Bravo Packing, Inc. a raw pet food supplier has issued a voluntary recall in March 2021 because of potential bacteria contamination.
But I am still advocating for feeding raw.
Let me explain…
Pet food recalls
The FDA released a company announcement on Bravo Packing, Inc. on March 3, 2021.
This voluntary recall is due to potential contamination with Salmonella and Listeria Monocytogenes.
The FDA was inspecting Bravo Packing, Inc., and a sample tested positive.
At the moment this recall only affects raw dog foods.
But I advocate for feeding raw so I still want to talk about it.
As of March 4, 2021, no human or animal illnesses have been reported.
Before explaining bacteria, I want to talk about a completely different recall that happened for kibble products earlier this year.
Before this Bravo raw food recall, the most recent pet food recall was for Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc..
This recall included kibble products for cats, dogs, and catfish contaminated with aflatoxin mold.
The recall started in December, 2020, and the manufacturing company expanded the recall in January, 2021.
AFTER dogs were becoming ill and dying.
As of January 2021, the FDA is aware of more than 110 pets that have died and more than 210 pets that are sick from these aflatoxin mold-contaminated kibble products.
In December, the company recalled 9 total lots of products. In January, they expanded that to 19 additional products.
Bravo raw pet food recalled 2 products.
I’m comparing here because the FDA, CDC, AAFCO, and AVMA all advise against raw feeding because of the bacterial contamination risk.
But these recalls prove that contamination risks in kibble are much more dangerous than bacteria.
Additionally, one kibble manufacturer is responsible for multiple brands. And each brand has several products.
Most raw pet food suppliers sell products under one brand.
Also, the kibble recalls happened after animals were dying and becoming severely ill.
Some questions:
- Why doesn’t the FDA test kibble products during inspections?
- Why didn’t the FDA catch the aflatoxin mold in kibble?
- Why did animals have to become sick and die before the manufacturer issued a recall?
Bacteria contamination
Let’s talk about Salmonella and Listeria Monocytogenes.
The CDC says there are over 2,500 strains of Salmonella. Less than 100 serotypes account for most human infections.
So less than 100 serotypes from over 2,500. That’s 0.04%.
Plus, the FDA doesn’t tell us which serotype was found in the raw food sample.
The CDC and the FDA say that a little over 400 people die each year in the US from Salmonellosis.
But human foods like ice cream, cereals, fruits, spices, and others have also been recalled for Salmonella.
The FDA says that Salmonellosis is rare in dogs and cats. Signs include vomiting, diarrhea, fever, loss of appetite, and decreased activity level.
The FDA does not mention death or long-term health issues associated with Salmonella.
However, infected individuals may shed Salmonella in their feces.
So it’s important for us to wash our hands when we clean up the litter box to avoid contamination.
You should be washing your hands anyway, duh.
The other pet food recall this year on kibble was due to aflatoxin mold.
Aflatoxin mold poisoning causes the same symptoms as Salmonellosis PLUS long-term liver damage and death.
The Midwestern Pet Food kibble killed over 100 pets and over 200 were sick. So it affected over 300 animals. That’s only within a 2-month period.
Salmonella kills 400 people over an entire year. And the majority of outbreaks are due to human foods.
Now on to Listeria Monocytogenes. In this case, we do know the strain of bacteria.
The CDC says an estimated 1,600 people get Listeriosis each year, and about 260 die. So about half the number of Salmonellosis deaths.
These outbreaks are mostly due to cheese, deli meats, mushrooms, hard-boiled eggs, ice creams, and other human foods.
The FDA says L. Monocytogenes rarely cause disease in dogs and cats and, even when infected, pets usually have only mild gastrointestinal signs, such as diarrhea and vomiting.
However, more serious signs are possible, such as fever, muscle pain, breathing problems, pregnancy loss, and even death.
Listeria is more serious than Salmonella but even the FDA says Listeriosis is very rare.
So here are some questions to ask yourself if you’re scared to feed raw:
- Why doesn’t the FDA test samples of kibble during the inspection?
- Why doesn’t the FDA crackdown on kibble companies when clearly those recalls are much more serious and deadly?
- Why does the FDA crackdown on raw pet foods for bacteria contamination when the FDA says that disease is rare in dogs and cats? And most bacteria outbreaks are linked to human foods!
- Why doesn’t the FDA, CDC, AAFCO, and AVMA advise against feeding kibble when clearly contamination risks are much more serious in these products?
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