Northwest Naturals of Portland Voluntary Recall of Northwest Naturals Model 2lb Feline Turkey Recipe Uncooked & Frozen Pet Meals As a consequence of HPAI Contamination
The Oregon Division of Agriculture (ODA) is alerting pet house owners that samples of Northwest Naturals model 2lb Turkey Recipe uncooked & frozen pet meals examined constructive for a H5N1 pressure of the Extremely Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus. Testing carried out by the U.S. Division of Agriculture’s (USDA) Nationwide Veterinary Companies Laboratories (NVSL) and the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (ODVL) at Oregon State College confirmed a home cat in Washington County contracted H5N1 and died after consuming the uncooked frozen pet meals. Exams confirmed a genetic match between the virus within the uncooked and frozen pet meals and the contaminated cat.
“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” mentioned ODA State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz. “This cat was strictly an indoor cat; it was not exposed to the virus in its environment, and results from the genome sequencing confirmed that the virus recovered from the raw pet food and infected cat were exact matches to each other.”
Northwest Naturals, a Portland, Oregon-based firm, is voluntarily recalling its Northwest Naturals model 2lb Feline Turkey Recipe uncooked & frozen pet meals. The recalled product is packaged in 2-pound plastic luggage with “Best if used by” dates of 05/21/26 B10 and 06/23/2026 B1. The product was bought nationwide by distributors in AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, MD, MI, MN, PA, RI and WA in the US, and British Columbia in Canada. Prospects who’ve bought the recalled product ought to instantly discard the product and contract the place of buy for a full refund.
The Oregon Well being Authority (OHA) and native public well being officers are monitoring family members who had contact with the cat for flu signs. Thus far, no human instances of HPAI have been linked to this incident, and the danger of HPAI transmission to people stays low in Oregon. Since 2022, OHA has partnered with ODA by a One Well being strategy to research human exposures to animal outbreaks of avian influenza.
To keep away from the unfold of illness, together with HPAI, state, and federal specialists strongly encourage folks and their pets to:
Keep away from consuming uncooked or undercooked meat merchandise
Keep away from consuming uncooked dairy
Restrict contact with sick or lifeless animals
Wash your palms after dealing with uncooked animal merchandise or contact with sick/lifeless animals
Report sick or lifeless birds to ODA at 503-986-4711
Hold pets or poultry away from wild waterfowl
This case reminds us that feeding uncooked meat merchandise to pets or consuming them your self can result in extreme sickness. Uncooked meat could include dangerous pathogens, together with Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, and H5N1. These pathogens are destroyed when meat is completely cooked. Uncooked milk, which has not been pasteurized, may carry dangerous germs. Pasteurization of milk eliminates disease-causing pathogens, together with HPAI.
Though Oregon has reported one confirmed human case of HPAI, there are not any confirmed instances of the virus in dairy cows or cow milk. As a precautionary measure, ODA introduced on December 11 that it’s going to take a look at milk from each industrial dairy throughout the state. Neighboring states similar to Idaho, Nevada, and California have reported HPAI instances in dairy cattle herds, contributing to over 700 confirmed instances in 16 states nationwide.
