These recalls always expand, right?

Previously mentioned was a recall affecting Pro-Pet Adult Daily Vitamins, certain lots of which were apparently contaminated with salmonella.

Now, the United Pet Group has expanded the recall to a whole range of dog as well as cat products, largely supplements of various kinds. Go here for the full current list.

I note that it includes the brand of Excel Multi-Vitamins which we give to our own dog. However, the expiration dates on the affected lots go from January of 2013 to June of 2013, whereas the bottle we currently have has an expiration date of April 2012. Our dog has not been having any problems that could stem from salmonella (lethargy, bloody diarrhea, vomiting, etc.) so I guess this lot is OK. Still, it’s far from reassuring, and makes me think we should perhaps look for better ways of supplementing our dog’s diet.

As it is, we don’t feed our dog any processed commercial food, in part to avoid these kinds of quality control issues. So, since her diet is therefore not “scientifically balanced” we give her the daily vitamin to catch any little thing she might be missing (although her diet is pretty darned good without it). It’s disturbing to contemplate that we could end up poisoning her merely with the vitamin.

Tough world for dogs!

I take it that the reason the recall is expanding is similar to the previous big expanding recall, where Chinese-sourced wheat gluten had been contaminated (deliberately) with a chemical to enhance its apparent quality. That wheat gluten made its way into a whole range of commercial dog foods. In this case, there is obviously one ingredient (and I’m guessing it might be the brewer’s yeast) that became contaminated with salmonella, and that ingredient was then spread across a wide range of supplements.

“Pet parents” beware!

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