FDA Warns More Dog Food Recalled Over Risk To Pets And Humans

Only days after the previous dog food recall, the FDA is drawing attention to another voluntary recall of dog food, this time over the risk of Salmonella contamination. The recall impacts one dog food brand and shouldn't be mistaken for the dog food recall from earlier this month, which involved the presence of a potentially deadly toxin that results from a naturally-occurring mold. As expected, dog food owners are advised to get rid of the potentially contaminated dog food to protect both their own and their pet's health.

The latest dog food recall in the United States was issued on September 22 from Real Pet Food Company, which offers a range of different dog foods, including chilled, dry, and wet versions, with an emphasis on high-quality ingredients. One particular brand of food sold by the company was voluntarily recalled because routine sampling found Salmonella bacteria.

According to Real Pet Food Company, one lot of its Billy+Margot Wild Kangaroo and Superfoods Recipe 4lb bags of dog food have been recalled. As with humans, pets that eat food contaminated with Salmonella can develop an uncomfortable illness that, in a small percentage of cases, may become severe.

Common symptoms of Salmonella in dogs can include fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. As well, pets can transfer the infection to humans by, for example, licking them. Likewise, humans who handle contaminated dog food may accidentally spread the bacteria onto surfaces that may then infect other humans, such as on a countertop surface. For this reason, it is important to sanitize surfaces that may have come into contact with the recalled food and to prevent one's dog from licking humans.

Though otherwise healthy adult humans can generally recover from Salmonella infections with no lasting consequences, young kids, the elderly, and anyone who has compromised immune systems face greater risk. In what the FDA says are rare cases, someone infected with Salmonella may develop serious conditions like endocarditis, infections of the arteries, and arthritis. Common Salmonella infection symptoms in humans include fever, stomach cramping, vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea.

An image of the packing used for the recalled 4lb bags of dog food can be found on the FDA's website alongside the full recalled details.