight-ounce patties), due to potential contamination of Salmonella. 
The patties were distributed to retail stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, California, Minnesota and Tennessee.
The "potential for contamination" came to light after routine sampling of one bag by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. 
According to the FDA, "pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and have these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian." 
Interestingly, Steve's Real Food CEO Gary Bursell says the problem could be the result of a problem with the bags and is not a sanitation issue, according to Pet Product News.
“We use a biodegradable film on the bags, and we've had problems sealing the patty bags, not the nuggets,” Bursell said.
“We sanitize our production facility between every product run,” he adds. “Our plant operates just the same as any human food facility, and everything we've got out there is clean stuff.”
Photo via Steve's Real Foods' Facebook page. 
The recall affects about 240 bags, or about 1,200 patties. The recalled product comes in green-and-cream-colored biodegradable film bags with lot number 209-10-27-13, with an expiration date of October 27, 2013. 
Call Steve's Real Food at 801-540-8481 if you have questions or concerns.

Kasel Associated Industries of Denver, CO, announced a huge voluntary recall this week, incorporating ALL products manufactured at its Denver plant from April 20 through September 19 of last year. 
The reason? Possible Salmonella contamination. However, Kasel says it has not received any reports of illness in connection with the products.  
The Kasel brands being recalled include Boots & Barkley, BIXBI, Nature’s Deli, Colorado Naturals, Petco, and Best Bully Sticks. The specific products number nearly 50, including all manner of dog treats, including bully sticks, chicken jerky, pigs ears, beef ribs, beef knuckles, lamb jerky, pork femur, buffalo hearts, pig snouts, lobster tails, knee caps, beef liver, hearts of lamb, pork jerky, chicken-stuffed femur bone, smoked-beef femur bone, and more -- the list is long. 
If you have have products from any of these brands on your shelves, check the FDA page to identify UPC codes, lot numbers, and best-buy dates for the infected products here.  
According to the FDA, "Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has any of these signs, please contact your veterinarian."
If you have questions, call Kasel Associated Industries at 1-800-218-4417.
In other recall news, Nature’s Variety has announced a voluntary recall of one batch of Instinct Raw Organic Chicken Formula due to plastic pieces found in bags. The company says the clear plastic pieces present a choking risk to dogs, though it fails to mention the source of the plastic. 
The recall includes the following products with "Best if Used By" date of 10/04/13:
  • UPC# 7 69949 60137 1 – Instinct Raw Organic Chicken Formula medallions, 3 lbs. bag 
  • UPC# 7 69949 70137 8 – Instinct Raw Organic Chicken Formula medallions, 27 lbs. case 
  • UPC# 7 69949 60127 2 – Instinct Raw Organic Chicken Formula patties, 6 lbs. bag 
  • UPC# 7 69949 70127 9 – Instinct Raw Organic Chicken Formula patties, 36 lbs. case
The affected products were distributed through retail stores and the Internet in the United States and Canada. The company says no other products were impacted.
If you have questions, call Nature’s Variety Consumer Relations team at 1-888-519-7387.