Dog owners in seven states have been warned that recalled puppy food is contaminated with salmonella.
Blue Ridge Beef announced on Monday that 2-pound packages of its Puppy Mix product were being recalled due to contamination with the dangerous bacteria. The dog food is sold in frozen logs that are marked as “natural pet food,” while instructing owners to “keep frozen until ready for use.”
The recalled Puppy Mix was distributed to the following states from August 6 to August 23: Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. The packages all include the UPC number “854298001696” and a lot number reading either “08/06/N25” or “08/16/N25.”
“Salmonella 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,” reads a recall notice shared on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website on Monday.
“Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting,” it continues. “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.”
A dog is pictured at a dining table while awaiting a meal in this undated file photo. Blue Ridge Beef recalled packages of its Puppy Mix product sold in seven states on Monday over concerns of salmonella contamination.
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People who are in possession of the recalled dog food were warned against allowing any animal to consume it or donating it. Instead, customers were asked to return the product to their point of purchase or destroy it “in a way that children, pets, and wildlife cannot access.”
The company said that the recall was initiated when the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services was notified that a litter of puppies became ill after consuming the product. It was unclear if there were any other illnesses associated with the recall.
Newsweek reached out for comment to Blue Ridge Beef via email on Monday night.
Salmonella “is a major public health concern” that can infect “most animal species” including pet dogs and cats that may act as “carriers” and spread it to their human companions by “shedding” the pathogen, according to the Merck Veterinary Manual.
“Dogs and cats are usually subclinical carriers but can become clinically affected,” the manual states. “Shedding of salmonellae by dogs and cats has been linked to illness in humans living in the same household with the shedding pet.”
In people, salmonella is the country’s most common cause of food poisoning, triggering an infection known as salmonellosis. Symptoms of illness in humans appear from six hours to six days from infection, according to the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Salmonellosis typically lasts from four to seven days and includes symptoms like abdominal cramps, diarrhea and fever. Severe cases, which are more likely to occur in children, the elderly or people with compromised immune systems, are rarely fatal but can include a range of other symptoms involving joints and the nervous system.
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