Northwest Farm Food Cooperative of Burlington, WA, is voluntarily recalling frozen raw Cat Food with the code Jul12015B due to their potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet 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. Rarely, 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.
No pet or consumer illnesses from this product have been reported to date. However, because of their commitment to safety and quality, Northwest Farm Food Cooperative is conducting a voluntary recall of this product.
The potentially affected lots of frozen raw Cat Food were sold from our facility 1370 S. Anacortes Street Burlington, WA 98233.
The affected products are sold in 50 pound blocks and cases of six 10 pound chubs; packaged in a white plastic bag labeled Cat Food. The products affected by this recall have the production code Jul12015B and have no UPC code. The production code can be found on the outside of the case (box).
The recall was the result of a sampling done by the Food and Drug Administration which revealed that the finished product contained the bacteria. The company has ceased the production and distribution of the product as FDA and the company continues their investigation as to what caused the problem.
This recall is being made with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Consumers who have purchased the above lots of frozen raw Cat Food are urged to stop feeding them and return product to place of purchase for a full refund or dispose of them immediately. For further information about the recall please call (360) 757-4225 Monday through Friday from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm PST.
Dean
August 11, 2015 at 1:48 pm
Ok… so when does common sense start to play a factor? Seems to me that given the level of so called contamination found of late is not new and is in fact a representation of what has been in the market for many years. All without an outbreak attributable to these products. In my opinion the testing is not being moderated with a large dose of thinking about the what the results really mean. Have the testing and detectable limits outstripped the actual level of harm? The US is throwing out literally tons of food every day based on sampling and best before dates without any consideration given to the real ability to harm.
Yet there are still recalls of products that are attributed to actual harm still happening…
Has the collective immune system of the populous been atrophied to the point that this makes sense?
Food for thought…
Pacific Sun
August 11, 2015 at 8:06 pm
Not to debate your comment (above) but to add to the discussion, (in my opinion) testing raw food has caught up with (in truth randomized) testing of kibble. It seems out of proportion to us because there are fewer manufacturers which have not even been controversial to date. Because they have not necessarily been scrutinized they’ve appeared to be the better alternative. But the testing has caught up with the (growing) relative popularity of raw feeding. In fact it is an acknowledgement that raw feeding isn’t a fad, it’s not going out of fashion, and it’s a dead-on competition with kibble. Therefore the message is to all manufacturers that they will have to answer to the same monitoring as all products. Now it does seem unfair (to consumers) who see the greater value in taking their chances using raw food (rather than kibble) but as a user myself, I want the pressure on these companies because all consumers deserve safety no matter the preference. It becomes our job as interested consumers to keep encouraging the testing of kibble and we hope they will do so upon tips and other suspicious evidence.
Grateful
August 12, 2015 at 5:50 am
And the witch hunt continues. This is a frame job, just like the others.
Terri Janson
August 12, 2015 at 12:54 pm
….then test our meat at the grocery stores….use common sense! I am willing to bet “our” meat can and does contain Salmonella as well. That’s why on the packages it has safe handling procedures. It seems when “certain” BPF companys (and we all know who that is) gets any competition….then they buy them out (Merrick) or sick the FDA on them. Its obvious!
J King
August 13, 2015 at 3:43 pm
Terri — Yes!! Exactly!
Anyone who deals with raw meat — whether preparing it to cook or putting it in a bowl to be consumed raw by a pet — has to follow the same basic steps to safely store, handle and clean up. Even if the tests are valid (and I’m suspicious based on previous testing at very low rates of raw food contamination), when they examine raw pet food in isolation, they create a sudden spike in voluntary recalls of only raw pet foods that becomes the storm that reinforces the industry-driven notion that raw is inherently dangerous.
I think Big Pet Food, and their agent, the FDA, have both finally realized that some of the pet-food buying public had noticed and was pointing out that the recall rate of highly processed pet foods vs that of raw products is at odds with all the warnings issued from various sources — including veterinarians — that feeding raw is risky business, and they’re trying to swing the balance in tune with the message they want to put out. Spin and timing…
Pacific Sun
August 13, 2015 at 5:09 pm
I feed raw, I believe in raw, it is extending the quality of life for my 16 yr. old Poodle. I get it!! But feeding raw IS risky and I don’t allow people watching my dogs to do it in my absence. When comparing dry feeding to raw the advisors are addressing all kinds of pet owners and their families. Not the aware, reasonable followers of TAPF. But families who “slop” plop down that dog food bowl on the floor and forget about it. Maybe the kids have cut up the raw burger patties on the counter to divvy it out amongst the herd. There are folks who feed pets outside in the heat. And forget to pick up the bowls! I’ve seen it. Yes of course adults know how to handle raw meat for dinner, but they take the stuff out of the refrigertor, cut it up on a board, wipe down that board, and then they COOK IT! And throw whatever into the dishwasher. I for one, do NOT put my dog’s dishes (with crudy goo stuck on the sides) into the dishwash no matter what the level is of sanitary cleansing. Dishes are soap-soaked in a sink and hand wipied dry. You’ve got to remember there is a whole range of pet owners out there, young, adults and elderly who don’t even realize what commercial dry food is doing to their pets in the first place. How do they get brought up to speed on the advantages of raw feeding and keep it practical. Nobody wants to put any education into this process, except what we discover through our internet searches and through the kindly pet supply store owners! And if extra focus in going into testing raw right now, then it is what it is, and I want those manufacturers to be on notice that their product BETTER be as safe as reasonably possible. Why do we even need to defend these companies! They’re running a business for profit. Especially Bravo and Primal and Nature’s Variety!!