The Food and Drug Administration sent out an alert recalling popular dog food brand Answers due to possible Salmonella contamination.
Lystn LLC, which does business as Answers Pet Food, is a company based in Pennsylvania. A sample of their dog food was tested by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and found to contain Salmonella. The company went on to issue a recall in the state of Nebraska. Specific details are as follows:
- Brand name: A+ Answers Straight Beef Formula for Dogs
- Lot number: Lot 2018 20/08 20
- FDA warning
All pet owners with food matching these details have been instructed not to feed it to their dogs. The brand hasn't been recalled nationwide yet.
This is a serious recall representing a public health risk with a threat to health of people and dogs. The company first recalled this brand of food back in December 20th, 2018. The FDA is currently working Lystn LLC to gather more details.
Lystn LLC is a company focused on providing raw pet food marketed as 100% organic and natural. Their website tells customers to supplement their foods with consumables such as kefir (made from unpasteurized cow milk) and unpasteurized goat milk.
This isn’t Lystn’s first food related problem.
Back in 2016, the FDA sent the company a warning letter due to the discovery of contamination in Lysten’s Detailed Answers Chicken Formula. Salmonella Kentucky and Salmonella Enteritidis were found in those samples, but Lystn chose not to issue a recall for them and refuted the FDA’s claims that the bacteria made the products dangerous.
The Dangers of Salmonella
Salmonella is a dangerous bacteria, and infected dogs may experience symptoms such as tiredness, diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and fever. They may also expel the bacteria in their waste, which can allow the infection to be transmitted to other pets and humans. In humans, symptoms include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramping.
Food with Salmonella contamination does not appear spoiled in any way but can infect anyone. Pets, senior citizens, children, and babies, and those with weaker immunities are most at risk. Pet food that has Salmonella can cross-contaminate anything and anyone else it touches, so you have to be careful as well and protect everybody in the household.
To keep yourself and your pets safe, throw out the infected product in a sealed container that cannot be broken into by animals. Contact a vet immediately if your pups exhibit Salmonella symptoms, and report any incidents to the FDA via its Safety Reporting Portal.
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