The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended that people neither buy nor use all pig ear pet treats in the United States.
The announcement follows numerous cases of Salmonella infection in humans following exposure to recalled pig ear dog chews imported from Brazil and Argentina by Lennox Intl Inc.
As of July 31, people in 33 states have reported 127 cases of Salmonella infections, which federal and state officials connected to Salmonella-contaminated pig ear dog treats sold by Lennox Intl Inc. Twenty-six humans have been hospitalized.
Several varieties of Salmonella, including serotypes Infantis, London, and Newport, caused the infections.
“Multiple products have tested positive for numerous types of Salmonella resulting in two company recalls to date,” said Steven M. Solomon, DVM, MPH, director of the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine. “Given this and the links to human illness, we believe the most effective way to protect public health at this time is to warn consumers to avoid purchasing or feeding their pets all pig ear treats and for retailers not to sell these products."
Map of reported Salmonella cases
The agencies advised dog and other pet owners to not buy the pet snacks, throw away remaining pig ear chews and ensure that wild animals can’t scavenge the discarded products.
From an FDA announcement:
“Further traceback by FDA has found that many of the people who became ill had encountered pig ear pet treats that were distributed by Lennox Intl Inc. Lennox reports that it sourced these pig ears from Argentina and Brazil…
“The FDA and CDC have identified 43 human illnesses in this Salmonella outbreak linked to Lennox product that were first isolated in November 2018…
However, these pig ears do not account for all the illnesses in this outbreak. Pig ears in bulk bins (not packaged or wrapped) may be comingled from multiple sources which does not allow the products to be distinguished. In addition, effective product irradiation may not have occurred for bulk products and for packaged or individually wrapped products.”
History of pig ear dog chew Salmonella outbreak
On July 3, Pet Supplies Plus recalled bulk pig ear product distributed to all its locations following test results revealing Salmonella contamination. The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) conducted the testing and identified Salmonella London, Salmonella Typhimurium, Salmonella Newport and Salmonella Infantis. Pet Supplies Plus notified the public on July 26.
FDA is working with Lennox and other firms to identify the source of the pig ear treats, how they became contaminated, and where they were distributed.
