Dog and cat owners have been warned after a food company recalled some of its products marketed for kittens and puppies.
Pet food company Blue Ridge Beef issued a recall being alerted by food inspectors to incidents of salmonella and listeria.
The company, which distributes food to 33 states across the U.S., said that the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services found the two diseases during inspections of the Kitten Grind, Kitten Mix and Puppy Fever products.
Inspectors tested “one lot of each of the products” to find the harmful bacteria, which can cause both humans and pets to become ill. Blue Ridge said that “out of an abundance of caution the firm is recalling all lots with use-by dates between N24 1124 to N24 1224.”
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The numbers can be found on silver tabs at the end of the tubes, according to the company, and were distributed between November 14 and December 20.
Blue Ridge Beef has asked consumers to get rid of products “and destroy the food in a way that children, pets, and wildlife cannot access.” Consumers can contact the Tar Heel State-located company for a full refund if they purchased one of the problem products.
Newsweek has approached Blue Ridge Beef via email for comment. On its website, Blue Ridge Beef said it uses flash-frozen meat with “no additives or preservatives” because “science is not better than nature.”
The family-owned business added: “When man changes things from their natural state to increase profits, the food is no longer ‘real'. It becomes a man-made imitation.”
The affected items were “sold primarily in retail stores” in Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and Virginia.
Warning pet owners, Blue Ridge said: “Pets with Salmonella and Listeria infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever, and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans.”
No illnesses have been reported, according to a news release by the company, which was also posted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
This month's recall comes amid a number of recalls potentially linked to Salmonella this year.
Six children and one adult became sick after coming into contact with salmonella earlier this year, according to a joint FDA and U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) statement in November.
Mid America Pet Food voluntarily recalled all products with a best before date before date of October 31 next year.
Victor Super Premium Dog Foods, Eagle Mountain Pet Food, Wayne Feeds Dog Food and “two varieties” of Member's Mark pet foods were also recalled.
The Blue Ridge Beef contamination is not the same one that caused a recall on October 27 this year, relating to a salmonella outbreak. The FDA notified Blue Ridge Beef that its Breeders Choice 2lb distributed between August 9 and August 25 had tested positive.
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