The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is warning consumers to avoid feeding Woody’s Pet Food Deli raw turkey pet food after testing revealed it was contaminated with Salmonella Reading, the same strain identified by the Health Department in a human case of Salmonella Reading illness. The dog also tested positive for Salmonella, but not the outbreak strain.

This is the third such case of illness in humans linked to raw turkey pet foods contaminated with Salmonella Reading in less than a year. In February 2018, the MDH investigated two other cases where young children with Salmonella Reading were infected with the same DNA fingerprint pattern that matched the outbreak strain and in a raw turkey pet food from a different manufacturer. One child’s infection resulted in osteomyelitis, a painful and serious bone infection.

This weeks discovery of an additional case linking Salmonella Reading infection in a pet parent with a raw turkey pet food has been identified as part of an ongoing, multistate investigation of Salmonella Reading infections coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the CDC, epidemiologic and laboratory evidence indicates that raw turkey products from a variety of sources are contaminated with Salmonella Reading and the outbreak strain is present in live turkeys and many types of raw turkey products (whether intended for man or animal), indicating it might be widespread in the turkey industry.

Woody’s Pet Food Deli recalled product are sold in 5-pound plastic containers labeled “Woody’s Pet Food Deli Raw Free Range Turkey” and can be identified by the white date sticker on the cover of the pet food container. The product was sold at Woody’s Pet Food Deli locations in Minneapolis, St., Paul, and Woodbury. The following three lots of product are being recalled:

• Use by date: 01/10/20
• Use by date: 01/12/20
• Use by date: 01/15/20

No other lots of Woody’s Pet Food Deli products are affected by the recall. If you have the recalled product in your home, you should throw it out or return it to a Woody’s Pet Food Deli for a full refund. Do not feed the contaminated product to pets. Consumers with questions can contact the Woody’s Pet Food Deli stores directly at the following phone numbers:

• Minneapolis: 612-208-0335
• St. Paul: 651-493-7269
• Woodbury: 651-340-8678

Or by email at info@woodyspetdeli.com.

This outbreak is a reminder that all raw meat and poultry products – whether intended to be consumed by humans or animals – can have germs that spread around food preparation areas and can make you and your pet sick. To find out why, read Raw Pet Food: The Problem That Just Won’t Go Away.