Defective Product Lawyer Denver, CO
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking consumers to toss out three lots of dog food under the “Darwin’s Natural Pet Products” label because samples from the affected lots tested positive for salmonella, reports USA Today (https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2019/03/26/darwins-natural-pet-products-dog-food-fda-warns-salmonella/3285035002/).
According to the official release from the FDA, the alert was issued because all three lots of the raw dog food from Darwin’s Natural Pet Products pose a “serious threat” to animal and human health. The FDA is asking anyone who has products from the recalled lots to stop feeding their pets the dog food immediately and to throw the food out using a secure container, one where other animals–wildlife included–can’t get to it.
The recalled dog food is Darwin’s Natural Selections Chicken Recipe with Organic Vegetables for Dogs and Natural Selections Turkey Recipe with Organic Vegetables for Dogs, both made in October of 2018, and also the chicken food made in November of the same year. On the FDA’s official website, the exact codes of the affected products are available for viewing. These codes are found on the products as a second group of numbers sitting below the bar code. All products were made by Arrow Reliance Inc. under their “Darwin Natural Pet Products” banner.
Arrow Reliance sent out notifications to customers, but they did not issue a public recall notice. However, according to the FDA, the notifications sent out by Arrow Reliance do constitute a recall under federal regulations. The agency has sent out this warning because they do not feel that the customer notifications from Arrow Reliance Inc. were going to be effective enough for the ongoing recall.
Arrow Reliance, in a statement on their website, does not agree with this position and accused the agency of retaliation because they would not give the FDA their customer contact information, a claim the FDA has since disputed.
The Darwin pet products are sold directly to consumers across the US. Customers place their order on the brand’s website, and the products are shipped to customers across the nation. The FDA is concerned that people may still have these products in their homes and elsewhere because the food is sold and stored frozen.
News agencies have contacted Darwin’s for comments on this story, but the company has yet to respond. The recall involved over 10 tons of product.
In humans, the salmonella bacteria causes an infection that can produce fever, stomach cramps, and diarrhea for as long as seven days. A severe case can lead to hospitalization and even death, with the elderly, children and those with compromised immune systems more at risk. A previous recall of raw turkey dog food from another company was linked to an outbreak of salmonella that was resistant to antibiotics.
Unsafe products can cause a lot of pain, suffering, and losses, and it’s especially troubling when companies with tainted products don’t do whatever they can to get a recall message out. If you have been affected by a tainted or defective product, talk to a defective product lawyer Denver, CO offers about what happened as soon as you can.
Contact Richard J. Banta, P.C. for their insight into personal injury claims and defective products.
