Viva Raw Pet Food Recalled Over Listeria Concerns

Pet parents, beware! The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a voluntary recall of certain Viva Raw dog and cat food products. The impacted batches of food may have been exposed to Listeria monocytogenes, a potentially deadly bacterium.

The FDA is advising people to double-check their pet food to ensure that they don't have any of the batches of the Viva Raw pet products included in the recall. If you have pets at home, you're going to want to keep reading to learn more about the foods involved in the recall, including what you should do if your pets have already eaten any of the Viva Raw food.

The FDA issued a breakdown of all of the products being included in the voluntary recall on July 1, 2024. Among them were Viva Raw LLC's turkey products manufactured under the lot number 21244, which can be found on the following food packages:

• Viva Turkey for Dogs Ground
• Viva Turkey for Dogs Chunked
• Viva Turkey for Cats
• Viva Pure Turkey
• Viva Beef & Turkey for Puppies.

According to the FDA's statement, these items were sold directly to customers all across the U.S., including in the District of Columbia. The company has begun notifying people who were shipped these products, which were mailed as frozen 1 pound blocks in vacuum sealed packages, between May 16 and June 28, 2024. Lot number 21244 is the only lot number currently affected by the recall.

The possible contamination was uncovered during a routine inspection by both the FDA and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture (NCDA), when tests conducted on a few sample products came back positive for Listeria monocytogenes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Listeria is especially concerning for those who are very young, very old, or who have compromised immune systems.

Possible symptoms of a Listeria infection include:

• Flu-like systems, including fatigue and muscle aches
• Fever
• Headache
• Confusion
• Stiffness in the neck
• Seizures
• Loss of balance.

While Listeria infections in animals is rare, the FDA says that people should be on the lookout for the following symptoms in their pets:

• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Anorexia
• Nervousness
• Muscular or respiratory distress
• Miscarriage
• Depression
• Death
• Shock.

It's worth noting that pets can be infected without showing any signs, and they themselves can be carriers of the bacteria, which can be transferred to other people and pets within the household. The FDA advises people to call their vet if they believe their pets have come into contact with the recalled food.

If you have any of the food that was that was included in the recall, the FDA says you should contact Viva Raw directly by emailing info@vivarawpets.com to get a refund. Next, you should immediately destroy the food so that it can't be accessed by pets, children, or wildlife. The FDA says you should do this while wearing gloves or using paper towels to handle the food, which you can place into a sealed container before tossing it in the trash.

You should also sterilize any area that may have come into contact with the food since Listeria bacteria can remain on surfaces. The FDA will continue to issue updates if any new contamination issues arise. And again, if your pet may have come into contact with the recalled pet food, contact your vet immediately.