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On December 10, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released the warning letter they sent to Mid America Pet Food LLC on November 22 citing different concerns and violations that the company committed.
The warning letter contained information about the inspections conducted by the FDA in the company’s food manufacturing facility in Mount Pleasant, Texas in November 2023 and January 2024.
This comes after Mid America Pet Food LLC made different voluntary recalls in September and October, which they both expanded in November last year, when Salmonella was detected in certain lots of their Victor dog food.
Aside from the inspection being made due to the voluntary recalls, the FDA also made the inspection as part of an investigation with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) into a multi-state foodborne illness outbreak of Salmonella Kiambu.
The warning letter reveals, “A total of seven people from seven states were infected with the outbreak strain from January 14, 2023 to August 19, 2023, and one person was hospitalized.”
“Six of the affected people were children under one year of age,” the FDA adds.
The illnesses were linked to the dog food manufactured in Mid America Pet Food LLC’s facility in 2023 through a sample of Victor Super Premium Dog Food Classic Hi-Pro Plus (lot 1000016385; Best By 4/30/24), which the company recalled in September 2023.
Based on results, the FDA has deemed the product Victor Super Premium Dog Food Classic Hi-Pro Plus (lot 1000016385; Best By 4/30/24) as “adulterated”.
This means, “it bears or contains a poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health,” the FDA explains.
Furthermore, the FDA conducted another inspection earlier this year, from January 23 to February 09 due to a consumer complaint.
During the inspection, the FDA found not one, not two, but three strains of Salmonella in the company’s manufacturing facility: Salmonella Rissen, Salmonella Minnesota, and Salmonella Mbandaka.
In addition to this, the FDA investigators also found evidence of other significant violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals requirements in Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 507 (21 CFR Part 507).
With these violations, the FDA said the company’s products are “adulterated in that they were prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health.”
In the warning letter’s conclusion, the FDA wrote, “It is your responsibility to ensure that your firm complies with all requirements of federal law and FDA regulations.”
The FDA also reveals that if Mid America Pet Food LLC fails to properly address these concerns and violations, it may lead to legal action, “including, without limitation, seizure, and injunction.”
You can read the full warning letter here.
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