(RepublicanDaily.org) – Owners of cats, dogs, and hedgehogs may want to check their pantries to see if the food they’ve bought for their pets is part of a recall over fears of listeria contamination. The bacterium can cause illness and in some cases death in both humans and animals.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a notice that pet food brand Viva Raw has issued a voluntary recall of several of its products. The North Carolina company, based in Hillsborough, makes a variety of foods for pets. The company is concerned that some lots of pet food may contain listeria monocytogenes, which can cause listeriosis. The illness often features diarrhea and vomiting, and is especially dangerous to pregnant women and their unborn children.
All the potentially contaminated Viva Raw products are from Lot number 212444. They include the following varieties:
-Viva Beef & Turkey for Puppies
-Viva Turkey for Cats
-Viva Turkey for Dogs Chunked
-Viva Turkey for Dogs Ground
-Viva Pure Turkey
Viva Raw says consumers need only be careful of packages with this specific lot number, and the company is making contact with all customers who received shipments of the Turkey, Beef & Turkey for Puppies varieties between May 16 and June 28 of this year. The varieties have been sold in every one of the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.
According to the FDA, listeria monocytogenes can lead to serious illness, and sometimes death, in pets, though this is a rare outcome. But animals that consume contaminated food may end up with quite bad diarrhea, fever, agitation, problems with breathing and muscles, miscarriage, and more.
Unfortunately, pets who consume the contaminated food may never develop an infection but can still be active carriers able to transmit the bacteria to other animals or to their owners.
As of July 3, there have been no reports of pet or human sickness from the potentially contaminated food. Viva Raw promises a full refund to any customer with food from the affected lot, and advises those customers to destroy the food in such a way that no children, pets, or wild animals come into contact with it. Those looking for more information may contact the company at [email protected].
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