The FDA is warning consumers about Darwin’s Natural Dog Food because it teated positive for E. coli O157:H7 associated with a human illness, and also for Salmonella Infantis and Salmonella Hadar. One sample of the beef dog food tested positive for E. coli, one sample of the chicken dog food tested positive for Salmonella Infantis, and one sample of the duck dog food tested positive for Salmonella Hadar. These dog foods are made by Arrow Reliance.
In August 2024, a four year old child got sick with an E. coli O157:H7 infection and developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a type of kidney failure. Whole genome sequencing by a third-party lab found that the E. coli in the Darwin’s beef dog food is a genetic match to the E. coli in the child’s isolate.
A dog in the household that exclusively ate Darwin’ pet food started vomiting one day before the child got sick. The child had direct contact with the dog but no known direct contact with the contaminated food. This means that the exposure may have been through contact with the dog or through objects or surfaces in contact with the dog waste.
The FDA recommended that Arrow Reliance recall the product lots that were contaminated. The firm has not done so. These products were sold frozen through and online subscription service. There is no expiration date, and they could still be in consumers’ freezers.
The dog food was sold in frozen 2 pound white and clear plastic packages with four separate units. The beef and chicken BioLogics dog food have orange labeling, and the duck Natural Selections dog food has blue labeling.
The recalled products include Darwin’s Natural Pet Products, BioLogics All-Natural and Grain Free, Beef Recipe for Dogs with lot number 10662 and manufacturing date May 30, 2024, along with Darwin’s Natural Pet Products, BioLogics All-Natural and Grain Free Chicken Recipe for Dogs with lot number 10683 and manufacturing date June 5, 2024. Finally Darwin’s Natural Pet Products, Natural Selections Duck Recipe For Dogs has lot number 10638 and the manufacturing date May 22, 2024. You can see more pictures of the product labels at the FDA web site.
If you bought these items, do not feed them to your dog. You can throw them away in a secure garbage can, double bagging them first so other people and animals can’t access them. Then clean and disinfect all pet supplies, including storage containers, toys, bowls, utensils, food prep surfaces, pet bedding, and floors, along with your refrigerator and freezer.
