The Hawaii Department of Health's Food and Drug Branch issued an alert Tuesday for a recall of products by Spectrum Brands Pet, LLC, for its Tetra ReptoMin 3-In-1 SELECT-A-FOOD reptile food product for aquatic turtles because of potential Salmonella contamination.
Hawaii residents may have purchased the recalled products at Walmart stores in the state or online via Chewy and Amazon. The DOH is notifying local stores to ensure that the recalled products are no longer available for sale, according to a news release.
Aquatic turtles are not usually impacted by Salmonella, but may be carriers of the bacteria without showing any symptoms and infect other animals or humans.
The DOH recommends anyone who has an aquatic turtle that consumed the recall product and shows symptoms — including vomiting, diarrhea (which may be bloody), fever, loss of appetite or decreased activity level — to contact their veterinarian.
People can become infected by handling contaminated food, having contact with pets who have consumed contaminated food, or having contact with surfaces that touched contaminated food. Risk of illness increases if people do not thoroughly wash their hands after handling the food or having contact with their pet, or by not thoroughly cleaning contaminated surfaces. People who are very young, very old, or have weak immune systems are also more at risk of illness.
In people, Salmonella can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Most people recover without treatment, but for some people the diarrhea may be so severe that they require hospitalization. If a person is not treated properly, Salmonella may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other parts of the body.
As of Tuesday, the DOH said no one has reported illness or adverse events from the recalled products.
The DOH advised consumers to check if they purchased the recalled products based on the UPC marking on the label and lot code printed on the bottom at the plastic container. The product is packaged in a plastic 1.56-ounce container with a green label and a Universal Product Code number 0 46798 78626 9 and a lot code of 951790. No other lots or product lines via Spectrum Brands are affected and may continue to be used.
If a consumer had the recalled product, DOH urges them not to feed it to any animals and to dispose of it in a way that children, pets and wildlife cannot access it. The DOH also instructed people to use gloves — do not touch the food product with bare hands — and seal the contaminated food in a plastic trash bag. Last, the DOH said to sanitize areas that may have touched the contaminated product.
