Bleach used in production of edible chew product

[cheekymunkee]

FDA Warning Letter To Company That Makes American Bullie Dog Chew Products
Posted on Tuesday, July 10th, 2007 at 4:39 am in Products & Services, National, Dogs, Recalls & Safety.
In April, Itchmo posted about a FDA salmonella contamination alert in American Bullie Dog Chew products.

In a follow-up to their salmonella contamination, a FDA warning letter dated June 11, 2007 was sent to T.W. Enterprises, the company that makes American Bullie Dog Chew products. The letter referenced the FDA inspections that were conducted on January 18 and 23.

During these inspections, the FDA not only found salmonella in the products, but they noted that the company had other violations. The company was found to be dipping their products in bleach.

The inspection also revealed that it is a practice of your firm to allow pizzles to [redacted], then to submerge them in [redacted] of water containing [redacted] bleach for [redacted] hours. Household bleach is not approved for use in animal feeds. Firms or individuals who want to use a substance in feeds for a purpose for which the substance is either not generally recognized as safe (GRAS) or approved by the FDA as a food additive are required to first contact the FDA or file a food additive petition to establish the safety and utility of the substance for its intended use.

The warning letter gave T.W. Enterprises 15 days to correct their actions and comply with the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

We were completely blown away that a company would dip pet food products in bleach. We contacted the compliance officer to see if T.W. Enterprises had corrected their actions and complied with the act. We are still waiting for a response and will post it as soon as we hear from the officer.


The FDA warning letter to T.W. Enterprises:

Department of Health and Human Services

Public Health Service
Food and Drug Administration

Seattle District
Pacific Region
22201 23rd Drive SE
Bothell, WA 98021-4421

Telephone: 425-486-8788
FAX: 425-483-4996

June 11, 2007

CERTIFIED MAIL
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

In reply refer to Warning Letter SEA 07-16

Ian W. McCauley, President
T.W. Enterprises, Inc.
7056 Portal Way, Bldg. N-2
Ferndale, Washington 98248

WARNING LETTER

Dear Mr. McCauley:

An inspection at your facility located at 7056 Portal Way, Bldg. N-2, Ferndale, Washington, was conducted by a representative of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 18 and 23, 2007. This investigation confirmed that you offered pet treats for sale as food that were adulterated within the meaning of section 402(a)(1)[21 U.S.C. 342(a)(1)] of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act). You can find the Act and its associated regulations on the Internet through links on the FDA web page at http://www.fda.gov.

A sample of “AMERICAN BULLIE A .B . DOG CHEW, 6″ MEDIUM,â€

[cheekymunkee]

FDA Salmonella Alert: American Bullie Dog Chew Products
Posted on Thursday, April 5th, 2007 at 5:34 pm in News, Products & Services, Seattle, National, Dogs, Recalls & Safety.
FDA alerts us to avoid these products due to salmonella contamination from a Washington state company:

* American Bullie Small Chew, small, 3-4 inch
* A.B. Puppy Chew, 4-6 inch
* A.B. Dog Chew Medium, 6 inch
* A.B. Dog Chew Large, 10 inch
* A.B. Dog Chew XL, 13 inch
* A.B. Dog Chew Mega, 16 inch
* A.B. Dog Chew Jumbo, 26 inch

Full release after the jump. Kudos to many readers!


FDA Issues Health Hazard Alert for Pet Chews Due to Contamination with Salmonella

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today warned consumers not to use American Bullie A.B. Bull Pizzle Puppy Chews and Dog Chews manufactured and distributed by T.W. Enterprises, Ferndale, WA, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, which can cause serious infections in dogs and cats, and, if there is cross contamination, in people, especially children, the aged, and people with compromised immune systems. Consumers who have the pet treats manufactured or distributed by T.W. Enterprises listed below should not feed them to their pets, but instead dispose of them in a safe manner (e.g., in a securely covered trash receptacle).

Salmonella can potentially be transferred to people handling these pet treats, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products. Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Well animals can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

The products covered by this alert include all sizes and lots of:

American Bullie A.B. Bull Pizzle Puppy Chew and Dog Chew (made from all American beef pizzle)

Following is a list of the affected products:

* A.B. Small Chew, small, 3-4 inch
* A.B. Puppy Chew, 4-6 inch
* A.B. Dog Chew Medium, 6 inch
* A.B. Dog Chew Large, 10 inch
* A.B. Dog Chew XL, 13 inch
* A.B. Dog Chew Mega, 16 inch
* A.B. Dog Chew Jumbo, 26 inch

FDA collected samples of packages of three different sizes of bull pizzle (beef) dog chews manufactured by T.W. Enterprises and, after analysis, found Salmonella in one of them. FDA is including in its alert all sizes and all lots of bull pizzle chews manufactured by T. W. Enterprises because pizzles used in manufacturing the chews are processed at the same time, cut into chews of the desired sizes, and then packaged for sale. Differently sized chews are thus obtained from the same batch or lot of pizzles and manufactured under conditions that facilitate cross-contamination within batches or lots. It is impossible to differentiate chews manufactured by T. W. Enterprises by lot or batch numbers or dates of manufacture because packages of the firm’s chews are not coded with batch or lot numbers, and do not specify the dates of manufacture or bear expiration dates.

FDA is actively investigating this matter to determine the source of this problem, and will issue future updates as appropriate.

[Patch O' Pits]

When will the recalls end

[maberi]

Lol, probably never

Another good reason to feed your dogs natural products

When will the recalls end