FDA Alert: Purina Pet Food Recalled Over Choking Hazard

(EET)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted a notice on its website saying that Purina is recalling some Muse wet cat food due to a potential choking hazard.

The Nestlé-owned pet food company is recalling its Muse wet cat food Natural Chicken Recipe in Gravy in 3-ounce cans.

“The product could contain rubber pieces that are translucent yellow with a blue backing, which may present a potential choking hazard,” Purina said via the FDA’s website. “We’re pet owners and pet lovers, and our number one commitment is the health and well-being of pets.”

“We became aware of the issue after receiving complaints from pet owners who observed the rubber pieces in the product. We have made changes to our process so this should not happen in the future,” said the notice.

No reports of injury or illness in cats have been reported in connection to the product.

Purina said it also initiated the recall to meet its quality standards.

As a precaution, however, Purina said it is issuing a voluntary recall.

Consumers are recommended to “discard any of the affected product you may have, and we will replace it,” according to the notice.

“You can identify the product by the UPC, production code and ‘Best By’ date on the bottom of the can. If you purchased a variety pack, only the Natural Chicken Recipe in Gravy cans are included in the recall,” the Purina notice stated.

It said no other Purina pet food products were impacted by the recall.

“We apologize to our consumers for any concerns or inconvenience this situation has caused,” it added.

The product has a UPC code of 38100 17199, a “best by” date of April 2020, and has a production code of 80941162.

More Dog Food Recalled

More canned dog food was recalled over a potentially toxic level of vitamin D, said Hill’s Pet Nutrition, which announced the recall of a total of 33 products.

The company’s canned Prescription Diet and Science Diet foods, sold at veterinarian offices across the United States, were impacted.

Hill’s issued a letter to vets on March 20, saying that it determined that the “issue is isolated to the same vitamin premix used in canned dog foods and limited to specific production lots.”

But, it added, “our review did determine that there were additional products affected by that vitamin premix, and it is for that reason that we are expanding the recall.”

A full list of the recalled products can be accessed here.

“We understand that this recall has caused pet parents considerable anxiety and that the well-being of their pets may have been affected … we are working to make this right,” the company wrote.

Hill’s Pet Nutrition recently faced the wrath of consumers who said their animals got sick or died after eating canned food that was recalled over excessive levels of vitamin D.

FDA Warning Over Darwin Pet Food

The agency also warned of a serious threat posed by Darwin’s Natural Pet Products dog food after samples tested positive for salmonella.

“The FDA is issuing this alert because these three lots of Darwin’s Natural Pet Products raw dog food represent a serious threat to human and animal health,” a news release from the FDA said on March 26.

The agency is warning consumers not to feed three lots of the product to their dogs.