FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – September 26, 2014 – (Manchester, CT) Bravo of Manchester, CT is recalling select lots of Bravo Turkey and Chicken pet foods for dogs and cats because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there is 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.
Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.
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.
The recalled product was distributed nationwide beginning on November 14, 2013 to distributors, retail stores, internet retailers and directly to consumers. The product can be identified by the batch ID code (best used by date) printed on the side of the plastic tube.
1) These products are being recalled because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
RAW FOOD DIET BRAVO! TURKEY BLEND FOR DOGS AND CATS
Product Number: 31-102
Size: 2 lb. (32 OZ) plastic tubes
Best used by date: 11-05-15
UPC: 829546311025
Keep Frozen
Bravo! Blends All Natural Chicken Blend diet for dogs & cats
Product Number: 21-102
Size: 2 lb. (32 OZ) plastic tubes
Best used by date: 08-11-16
UPC: 829546211028
Keep Frozen
2) These products are being recalled out of an abundance of caution because they were manufactured in the same manufacturing facility or on the same day as products that tested positive.
Premium Turkey Formula BRAVO Balance RAW DIET
Product Number: 31-405
Size: 5 lb. (80 OZ) 2.3KG plastic tubes
Best used by date: 11-05-15
UPC: 829546314057
Keep Frozen
Bravo! Blends All Natural Chicken Blend diet for dogs & cats
Product Number: 21-105
Size: 5 lb. (80 OZ) 2.3KG plastic tubes
Best used by date: 08-11-16
UPC: 829546211059
Keep Frozen
The recall was initiated after routine testing by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture revealed the presence of Salmonella in two lots of product. This batch tested negative by a third party independent laboratory prior to release for distribution to consumers.
No additional products affected by this recall. The company has received no reports of illness in either people or animals associated with these products to date.
In addition to the voluntary recall of the above products, Bravo has chosen to voluntarily withdraw the following poultry products from the marketplace to provide its customers with the certainty of safety. Those products include all sizes (2 lb., 5 lb. and 10 lb.) of Bravo Chicken Blend(s), Bravo Turkey Blend(s), Bravo Balance Chicken Balance and Bravo Balance Premium Turkey Formula frozen raw diet products with best used by dates between June 20, 2016 and September 18, 2016. This is being done out of an abundance of caution despite no evidence of any manufacturing defect or distribution problem. None of these products are known to have tested positive for the presence of pathogens. This market withdrawal has NOT been requested by the FDA, but is being done voluntarily by Bravo.
The recalled product should not be sold or fed to pets. Pet owners who have the affected product at home should dispose of this product in a safe manner (example, a securely covered trash receptacle). Customers who have purchased the recalled pet food can return to the store where purchased and submit the Product Recall Claim Form available on the Bravo website www.bravopetfoods.com for a full refund or store credit. More information on the Bravo recall can also be found at www.bravopetfoods.com , or call toll free (866) 922-9222 Monday through Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (EST).
Source: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm416452.htm
Sou
Mary Huber
September 26, 2014 at 9:07 pm
So, where was this recalled food manufactured and I am wondering: did this recalled food include ingredients sourced from China?
Ellie
September 28, 2014 at 9:50 am
Pet food manufacturers have rules about cleaning out the machines after every batch and before starting a new batch or a new type of food but often the workers decide not to abide by the rules. Some companies do have cameras in the production area that record the workers, however, apparently the recordings are not checked unless an obvious problem becomes apparent.
When the machines are not cleaned properly it is a source of contamination and cross contamination. Of course bacteria laden machines are only one way the food can become contaminated but it is a very common one.
Sadly, the workplace has become a very apathetic area in many of our businesses and industries,. It is really shameful especially with so many companies going to China and other third world countries for production.
Laura
September 28, 2014 at 4:13 pm
Bravo makes their food in the States and doesn’t get anything from China. Ms. Thixton’s said before somewhere in the comments of one of her posts that a company isn’t necessarily bad if it has a recall, it’s how they handle it that partly determines whether or not they’re reputable. I do see that they have had a lot of recalls though.
Pingback: Dog & Cat Food Recall…
Jeanette Owen
September 26, 2014 at 10:27 pm
Well why in the world is this happening??? It should not be. You trust these people & they can’t even have good food at all times.
Peter
September 27, 2014 at 5:42 am
This company has issued a lot of recalls in the last year or so. At some point, you simply have to make a judgment about their sourcing and manufacturing process.
It frustrates me that many people are dismissive of “just another salmonella recall.” It’s important to understand that, salmonella CAN be deadly to cats and dogs, and shouldn’t be minimized because of our awareness of the FDA’s “zero tolerance” policy as it relates to humans handling the food. Repeated or prolonged exposure to salmonella bacteria can lead to “salmonellosis,” as the infection can become chronic (it Is then regarded as a disease), which, among other symptoms, can lead to repeated unpredictable & spontaneous diarrhea lasting for weeks. This can lead to organ-threatening diarrhea.
The infection can progress to “septicemia” (bacterial infection of the blood), which can be fatal. Many people may not in fact be adversely affected by salmonella, but their pets can be.
catherine
September 27, 2014 at 7:35 am
how can they recall something my pet has already eaten?
brit
September 27, 2014 at 8:47 am
well thats it for me, will no longer be buying prepackaged raw. Going to buy my own meats and stick to cooking them except beef hearts which I feed raw.
Jeanette Owen
September 27, 2014 at 2:31 pm
Good idea!
Sunny
September 27, 2014 at 11:54 am
First off the chances of your pet getting salmonella poisoning especially if they are a raw fed animal is pretty slim. The recalls for this is usually for the people then the pets. However seeing this in raw foods that are using HPP and other ways of “killing” bacteria are actually causing the issue. HPP denatures the meat which in a nut shells makes the meat dead. Using this type of processing on raw food is crazy. If you KILL all bacteria on meat you are destroying all the Good bacteria as well. kinda like using an antibiotic. Then when the food ends up in the customers hand the least little mishandling then sets up for the products to start growing bacteria, at this point all good bacteria has been wiped out so we know which will get to grow faster. Research the raw companies you are using. Not all raw companies use these steps and instead use natural ones. As for doing it yourself you can, but understand the grocery store is not the place to source your meats. The meat that is in the cases would not even pass inspection for use in raw dog food. They expect you to take that meat home and cook it and are held to lower standards as far as bacteria allowed.
Cathy
September 27, 2014 at 2:50 pm
Excellent points Sunny! Worth repeating:
HPP processing on raw pet foods kills all bacteria, including GOOD bacteria. Don’t buy HPP processed raw pet food.
Standard grocery store meat for humans is expected to be cooked, and in raw form is not the best choice for raw pet food.
Jeanette Owen
September 27, 2014 at 2:59 pm
The raw ground beef I get from the Farmers Market – my dogs do summersaults for raw!! It is delicious! Grass fed & slaughtered in the best kinda way, not knowing what hits them in a small place/barn.
California
September 27, 2014 at 8:45 pm
Bravo does not use HPP. Some dogs have gotten sick from this currently recalled food, but there was no recall until random testing was done. Frustrating that retailer feedback was not respected – yes, many weeks ago the store where I work was taking returns and removing those lots of food from the store – and reporting the problem to Bravo and the distributor. We were told that, because of demand (probably with the new processing), they hired a new, temporary processor for their poultry (the most popular meats), and that this is where the food was contaminated. This is similar to the most recent red meat problem, outside processors. When companies use processors who are not experienced raw pet food processors they don’t seem to take the issue of contamination seriously enough. Someone needs to develop better batch testing methods for ground meat. Unlike liquids, you can miss contamination. But they seriously need better pre-distribution testing. Not sure their company will survive much more of this.
Daniel Podobed
September 28, 2014 at 9:55 am
Bravo switched their manufacturing process about a year or a year and a half ago, and is using HPP. I believe their previous recall was the reasoning behind the switch. Raw food manufacturers feel that HPP or similar processes will eliminate the few recalls that raw food has had in the past. Clearly this isn’t so. It might minimize the chances, but it won’t eliminate them.
California
September 28, 2014 at 2:05 pm
They only used HPP for a couple of months, under duress, and stopped because of additional negative effects on the quality of the finished food. You can contact the company directly to confirm that they no longer use HPP, page four of this PDF details their process:
http://www.bravorawdiet.com/Sept2014BrvRecall_FAQs.pdf
Carol Halbert
September 27, 2014 at 1:03 pm
SHARED with FB…I am not familiar w/BRAVO…but others may be!!! Gotta keep da babies healthy!!! 🙂
MJ
September 27, 2014 at 4:15 pm
Does this recall include the chicken that smelled horrendous? I had a roll of that last week. The company knows about it and supposedly tested the products, finding no pathogens.