FDA Confirms Pentobarbital in Dog Food

Pet owners warned to avoid certain Evanger’s and Against the Grain dog food

FDA is advising pet owners and pet caretakers not to feed their pets with certain lots of Evanger’s and Against the Grain dog food after confirming the presence of the euthanasia agent pentobarbital in both products.

Following discussions with FDA, Evanger’s announced a voluntary recall on February 3, 2017 of five lots of its 12-ounce Hunk of Beef canned dog food, all with an expiration date of June 2020: 1816E03HB, 1816E04HB, 1816E06HB, 1816E07HB, and 1816E13HB. On February 9th, Against the Grain voluntarily recalled lot #2415E01ATB12 BEST DEC 2019 of its Grain Free Pulled Beef with Gravy dog food after the agency detected pentobarbital that product. The Pulled Beef with Gravy was manufactured in the same facilities as Evanger’s products and using beef from the same supplier.

In addition to the presence of pentobarbital, FDA reports a bill of lading from Evanger’s supplier of ‘Inedible Hand Deboned Beef – For Pet Food Use Only. Not Fit for Human Consumption’. This is despite Evanger’s claim that the beef in its Hunk of Beef product came from a ‘USDA approved’ supplier. FDA also has determined that the supplier’s facility does NOT have a grant of inspection from USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. The meat from the supplier does not bear a USDA inspection mark and would not be considered human grade. Lab testing by USDA-FSIS of Evanger’s Hunk of Beef confirmed that the meat in the product was beef.

Other issues cited in a preliminary investigation report (FDA Form 483) released today by FDA include evidence of unsanitary conditions, inadequate refrigeration, improper storage, and inadequate control of ambient temperature during hand-packing operations at Evanger’s Wheeling, IL facility and unsanitary conditions and ‘avian activity’ at its Markham, IL manufacturing location.

FDA’s investigation is ongoing and will include examination of the suppliers of beef to Evanger’s and Against the Grain to determine the source of the pentobarbital. The agency is also coordinating with USDA to address possible areas of shared jurisdiction.

Consumers with cans of the recalled product should refer to the Evanger’s and Against the Grain recall notices for information on returning the product.

This article first appeared on Food Safety News and is reposted here with permission.

Recalls and Alerts: February 12 – 15, 2017

Here is today’s list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals, allergy alerts and miscellaneous compliance issues. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

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United States

Allergy Alert: Cousins Products LLC (Madisonville, LA) recalls Creole Tomato Dressing (16 oz.; Best by 05/18/18; Lot #0001118) because the product may contain undeclared milk.

Allergy Alert: Legendary Baking (Denver, CO) expands its earlier recall of Private Selection Salted Caramel Chocolate Almond Pie (34-oz pkgs; Lot #CH17025) to include additional distribution information. The recalled product, which contains undeclared almonds and eggs, was distributed in were distributed in Kroger, Fry’s, and Smith’s retail stores in AL, AZ, GA, IL, IN, KY, MI, NM, OH, SC, TN, and WV, and in Fred Meyer, King Soopers, and City Market retail stores in CO, ID, NM, OR, UT, WA, and WY.

Allergy Alert: Century Packing Corp. (Las Piedras, PR) recalls approx. 999,419 pounds of thermally processed, commercially sterile, chicken sausage products because the products contain undeclared monosodium glutamate. The recalled items were produced from Jan. 1, 2015 through Feb. 13, 2017 and were shipped for retail and institutional use in Florida and Puerto Rico. Please refer to the recall notice for a detailed list.

Food Safety Recall: Albertsons Companies recalls Signature Café Southwest Style Salad (10.5 oz. clear, clamshell container; Est. No. P-34013 or P-34733; UPC 21130 06978; various Use By dates) due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The recall was initiated in cooperation with Sargento Foods Inc. and affects salads sold in Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Tom Thumb, Randalls and Pak ‘N Save stores in California, Louisiana, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Washington. Please refer to the recall notice for the affected Use By dates by store and state.

Food Safety Recall: Sara Lee Deli recalls Sara Lee® Sliced Monterey Jack Cheese with Jalapeno Peppers (Item number 40205, Product Lot #A319349610, USE BY JUN-12-17) and Sara Lee® Sliced Colby Jack Cheese (Item Number 40208, Product Lot #A319348610, USE BY JUN-11-17) due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled products were distributed to food retailers in Alabama, California, Louisiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Food Safety Recall: MDS Foods Inc. (Massilion, OH) recalls multiple products some of which were found to be contaminated with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes and other products which may have the potential to be contaminated with the bacteria. Please refer to the recall notice for a detailed list of products.

Food Safety Recall: Del Monte Fresh Produce recalls Del Monte Pizza Style Portabella Mushrooms, 2-count (8 oz.; Sell by 2/16/2017; UPC 717524-72471), Traditional Gourmet Portabella Mushrooms, 2-count (8 oz.; Sell by 2/16/2017; UPC 717524-72470) and Stuffed Mushrooms, 6-count (7 oz.; Sell By 2/16/2017; UPC 717524-72469) because the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled items were sold in Dillon (first item only) and Kroger (all three items) stores.

Food Safety Recall: Choice Farms LLC recalls stuffed mushrooms because the mushrooms may contain a cheese component which a third party supplier advised has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled items were sold on February 10, 2017 at six Kroger stores in Texas and one Dillon store in Wichita, KS. Please refer to the recall notice for additional details.

Food Safety Recall: Country Fresh recalls various cooking and snacking products (Best if used by dates between 1/19/17 through 2/17/17) that contain recalled Sargento-branded cheeses, because the products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled products were supplied to retailers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia under the Country Fresh and store brand labels. Please refer to the recall notice for details.

Food Safety Recall: Guggisberg Cheese, Inc. recalls various Colby-type cheeses and sizes manufactured by Guggisberg Cheese, Inc. and by Deutsch Kase Haus, LLC under the Guggisberg label. The recalled products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.

Food Safety Recall: Veggie Noodle Co. (Austin, TX) recalls Butternut Spirals (10.7 oz; UPC 852287006059; Enjoy by date of February 23, 2017) because routine product testing detected Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled product was supplied to Whole Foods Markets and othe retailers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Food Safety Alert: FDA warns US consumers who may have purchased PC Organics brand baby food pouches not to eat or serve these products, as they have been recalled due to the potential presence of dangerous bacteria. Please refer to the FDA notice for complete details.

Pet Food Safety Recall: Against The Grain Pet Food recalls Against the Grain Pulled Beef with Gravy Dinner for Dogs (12 oz. can; Exp. December 2019; Lot #2415E01ATB12) due to the potential presence of pentobarbital. The recalled product was manufactured in 2015 and distributed to independent pet retail stores in Washington and Maryland.

Pet Food Safety Recall: Blue Buffalo recalls Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Healthy Weight, Chicken Dinner with Garden Vegetables, 12.5 ounce can, dog food (Best By August 3, 2019) due to the possible presence of aluminum in the product.

Pet Food Safety Recall (reported by Mollie Morrissette of PoisonedPets.com and Susan Thixton of Truth About Pet food): Triumph Pet Food recalls Triumph’s Ocean Fish Formula Cat Food (13.2 oz. cans; Production date August 3, 2016) due to possible contamination with pieces of metal.

Canada

Allergy Alert: Super Marché Etop Inc. (IGA) in Montreal recalls Imitation Crab Salad due to undeclared sesame seeds.

Allergy Alert: Metro Plus (Montreal) recalls Squid Cooked On Site and Salmon Rillette due to undeclared allergens. Please refer to the recall notice for complete details.

Outbreak Alert Update: Public Health Agency of Canada advises the public that an additional 19 cases of gastrointestinal illnesses (Norovirus) linked to raw/undercooked oysters, bringing the total number of cases to 221 in three provinces.

Food Spoilage Recall: Kraft Heinz Canada recalls Heinz brand Apple Juice from Concentrate (1 L; Code VJ6F22 2017 DE 14) due to mold contamination. The recalled product was distributed to retailers in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Quebec.

Food Spoilage Recall: Choy Foong International Trading Co. Inc. recalls Wufuyuan brand Color Tapioca Pearls (250g; Code 171212) and Tapioca Pearl Taro Flavor New Sago (250g; Code 171212) due to mold contamination. The recalled products were supplied to retailers in Ontario and Quebec.

Europe

Food Safety Recall (France): Fromagerie Le Pic recalls Petite Rouelle Cendrée cheese wheels (Lot #0401.14; Best before 15/02/2017) due to contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. According to the RASFF notification service, the recalled product may also have been exported to Germany and the United Kingdom.

Food Safety Recall (Germany): Backhaus Nahrstedt recalls Dinkel-Aktiv-Brot due to the risk of injury from the presence of pieces of foreign material in the active spelt bread.

Food Safety Recall (Germany): Güven-Al Großhandel GmbH recalls Sweet Halvah with Pistachios (350g; Expiry 23.11.2017) due to the presence of aflatoxin in excess of permitted levels.

Food Safety Recall (Luxembourg): Auchan Luxembourg recalls Auchan brand Stevia powdered sweetener (Best before 02/18; Lot #L 6055) due to the possible presence of particles of glass.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

Outbreak Alert (Hong Kong): The Centre for Health Protection is investigating an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis involving 28 students and 4 staff members in a primary school in Sham Shui Po.

Allergy Alert (Israel): Vanilla Sticks recalls Parve Chocolate Dot, Parve Jupiter and Parve Praline cakes due to possible presence of undeclared dairy ingredients.

Allergy Alert (Israel): Royalty Zack Little Switzerland Ltd. advises that Mars Food Industries Netherlands and Mars Food Industries England products contain some undeclared allergens. Please refer to the recall notice for full details and a list of affected items.

Some supermarket chains post recall notices on their web sites for the convenience of customers. To see whether a recalled food was carried by your favorite supermarket, follow the live link to the supermarket’s recall website.

*The Kroger umbrella encompasses numerous supermarket, marketplace and convenience store chains

**Includes Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs and Pak N’ Save.

Another Pentobarbital-related Pet Food Recall

Late this afternoon, Against the Grain Pet Food voluntarily recalled one lot of Against the Grain Pulled Beef with Gravy Dinner for Dogs (12 oz. cans; Lot #2415E01ATB12; Expiration date of December 2019) due to the potential presence of pentobarbital. The recalled dog food was manufactured and distributed in 2015 to independent pet retail stores in Washington and Maryland.

Who is Against the Grain Pet Food?

The company website makes the following claim:

Unlike 95% of other brands, Against the Grain owns its own manufacturing facility and produces its own products. This gives us accessibility and the ability to create totally unique and innovative products. Our manufacturing plant adheres to the highest standards of preserving our natural resources. For example, the use of natural light (skylights) is dominant throughout our plant, we have the maximum amount of recyclable materials in our retail packaging, all packaging materials are recycled, our water is supplied by our own on-site well, resulting in our conscious efforts to be socially and economically responsible.

In fact, Against the Grain Pet Food is part and parcel of the Sher family business. The telephone number provided on the Against the Grain Pet Food Contact page is 847-537-0102, the same phone number that appears in the February 3rd Evanger’s recall notice. The Against the Grain trademark (serial number 85569018) was registered on 2013-02-12 and is owned by Chelsea L. Sher. And, according to an article in the August 2012 issue of Pet Business, the Against the Grain product line, launched by Chelsea Sher and her twin brother Brett Sher, is manufactured at the Evanger’s factory. In effect, Against the Grain is an Evanger’s brand.

So, what’s the big deal?

The big deal is that the product recalled on February 3rd by Evanger’s was manufactured in June 2016 (with a June 2020 expiry date). The Against the Grain product recalled earlier today was manufactured six months earlier, in December 2015 (with a December 2019 expiry date). This is not a one-shot event.

The Against the Grain recall notice states that the recall was initiated “Out of an abundance of caution.” What does this mean? Now, we enter the realm of speculation – something I am not usually willing to do. This time, though, I’ll make an exception. There are four possibilities that come to mind.

Possibility #1: The same shipment of beef was used to manufacture both recalled products.

This strikes me as highly unlikely. First of all, the February 3rd recall was for ‘Hunks of Beef’, while today’s was for ‘Pulled Beef’ – two entirely different formats. Secondly, if the same shipment was used in both products, the ‘Hunks of Beef’ product would have been manufactured with 6-month old beef. Possible, of course, but not highly probably, unless the company stores its raw meat in the deep freeze for months at a time.

Possibility #2: Beef from the same supplier was used to manufacture both recalled products, and the manufacturer is just being super-cautious.

Evanger’s February 3rd update, posted on the company website, states:

We feel that we have been let down by our supplier, and in reference to the possible presence of pentobarbital, we have let down our customers. Despite having a relationship for forty years with the supplier of this specific beef, who also services many other pet food companies, we have terminated our relationship with them and will no longer purchase their beef for use in our Hunk of Beef product. As Hunk of Beef is a very unique product, requiring very specific cuts of meat, this supplier’s meat was used in no other products.

If this is accurate, then the Against the Grain product should not contain meat from this supplier at all. Again, this explanation does not make sense.

Possibility #3: Either the company or FDA arranged for lab testing of a number of Evanger’s products and detected pentobarbital in a sample of the Against the Grain product.

Based on my years of off-and-on contact with the food industry and regulatory bodies, I am confident that FDA is testing extensively for pentobarbital in samples of Evanger’s products. We won’t know what, if anything, they find until their investigation is complete and they release their results. However, a positive finding of pentobarbital would certainly trigger an immediate recall.

Possibility #4: Either the company or FDA has found evidence that meat from an unauthorized source was introduced into the company’s products.

This, too, would be sufficient to trigger a recall “Out of an abundance of caution.” Again, we won’t know whether or not this took place until FDA completes its investigation.

The good news for pet owners is that, so far at least, this problem appears to be confined to products manufactured at Evanger’s Wheeling, IL facility. Let’s hope it stays that way.