Are any pet products involved in this peanut butter recall?

Several days into the Great Peanut Butter Recall of 2009, we know of THREE pet products that have been recalled.  However, on 1/28/09 the FDA announced that the recall has expanded to everything Peanut Corporation of America has ever made.  The peanut butter products that are safe are those that just plain did not buy from this company:

• Grreat Choice Dog Biscuit, marketed by PetSmart. 
• Salix Healthy Hide Rawhide Dog Treats with Peanut Butter
• Carolina Prime Pet

It is a precautionary recall, salmonella has not been found in any of these pet products.  

If you used your PetPerks card when you bought the dog biscuits, chances are you have already received an email from PetSmart alerting you if your product numbers have been recalled.  That is THE ADVANTAGE to purchasing ALL of your pet consumables from a mail order company or from a company such as PetCo or PetSmart where you purchase with a member’s card, something I HIGHLY recommend.

Here is the FDA’s complete, up-to-date list for both source products (the peanut butter paste products from King Nut, Parnell’s Pride, and Peanut Corporation of America). 

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm

Here is what Forbes says about it:

 PetSmart Inc.: The pet supplies retailer, with 1,107 stores in the U.S. and Canada, recalled seven of its Grreat Choice Dog Biscuit products that contain peanut paste made by Peanut Corp.

 
If you use the Grreat Choice dog biscuits, you can find the specific product codes here at the FDA website:

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/brand_list.cfm?brand=Grreat%20Choice&cat=Pet%20Food
 

The FDA has announced numerous voluntary recalls of human food products containing peanut butter.  They have traced the outbreak to a particular facility.  399 people across the nation have gotten Salmonella infections so they are treating this very seriously.  
 
Health products CLIF and LUNA bars participated in the recall, NutriSystem announced a limited recall,  and they join many other companies who are, in an abundance of caution, doing it.  None of these products have tested positive for Salmonella.  They’re doing it on the strong suspicion that products coming out of that butter plant (not the jarred peanut butter that we eat on bread) might have been contaminated. 

 
CNN published an article Saturday describing what is happening. 
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/01/10/salmonella.outbreak.cdc/

By the way, if you’re wondering, Girl Scout cookies are SAFE.  See the notice here:

http://girlscouts.org/news/news_releases/2009/girl_scout_cookies.asp

Update: 

Pet products companies posting written confirmation that their peanut butter pet products are NOT affected by the peanut butter recall and are, therefore, SAFE.

Note that some of the higher end companies typically test their raw materials pre-production and their finished pet foods post-production.  They test specifically for known contaminants such as aflatoxin, vomitoxin, salmonella, and e-coli, and many are now testing for melamine. 

 HealthyPetNet 

Newman’s Own Organics

  If you learn of other companies posting similar “safe” statements, please alert us via the comments section.

To learn more about what is salmonella and how it gets into our food, please see the companion article:

http://holisticpetfood.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/how-does-salmonella-get-into-food/

Copyright 2009 Teresa Holladay
The Holistic Pet Food Blog
http://holisticpetfood.wordpress.com