Natural Balance Precautionary Recall

A letter from the president

(Animal Radio® Newsroom June 21, 2010) Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc., of Pacoima, CA, announces a voluntary recall of Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Chicken Dry Dog Food with the "Best By" date of June 17, 2011, in 5-lb. and 28-lb. bags because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

No illnesses have been reported to date. The recall notification is being issued out of an abundance of caution based on an isolated instance in which a product sample with a "Best By" date of June 17, 2011, had a positive result for Salmonella in a random sample test conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans.

Recalled products were only distributed in pet specialty stores in the states of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The only product affected by the recall is the Sweet Potato & Chicken Dry Dog Food with the "Best By" date of June 17, 2011, product information as follows:

Consumers who have purchased Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Chicken Dry Dog formula with the "Best By" date of June 17, 2011, are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

 

Animal Radio® received this letter from Joey Herrick, the president of Natural Balance Pet Foods:

June 18, 2010

Dear Natural Balance Family,

My name is Joey Herrick, and I'm the President of Natural Balance Pet Foods. My wife and I started the company 22 years ago and began by delivering to stores and rescues out of our family car. Over the years, we have been fortunate enough to have Natural Balance become a highly respected company, known for great products and working with the best
pet food distributors and stores in the business. That's why it pains me to have to talk about a recall.

Our 5 lb. and 28 lb. Sweet Potato & Chicken Dry Dog Food, manufactured on December 17, 2009 with a "Best By" date of June 17, 2011 is being voluntarily recalled. A random sampling of this product tested positive for Salmonella by the FDA.

In my mind, I asked, "How can this happen? I spent over $900,000 putting in our laboratory to test our products before we release them." We tested samples from the
production run when it was manufactured six months ago, and the results came back negative.

Upon hearing from the FDA, I immediately went to our Director of Customer Service, a licensed Registered Veterinary Technician, to check call logs for any complaints with this product. Our Customer Service department closely tracks and monitors complaints for any potential issues, and I heard no reports in our weekly meetings, so I was not  surprised when I found we did not have a single complaint about this product. Next, I immediately pulled the retention samples for this product to be sent to an independent third party laboratory. The samples were sent to Zoologix, a laboratory that does real-time PCR testing, the most sensitive type of testing for Salmonella. Those test
results also came back negative (click here to see results). I reported our test results and call logs to the FDA, but due to the positive result they had found, they recommended a recall.

I believe that we are the only pet food company that has built an in-house lab as an added check and gives you the test results in real time on our website. We hold the finished product in our warehouses for two to three days, until that testing is completed. We only release product to be shipped when the testing is negative. No testing protocol is perfect, but the alternative is not testing at all. That wouldn't work for me. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing we aren't testing every product before it goes out, to help make sure our products are the best in the business. Any testing is much safer for you and your pets than the alternative, which is not testing at all.

Our goal is to have the best and safest pet food on the market. I don't believe there is a better or safer product than Natural Balance Pet Food. Yes, we had an isolated incident, but we are continually testing our products and making the results available to you. I am proud of our laboratory and will be adding more layers of testing as a result of this recall. We have added over a half dozen significant improvements over the last three years, and remain committed to the safety of our products, and the pets that enjoy them. Our commitment is the same today as it was 22 years ago, to make the best pet food in the business.

Joey Herrick

President

Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc.

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