Northwest Naturals of Portland, Oregon is recalling 5lb frozen Chicken and Salmon petfood chubs because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
From the FDA press release:
Northwest Naturals of Portland, Oregon is recalling 5lb frozen Chicken and Salmon petfood chubs because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria monocytogenes 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.
Listeria monocytogenes is pathogenic to humans. Healthy people exposed to Lm should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping, fever.
Pets with Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) can affect animals eating the product. There is the possibility of risk to humans from handling product that is positive for Listeria monocytogenes especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after and if they have made contact with the product or any surfaces exposed to the product.
Product was 1 isolated batch of 94 cases distributed to distributors in California, Washington, Texas, Michigan, Georgia, and Rhode Island and sold thru specialty pet retail stores.
Product is packaged in 5lb frozen chubs labeled Chicken and Salmon Dog Food with a UPC code of 0 87316 38440 6 and a product best buy date code of 15 082218
No pet or human illnesses have been reported to date. The product passed lab testing on 12-22-2016 and was sold over 1 year ago to distributors listed above, on or before 1-23-2017. Reports from distributors indicate there is no product at any distributors.
The company was notified on 2-21-2018 by FDA and the Michigan Dept if Agriculture. Michigan bought 1 chub at a Michigan specialty pet store and tested the sample which was negative for e coli, salmonella, and positive for Listeria moncytogenes. The company tests all batches of products for all pathogens in a positive release program before releasing for shipping. The company tests over 600 batches of product per week. The company is a dual jurisdiction facility regulated by USDA-FSIS every day on every shift and FDA. The company does dual lab testing several times per month matching USDA- FSIS lab samples and comparing results.
Consumers are encouraged to check the lot code on any 5lb frozen Chicken and Salmon chubs. Any product with the noted lot code should return product to the specialty retailer where purchased for full refund.
Consumers with questions may contact Northwest Naturals at 1-866-637-1872, Monday-Friday, from 8:00am to 4:00pm PST or go to www.nw-naturals.net
Tracey
February 24, 2018 at 4:17 pm
Sad to hear this. I thought this was a reputable company and bought a lot from them.
Tryniti
February 25, 2018 at 1:06 am
It is a reputable company. There is no need to think otherwise. This tested negative for pathogens when it left the facility. They were contaminated after the fact. (Did you read the article?) Salmonella and other pathogens in raw chicken is extremely common, and the fact that they rarely have issues speaks volumes about their safety practices. Be concerned about all the dry and canned food contaminated with pentobarbital. Not something like this.
Janet
February 25, 2018 at 8:25 am
NWN is known as a reputable company. This may be from improper or accidental mishandling at the store. The product was produced over a year ago, so it’s been stored by the distributor and then the store for that long. Few stores probably have any left. Since no one else has reported any issues with it in the year it’s been out there, I would suspect it became contaminated in the store or possibly at the distributor.
Emily
February 25, 2018 at 1:15 am
From my understanding of this article, the chub passed their test and hold program. No pet or human illnesses were reported. How did the chub test positive for listeria then? Why did the FDA buy and test only one chub (seems they utilized random sampling but I’ve never heard of them doing this for feed grade foods).
Sounds to me like they did everything possible to prevent contamination but this is the risk you run into when you feed any ground USDA inspected product, organic or not. I am 100% in support of feeding a species appropriate fresh raw food diet and either this was somehow 1. a fluke (perhaps it wasn’t handled properly after leaving NWN and was contaminated after the fact?), or 2. an issue most any supplier or packer can’t fully prevent due to current agricultural practices. Hope the company does well by their customers and people don’t tear down the company without getting more facts first.
Only real way to prevent this is to raise your own livestock and greens and feed them freshly slaughtered without grinding. Sad but true.