Blue Ridge Beef Recalls its Pet Food for Puppies and Kittens: Reason, Affected Products, and Other Details Explored

Blue Ridge Beef has issued a nationwide recall for its pet food products over concerns of potential contamination with both Salmonella and Listeria Monocytogenes. If given to pets, the affected food products may cause them to experience severe infections and/or sicknesses.

Initiated on December 21, the voluntary recall is an expansion to a previous pet food recall issued in November and includes three different products - Kitten Grind, Kitten Mix, and Puppy Mix.

As per Blue Ridge Beef, the recall was initiated after the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services informed the establishment about the potential contamination following a random sampling test of the three products.

The recalled pet food products may be contaminated with both Listeria and Salmonella (Image via FDA)

While no illness or infections have been reported to date, pet owners are advised against serving the recalled pet food to their puppies and kittens. If served, the contaminated food may cause your pets to become lethargic and experience adverse effects like diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, and fever.

Some pets may also become carriers of the contamination and may pose a risk of infection to humans. Owners or handlers who fail to wash their hands after feeding or caressing such pets may be more prone to infection. A Listeria and Salmonella infection in humans can often be severe with symptoms like bloody diarrhea, high fevers, muscle pain, body aches, nausea, and abdominal cramps.

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All you need to know about Blue Ridge Beef's Pet Food Recall

At least three different pet food products are part of a nationwide recall expansion initiated by Blue Ridge Beef. Feared to be contaminated with Listeria and Salmonella, the affected products pose risks of infections and sicknesses if fed to pets.

The items affected by this recall were distributed from 11/14/2023 to 12/20/2023, and include Blue Ridge Beef-labeled products like - Kitten Grind, Kitten Mix, and Puppy Mix. Available with different UPCs, the affected products were sold in packs of 2 lb. logs each. While the Kitten Grind came with the UPC 8 54298 00101 6, the Kitten Mix came with the UPC 8 54298 00143 6.

The Puppy Mix, on the other hand, was available with the UPC 8 54298 00169 6. Sold through major retailers, the recalled pet food was exclusively available in the regions of Connecticut (CT), Miami (MA), Maryland (MD), North Carolina (NC), New York (NY), Pennsylvania (PA), and Virginia (VA).

The recalled products were sold across PA, NC, MD, MA, VA, NY, and CT (Image via FDA)

All relevant details for recognizing the affected items can be found below:

Product	Size	UPC	All Lot #/Use By Dates Between
Kitten Grind	2lbs	8 54298 00101 6	N24 1114 to N24 1224
Kitten Mix	2lbs	8 54298 00243 6	N24 1114 to N24 1224
Puppy Mix	2lbs	8 54298 00169 6	N24 1114 to N24 1224

Pet owners or handlers who may have purchased the aforementioned products are advised against serving them to their pets. The affected items should be disposed of in closed bins. You can then contact Blue Ridge Beef at [email protected] to be guided through a full refund process.

Owners are also advised to thoroughly wash and sanitize the pet food bowls and cups that may have come in contact with the recalled products. If you believe that your pet may have been fed with contaminated items, you should consider taking them to the veterinarian. Any other queries related to the recall can be forwarded to Blue Ridge Beef's contact, Mr. Steven Lea, at (704) 880-4500.