RCL Foods has announced an urgent recall of several dry pet food products, including popular brands like Bobtail and Bonzo, due to potential Salmonella contamination.
Image: File: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
RCL FOODS has issued an urgent country-wide recall notice for certain dry pet food products including limited batches of Bobtail, Bonzo, Catmor, Canine Cuisine, Feline Cuisine, Optimizor and Ultra Pet Dog food due to Salmonella contamination risks.
The company said Salmonella is a recognised food and feed safety pathogen capable of surviving in dry-processing environments, that can cause illness in pets and humans.
RCL said in a statement on Thursday, March 5, that it is issuing a recall of certain dry pet food products lines, manufactured in one of its facilities. This followed the recent theft of condemned dry pet food that had been sent to a waste management facility in eastern Gauteng for destruction.
The condemned food was being resold on the informal market. It added that it since discovered that other batches marked for destruction are in the formal trade, prompting the urgent country-wide recall of the affected batches of various dry food products.
“RCL FOODS is working closely with retailers, regulators and relevant authorities to identify and remove all affected products from the market. Shoppers who have purchased any of the affected pet food batches listed below are asked to return the product to their retailer for a refund or replacement.
The affected products list can be found here.
“In addition to the ongoing investigation into theft of condemned product, independent experts have been appointed to determine how product that had been marked for destruction, entered the formal market. Preliminary internal assessments indicate that some product, that was condemned and marked for destruction, was erroneously released to the formal trade,” RCL Foods said.
“On behalf of RCL FOODS, I want to apologise to all affected shoppers. Our primary concern is the health and wellbeing of shoppers and their pets,” said RCL FOODS Chief Executive Officer, Paul Cruickshank.
“Our immediate priority is to recall, remove and replace all potentially affected products from circulation. We did not meet our own standards. This is not what our customers expect from RCL FOODS. We are taking every step necessary to rectify the situation.”
It explained that in November last year, in‑production quality control processes detected traces of Salmonella in certain dry pet food products. Further testing confirmed that contamination was limited to specific batches. All potentially affected products were immediately isolated, and, in line with food safety protocols, the identified batches were condemned to be sent for destruction at a specialist waste management facility.
“Production was paused while the plant was thoroughly cleaned and sanitised, while essential and preventative maintenance was carried out. Operations resumed only after extensive follow‑up testing confirmed the facility was free of contamination. Production has since resumed safely under strengthened monitoring measures. Only products with the specified expiry dates are included in the recall. All other products with different expiry dates are safe for sale and consumption,” it said.
What You Should Do
If you have pet food products with identifying expiry dates, please return them to your retailer for a refund or replacement, should stock be available.
For further assistance, consumers can reach out to our RCL Foods Customer Care team via:
If pets show any signs of illness after consuming dry pet food, pet owners should consult their veterinarian promptly. Washing hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling pet food is the most important step in preventing potential transmission to people.
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