After chicken jerky treats containing antibiotics not approved in the United States were pulled from store shelves earlier this month, the Hartz Mountain Corp. announced Friday it is voluntarily withdrawing its Hartz Chicken Chews and Hartz Oinkies Pig Skin Twists wrapped with chicken for dogs. The company said testing showed the products contain trace amounts of an unapproved antibiotic residue.
Like Waggin’ Train and Canyon Creek Ranch brand dog treats made by Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. and Milo’s Kitchen-brand Chicken Jerky and Chicken Grillers home-style dog treats from Del Monte Foods, the Hartz treats were made in China, the company said.
The antibiotics found in the treats are approved for use in poultry in China and other countries, but are not among those approved in the U.S.
There is no evidence the products raise health concerns, Hartz said in its news release.
Hartz said it contacted the FDA to share the company’s test results and executed a nationwide voluntary withdrawal immediately.
“Upon learning about the nationwide voluntary withdrawal of several other brands of chicken jerky products through media reports, Hartz acted immediately to begin additional testing to determine if the same unapproved antibiotic residues were present in our products,” said Sean McNear, senior director of quality and regulatory affairs at Hartz Mountain.
No other Hartz products are affected by this withdrawal.
Customers can contact the Hartz Consumer Affairs team 24 hours a day at 800-275-1414 for a product refund or go to www.hartz.com for additional information.
Kathy Antoniotti can be reached at 330-996-3565 or kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.