When you purchase food for your pet, you want to make sure that he or she is getting the nutrition needed to live a happy and healthy life. Animals who receive the vitamins and nutrients they need will normally have shiny coats, healthy teeth, abundant energy, and a sleek physique. Veterinarians can often recommend the perfect kibble or your dog or cat. But sometimes even the most reputable pet food brands can make a mistake. There have been plenty of times in the past where a pet food company has issued a total recall on a product. Unfortunately, many people won't even receive information on the recall, and keep feeding their pet flawed foods.
In December of 2011, Advanced Animal Nutrition did a recall on their dog food. The recall was voluntary, but was issued by the FDA. The Dog Power dry dog food received high aflatoxin levels, which could be detrimental to a dog. Aflatoxin is a chemical substance that is naturally produced by a fungi contaminate in crops. The substance can act as a carcinogenic or immunosuppressive agent. Cargill also did a voluntary recall of products in Kansas, Missouri, Northeast Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Southeast Indiana, California Guam, the Virgin Islands, Hawaii, some areas in Florida, and Mississippi. While there were no reports that gods got sick from the high aflatoxin levels in the Cargill dog foods, the company was concerned. Also in December, Iams was worried that their food had high aflatoxin levels, and recalled all their Iams ProActive Health Smart Puppy dry dog food that has an expiration date of February 5th or 6th 2013.
Other companies, like Nestle Purina, had to recall their cat food last July when the discovered that the bags could have salmonella contamination. The products were distributed in California, Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa, Nebraska, Indiana, North Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nebraska. Purina had to conduct a similar recall last June on bags of cat chow distributed in Colorado, Idaho, and Oregon. Recently, a pet food company called Kaytee has recalled five versions of their hand-feeding baby formulas for birds, and Hartz Mountain Corporation asked for a recall in their tropical fish flake food. Cargill asked for a recall in their Nutrena NatureWise Goat Pellets, and Western Feed asked for their Kountry Buffet 14 percent feed for horses. Diamond has also requested a recently recall on their Lamb Meal & Rice bags, because of health concerns.
The fact is that it is dangerous to feed your pet the wrong food. The risk of aflatoxin poisoning or salmonella contamination is great, and many companies have to recall their products when they discover these dangerous agents. You should always speak with your veterinarian before switching your pet's food, and look the product up online to receive an effective review. If you are worried that the product may not be up to caliber that you are hoping for, look on websites such as the American Veterinary Medical Association to see whether or not the product has been recalled.
The AMVA requests that pet-owners who encounter a flawed food formula report this to the FDA immediately. The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for testing all foods, both human and pet, and making sure that they are healthy and safe to consume. When you are reporting a dangerous food, try to include as much information as possible, including the specific product name, the lot numbers, your vet's report and diagnosis, and any other information that you can. If possible, get your veterinarian to contact the FDA for you, since he or she may be able to describe the situation in more effective terms.