This past week, we saw two more food recalls of concern. First, about 96,000 pounds of ground beef were recalled in Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania after several people became ill because of contamination, with a bacteria, commonly found in fecal material, called E. Coli. E-Coli bacteria cause severe diarrhea in people and pets. The recall included meats produced by Valley Meats, LLC. Next, Nutro Pet Products announced the recall of two brands of their dry cat foods (Nutro Max Cat and Nutro Natural Choice Cat). The foods were deficient in potassium and had too much zinc. Nutro Products recall is for select varieties of NUTRO(R) NATURAL CHOICE(R) COMPLETE CARE(R) Dry Cat Foods and NUTRO(R) MAX(R) Cat Dry Foods with “Best If Used by Dates” between May 12, 2010 and August 22, 2010. The cat food is being voluntarily recalled in the United States and ten additional countries. This recall is due to incorrect levels of zinc and potassium in our finished product resulting from a production error by a US-based premix supplier.
Two mineral premixes were affected. One premix contained excessive levels of zinc and under-supplemented potassium. The second premix under-supplemented potassium. Both zinc and potassium are essential nutrients for cats and are added as nutritional supplements to NUTRO(R) dry cat food. This issue was identified during an audit of documentation from the supplier. An extensive review confirmed that only these two premixes were affected. This recall does not affect any NUTRO(R) dog food products, wet dog or cat food, or dog and cat treats.
Affected product was distributed to retail customers in all 50 states, as well as to customers in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Israel. We are working with all of our distributors and retail customers, in both the US and internationally, to ensure that the recalled products are not on store shelves. These products should not be sold or distributed further.
Consumers who have purchased affected product should immediately discontinue feeding the product to their cats, and switch to another product with a balanced nutritional profile. While they claim not to have received consumer complaints about this, cat owners should monitor their cat for symptoms, including a reduction in appetite or refusal of food, weight loss, vomiting or diarrhea. If your cat is experiencing health issues or is pregnant, contact your veterinarian.
Consumers who have purchased product affected by this voluntary recall should return it to their retailer for a full refund or exchange for another NUTRO(R) dry cat food product. Cat owners who have more questions about the recall should call 1-800-833-5330 between the hours 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM CST.
This Nutro recall affects only NUTRO CAT food marked with the dates identified above. For more detailed product information, visit www.nutroproducts.com and click on “recall”. Please direct any questions about the food to the 800# listed above.
Nutro recalled food was tested..by petowner who bought it after recall announced..