Pet Food Sold At Target Stores In MA Recalled

MASSACHUSETTS — Over the weekend the Food and Drug Administration posted a recall of a popular dog food brand sold at Target stores in Massachusetts due to potential Salmonella contamination.

On Friday, Freshpet Inc. recalled a single lot of 4.5 lb. bags of Freshpet Select Fresh from the Kitchen Home Cooked Chicken Recipe with a sell-by date of Oct. 29, 2022.

Anyone with bags of this dog food at home is urged to stop feeding it to their pets and to either dispose of it or bring it back to the location for a replacement. The specific affected UPC code on the back is 627975011673.

"No other Freshpet products or lot codes are impacted by this recall," the company said in a statement. "Our Freshpet Team had designated this single lot for destruction, but a small portion of the lot was inadvertently shipped to retailers in limited geographic markets in the last two weeks."

To date, Freshpet has received no reports of illness, injury, or adverse reaction. The lot may have been sold at limited Walmart stores in Alabama and Georgia; and limited Target stores and other select retailers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia.

Salmonella can affect animals eating the product and there is a risk to humans, notably children, the elderly, and the immunocompromised, when handling contaminated products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or surfaces exposed to these products.

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.

Dogs with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some dogs will have only decreased appetite, fever, and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy dogs can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your dog has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.