The Honest Kitchen® Voluntarily Recalls Limited Lots Of Verve®, Zeal®And Thrive® Products Due To Possible Health Risk
THE FDA PAGE FOR THIS RECALL IS BELOW AND ALSO CONTAINS THE PRODUCT LABELS
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm340669.htm?source=govdelivery
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- February 21, 2013 - The Honest Kitchen today announced that it is
voluntarily recalling five lots of its Verve, Zeal and Thrive pet food
products produced between August and November 2012 and sold nationwide
in the US and Canada via retail stores, mail order and online after
August 2012 because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. No other Honest Kitchen batches, production dates or products are affected.
Healthy people infected with Salmonella
should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms:
nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and
fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments,
including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye
irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these
signs after having contact with this product should contact their
healthcare providers.
Animals with Salmonella
infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea,
fever, and vomiting. Some animals will have only decreased appetite,
fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy animals can be
carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your animals have
consumed the recalled product and have these symptoms, please contact
your veterinarian.
The Company is taking
this action after learning that one of its raw ingredients suppliers has
recalled a batch of human-grade parsley that may contain Salmonella.
The batch of parsley was shipped to the Company in 2012 and used in the
production of five lots of finished Honest Kitchen products.
The Honest Kitchen regularly tests for Salmonella
and other pathogens as part of its quality control process and has not
received to date any reports of illness associated with these lots of
products. Nonetheless, the Company is proceeding with this action in
order to ensure the full safety and quality of its products.
"We
are committed to providing the highest-quality human-grade food
available to our customers’ pets," said Lucy Postins, founder, CEO and
CMO of The Honest Kitchen. "While our quality control tests did not find
evidence of Salmonella in any of our finished products, we are
accountable for everything we make, and are taking precautionary action
to ensure the safety and integrity of our products."
The lots being recalled are:
| Item Code | Product Name | Production Date | Expiration Date | Size | Lot Number |
|---|
| V4 + VR | VERVE | 8/20/12 | 8/20/13 |
4 lb. box,
10 lb. box | 2332A (batches 1-3) |
| VR | VERVE | 11/1/12 | 11/1/13 | 10 lb. box | 3062A (batches 8 & 9) |
| TM | THRIVE | 9/18/12 | 9/18/13 | 1 oz. sample | 2622A (batch 3) |
| Z4 + ZR | ZEAL | 8/14/12 | 8/14/13 |
4 lb. box,
10 lb. box | 2272A (batches 1–5) |
| ZR | ZEAL | 9/21/12 | 9/21/13 | 10 lb. box | 2652A (batches 1–4) |
Consumers
who purchased the above lots of Honest Kitchen Verve, Zeal or Thrive
products should stop feeding the products to their pets, remove the UPC
(bar code) and lot code from the packaging, and discard the contents in a
covered trash receptacle. Lot codes are located on the top of product
boxes either adjacent to or opposite the UPC.
Consumers
can receive a replacement or full refund of the MSRP of the affected
products plus $1 to cover postage, by mailing the UPC and lot code along
with a completed
Reimbursement Form
to The Honest Kitchen, 145 14th Street, San Diego, Calif. 92101, Attn:
Reimbursements. All refunds will be processed within five business days
(plus postage time).
The Honest Kitchen
products use human-food grade ingredients. The Company’s products are
made in a human food facility and held to the same high quality control
standards as human food products. Employees taste products as part of
the quality control and research & development processes.
To
supplement its quality control processes while maintaining its
commitment to gentle processing that protects natural nutrients, The
Honest Kitchen is enacting additional procedures:
- All dehydrated leafy greens will be steamed, to further protect against the possibility of Salmonella and other pathogens;
- All
leafy greens will receive a second test for pathogens after arrival at
the Company’s manufacturing facility, in addition to the testing
conducted internally by suppliers;
- The Company has discontinued
its relationship with the supplier who provided the parsley used in the
production of the lots being recalled.
For questions or more information, contact The Honest Kitchen by phone at 1-866-437-9729 or email at i
nfo@thehonestkitchen.com. Customer service representatives will be available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. PST to respond to inquiries.
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