Multiple Brands of Pet Treats Recalled for Salmonella Contamination

Three pet treat manufacturers on Thursday announced product recalls due to Salmonella contamination — two for contaminated parsley flakes and another for apparent environmental contamination problems.  Kasel Associates Industries Inc. announced a wide-ranging recall of meat-based dog treats suspected of Salmonella contamination. The products were manufactured between April 20 and September 19, 2012 and distributed to a number of retailers, including Target, Petco, Sam’s Club and Costco.  Kasel has previously announced three recall notices for specific products manufactured during this time, after the Colorado Department of Agriculture found Salmonella in a retail sample of a Kasel product. Follow-up testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that 100 percent of tested products, as well as 48 out of 87 environmental samples, were contaminated with one of 10 Salmonella strains.  The FDA has received “a small number of complaints” of ill dogs related to these products.  Meanwhile, dog food manufacturer The Honest Kitchen has recalled lots of its Verve, Zeal and Thrive dog food products produced between August and November 2012 because those product included parsley flakes found to be contaminated with Salmonella.  Kaytee Products has similarly recalled numerous bird treats for containing contaminated parsley flakes.  According to Kaytee’s recall notice, the company received its parsley flakes from Specialty Commodities, Inc.  Humans may contract Salmonella from handling contaminated pet treats or interacting with infected animals. Consumers are advised to wash their hands thoroughly after handling pet treats.  These products are not related to the FDA’s ongoing investigation into pet treats made from Chinese chicken jerky.