Fold Hill Foods has issued a product recall of some of the dry cat food brands it makes as a precautionary measure following discussion with food and veterinary authorities.
In a recall statement, the Lincolnshire company said: “Following reports from the Food and Veterinary authorities of serious health-related issues in cats that may or may not be related to diet, Fold Hill Foods Ltd has issued a recall of the above cat food products, which it manufactures, as a precautionary measure.
“We continue to offer assistance to the Food & Veterinary Authorities to identify what the issue is. This health issue has been identified by the Food & Veterinary Authorities to only affect cats and does not affect any other pets.”
The concern is said to be around a Royal Veterinary College investigation into links between certain diets and feline pancytopenia. The RVC is currently looking into a spike in cats presenting with pancytopenia, which is a condition that causes deficiency in all types of blood cells.
Symptoms can include fever, pale gums, blood in the urine and faeces, and bleeding from the nose.
UNKNOWN
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The Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association is backing the recall and said: “At present, the cause is unknown, however initial data from the RVC highlights a potential link with certain dry hypoallergenic cat foods. At this point this has been narrowed down to one manufacturer producing for three brands – AVA (Pets at Home), Applaws and a Sainsbury’s hypoallergenic product.”
Customers who have bought any of the products listed are advised to return them to the retailer for a refund.
Ben Mankertz, general manager for Fold Hill Foods, said: “We are alarmed and deeply saddened to learn of reports from the Food & Veterinary Authorities of some health issues in cats. As cat owners ourselves, we fully understand how upsetting and stressful this situation is for families and, although diet has not been confirmed as the cause, we would prefer to act now to ensure the absolute safety of cats.
“As one of the leading pet food manufacturers in the UK, ensuring your pet’s safety is our priority and therefore we have chosen to recall the ranges of cat food that we manufacture for the brands who have been identified. We feel this is the safest course of action until an exact cause of the issue has been found.”
Potentially affected brands are as below. For Applaws products only, any packs with a best before date of Dec 2022 to best before date of June 2023 and a site reference code of GB218E5009 are affected.
Applaws Cat Dry Chicken
(400g, 2kg and 7.5kg. December 2022 to June 2023. NA. GB218E5009)
Applaws Cat Dry Chicken & Salmon
(400g, 2kg and 7.5kg. December 2022 to June 2023. NA. GB218E5009)
Applaws Kitten Dry Chicken
(400g, 2kg and 7.5kg. December 2022 to June 2023. NA. GB218E5009)
Applaws Cat Dry Chicken & Lamb
(400g, 2kg and 7.5kg. December 2022 to June 2023. NA. GB218E5009)
Applaws Cat Dry Chicken & Duck
(400g, 2kg and 7.5kg. December 2022 to June 2023. NA. GB218E5009)
Applaws Cat Dry Ocean Fish
(400g, 2kg and 7.5kg. December 2022 to June 2023. NA. GB218E5009)
Applaws Cat Dry Senior Chicken
(400g, 2kg and 7.5kg. December 2022 to June 2023. NA. GB218E5009)
Additional products
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Best before dates. Batch codes. Site Code
AVA Kitten Chicken 300g and 2kg. . . . . . . All date codes. All batch codes. NA
AVA Adult Chicken 300g, 2kg and 4kg. . . . . All date codes. All batch codes. NA
AVA Adult Fish 2kg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All date codes. All batch codes. NA
AVA Adult Mature Chicken 7+ 2kg and 4kg. All date codes. All batch codes. NA
AVA Senior Chicken 12+ 2kg. . . . . . . . . . All date codes. All batch codes. NA
AVA Sensitive Skin & Stomach 1.5kg. . . . . All date codes. All batch codes. NA
AVA Weight Management 1.5kg. . . . . . . All date codes. All batch codes. NA
AVA Hairball 1.5kg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All date codes. All batch codes. NA
AVA Oral Care 1.5kg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . All date codes. All batch codes. NA
AVA British Shorthair 1.5kg . . . . . . . . . . All date codes. All batch codes. NA
AVA Persian 1.5kg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All date codes. All batch codes. NA
AVA Maine Coon 1.5kg. . . . . . . . . . . . . All date codes. All batch codes. NA
by Sainsbury’s Hypoallergenic Recipe complete dry cat food with Salmon 1+ Years 800g.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All date codes. All batch codes. NA
by Sainsbury’s Hypoallergenic Recipe complete dry cat food with Chicken 1+ Years 800g.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All date codes. All batch codes. NA
No other Fold Hill Food products are known to be affected.
