Consumer complaint leads to Salmonella finding in Darwin’s raw pet food

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is updating its previously issued advisory concerning Darwin’s Natural Pet Products after finding Salmonella in yet another sample of the company’s raw pet food.

The latest Salmonella finding concerns the following product:

Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Antibiotic & Grain-Free Chicken Recipe for Cats, Lot 9802, manufactured on Jul 7, 2023.

Previously, the FDA warned consumers about Salmonella contamination in the following products:

Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Chicken Recipe with Organic Vegetables for Dogs, Lot 9774, manufactured on Jun 13, 2023.
Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Chicken Recipe for Cats, Lot 9795, manufactured on Jun 28, 2023.
Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Chicken Recipe for Cats, Lot 9830, manufactured on Jul 19, 2023.

As of the updated (October 12, 2023) advisory, the company has declined to recall any of the Salmonella-contaminated products, which were manufactured by Arrow Reliance Inc., doing business as Darwin’s Natural Pet Products, and sold online.

On February 16, 2023, the FDA issued a Warning Letter to Gary Tashjian, Owner of Arrow Reliance Inc., citing evidence of Salmonella contamination in the company’s finished products, the use of a non-permitted food additive (peroxyacetic acid) as a pathogen mitigation step, and Tashjian’s refusal to comply with federal requirements that it register with the FDA as a food facility.

What consumers should do

If you have any of the Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections cat or dog foods listed above, stop feeding it to your pets and throw it away in a secure container where other animals, including wildlife, cannot access it.

Consumers who have had this product in their homes should clean refrigerators/freezers where the product was stored and clean and disinfect all bowls, utensils, food prep surfaces, pet bedding, litter boxes, toys, floors, and any other surfaces that the food or pet may have had contact with. Clean up the pet’s feces in places where people or other animals may become exposed. Consumers should thoroughly wash their hands after handling the product or cleaning up potentially contaminated items and surfaces.

TOXIC

From Factory To Food Bowl
PET FOOD IS A RISKY BUSINESS

Available from all major on-line retailers, including:

Enjoy the slideshow as you listen to a sample of TOXIC, narrated by the author.

“A complete and compelling account of the hidden and not-so-hidden ways the food we give our beloved pets can be contaminated.” – JoNel Aleccia, Health Reporter, Food & Nutrition, The Associated Press.

Two hospitalized in Listeria outbreak linked to ice cream

Two individuals were hospitalized earlier this year after becoming infected with Listeria monocytogenes, according to a report released today by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The infections are believed to have been due to consumption of Soft Serve On The Go ice cream, manufactured by Real Kosher Ice Cream of Brooklyn, NY.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture recovered Listeria monocytogenes from an unopened container of Soft Serve On The Go ice cream stored in the freezer of one of the two outbreak victims.

The second victim is believed to have consumed the product at a long-term care facility where they live.

DNA fingerprinting is underway to determine whether the strain recovered from the ice cream is a genetic match to the ones from the two outbreak victims.

The manufacturer has initiated a recall of all flavors of Soft Serve On The Go 8-oz cups, has temporarily ceased all production, and is cooperating with the US Food and Drug Administration’s effort to determine the source of the contamination.

The recalled products were supplied to retailers in California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The products also were distributed in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and The United Kingdom.

CDC’s Advice to Consumers, Care-givers and Businesses

What Everyone Should Do:

Do not eat “Soft Serve On The Go” ice cream cups.
- Check your freezers. Listeria can survive at freezing temperatures.
- Throw them away or return them to where you bought them for a refund.
- If you have any questions, contact the company at 845-668-4346 or info@softserveonthego.com (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5 pm EST).
Call a healthcare provider right away if you have these symptoms after eating the ice cream:
- Pregnant people usually have fever, muscle aches, and tiredness.
- People who are not pregnant usually have fever, muscle aches, and tiredness. They may also get a headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or seizures.

What Long-Term Care Facilities, Hospitals, and Businesses Should Do

Do not sell or serve “Soft Serve On The Go” ice cream cups.

Listeria Symptoms

Listeria is especially harmful to people who are pregnant, aged 65 or older, or with weakened immune systems. This is because Listeria is more likely to spread beyond their gut to other parts of their body, resulting in a severe condition known as invasive listeriosis.
- For people who are pregnant, Listeria can cause pregnancy loss, premature birth, or a life-threatening infection in their newborn.
- For people who are 65 years or older or who have a weakened immune system, Listeria often results in hospitalization and sometimes death.
Symptoms usually start within 2 weeks after eating food contaminated with Listeria but may start as early as the same day or as late as 10 weeks after.
- Pregnant people usually have fever, muscle aches, and tiredness.
- People who are not pregnant usually have fever, muscle aches, and tiredness. They may also get a headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or seizures.

TAINTED formats 3 — “Reads like a true crime novel” – Food Safety News

Interested in learning more about food safety and the history of foodborne disease outbreaks and investigations?

Click on the link to listen to a short excerpt, then follow the buy links to add a digital, print or audio copy to your personal library.

Chapter 6. Birth of a Pathogen

TAINTED is available in digital format from all major on-line retailers. Press the button to go directly to your preferred digital bookstore.

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Chapters/Indigo

It’s Publication Day!

Calling All Pets
(and Pet Parents, Too)

Five years after the idea for a book on the pet food industry first took hold of me during a walk on Carmel Beach, I am proud to announce the official launch of TOXIC. From Factory to Food Bowl, Pet Food Is a Risky Business.

If you share your life with a companion animal—especially a dog or cat—you owe it to your pet to educate yourself about the practices that take place behind the scenes in the factories and kitchens where raw, canned, and kibbled pet foods are manufactured.

The reality behind the appetizing package labels and enticing website advertising may shock you. It will certainly disillusion you, as it did me.

The stories and investigations described in TOXIC are drawn from interviews with pet owners, public records, published articles, and FDA inspection reports.

FULL DISCLOSURE: My husband and I are very fortunate to share our home with our 7½ year old Australian Cobberdog, Rutlands Shalom. She thrives on a home-cooked diet that I prepare for her myself.

Word On the Street

As part of the run-up to the publication of TOXIC, I supplied Advance Review copies to a number of colleagues in the writing community. Several of these individuals have already posted their reviews, and I am proud to share a few of their comments here. If you wish to read a complete review, please click on the reviewer’s name or handle.

“As the former global pathogen product manager at a major testing manufacturer, I found this book a fantastic companion to Tainted by Phyllis Entis.” – George Nagle (Amazon USA reviewer)

“TOXIC provides an eye-opening look at the pet food industry’s failures.” – Amy M. Reade (Amazon USA reviewer)

“Well, wow! As with Entis’s first book, TAINTED, this new installment is frighteningly eye opening.” – PeaceLoveHope (an Amazon USA Vine Voice reviewer)

“My thanks to the author for this meticulous insight – would that it weren’t necessary to hold those responsible constantly to account, but it is … and this book does that with aplomb.” – MeandtheMutts (Amazon UK reviewer)

A Peek Inside the Book

If you have read this far, please let me entice you further with a short excerpt from Chapter 9: Pentobarbital’s Pervasive Presence. I interviewed Mark Johnson via email for this story.

Mark was a California cattleman and his dogs were his workforce. He maintained a string of Border Collies and Australian Shepherd mixes to help with herding. Mark first purchased Gravy Train canned dog foods in 2015, using the products as supplemental feedings and as rewards for his dogs. In January 2018, when disaster struck, Mark owned thirteen dogs, ranging from ten months to approximately seven years old. One of his six female dogs was pregnant.

Typically, Mark purchased five cases of dog food weekly, patronizing the local Walmart and Big Lots stores for his supplies. In early January 2018, he replenished his supply of canned food with a purchase of two Gravy Train varieties: Chunks in Gravy with Beef Chunks, and Chunks in Gravy with T-Bone Flavor Chunks. On or about January 12^th, all thirteen dogs fell sick within hours after eating the Gravy Train dog food. He took all of the dogs to his local veterinarian. Within two days of having consumed the dog food, all thirteen dogs were showing signs of kidney failure and were euthanized at the veterinarian’s recommendation.

Although the veterinarian performed a necropsy on one of the dogs, neither he nor Mark reported the dog deaths to the FDA. According to Mark, the veterinarian died shortly after the incident, and Mark was unable to retrieve his files. As of November 2018, Mark was still searching for replacement herding dogs that were in need of a good home.

How To Order TOXIC

TOXIC. From Factory to Food Bowl, Pet Food Is a Risky Business is available in digital format from all major ebook retailers, and can be purchased in paperback on Amazon.

Alternatively, you can have your favorite bookstore order a copy of TOXIC for you.

If you prefer to borrow your reading material from a local library, please consider asking your librarian to add TOXIC to the library’s collection.