Category: Pet Health

Recalls and Alerts: August 25 – 28, 2019

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.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please submit your request using the sidebar link.

United States

OUTBREAK ALERT UPDATE: CDC reports 143 cases of Salmonella infections in 35 states are linked to pig ear dog treats imported from Argentina, Brazil and possibly Colombia.

Allergy Alert: Bakkavor Foods USA, Inc. recalls SIMPLY EAT HEB MEAL SIMPLE CURRY CHICKEN SALAD (12 oz; Best by 08/28/2019) due to undeclared pecans.

Allergy Alert: Nature’s One recalls PediaSmart® SOY Vanilla Beverage Mix (12.7 oz/360g containers; Lots PSV 7271 MI1, PSV 8078 MI1, PSV 8274 MI1, & PSV 9105 MI1; Use by Sept 1, 2019, March 1, 2020, Oct 1, 2020, &  April 1, 2021) due to undeclared milk.

Pet Treat Safety Recall: Brutus & Barnaby recall Pig Ears 100% Natural Treats for Dogs (All size packages; All batch codes; Product of Argentina; Product of Colombia) due to possible Salmonella contamination.

Canada

Allergy Alert: Golden Boy Foods Ltd. recalls Western Family brand Grab N’Go – Veggie Crisps (400g; Product codes 20 JA 10 LA9191, 19 SE 21 LA9080, 19 AU 19 LA9050; UPC 0 62639 34718 5) due to undeclared sulphites, almond, peanut, soy and wheat.

Allergy Alert: Krazy Dan’s Pickled Products recalls Krazy Dan’s brand Pickled Weiners and Mild Sauce due to undeclared sulphites, mustard, soy and wheat. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.

Food Safety Recall: Super C Shawinigan Royal recalls ground beef and ground veal (Variable weights; Sold up to and including 27 August 2019) due to foreign matter (metal pieces) contamination.

Food Safety Recall: Marché du centre recalls Sauce à spaghetti / Spaghetti sauceMarché du centre (500 ml; Best before 24 August) due to inadequate refrigeration and lack of appropriate storage labeling.

Food Safety Recall: Vertdemain recalls TARTINADE DE LÉGUMES VEDGE WIZZZ (200g; Product sold up to and including 28 August 2019) due to inadequate refrigeration and lack of appropriate storage labeling.

Europe

Allergy Alert (Belgium): Albert Heijn recalls Albert Heijn brand AH Bapao rundvlees / Bapao beef (120g; Best before 08-09-2019) due to undeclared celery.

Allergy Alert (Luxembourg): Naturli’ recalls Naturli Organic Vegan Spreadable (225g; Best before 30.08.2019 – 27.11.2019; Product of Denmark) due to undeclared milk.

Allergy Alert (Netherlands): Albert Heijn recalls Albert Heijn brand AH Bapao rundvlees / Bapao beef (120g; Best before 08-09-2019) due to undeclared celery.

Allergy Alert (UK): Naturli’ Foods recalls Naturli’ Organic Vegan Spreadable (225g; All date codes between 30 August 2019 to 27 November 2019) due to undeclared milk.

Allergy Alert (UK): Thomas Tucker Ltd recalls several brands and flavours of popcorn due to undeclared milk. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.

Food Safety Recall (France): Intermarché recalls Jean Rozé brand Merguez Véritables sausages (20-pack; Lot J92341292; Best before 10/09/2019) due to foreign matter (metal fragment) contamination.

Food Safety Recall (Germany): Franken Bräu Lorenz Bauer GmbH & Co. KG recalls Franken Bräu Pilsener Bügelverschluss / Swing-top bottle cap (Best before 05.05.2020) due to detergent traces.

Food Safety Recall (Luxembourg): Industry recalls Bonduelle Leipziger Allerlei (200 g et 400 g; Best before 31.07.2022; Product of France) due to foreign matter (glass particles) contamination.

Food Safety Recall (Netherlands): Texel chips and FZ Organic Food recall handcooked  Texel chips (125g; Best before 24-01-2020) due to possible contamination with a cleaning agent.

One more step forward in Hill’s class action lawsuits. Will DSM be next?

The Class Action suit against Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc., has taken another step forward in the legal process with the appointment on July 31st of Lead Counsels for the Plaintiffs and the Defendants.

Lead Counsels for the Plaintiffs are:

The Multidistrict Litigation consolidates approximately 20 individual Class Action suits initiated by grieving dog owners whose pets died as a result of vitamin D overdose.

During the first half of 2019, Hill’s Pet Nutrition recalled 33 varieties of canned, wet dog food due excessive levels of vitamin D in the products.

At present, Defendants named in the Class Action include Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc., Hill’s Pet Nutrition Sales, Inc., and Colgate-Palmolive Company.

Hill’s is a subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive.

The toxic concentrations of vitamin D were found to have originated from a formulation error in the vitamin D premix supplied to Hill’s by the Fort Worth, Texas facility owned by DSM Nutritional Products, LLC. 

An employee at the Fort Worth plant added vitamin D to the premix instead of adding vitamin E, resulting in a 2900% excess of vitamin D in the premix.

FDA follow-up discussions with company management established that DSM did not have adequate systems in place to prevent this type of operator error. For example,

  • Although batch records were reviewed and signed off, the ingredient substitution was not caught either by the
  • The vitamin D and vitamin E ingredients were similar in color, and there was no color-code labelling system in place to differentiate the ingredients
  • DSM did not have a bar coding system in place to aid in identification and tracking of ingredients
  • DSM did not provide a Certificate of Analysis for each batch of premix supplied to Hill’s and does not test every finished batch

As of mid-April, DSM was preparing a revised food safety plan, which it promised to provide to FDA by the end of May.

DSM has not yet been named as a Defendant in the Class Action. It will be up to the Co-Lead Counsels to decide whether or not to do so.

The best last word in this saga belongs to Jessica Hensley of FDA, who told DSM representatives, “Your products killed life. Be sure that you have a process in place so that an employee can’t screw it up.“

 

 

 

Read before you feed: FDA reminds consumers of xylitol’s danger to pets

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reminding consumers that xylitol is highly toxic to dogs.

Xylitol is a naturally occuring alcohol found in plant materials. It is as sweet as suger, but contains 40% fewer calories.

In humans, xylitol does not raise blood sugar levels, nor does it trigger insulin production. It is used as an artificial sweetener in toothpastes, cough syrups, mouthwash, sugar-free gums, breath mints, sugar-free nut butters, and other sugar-free food products.

While safe for human consumption, xylitol is highly dangerous to dogs, whose metabolism is different from that of humans. The sweetener is absorbed rapidly into a dog’s bloodstream, triggering a potent release of insulin from the pancreas.

The insulin, in turn, causes a rapid and precipitous drop in blood sugar (hypoglycemia), producing symptoms of vomiting followed by decreased activity, weakness, staggering, incoordination, collapse and seizures.

While the effects of xylitol poisoning can begin to develop in as little as 10 to 60 minutes, symptoms may not develop until as long as 12 to 24 hours after ingestion of a product sweetened with xylitol.

Cats and other household pets are less at risk of xylitol poisoning than are dogs, according to FDA, although ferrets have been known to develop low blood sugar and seizures after eating products containing xylitol.

In 2016, the ASPCA’s Poison Control Center received more than 4300 calls relating to xylitol ingesttion.

FDA has received 31 formal reports of xylitol poisoning in dogs since 2010, according to a spokesperson for the agency. Many of the reports involved sugar-free chewing gum.

In addition to the formal reports, the agency has received numerous emails and phone calls from individuals who did not realize that products contained xylitol.

Take steps to safeguard your dog

  • Check the label for xylitol in the ingredients of products, especially ones that advertise as sugar-free or low sugar. If a product does contain xylitol, make sure your pet can’t get to it.
  • Keep products that contain xylitol (including those you don’t think of as food, such as toothpaste) well out of your dog’s reach. Remember that some dogs are adept at counter surfing.
  • Only use pet toothpaste for pets, never human toothpaste.
  • If you give your dog nut butter as a treat or as a vehicle for pills, check the label first to make sure it doesn’t contain xylitol.

Watch the video for more information

For additional information on safeguarding your pets from xylitol poisoning, follow the link to FDA’s video, “Xylitol and Dogs. A Deadly Combination”

Report safety issues to FDA

  • FDA wants to know if your pet encounters safety issues with a product, and/or unanticipated harmful effects that you believe are related to a product.
  • You can report problems related to both human and pet foods and treats at the Safety Reporting Portal.
  • Each report is evaluated to determine how serious the problem is and, if necessary, additional information may be requested from the person who filed the report.