A US pet food company has recalled its ‘Hunk of Beef’ product after drugs used for euthanasia were detected.
Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food found traces of the contaminant Pentobarbital, which is often used to euthanise pets and can be fatal to humans.
Pentobarbital can affect animals that ingest it, and possibly cause side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, excitement, loss of balance, or nausea, or in extreme cases, possibly death.
One dog has already passed away with another four becoming ill from the product.
Owner of the deceased pet, Nikki Mael told KATU: “I fed them one can and within 15 minutes, they were acting drunk, walking around, they couldn’t.
“They were falling over. So I grabbed them all and took them to the emergency vet. And when they got there, they were just limp. They weren’t moving or anything. And so they were in ICU. Tito and Talula ate the most [food] and Talula passed away.”
Evangers is voluntarily recalling Hunk of Beef products that were manufactured the same week, with lot numbers that start with 1816E03HB, 1816E04HB, 1816E06HB, 1816E07HB, and 1816E13HB, and have an expiration date of June 2020.
The second half of the barcode reads 20109, which can be found on the back of the product label.
In a statement the company said:”We feel that we have been let down by our supplier, and in reference to the possible presence of pentobarbital, we have let down our customers.
“Despite having a relationship for forty years with the supplier of this specific beef, who also services many other pet food companies, we have terminated our relationship with them and will no longer purchase their beef for use in our Hunk of Beef product.”
