Dog food recalled for salmonella

Raw dog food is back in the recall cycle — and this time it’s a single lot from Albright’s Raw Pet Food. The company said on May 6 that one lot of its Chicken Recipe for Dogs Complete and Balanced may be contaminated with salmonella, and the FDA posted the recall on May 7. That sounds narrow, and it is. But salmonella is the kind of problem that doesn’t stay neatly inside the package once it gets into a kitchen. ### What exactly got recalled? The recalled product is Albright’s Chicken Recipe for Dogs Complete and Balanced in frozen 1 lb bricks, packed in clear vacuum packaging and generally shipped in 30 lb cases. The lot code is C001730. The company framed the move as a voluntary recall made out of caution, which usually means the product is being pulled before a wider illness picture is established. (fda.gov) ### Why is salmonella a bigger deal than it sounds? Because this is not just a “dog might get an upset stomach” issue. Salmonella can make pets sick, but infected pets can also shed the bacteria in saliva and feces even when they look fine. That means a contaminated raw-food brick can turn into a household exposure problem — through hands, bowls, utensils, counters, and the dog itself. (fda.gov) ### What should pet owners watch for in dogs? The symptom list is pretty classic GI illness, but it can vary. Dogs may show lethargy, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, vomiting, reduced appetite, and abdominal pain. The tricky part is that some dogs show no symptoms at all and still spread the bacteria, which is why recalls like this come with cleaning advice, not just feeding advice. (fda.gov) ### What about people in the house? People can get sick from handling the food or from contact with an exposed pet. Symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever. Severe cases can get much worse, especially for young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems. So the risk here is shared — pet plus household, not pet alone. (fda.gov) ### Why does raw pet food keep showing up in these stories? Basically, raw meat carries a contamination risk that manufacturers have to control extremely well, and that risk never fully disappears. The FDA’s pet food rules require animal food to be safe, truthfully labeled, and produced under sanitary conditions, but raw products are still working with ingredients that are naturally more exposure-prone than fully cooked ones. That does not mean every raw product is unsafe. (fda.gov) It does mean recalls in this category are not unusual. ### Is this a huge nationwide recall? It doesn’t look like that. The FDA listing shows one lot, not a broad multi-product withdrawal, and the agency’s recall database currently lists it as an active recall rather than a terminated one. So this is more “specific batch problem” than “entire brand collapse.” But if you have the matching lot, the narrow scope does not make your package safer. (fda.gov) ### What should owners do right now? Stop feeding the recalled food, isolate or discard it safely, and clean anything that touched it — bowls, prep surfaces, storage areas, utensils, and your hands. If your dog ate it and now seems off, call your vet. If a person in the home develops symptoms after handling the food or caring for the dog, call a medical professional too. (fda.gov) ### Bottom line This is a small recall with a very ordinary-looking product and a very non-ordinary risk. One lot of frozen chicken dog food is being pulled, but the real issue is cross-contamination. In a raw-feeding setup, the dog food can become a people problem fast. (fda.gov)