Lula, Grace and Amy. From our pack to yours with love and joy.
Big commercial dog food companies outsource their production. And when there’s a problem at a manufacturing plant – like salmonella contamination – the brands it affects tumble like dominoes.
There’s been a widespread recall of dog food due to Salmonella contamination. Here are the brands affected (and more may be added to the list):
- Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul – All skus
- Country Value – All Skus
- Diamond – All Skus
- Diamond Naturals – All Skus
- Premium Edge – All Skus
- Professional – All Skus
- 4Health – All Skus
- Taste of the Wild – All Skus
- Apex
- Canidae (some Skus) – see below
- Natural Balance (some Skus) – see below
- Wellness Large Breed Puppy in 15 pound and 30 pound and 5 oz sample brands
- Kirkland Signature
- Solid Gold
In addition to the brands listed above, Diamond Pet Food also manufactures NutraGold Super Premium Holistic Formulas. So please keep your ears open for any recall announcements on that one.
At the heart of the recall matter is Salmonella contamination that occurred at a Diamond Pet Food manufacturing plant in South Carolina. The CDC has tied human cases of Salmonella infection to Diamond Naturals and Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul. Other products from this same plant may be tainted too.
Natural Balance and Candiae have noted that no salmonella cases have been reported on their products. They are recalling for the safety of the pet and the pet parent. Wellness has noted that while their puppy formula is being voluntarily recalled, the Wellpet brand has been unaffected.
Here are the details as we currently have them:
If you have one of the first eight brands of dog food listed above then the following information applies. To determine if you have an affected product you should check the production codes on the back of bags that have a number “2” or a “3” in the 9th or 10th digit and an “X” in the 11th digit.
The best-before dates for the recalled brands are December 9, 2012 through April 7, 2013. No cat or can skus are affected.
Following is an example of how to read the production code and best before date:
Production Code Best Before Date
FDE0104R5 3X TS 10 – January – 2013
Here is a link to more information posted by Diamond including the states affected by the recall: http://www.diamondpet.com/information/
If you suspect that you have a recalled product you can go to http://diamondpetrecall.com/ or call Diamond Pet toll free at 1-866-918-8756. To get a refund you can visit: http://diamondpetrecall.com/refund-protocol/
Now, regarding Apex, Natural Balance, Canidae, Wellness, Kirkland and Solid Gold:
If you have an Apex product, please visit: http://diamondpetrecall.com/apex/
The below Natural Balance skus are affected by this recall (limited to 5 flavors produced at this Diamond SC plant). If you have a recalled Natural Balance product you should contact customer service at (800) 829-4493 or email info@naturalbalanceinc.com or visit the website: http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/home/NB_recall.html
- 5 LB Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Venison Dog; Best By Date: December 12, 2012; December 13, 2012; March 12, 2013
- 15 LB Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Venison Dog; Best By Date: December 12, 2012; December 13, 2012; December 14, 2012; March 5, 2013; March 6, 2013
- 28 LB Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Venison Dog; Best By Date: December 12, 2012; December 13, 2012; December 14, 2012; March 5, 2013; March 6, 2013; March 7, 2013; March 8, 2013; March 12, 2013
- 5 LB Natural Balance Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Dog; Best By Date: December 10, 2012; December 21, 2012; December 22, 2012
- 15 LB Natural Balance Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Dog; Best By Date: December 10, 2012; December 21, 2012; December 22, 2012
- 28 LB Natural Balance Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Dog; Best By Date: December 10, 2012; December 21, 2012; December 22, 2012
- 5 LB Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Bison Dog; Best By Date: December 17, 2012; December 18, 2012; December 28, 2012; December 29, 2012
- 15 LB Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Bison Dog; Best By Date: December 9, 2012; December 17, 2012; December 18, 2012; December 28, 2012; December 29, 2012
- 28 LB Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Bison Dog; Best By Date: December 9, 2012; December 17, 2012; December 18, 2012; December 28, 2012; December 29, 2012
- 5 LB Natural Balance Vegetarian Dog; Best By Date: December 9, 2012
- 28 LB Natural Balance Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Dog Large Breed Bites; Best By Date: December 12, 2012; December 20, 2012; December 21, 2012
- 5 LB Natural Balance Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Dog Small Breed Bites; Best By Date: December 21, 2012
- 12.5 LB Natural Balance Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Dog Small Breed Bites; Best By Date: December 21, 2012
Canidae:
The below Canidae skus with production codes that have both a number “3” in the 9th or 10th digit and an “X” in the 11th digit with a best before dates of December 9, 2012, through January 31, 2013 are being recalled. For the most up-to-date information and to reach Canidae about this recalled product visit Diamond’s recall website for Canidae.
- Canidae Dog, All Life Stages
- Canidae Dog, Chicken Meal & Rice
- Canidae Dog, Lamb Meal & Rice
- Canidae Dog, Platinum
According to Canidae, currently the recall affects only products distributed in the following Eastern U.S. which were manufactured at the Diamond Pet Food Gaston, South Carolina plant. Further distribution to other pet food channels may occur:
- Florida, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee
Note: the distribution of the other brands noted above encompasses a much broader area in the US, Puerto Rico and Canada.
Wellness:
To date Wellness has identified that the following product may be affected by this Salmonella contamination.
- Wellness Complete Health® Super5Mix® Large Breed Puppy, 15 lb. and 30 lb. bags and 5 oz. sample bags with best by dates of JAN 9 2013 through JAN 11 2013.
You can call Wellness at (877) 227-9587 with any questions about the recalled product.
Kirkland
The Kirkland Signature products included in the recall are:
- Kirkland Signature Super Premium Adult Dog Lamb, Rice & Vegetable Formula (Best Before December 9, 2012 through January 31, 2013)
- Kirkland Signature Super Premium Adult Dog Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Formula (Best Before December 9, 2012 through January 31, 2013)
- Kirkland Signature Super Premium Mature Dog Chicken, Rice & Egg Formula (Best Before December 9, 2012 through January 31, 2013)
- Kirkland Signature Super Premium Healthy Weight Dog Formulated with Chicken & Vegetables (Best Before December 9, 2012 through January 31, 2013)
- Kirkland Signature Super Premium Maintenance Cat Chicken & Rice Formula (Best Before December 9, 2012 through January 31, 2013)
- Kirkland Signature Super Premium Healthy Weight Cat Formula (December 9, 2012 through January 31, 2013)
- Kirkland Signature Nature’s Domain Salmon Meal & Sweet Potato Formula for Dogs (December 9, 2012 through January 31, 2013)
If you have a recalled product visit Diamond’s Recall Website for Kirkland.
Solid Gold
The Solid Gold products involved in this voluntary recall are
- Solid Gold WolfCub Large Breed Puppy Food, 4 lb, 15 lb, and 33 lb, with a best before date of December 30, 2012 and batch code starting with SGB1201A31X.
- Solid Gold WolfKing Large Breed Adult Dog Food, 4 lb, 15 lb, and 28.5 lb, with a best before date of December 30, 2012 and batch code starting with SGL1201A32X
Pet parents who are unsure if the product they purchased is included in the recall, would like replacement product or have additional questions, may call Solid Gold at (800) 364-4863.
If you suspect that you or your pet have been exposed to Salmonella here’s some things to look for:
Pets with Salmonella infections may have decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, pets may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. 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.
Individuals handling dry pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to this product. People who believe they may have been exposed to Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. According to the Centers for Disease Control, people who are more likely to be affected by Salmonella include infants, children younger than 5 years old, organ transplant patients, people with HIV/AIDS and people receiving treatment for cancer.
References & Useful Links:
- For more information on this recall visit The Truth About Pet Food
- For more information on Diamond Pet Foods visit Wikipedia
How can we find out what brands DONT use these large “outsourced” plants that are apparently a major problem and cause many recalls. The huge recall in 2008 showed just how many companies can use just one plant. I want a healthy, LID food that is made by a small company that has their own processing plant.. Does one even exist?
Fromms has never had a recall. All of their food is made here in the USA and all of their dry food is made right in Mequon, WI. Check out their products at frommfamily.com.
Hi Lacy,
I’m glad Susan got back to you… Not sure if you got my reply. You can find it though if you check back to the post. Thanks!
Amy
Arcana. Make your own or feed raw.
Hi Lacy,
Recalls like this one, the ongoing toxic Chinese chicken jerky issues, and the melamine-based recall remind us that we need to research what our animal companions eat to at least the same degree as we watch what our kids consume. The FDA barely scratches the surface on inspecting human food plants; they do not have the resource to also protect our pets. But here I go again preaching to the choir. ;-)
As for Limited Ingredient Diets (“LID”) that are made by small companies operating their own processing plants, the list is small. And virtually all canned food is outsourced. The one dry food I particularly like and feed to my girls is made by Champion Pet Foods. They make their own Orijen and Acana brands in their Canadian facility with ingredients that arrive fresh daily and nothing sourced from China. All the meats they use are fresh (never frozen). Orijen is 80/20 protein to carbs; Acana has a 60/40 ratio. They make grain free formulations as well as a formula that uses only oats. (Personally, I don’t have issues with oats as it’s lower on the glycemic index than pumpkin and sweet potatoes and higher in some nutrients).
If you’re looking for a wet food then I like dehydrated foods that are re-hydrated just before serving with water or homemade stock. The Honest Kitchen is one of my favorites for this type of food. They use 100% human-grade ingredients. And while I believe they do outsource their production, it is done in an FDA inspected human food factory not a massive pet food plant. So I would like to think that there is a higher degree of quality control there.
I hope this information is helpful. Thank you for reading and posting your comments.
Best regards,
Amy
I use the Beef and rice formula of the product “Nutrish” (Started out as “Just Six” Rachel Ray’s pet project) has there been any talk about this company?
I use Diamond, Chicken and Rice. Should I worry about this?
Hi Penny,
Yes, unfortunately, if you use Diamond’s products then this recall affects you. To determine if you have a bad, recalled batch you need to find the production code and the best by date on the package. If they match the information below, then they have been recalled. This info is:
Production Code Best Before Date
FDE0104R5 3X TS 10 – January – 2013
Best wishes,
Amy
My dogs have been sick and one hospitalized with these symptoms. Another family is also having the same issues. We both feed Exclusive Dog Food. They claim they have had no indication of a problem and are claiming that it is just a coincidence. I would like to send the food out to a lab and have it tested but don’t know how to go about this. Any ideas? They have lost a long time customer. I took up the food and fed a vet formula and they are not all quickly getting better.
I meant to say, they are getting better quickly.
Hiya TallTreeAcres,
I’m glad to hear your dogs are on the mend. There are labs that do this kind of analysis though I’m not sure what they would charge. One of these labs is EMSL Analytical.
http://www.emsl.com/Index.cfm?nav=Contact_Us
General Customer Service
info@emsl.com
East Coast 1-800-220-3675 or 1-888-958-8170
West Coast 1-866-798-1089
Regarding Exclusive Dog Food, it’s not a brand I’m familiar with so I checked out their website. There are ingredients in their food that can cause GI upset and other problems. Most noticeably:
1. Corn Gluten Meal. Most dogs can’t digest wheat corn and soy. This ingredient is listed on the heels of barley, rice.and oatmeal. That’s a whole lotta grain and starchy fiber and while it may make your dog feel full, it can also make them gassy, bloated and uncomfortable. And unfortunately those ingredients don’t provide optimal canine nutrition. Most healthy dogs should be on at least 60% – arguably 80% meat protein (from an identifiable meat source).
2. Fish meal. This is perhaps the scariest ingredient. Most fish meal is laced with ethoxyquin. Ethoxyquin is one of the most toxic preservatives and is actually banned from human consumption except in extremely minute quantities (i.e. cayenne pepper – and think how much of that we as humans consume per pound of our body weight.)
3. Natural Chicken Flavor – or natural flavors of any kind are generally dumping grounds for MSG and animal digests (read: digestive tract contents)
There are a couple great resources for demystifying the ingredients on dog food and treat labels. The first is a blog post of ours called Where’s the Beef. The second is a book available from Amazon called A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives. That one is good for both dogs and humans!
Best wishes,
Amy
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Thank you for all this info!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!