You may have recently noticed all of the pet food recalls in the news! And very likely you have had many of your clients ask about them during their vet visits.
There have been more than 8 recalls just in the last month alone! The most recent recalls were due to Salmonella contamination. Also, there were some recalls due to pentobarbital being found in some foods. This is the drug we use for euthanasia, which seems pretty shocking that it was found in pet food. It is interesting that a large number of recalls occurred last year at this same time (including pentobarbital).
I suspect that there may not really be more food recalls than we have seen in the past, but that problems are being reported much sooner and on a wider scale (which is a good thing). This will put more pressure on the pet food companies to make sure they adhere to strict guidelines in production. Industry standards have to continue to improve, and pet health and safety must come before the dollar- and no corners can be cut.
What should you do if a pet may be sick from a recalled food? The veterinarian will want to perform lab work on the sick pet, provide supportive care, and report the incident to the FDA. Call the pet food company to file a report and potentially have the food sent for testing. Treating the patient and proper reporting are the two most important ways that we can help. Without reporting, it can delay recalls and determining the origin of contaminants in pet foods. Visit the FDA website here, to stay up to date on current recalls.