5 BRANDS OF RAWHIDE CHEWS HAVE BEEN RECALLED

A voluntary recall of five brands of rawhide chews was recently issued by United Pet Group (a division of Spectrum Brands).  The affected brands were distributed to national retail outlets and were sold online across the United States.

The affected brands are: Healthy Hide, Healthy Hide Good-n-Fun, Healthy Hide Good-n-Fit, Digest-eeze, and American Beefhide. The products were distributed from the company’s Edwardsville, IL facility; affected products have expiration dates ranging from 6/1/2019 to 5/31/2020. In some cases, lot numbers are associated with the affected products; please see Spectrum Brands’ press release for more information.

According to the press release, the chews were contaminated by a quaternary ammonium compound which is approved for cleaning food processing equipment, but is not approved for use in the production of rawhide chews.

United Pet Group has received some reports of illness following ingestion of these rawhide chews. Reported symptoms have included vomiting and diarrhea in dogs; owners have also reported a bad smell associated with the chews.

Dogs that are exposed to quaternary ammonium compounds may experience symptoms ranging from reduced appetite to the reported diarrhea and vomiting. Some dogs suffer extreme reactions, and may require veterinary care.

Consumers may either dispose of the affected product or return it to the store/website where they bought it for a full refund. More information can be found on the Spectrum Brands website.