Darwin’s Dog Food Recall

Darwin’s recalls two lots of dog food, Natural Selections Turkey Meals for Dogs and Natural Selections Duck Meals for Dogs due to potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

From a Darwin’s email notification sent to customers:

I am writing to alert you to a potential food safety problem with the following product(s) that we sent to you between September and early October of this year:

Natural Selections Turkey Meals for Dogs, Net wt 2 lbs, Lot #39937, manufacture date 08/24/17

Natural Selections Duck Meals for Dogs, Net wt 2 lbs, Lot #40487, manufacture date 09/29/17

Through testing, we have determined that the above product has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

Salmonella is a bacterial organism that can cause serious and sometimes life-threatening infections in people, particularly young children, frail or elderly people, and those with weakened immune systems.

There is risk to humans from handling contaminated products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the product or any surfaces exposed to these products.  Some healthy individuals who are infected may experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infections can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe or chronic illness.

According to the FDA, it is uncommon for healthy dogs to become sick from Salmonella. However, dogs with weakened immune systems (such as puppies or older dogs) have a higher risk of becoming sick. Pets with infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain.

https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/AnimalHealthLiteracy/ucm509766.htm

We have not received any reports from customers regarding these meals, and are taking these steps out of an abundance of caution. However, if your pet has consumed the recalled product and has any of the above symptoms, please contact your veterinarian if they persist.

We are recommending that you inspect your inventory of Darwin’s meals to determine if you have any left from the lot listed above. If any of the above product is still in your inventory, please take the following steps:

1. Write down the lot number, date/time of manufacture and quantity of any product from the above lot remaining in your inventory
2. Dispose of the product by placing it in a plastic bag, then placing the bag in the trash in a secure manner
3. Contact us at productsafety@darwinspet.com to confirm that you have taken the above steps and to arrange for replacement of any unused product. Please note the following:
   • Your name and address (or customer number)
   • The date and time of manufacture and quantity of food from this lot that you have remaining in your inventory
   • Confirmation that you have disposed of it

We anticipate that some of our customers will have questions or concerns regarding this matter. We welcome the opportunity to talk with you about it. Toward that end, we have set up a special toll-free number for you to call: 866-832-8319 (Monday-Friday from 6am to 6pm, and Saturday 7am-3pm Pacific Time).  Please note that we may not be able to talk with each of you at once, so we do ask that you be patient, particularly if your issue is not of an urgent nature.

We regret any concern and/or inconvenience that this causes you.  We are taking steps to reduce the opportunity for this to occur again.

Sincerely,

Gary Tashjian
Founder and President
Darwin’s Natural Pet Products