The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to feed their dogs American Bullie A.B. Bull Pizzle Puppy Chews and Dog Chews for the time being because they may be contaminated with Salmonella.
The FDA says it collected samples of packages of three different sizes of bull pizzle (beef) dog chews manufactured by Ferndale, Wash.-based T.W. Enterprises and after analysis, found Salmonella in one of them.
The FDA is including in its alert all sizes and all lots of bull pizzle chews manufactured by T. W. Enterprises, it says, because pizzles used in manufacturing the chews are processed at the same time, cut into chews of the desired sizes, 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.
Therefore, the FDA says, it’s 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 aren’t coded with batch or lot numbers and don’t specify the dates of manufacture or bear expiration dates.
Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have 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.
Salmonella can potentially be transferred to people handling these pet treats, especially if they haven’t thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products. Symptoms of Salmonella poisoning include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever.
The FDA is advising consumers who have any of the dog treats manufactured or distributed by T.W. Enterprises listed below not feed them to their pets, but instead dispose of them in a safe manner.
The affected products include the following:
- 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.