Pet Food Recalls May 2012

The Diamond brand (and 10 co-branded foods recalls have affected many people and some pets. Food recalls of any kind are concerning and this one is no exception but especially because this is food poisoning to people from pet food serious enough that the CDC is involved .

An excellent summary of the FDA’s investigation found 4 deficiencies in the production of the  foods from the Gaston, South Carolina plant that includes Costco’s Kirkland brand, Solid Gold, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul,Call of the Wild and many others see more 

First, no food company (pet or human) can be totally immune to food recalls. Food is food and contamination can & will occur. That said there are companies that have had more recalls than others and salmonella is of major concern because of its potential spread to people especially infants. This is primarily why raw food feeding is discouraged in households with young children by almost all veterinarians.

But most of us for convenience feed dry kibble. How concerned should we be? The symptoms of true salmonella food poisoning in pets are serious, bloody diarrhea which without treatment can lead to death. These recalls are voluntary and although there have been 15 cases of Salmonella infantis nationwide related to this recall, so far no cases have been reported in Wisconsin. Awareness and how to prevent human illness from pet food is all important. see more

The thing that  I personally find disturbing is that some of the foods recalled are clearly manufactured outside of their control and are not really the “mom & pop” foods that the marketing on their bag and website would indicate. As consumers that needs to remind us to always probe with these questions:

These are from our “Pet Food Label Checklist”

1) Manufacturer’s name?

2) Phone number?

3) Location of plant?

4) locally sourced? (if possible)

5) Made in their own  facility?

6)voluntary  internal quality checks?

7) veterinarian on staff?

This also  goes back to the pet food label being a legal document.

To learn more about the truths in pet food labeling come visit our pet food “label lab” any time or  call us with any concerns you have at 271 5277