Natura Pet Products is recalling its California Natural, Innova, EVO, and Healthwise dry dog, cat, and ferret pet foods due to Salmonella contamination. Natura was “alerted” to the presence of Salmonella bacteria in EVO Turkey & Chicken dry cat food by the FDA.

Natura Pet Products, now owned by Procter & Gamble, announced in a press release on Monday that it “pains us to inform you of the first recall in our company’s 21-year history.” Actually, the history they refer to is not their own, but one that Procter & Gamble purchased in 2010. What seems sadder is that Natura’s unblemished history should come an abrupt end following its purchase by P&G, who owns the Iams and Eukanuba brands pet foods.

You got to hand it P&G though, one thing they do know how to do and that’s how to write a press release. In fact, I’d give this press release an award, because it’s a doozie. You may wish to keep a hanky handy should you begin to feel a bit verklemmt.

Dear Natura Family,

As pet parents and dedicated pet health advocates, it pains us to inform you of the first recall in our company’s 21-year history.

During a recent random sampling, the FDA confirmed the presence of salmonella in one of our products. We take this extremely seriously, because your pets are like ours – they’re part of the family – and we aren’t taking any chances. As a result, we have voluntarily recalled a number of our products as a precautionary measure. Fortunately, there have been no reported animal or human health issues associated with these products, and we have confirmed that this is not a widespread issue.

Natura was founded on the commitment to provide the healthiest natural pet food in the world. As Natura employees who live this commitment every day, words cannot express our disappointment with this finding. We place quality as the cornerstone of our products. It is a process of ongoing improvement, and we will continually review and raise these standards. Unfortunately, salmonella and other contaminants pose a great challenge to the food industry, and no company is immune.

We want to assure you, our valued customers, that we are more committed than ever to animal and human safety. We have fully investigated and identified the cause of this incident. Our production is ongoing, and you can continue to feed any Natura products outside of this incident with confidence.

We know that trust is earned. This incident further fuels our passionate commitment to your pet’s health and safety. We promise to demonstrate this commitment through our actions now and in the future.

Click here for details on the recall products. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at (800) 224-6123.

Sincerely,

Employees of Natura Pet Products

Please download this PDF to see which products are affected by the recall: View Affected Products (PDF)

Who me, worry?

The Centers for Disease Control thinks you should. When it comes to Salmonellosis, a nasty bug that can affect you as well as your furry members of the household, the CDC wants you to know that it is not something to dismiss as hype or hogwash: It’s nasty!

Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, in some persons, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized.

Now, not only does that sound frightfully inconvenient, but downright dangerous to boot!

In these poor, unfortunate patients, the Salmonella infection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics. The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.

Now I’ll bet that’s not something you ever thought you could get from a pet food, I’ll wager.

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