Why was this recall notice not posted on the FDA website?
Per the FDA Enforcement Report, Spot and Tango Pet Food issued a recall on 9/6/22. The reason for the recall: “Contaminated with Salmonella“. Lot numbers per the Enforcement Report: “LOT CODE/ SKU number T-22220 U-C-004 T-22223 U-C-005 T-22220 U-C-006, 28oz, 38oz, 47oz, 56oz“.
We heard of this recall earlier in the month, but without official notice from FDA we did not share it.
We did however ask FDA why this recall was not publicly posted and shared in a press release. The FDA told us:
“FDA’s guidance Public Warning and Notification of Recalls Under 21 CFR Part 7, Subpart C, states that ‘when recalled products have only been distributed to direct accounts, and the recalling firm has records that show exactly where the products have gone, a prompt and effective communication to such accounts informing them of the recall may be adequate to prevent the use of a recalled product.'”
“Spot & Tango opted to directly notify each of their customers about the Salmonella issue by using the contact information provided by customers when they ordered the recalled products. Since these products were sold directly to consumers from the company (without further distribution), as long as the firm can prove that the direct notifications are successful, the firm has fulfilled its public notification obligation under current federal requirements. If FDA finds a firm’s hazard language, notification strategy, or other aspects of the public notification to be deficient in any way, it reserves the right to issue its own public notification. In this case, FDA had no concerns that Spot & Tango used appropriate language to characterize the hazard posed by the recalled products and employed a strategy to ensure they made contact with all the customers who purchased the recalled products.”
This information from FDA is a good reminder that if your pet’s food comes from a subscription service direct from the manufacturer, make sure that you are on the company’s email list (and that your SPAM filter does not delete them).
Wishing you and your pet the best –
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Renee
September 28, 2022 at 1:51 pm
I was a customer and did not receive notification from Spot and Tango. Good thing my three dogs all hated it.
Tracy
October 24, 2022 at 4:03 pm
I am a customer and received the email. I am assuming they contacted the customers who may have received the product. It would appear that they did their job. They were very helpful. I would agree that it was initially hard to get a hold of them, but I was able to schedule an appointment to speak with someone and was eventually able to reach them by email. They also sent some food although it was not enough to cover the period for when the food will be back in stock but that was understandable.