Breaking ** Repeat FDA offender Bravo Packing, Inc. dog food is recalled (again) for Salmonella and Listeria

This afternoon, FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine announced that New Jersey-based Bravo Packing, Inc. “is recalling all Ground Beef and Performance Dog, a frozen raw pet food because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.” The recall, the announcement says, is happening “after samples of Performance Dog and a sample of Ground Beef were collected during an FDA inspection, tested positive for Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.”

The announcement continues: “Performance Dog generally works with the distributor [not named in this announcement; however, in 2018, FDA named the distributor as Tefco] located in Brooklyn, New York, that fills orders to brick-and-mortar retail stores or to consumers directly nationwide.”

No human or animal illnesses have been reported, the announcement says.

However, this is not Bravo Packing’s first encounter with regulators.

In September 2018, the company announced a recall, also for Salmonella:

“Bravo Packing, Inc. is voluntarily recalling this product after a sample of Performance Dog, collected during an FDA inspection, tested positive for Salmonella. Performance Dog generally works with the distributor Tefco, located in Brooklyn , New York, that fills orders to brick-and-mortar retail stores or to consumers directly.”

In September 2019, the FDA issued a consumer advisory:

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is cautioning pet owners not to feed their pets Performance Dog frozen raw pet food purchased after July 22, 2019 because a sample tested positive for Salmonella and L. mono.

The FDA collected two samples of raw pet food manufactured by Bravo Packing, Inc. (Performance Dog and a beef variety) during a routine inspection of the manufacturing facility in Carneys Point, NJ. The sample of Performance Dog raw pet food lot 072219 tested positive for Salmonella and L. mono. The sample of the beef raw pet food tested positive for Salmonella, but the product had not yet been distributed.

This is the second time Bravo Packing, Inc. product has tested positive for pathogen contamination. In September 2018, Bravo Packing, Inc. recalled all Performance Dog frozen raw pet food due to Salmonella. Also, during a 2016 inspection, the FDA collected samples of Bravo Packing, Inc. horse meat chunk animal food that tested positive for the drugs pentobarbital and phenytoin.

The FDA is advising the public about Performance Dog raw pet food because this product represents a serious threat to human and animal health. Because retail packaging is not printed with lot code information, FDA is cautioning about all Performance Dog raw pet food purchased after July 22, 2019.

Then, in March 2020, the FDA issued Bravo Packing, Inc. this warning letter (excerpt):

“Investigators observing your sanitation operations documented that dried food residue was left on equipment used to manufacture raw, frozen, ready-to-eat dog food, despite the equipment being identified as “clean” by an employee. Additionally, your sanitation procedures comprised just high-pressure hot water rinsing, spraying with undiluted bleach, and a final rinse. You do not use detergent, manual scrubbing, or other appropriate procedures to remove meat and fat residue from food-contact surfaces in your facility, despite this item being discussed with you during and after our 2018 inspection. Below are several specific observations noted by our investigators during the 2019 inspection:

• On July 22, 2019, the exiting end of the auger that feeds the raw ingredient beef into the mixer was observed to have heavy buildup of dried, dark, crusty meat-like material. A film residue was also observed on the sides of the exit chute. According to you, the equipment had been cleaned prior to the start of the inspection. On 7/24/2019, after cleaning had been completed, the elbow portion of the feeder pipe from the mixer to the stuffer hopper had a buildup of dried, dark, crusty meat-like material. The meat-like material had not been removed during the cleaning process, making the cleaning ineffective.
• On July 24, 2019, our investigators observed a greasy buildup of animal fat where the grinder feeds into the auger. This was observed after the machine had been cleaned, prior to the bleach spray step.
• On July 24, 2019, the buckets that are used to hold cut meat exhibited a black residue on the inside surface. You stated these buckets had been cleaned.”