The discovery of a possible contamination of Salmonella has forced Tuffy's Pet Foods to issue a recall order for its Nutrisca Chicken and Chickpea dog food from store shelves.
The Minnesota-based manufacturer of the pet food, which produced the dog food for Nutrisca, also warned that humans are at risk of Salmonella contamination from handling the affected dog food, especially if they did not thoroughly wash their hands after touching the dog food or any surface that the dog food came in contact with.
Salmonella is the most common bacterial illness that can be contracted from food.
The recall order issued by Tuffy's Pet Foods cover only the 4-pound bags of the Nutrisca variant. The affected dog food come with the UPC code of 8 84244 12495 7 with lot codes of 4G29P, 4G31P, 4H01P, 4H04P, 4H05P, and 4H06P.
The affected Nutrisca Chicken and Chickpea dog food 4-pound bags also come with best-before dates that run from July 28, 2016 to Aug. 5, 2016.
The most common symptoms of Salmonella contamination include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea and fever, which will manifest as soon as eight hours from the time of infection. There are also rare instances when Salmonella could lead to more serious ailments such as endocarditis, arterial infections, muscle pain, arthritis, urinary tract symptoms and eye irritation. For people with weak immune systems, Salmonella contamination may become fatal.
Pets infected with the bacteria, in addition to fever, vomiting and diarrhea, may also become lethargic. However, in some cases, the pet will only exhibit signs of lower appetite, abdominal pain and fever. There will be some cases wherein the pet will not be affected by the contamination, but will serve as carriers that can spread the disease to other animals and humans.
Customers that purchased the affected dog food are recommended to throw out the bags in a safe manner, such as within a securely closed trash bin. For customers that still have the receipts of their purchase of the recalled dog food, they are entitled to full refunds from the stores where they purchased the dog food.
No illnesses on either humans or animals related to Salmonella have been recorded in connection with the products involved in the recall order.
The recall order was initiated after a routine sampling program conducted by the Ohio Department of Agriculture discovered the presence of Salmonella bacteria in a 4-pound bag of Nutrisca Chicken and Chickpea dog food.
