Top Quality Beef HVM Dog Food is being recalled for possible Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes contamination. No illnesses have been reported to the company to date in connection with this problem. The recalling firm is Top Quality Dog Food of Hyattsville, Maryland.
People can contract foodborne illness from dog food in several ways. First, if they touch the product and then eat without washing their hands, they can get sick. Second, dogs that are fed this food can become carriers and either get sick or not show any symptoms, but they will shed the bacteria in feces. Then people can get sick by petting the dogs, or touching items in their environment.
Symptoms of Listeria monocytogenes infections in pets can include mild to severe diarrhea, anorexia, fever, nervous, muscular, and respiratory signs, and death. Symptoms of Salmonella poisoning in pets can include decreased appetite, lethargy, bloody diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and abdominal pain. If your pet is experiencing these symptoms they should be taken to the vet.
The recalled Top Quality Beef HVM dog food was sold in Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and South Carolina. It was sold through mail order and direct delivery from July 27, 2021 to August 2, 2021. The Top Quality Beef HVM dog food is packaged in a 1 pound container marked with lot number 071521 on the bottom right corner of the label.
The contamination in the product was noted after a state surveillance sample revealed the presence of these pathogens in some 1 pound packages of Beef HVM. The remaining product has been quarantined and the distribution of that lot number has been discontinued.
If you purchased this product, stop feeding it to your pet. Throw it away in a sealed container in a secure garbage can. Then clean dog dishes and any containers that may have come into contact with the dog food with soap and water and disinfect them with a mild bleach solution. Make sure that you wash your hands with soap and water after cleaning and after handling this product.
