EDITORS' NOTE: On May 11, Natural Balance reported that it had provided the incorrect "best by" date for one of its recalled Sweet Potato & Venison dog foods. The correct "best by" date for the 5 LB Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Venison Dog, UPC# 7-23633-88650-5, Lot Code NBH0103, is March 13, 2013. The story has been updated to reflect this change. In an expansion of a dry dog food recall, three national dog food companies (WellPet, Natural Balance and Canidae) and one regional (Apex Pet Foods) issued recalls Friday and Saturday. All four brands reported that none of their products had tested positive for salmonella, but they had voluntarily recalled the products as a precautionary measure. All the affected foods were manufactured at Diamond Pet Foods’ facility in Gaston, S.C. WellPet LLC of Tewksbury, Mass., recalled one recipe of its Wellness dry dog food that had been manufactured at the Gaston plant, even though the foods have tested negative for salmonella, WellPet reported late Friday night. The recalled food is Wellness Complete Health Super5Mix Large Breed Puppy in 15-pound, 30-pound and 5-ounce bags with "best by" dates of JAN 9 2013 through JAN 11 2013. The "best by" dates (lot codes) can be found on the back of the bag in the bottom right-hand corner. No other WellPet recipes, sizes or brands of food are impacted by this voluntary recall, the company reported. WellPet urged pet owners who are unsure if the Wellness product they purchased is included in the recall, would like replacement product or have additional questions, to call its customer service line at (877) 227-9587 (Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. through 6 p.m. EDT; Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. EDT). The company also reported that it is no longer purchasing any product from Diamond and that most of its products are made at its own Indiana plant. The company added that it tests each lot of food for Salmonella. Natural Balance also recalled several dry dog foods that had been made in the Gaston plant. Samples had tested negative for salmonella, but the company chose to recall out of an "abundance of caution." Specifically, Natural Balance recalled: = Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Venison Dog t 5-pound (UPC 7-23633-88650-5) <Lot Code NBH1202 (Best By Date: December 12-13, 2012) <Lot Code NHB0103 (Best By Date: March 13, 2013) t 15-pound (UPC 7-23633-88615-4) <Lot Code NBH0101 (Best By Date: March 5-6, 2013) <Lot Code NBH1202 (Best By Date: December 12-13, 2012) <Lot Code NBH1203 (Best By Date: December 14, 2012 t 28-pound (UPC 7-23633-88628-4) <Lot Code NBH0101 (Best By Date: March 5-6, 2013) <Lot Code NBH0102 (Best By Date: March 7-8, 2013) <Lot Code NBH0103 (Best By Date: March 12, 2013) <Lot Code NBH1202 (Best By Date: December 12-13, 2012) <Lot Code NBH1203 (Best By Date: December 13-14, 2012) = Natural Balance Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Dog t 5-pound (UPC 7-23633-78755-0) <Lot Code NBR1202 (Best By Date: December 10, 2012) <Lot Code NBR1203 (Best By Date: December 21-22, 2012) t15-pound (UPC 7-23633-78715-4) <Lot Code NBR1202 (Best By Date: December 10, 2012) <Lot Code NBR1203 (Best By Date: December 21-22, 2012) t28-pound (UPC 7-23633-78728-4) <Lot Code NBR1202 (Best By Date: December 10, 2012) <Lot Code NBR1203 (Best By Date: December 21-22, 2012) = Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Bison Dog t 5-pound (UPC 7-23633-65553-8) <Lot Code NBR1202 (Best By Date: December 10, 2012) <Lot Code NBR1203 (Best By Date: December 21-22, 2012) t 15-pound (UPC 7-23633-61718-5) <Lot Code NBT1201 (Best By Date: December 9, 2012) <Lot Code NBR1202 (Best By Date: December 10, 2012) <Lot Code NBR1203 (Best By Date: December 21-22, 2012) t 28-pound (UPC 7-23633-63031-3) <Lot Code NBT1201 (Best By Date: December 9, 2012) <Lot Code NBR1202 (Best By Date: December 10, 2012) <Lot Code NBR1203 (Best By Date: December 21-22, 2012) = Natural Balance Vegetarian Dog t 5-pound (UPC 7-23633-80855-2) <Lot Code NBV1201 (Best By Date: December 9, 2012) = Natural Balance Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Dog Large Breed Bites t 28-pound (UPC 7-23633-44443-9) <Lot Code NLB1202 (Best By Date: December 12, 2012) <Lot Code NLB1203 (Best By Date: December 20-21, 2012) = Natural Balance Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Dog Small Breed Bites t 5-pound (UPC 7-23633-42300-7) <Lot Code NSL1201 (Best By Date: December 21, 2012) t 12.5-pound (UPC 7-23633-42301-4) <Lot Code NSL1201 (Best By Date: December 21, 2012) Natural Balance reported recalled foods had been distributed in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming and Canada. Natural Balance urged its affected pet owners to call its customer service line (800-829-4493, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Pacific time) for replacement products or refunds. Canidae also recalled limited batches of four of its dry dog foods made between December 9, 2011, and January 31, 2012, and distributed primarily on the East Coast and in the Southeast (as far west as Arkansas). Specifically, Canidae recalled its Canidae Dog All Life Stages, Chicken Meal & Rice, Lamb Meal & Rice, and Platinum formulas. Recalled products have a “best before” date of December 9, 2012, through January 31, 2013, and a number “3” in the ninth position of its production code and a letter “X” in the tenth or eleventh place of its production code. Canidae encouraged its affected pet owners to call Canidae at 800-398-1600 (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Pacific time) for assistance, replacement products or refunds. Columbia, S.C.-based Apex, which sells its foods in the Carolinas, recalled its Apex Chicken and Rice Dog in 20- and 40-pound bags with a “best by” date of 24-Jan-2013 and production code of ACD0101B32. The recalled food was made Jan. 24, 2012. Apex reported the recalled food was only distributed in South Carolina. Apex urged its affected consumers to call 866-918-8756 for replacement product or refunds. Diamond Pet Foods has recalled multiple brands of dry dog foods made at the Gaston facility between December 9, 2011, and April 7, 2012, for possible Salmonella contamination. Some of those foods had been linked to human salmonella cases. Diamond briefly shut down production of the facility while the incidents were investigated but recently resumed manufacturing. <HOME>
