Nature’s Menu recalled 900 bags of their turkey-flavor Country Hunter raw pet food nuggets because of potential Salmonella contamination. The bags affected by the recall were produced in September 2016. Of that lot, 280 bags were sent to Norway, and 600 individual bags have been distributed in the UK.

The recall involves the one-kilogram package size with a batch code of 13122017 and a “use by” date of December 13, 2017, reported Pets International.

Norwegian authorities sent one bag of the product for testing, and it came back with a positive result test for Salmonella. Natures Menu is supporting UK’s FSA with the recall of any bags of food left in circulation as a precaution.

Viruses attack Salmonella in raw pet food, improve safety

Raw pet food continues to increase in popularity, but also continues to present a risk of infection by disease-causing bacteria, such as Salmonella. Scientists recently demonstrated that viruses, called bacteriophages or phages, can knock down Salmonella levels in raw pet food ingredients and are safe for dogs and cats to eat.

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria. Since phages live nearly everywhere on Earth, they can meet consumers’ demands for pet foods made using natural ingredients without synthetic chemicals, wrote the researchers in the journal "Bacteriophage."

“There is a small but growing number of manufacturers, in both the US and Canada, that are using bacteriophages in their pet food production,” lead study author Nitzan Soffer, research scientist at Intralytix, told Petfood Industry.

“Initial interest was from high-end pet food producers specializing in providing chemical-free or limited chemical, natural and organic pet foods, although other pet food companies are increasingly interested in adding bacteriophages to their arsenal of tools designed to ensure the safety of the pet foods they produce.”