Tag Archives: pet treat

Too risky: Petco stops selling pet treats from China

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Petco says it has cleared its store shelves of all dog and cat treats made in China, in response to consumers’ concerns about contamination.

sadie.dog.powellThe announcement includes more than 1,300 stores nationwide, including 42 in Ohio, as well as Unleashed by Petco stores and online sales at Petco.com. 

Petco says that makes it the first national pet retailer to stop selling China-made pet treats. Petco carries products for dogs, cats, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds and small animals.

“As a trusted partner for pet parents, we believe this is the right thing to do, and we’re proud to take this step in the best interests of pets,” Petco Chief Executive Jim Myers said, in a written statement. Myers is a graduate of John Carroll University. “What we feed our pets matters, and this milestone supports the company’s steadfast commitment to putting our customers, partners, animals and the communities we serve first.”

Petco, based in San Diego and founded in 1965, said it hasn’t carried or sold dog or cat food from China for several years, and that extending that stance to pet treats “allows Petco to expand the assortment of safe and healthy alternatives that are made in the U.S. or in other regions around the globe that support complete pet health.”

Salmonella positive: Jump Your Bones recalls Roo Bites (Cubes) pet treats

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Jump Your Bones, Inc. of Boca Raton, Florida is voluntarily recalling Jump Your Bones brand name Roo Bites (Cubes) because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. No pet or consumer illnesses from this product have been reported to date.

sadie.dog.powellSalmonella 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 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.

The affected lots of Jump Your Bones Pet Treats were distributed to retail pet food stores nationwide and through pet food retailers/distributors.

The affected products are sold in Boutique Bags and online stores. The products affected by this recall are only identified with the following UPC codes:

63633010041 for 80g. / 2.82oz. including samples of .32 oz.

This recall is being made with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Consumers who have purchased the above product of Jump Your Bones, Inc. pet treats 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 (888) 249-6755 from Monday – Friday 9am – 5PM EST.

Barkworthies Chicken Vittles dog chews recalled due to Salmonella risk

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I’m always telling my kids – wash your hands after handling any pet food. Who knows what is on there.

barkworthiesBarkworthies of Richmond, VA is recalling select lots of Barkworthies Chicken Vittles dog chews because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

The recalled product was distributed nationwide beginning on May 6th, 2014. The product can be identified by the Lot Code printed on the side of the plastic pouch:

BARKWORTHIES CHICKEN VITTLES

Lot Code: 1254T1

Size: 16 oz. Plastic Pouch

Best Used by Date: May 2016

UPC: 816807011510

The recall was initiated after routine testing by the Colorado Department of Agriculture revealed the presence of Salmonella in a single lot of the product. This batch tested negative by a third party independent laboratory prior to release for distribution to consumers. No additional products are affected by this recall. The company has received no reports of illness in either people or animals associated with these products to date.

The recalled product should not be sold or fed to pets. For a full refund, pet owners should return all unused product to their place of purchase along with a completed Product Recall Claim Form available on the Barkworthies website www.barkworthies.com/recall.

Pre-emptive strike: jerky pet treat makers agree to $6.5 million fund

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Jonel Aleccia of NBC News reports that two of the biggest makers of jerky treats blamed for deaths and illnesses of thousands of pets in the U.S. have agreed to create a $6.5 million fund to compensate dog owners who believe their animals were harmed, according to terms of a settlement in a class-action lawsuit announced Friday.

sadie.dog.powellNestle Purina PetCare Co. and Waggin’ Train LLC reached an agreement with pet owners in several states who were seeking redress for what they claimed was suffering and death of pets who ate chicken and other jerky treats made in China.

If approved, the settlement would also require Nestle Purina Pet Care Co. to undertake “enhanced quality assurance measures” regarding pet treats made in China and to modify language on its packaging.

In announcing the settlement, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, neither party admitted fault.

“Neither Waggin’ Train, Nestle Purina nor any of the consumers concede that their claims or their defenses were not valid,” lawyers for the parties said in a statement. “All parties entered into the agreement only to bring the litigation to a prompt and certain resolution.”

The move comes two weeks after federal Food and Drug Administration officials said that pet treats, mostly imported from China, had been linked to more than 1,000 deaths in dogs, more than 4,800 complaints about animal illness and, for the first time, sickness in three people who ate the products.

Last week, two large pet supply firms, PetSmart and Petco announced they would no longer sell jerky treats made in China.

21 sickened from pet treats; NH salmonella outbreak linked to dog jerky; source found using science, teamwork and questions

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How did health officials figure out that the salmonella bacteria that hospitalized more than a dozen people around Nashua and Concord, New Hampshire, this summer came from the same source – dehydrated chicken sold as dog treats?

Science, teamwork and questions. Lots of questions.

“We have a questionnaire we give to every salmonella case that we investigate. It asks about 30 food items,” said Beth Daly, chief of infectious joeysjerkydisease surveillance for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

“If we know that they are potentially part of a cluster of cases, we give them a much longer questionnaire – 12 pages – that asks about several hundred food items. And from there, once you have a hypothesis, you might need to administer a third questionnaire,” she said.

David Merrill, of Nashua, knows this firsthand.

“The city called me – a nurse, I think. She asked me a series of questions like where did I eat and what foods did I have, did I buy anything from a farmer’s market, have I eaten lettuce, things of that nature,” Merrill said. “Lots of questions.”

Merrill, 76, was hospitalized for five days in late August with salmonellosis caused by bacteria he picked up on his hands while handling Joey’s Jerky treats, dehydrated chicken meat. He had bought the product for more than two months and fed it to the family’s two Havanese dogs, Mulligan and Patches.

“I feed the dogs treats – when my daughter isn’t looking,” joked the retired software developer, who has fully recovered.

The treats were voluntarily recalled Tuesday by their maker, an in-home company called Kritter’s Kitchen Kreations in Loudon, after state health officials found that 21 people who became sick from salmonella had all bought the product. More than half those people were hospitalized.

Tests confirmed Wednesday that the treats were the source of the salmonella.

“The most likely reason is that the jerky was under-processed; the dehydrator didn’t kill the bacteria,” said Beth Daly, chief of infectious disease surveillance for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.