The United Pet Group, the parent company of several brands of dog treats, has issued a recall of some of their rawhide products because they were processed with a chemical that has not been approved for use in the United States and has made some dogs ill.
The Illinois-based company has manufacturing facilities in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico where it is legal to use an anti-microbial chemical called quaternary ammonium for cleaning food processing equipment, but the agent is not legal for this use in the US.
The overall process for creating rawhide treats has many dog lovers concerned about exactly what their pets are ingesting. Many have deceased with giving their dogs even naturally processed rawhides because of the choking hazards posed by them. However, just about anything can be a choking hazard, so pets should generally be monitored when eating.
Pet parents filed complaints that their dogs were vomiting and had diarrhea after consuming the batch of rawhides that have now been recalled. The affected treats – which are only of the rawhide variety of brands American Beefhide, Digest-eeze, and Healthy Hide – have lot codes on the back of the package beginning with A, AB, AH, AI, AO and AV and with expiration dates ranging from 06/01/2019 to 05/31/2020.
“We take our responsibility to pets and their owners seriously and we are continuing to investigate the cause of this problem,” United Pet Group said in a statement. “We are implementing changes across the affected manufacturing facilities in order to prevent this problem from reoccurring in the future. United Pet Group is also working with retailers to ensure that the affected products are no longer sold and removed from inventory.”
Though they have not been recalled at this time, dog owners should also avoid treats – particularly chicken jerky – manufactured in China, as there have been numerous deaths and life-threatening illnesses linked to them.
