We share the following information from the Los Angeles County Health Department:
“The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is advising residents to not feed their pets Monarch Raw Pet Food sold at several farmers markets in California due to detection of H5 bird flu virus in product samples. A house cat that consumed this product has been confirmed H5 bird flu positive. Four other house cats from the same household are presumed to have also been positive for H5 bird flu after consuming the product.
Residents who fed their pets Monarch raw pet food products or other raw meat or dairy products and notice their pet is experiencing symptoms should immediately contact their veterinarian. A listing of farmers market locations where the raw pet food was sold can be found on the product website.”
Unknowns:
It is unknown why in this instance and in the instance of Oregon Department of Agriculture reporting of Northwest Naturals positive testing of an opened product that the FDA and the USDA are remaining silent on this concerning issue. Both agencies should have already issued public notices, but…
The FDA has jurisdiction over pet food, and should be the agency to publish recall notices and specific alerts to pet owners regarding pet food, however as of the publishing of this post the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine has not published any information for either pet food brands. As well, the FDA Enforcement Report records has no current information available for either pet food brand.
The USDA has jurisdiction over meats used in pet foods. This federal agency would be responsible for issuing recalls of meat, publishing public notices regarding H5N1 bird flu positives at the farm level, and overseeing depopulation of positive flocks of poultry. As of the publishing of this post, the USDA has remained silent on both of these reports of positive testing of pet foods.
Unfortunately, pet owners are left in an unacceptable position of being in limbo. We are unable to move forward until someone of proper authority tells us what is or is not happening in pet food.
We encourage pet owners to contact the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine requesting the agency promptly update the public. Email the agency at: AskCVM@fda.hhs.gov.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Christina Swanson
January 2, 2025 at 11:25 am
I know it’s likely not, but it feels like the sort of “DON’T EAT *insert vet hated food*” that Grain free suffered after that FDA *study* debacle.
This is definitely going to lead to way more clap back over feeding raw.
(Also make you wonder whether for-human-use poltry is also being affected, considering the corners cut in the industry in general)
Dick McWay
January 2, 2025 at 12:19 pm
There ain’t no such thing. Pardon the poor grammar.
\https://www.fluoridefreepeel.ca/us-dept-of-agriculture-were-still-hunting-for-scientific-evidence-of-avian-influenza-virus-existence-or-contagion/
Christine has been hammering on this fraud forever. Sign up for her emails.
Davi Parrish
January 6, 2025 at 7:19 pm
Who’s Christine? I would like to sign up for her emails
DickMcWay
January 8, 2025 at 11:21 am
Christine Massey. Her website is fluoridefreepeel (shown above in my comment). She has sent out over 200 FOIA requests to health agencies around the planet asking for proof of any and all of these so called viruses. Not a one has presented any evidence of such. Another great website is viroliegy.com managed by Mike Stone. Virology and virologists is a construct to support the never ending need for vaccines. Once more people realize virology is based on this false belief in the mythical virus the whole narrative collapses. Jon Rappoport has also been hammering on this virus fraud for a very long time.
T Allen
January 2, 2025 at 12:28 pm
Know where your raw cat food is being made and where they are sorcing their meat. Most of these companies are small. Check the states # of confirmed cases. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/hpai-confirmed-cases-livestock has a general overview. Hopefully other states are listing confirmed lab tests done on farms like OR. Don’t buy from a state with a lot of cases of bird flu. Right now the west coast is the trouble area. Or if you do buy or are concerned about what you already have in your house, cook it! H5N1 is killed by normal cooking temps, 165*. Your cat won’t die or be hurt by eating cooked meat. It’s still much better than kibble and all canned cat food is safe because it is cooked.
Peg
January 2, 2025 at 1:01 pm
I find nothing coming from the FDA over the last 4-5 years to be credible anymore.
For example, they already have a vaccine ready for the “new strain” even before it existed…….
Mary Ann
January 2, 2025 at 1:36 pm
Susan, I just want to thank you for ALL you do to keep pet guardians aware of what is going on. I appreciate all your work and effort. Thank you.
That being said, this is not great news. For pets or people. I don’t trust the FDA. For pets or people. Thank you for letting us know what should be another recall.
Lorraine
January 2, 2025 at 5:08 pm
“”Four other house cats from the same household are presumed to have also been positive for H5 bird flu after consuming the product.” —presumed?? You mean they don’t know one way or the other? Were the other cats tested?
Peg
January 5, 2025 at 12:17 pm
I agree. Test them all.
LT
January 2, 2025 at 5:25 pm
Here’s a question that occurred to me today; maybe you can get an answer.
How long does H5N1 live at room temperature? We know it apparently can live for a while in cold environments, hence the threat to frozen raw food. But what about freeze-dried raw? That can sit around at room temperature for months, if not more than a year! So does it become safe at some point, or not? I’ve written to NWN to ask but I never get a response from them. Maybe freeze-dried raw can be a safe alternative to frozen, and a healthier way out of this scary mess than cooked food. Fingers crossed.
Harry
January 2, 2025 at 5:32 pm
It looks like the Monarch Raw is only sold in California, so I don’t think the FDA would comment without it being interstate and the USDA is pretty specific in my experience about not regulating animal food unless it’s export or organic.
In the inspected facilities I’ve seen they usually only “inspect” the human food and anything designated for animals is ignored. The animal food has to be labeled and segregated from human but that’s it, and once they put bone and organs in it can’t be human grade anymore, so it’s ignored.
I don’t think either will comment on this one no matter how long you wait. Probably only under the jurisdiction of California.
Madeleine Innocent
January 2, 2025 at 6:35 pm
Please be aware that all these tests are using the PCR. Kary Mullis, the creator of the PCR was very clear that it was a laboratory tool and not a disease detector. Please see what he had to say here – https://jamesroguski.substack.com/p/honoring-kary-mullis?utm_source=publication-search
b
January 4, 2025 at 3:55 pm
Why would anyone ever expect a response or in fact any truth from our government agencies. They tell us what they want us to hear. They cause fear and anxiety. Maybe one day we will have responsible government that is truthful and responsive.