Midwestern Pet Foods Recalls Dozens of Dog, Cat Foods Because of Salmonella Concerns
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Midwestern Pet Foods is recalling numerous brands of its dog and cat food out of salmonella concerns, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday.
In a news release, the FDA said the food company had issued a voluntary recall on the food with certain expiration dates that was produced at its Monmouth, Ill., production facility. The brands include CanineX, Earthborn Holistic, Venture, Unrefined, Sportmix Wholesomes, Pro Pac, Pro Pac Ultimates, Sportstrail, Sportmix, and Meridian. In all, the company is recalling 60 different kinds of dog and cat food.
The products, a full list of which you can see here, were distributed nationwide via in-person and online retailers. So far, pet or human illnesses have been linked to the recalled products.
Midwestern Pet Foods issued the recall after "routine sampling program" indicated the bacteria might be present, the FDA says.
According to the FDA, salmonella can affect both humans who handle the contaminated food and the animals who eat it. (This is why you should always wash your hands after handling your pet's food.) In healthy humans, it can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, and fever. More severe symptoms include endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, arterial infections, urinary tract problems and eye pain. The FDA says you should call your doctor if you exhibit any of these symptoms.
RELATED: Sportmix Pet Food Recall: More Than 110 Pet Deaths Now Linked to Tainted Food
In pets, salmonella can lead to lethargy, diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, vomiting, fever, decreased appetite, or abdominal pain. If your pet has eaten some of the now-recalled food recently, contact your veterinarian.
To find out whether your food is on the recall list, you'll need to look at the expiration date on the bag. Here's an example from the FDA: EXP AUG/02/22M1 L#. Specifically, you're looking for the "M" after the penultimate slash line, meaning it was produced at the Monmouth facility.
The list of affected products is more than 130 items long. If you feed your pet food from Midwestern Food Products, you can search the list here.
