The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking pet owners not to purchase two brands of raw cat and dog food products, which recently tested positive for salmonella and listeria contamination.
The agency announced this month that it found salmonella in five samples of raw dog food made by Darwin’s Natural Pet Products, manufactured by Arrow Reliance. A sixth sample tested positive for both salmonella and listeria monocytogenes.
“As part of our outreach, we specifically communicated with customers who had already received product lots that were included in the FDA’s notice — about 3% of our customers nationwide,” a spokesperson for Gary Tashjian, founder and CEO of Darwin’s, told Today. “Only a limited amount of product had left our facilities, and the lots are not currently in distribution. Per our protocols, we had preemptively stopped shipping any potentially affected product lots earlier in the month, as soon as the FDA let us know it had taken samples for testing.”
“Darwin’s is confident our meals are safe. As we’ve also shared with our customers, we commissioned independent, third-party testing using conventional methods, which found that all lots tested negative for listeria,” the spokesperson added. “The testing found small trace amounts of salmonella, which is inherent to poultry.”
The FDA has urged Arrow Alliance to issue an official recall of its pet food products. At this time, the company has not issued a formal recall and could continue to distribute its products, per the agency. No illnesses have been confirmed.
Additionally, the FDA found salmonella and listeria contamination in samples of Answers Pet Food products. The brand voluntarily withdrew three of its dog food products “out of an abundance of caution” following the positive tests, the company said in an announcement.
Pets who are infected with salmonella or listeria do not often show symptoms, but they can spread the infection to humans via their feces or saliva.
The FDA urged individuals who purchased the recalled products to safely throw them away, so pets and children can’t access them. Bowls, toys, refrigerators, countertops and other pet products that came into contact with the food should also be thoroughly disinfected.
