Two unrelated Salmonella contamination issues related to pets have been in the news lately.
I’ll start with the most recent one, a recall of Fi pet supplements because of potential contamination with Salmonella. Specific product info is in the FDA notice link..
Details are pretty sparse but it was apparently triggered because of contamination of an ingredient supplied to the company. It’s not clear whether that was detected by the supplier as part of routine testing, detected by the supplement manufacturer as part of routine testing or detected based on investigation of disease. The FDA notice doesn’t indicate anything about sick animals (or their human contacts), so this recall seems to have been out of abundance of caution in the absence of any known illness. (“No known illness” doesn’t mean ‘no illness’, though. Disease from contaminated food, treats or supplements is underidentified and underreported.
While contamination is concerning, the response was appropriate. A problem was identified, FDA was notified and a recall was initiated.That’s great, and that’s how it should be.
On the other side of the coin is Darwin’s Pet Food.
I’ve written about Darwin’s before as they’ve had multiple contamination problems with their raw pet food in the past. For example, E. coli from contaminated pet food resulted in severe disease in a child. A few months later, there was an issue with contamination with Listeria and Salmonella. A common theme with those (beyond biohazardous food) was the company ignoring FDA requests to recall the implicated diets.
It boggles my mind that a company can just ignore an FDA recall request, both based on the legal aspects and basic ethics. But, they have.
It shouldn’t take a Justice Department lawsuit to make a company stop selling contaminated food but that seems to be the case with Darwin’s.
In the FDA notice, Timothy Schell, Director of FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine stated “Despite repeated FDA warnings, this company continues to manufacture and distribute products contaminated with harmful bacteria. When a company does not take responsibility for product safety, FDA will intervene to protect public health.”
In some ways, I’m surprised they acted. It’s a niche issue that has largely avoided regulatory attention in the past. It’s a good sign, though. I won’t go over broader issues about whether or not raw feeding is a good idea. (Our archives have lots of info about that). If raw diets are to be fed, people need to realize there’s an increased risk and take appropriate measures.
Companies need to do that too.
Some companies high pressure pasteurize their diets to reduce (not necessarily eliminate) contamination. That’s a great step. Good companies have good facilities and food safety practices. Others deflect and ignore. The problem is, consumers can’t often tell who’s taking food safety seriously and who doesn’t care. So, government action is important and naming-and-shaming can be a big part of it since, ultimately, if consumers stop buying dodgy products, those companies will either go out of business or have to improve.
Here’s some other info from the Justice Department notice.
The complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleges FDA found the presence of pathogenic bacteria, including Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono), and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) in the company’s finished pet food products in samples collected from 2017 through 2025. In 2024, FDA investigators also found Salmonella in the company’s Tukwila facility. Infections from L. mono, Salmonella, or STECcan cause symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting in healthy adults. For vulnerable consumers — including pregnant women, the elderly, and the immune-compromised — L. mono, Salmonella, and STEC can each cause more serious effects including death. L. mono can cause stillbirths and miscarriages.
The complaint further alleges Arrow Reliance’s products have repeatedly infected consumers over several years. After multiple Arrow Reliance customers complained of humans or pets suffering from health problems, FDA investigators detected the presence of pathogenic bacteria in unopened samples of the company’s product. In 2024, a four-year-old child fell ill with a STEC infection and developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome after the family dog was fed Arrow Reliance’s products. Third party laboratory testing of the family’s unopened pet food from Arrow Reliance confirmed the presence of both Salmonella and STEC bacteria.
So, we have one company that seems to have initiated a recall of its products because an ingredient was contaminated, without evidence of disease but acting appropriately to reduce the risk (yay!). The other is still ignoring FDA recall requests, seems to have longterm quality and contamination issues and shows no interest in the health of consumers (boo!).
I’d hope that people that feed Darwin’s diets will pay attention to this government action.
Recent Comments