Darwin’s Natural Pet Products of Tukwila, Wash., a manufacturer of fresh raw meals for dogs, today announced it is voluntarily recalling a total of four lots of products after testing showed that some of the Chicken and Duck with Organic Vegetables Meals for Dogs may contain Salmonella, and the Turkey with Organic Vegetables Meals for Dogs sample may contain Salmonella and E. coli O128. These pathogens can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections.
Darwin’s Natural Pet Products are exclusively sold to customers through a subscription service. Customers who purchased the products have been notified of the recall directly by Darwin’s.
The pet food included in the recall is as follows:
• Natural Selections Chicken with Organic Vegetables Meals for Dogs, Net wt. 2lbs., Lot #43887, manufacture date 1/30/2018
• Natural Selections Duck with Organic Vegetables Meals for Dogs, Net wt. 2lbs., Lot #44147, manufacture date 2/5/2018
• ZooLogics Chicken Meals with Organic Vegetables for Dogs, Net wt. 2lbs., Lot #44037, manufacture date 2/7/2018
• ZooLogics Turkey with Organic Vegetables Meals for Dogs, Net wt. 2lbs., Lot #44127, manufacture date 2/4/2018
According to Gary Tashjian, Darwin’s founder and president, the company has not received any reports of illness in pets who consumed the food to date.
“Most animal-health experts agree that pets are generally not affected by pathogens like Salmonella or E. coli unless they are already ill with some other condition,” said Tashjian. “While we believe the risk to dogs consuming our products is low, we are sensitive to the FDA’s concern for humans who might become exposed to the pathogens through handling the raw meals.”
Mr. Tashjian noted that product labels instruct those preparing the food to follow food-safety guidelines, which direct the cleaning of surfaces and utensils exposed to raw food and washing hands thoroughly after coming into contact with raw food.
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.
There is also risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.
Customers who have any of the affected products should dispose of the pet food as regular garbage, and contact Darwin’s for replacement by emailing productsafety@darwinspet.com or by calling 866-832-8319, Monday-Friday, 6am-6pm, Pacific Time; and Saturdays, 7am-3pm, Pacific Time.
Source: U.S. Food & Drug Administration
