FDA Warns Pet Parents of Potential Salmonella in Darwin’s Natural Raw Food For Dogs, Cats

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is cautioning pet owners not to feed their pets certain lots of Darwin’s Natural Pet Products raw cat and dog food, made by Arrow Reliance Inc., after FDA samples from the lots listed below tested positive for Salmonella.

The FDA reported the following products:

• Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Chicken Recipe with Organic Vegetables for Dogs, Lot 9774, manufactured on Jun 13, 2023.
• Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Chicken Recipe for Cats, Lot 9795, manufactured on Jun 28, 2023.
• Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Chicken Recipe for Cats, Lot 9830, manufactured on Jul 19, 2023.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is cautioning pet owners not to feed their pets certain lots of Darwin’s Natural Pet Products because product samples from these lots tested positive for Salmonella.

These products are Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Chicken Recipe with Organic Vegetables for Dogs, Lot 9774, manufactured on June 13, 2023; Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Chicken Recipe for Cats, Lot 9795, manufactured on June 28, 2023; and Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Chicken Recipe for Cats, Lot 9830, manufactured on July 19, 2023. These products are manufactured by Arrow Reliance Inc., doing business as Darwin’s Natural Pet Products, and are sold online.

The products are in white and clear plastic packages. The dog food has blue labeling, and the cat food has blue and green labeling. Each package weighs two pounds and consists of four separate units. The lot codes are printed on the front of the lower left unit of the package.

The FDA is issuing this advisory because these lots of Darwin’s Natural Pet Products cat and dog food pose a significant risk to human and animal health. Because these products are sold and stored frozen, the FDA is concerned that people may still have them in their possession and feed them to their pets.

The FDA recommended that Arrow Reliance Inc. voluntarily recall these products and notify the public, but the company has not yet done so.

In 2018, the FDA conducted an inspection of the raw pet food production facility of Arrow Reliance Inc., doing business as Darwin’s Natural Pet Products. On April 2, FDA district director Miriam R. Burbach issued a warning letter addressed to the company’s president, Gary T. Tashjian. FDA inspectors investigated Arrow Reliance’s raw pet food manufacturing plant in Tukwila, Washington from December 6 through 7, 2017, and again on January 25, 2018.

In 2019, the FDA issued an alert to caution pet owners not to feed their animals three lots of Darwin’s Natural Pet Products raw dog food. Samples from these lots tested positive for Salmonella.

In 2022, the FDA cautioned pet owners not to feed their pets certain lots of Darwin’s Natural Pet Products raw cat food. Samples from these lots tested positive for Salmonella. These cat foods were associated with cases of illness in three kittens in a single household.