If You're Feeding Your Pet This Food, You're Both at Risk, FDA Says

THE FOOD CAN CAUSE SERIOUS HEALTH COMPLICATIONS IN BOTH HUMANS AND ANIMALS AND SHOULD BE DISCARDED.

You do everything you can to keep your pets safe—you take them to the vet, the groomer, monitor their behavior, and spend your hard-earned money on specialty food to suit their dietary needs. Unfortunately, pet parents who purchased one type of pet food may find that they've not only made their pets sick by feeding it to them, but they've become ill themselves.

On March 1, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that pet food manufacturer Vitakraft Sun Seed, Inc. had recalled one of its pet foods due to potential Salmonella contamination. Read on to discover if the pet food you have in your cabinet could be putting your furry friend's health—or yours—in harm's way. And for more products to get rid of, If You Have This Quaker Oats Product at Home, Get Rid of It Now, FDA Says.

The affected products can make your pets seriously ill.
Shutterstock/ALIAKSANDR PALCHEUSKI

The recall affects a single lot of Vitakraft Vita Smart Hedgehog Food, which may have been contaminated with Salmonella. The affected products are marked with lot number 343422 and UPC number 0-51233-34792-9.

The FDA reports that the recalled lot of Vitakraft Hedgehog Food could cause pets to develop fever, vomiting, diarrhea, blood in their stool, and general lethargy. Anyone whose pets develop these symptoms after eating the affected food is advised to contact a veterinarian. And for the latest recall news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.

You could become sick from handling the product or surfaces it's touched, too.
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It's not just your pet that can get sick from the affected Vitakraft food, however. The FDA reports that humans who have handled food from the recalled lot or touched any containers or surfaces the food touched could be at risk of developing a Salmonella infection, as well.

In humans, Salmonella can cause fever, nausea, abdominal cramping, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, and, in rare cases, can lead to arthritis, infections of the arteries, muscle pain, eye irritation, urinary tract problems, and even endocarditis, an inflammation of the heart's inner lining. If you have any of the aforementioned symptoms, the FDA recommends contacting a medical professional immediately. And for more serious food safety risks to avoid, beware that If You Have These Cheeses at Home, the FDA Says Get Rid of Them Now.

You should stop using the pet food immediately.
Shutterstock / Jenson

To protect yourself and your pets, the FDA recommends that anyone with the recalled Vitakraft food at home stop using it immediately. You can return any leftover food from the affected lot to the store from which it was purchased for a full refund. Anyone with questions regarding the recall can also contact Vitakraft customer service at 800-221-6175, ext. 123 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST.

This isn't the only pet food to be recalled recently over contamination concerns.
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This isn't the first time a pet food has been subject to a recall in recent months. In November 2020, 67 cases of Albright's Raw Dog Food were also recalled due to Salmonella contamination. At the time of the recall, no humans had been made sick from handling the affected pet food, but one animal illness was reported due to its consumption.

Just one month prior to the Albright's recall, 21 popular Sunshine Mills-produced dog foods were pulled from the market due to potential contamination with aflatoxin, a mold byproduct. According to an updated FDA recall notice issued in January, at least 110 dogs had died as a result of consuming the affected Sunshine Mills products. And for more safety hazards to steer clear of at home, If You're Using This to Charge Your Phone, Officials Say to Stop Now.