The Parsley or the Flakes?

Last Wednesday, United Pet Group voluntarily withdrew “limited quantities” of four of its pet bird diets, including Ultra-Blend Gourmet for Parakeets and three Ecotrition Grains and Greens nutritional supplement blends. The withdrawn products could possibly contain salmonella-tainted parsley flakes from its supplier, Specialty Commodities Inc., which had recalled the flakes Feb. 11, or 16 days earlier.

At least two other pet food makers that had received the potentially bad parsley reacted much quicker: rival Kaytee, a unit of Central Garden & Pet Co., which managed to get the word out eight days earlier and before Global Pet Expo, and The Honest Kitchen, which set a new benchmark for recalls two days later during the show. 

At the time, I shuddered to think how many more companies would issue related recalls after the show. So far, just UPG, which announced its action not on the Friday after the show (which would have been my guess, as it is a time-honored way to sneak bad news past the media) but on the following Wednesday. Even with a middle-of-the-week release, it appears that only one (Pet Age) of the three main pet trade media outlets has so far reported on the withdrawal.  

As unsettling as the slow response of both UPG and much of the trade media is, the more troubling recall is Hy-Vee’s recall  (on a Friday, no less) of several Hy-Vee Complete Dog pet foods made by Pro-Pet LLC.

This recall is troubling because it was for excess aflatoxin. 

Aflatoxin, a by-product of the mold Aspergillus, can be deadly to pets if eaten in excess, especially over a long time. Worse, Aspergillus is commonly found in corn, especially during drought conditions. As much of the United States suffered record drought conditions last year, 2013 could shape up to be a bumper year for aflatoxin-related recalls and/or illnesses.

And I am sure many pet owners will be appalled to learn that several states received FDA approval to increase the amount of aflatoxin-containing corn in animal feed due to the drought’s impact on the corn harvest, as Reuters reported.