Animal Outlook Demands Investigation of Bravo Packing

March 4, 2021 update: Following an FDA inspection prompted by our complaint, Bravo Packing, Inc. has recalled both its Performance Dog and its Ground Beef frozen raw pet foods due to possible contamination with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. Has your pet become sick after eating these foods? Contact us at info@animaloutlook.org. 

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Pet food maker Bravo Packing has long, sordid past of filthy conditions, contaminated products

Animal Outlook’s legal team filed a complaint with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDH) regarding Bravo Packing. Bravo Packing (not affiliated with Bravo Pet Foods) produces and distributes food for dogs and exotic animals. The company has a long history of troubling animal abuse allegations and food safety concerns. Yet it has failed to resolve dangerous contamination issues despite complaints, FDA warnings and at least one recall. 

Past violations include exotic animal food made from horses that was contaminated with the euthanasia drug Pentobarbital as well as repeated instances of Salmonella contamination in the plant’s Performance Dog Diet food. Government inspection reports cite egregious violations of food safety protocol, threatening the health and welfare of thousands of people and animals exposed to Bravo’s tainted products. 

Evidence of Salmonella

In October 2020, Animal Outlook obtained a sample of Performance Dog Diet food from one of Bravo’s distributors in California. A laboratory test revealed evidence of Salmonella. This makes four times in as many years that Bravo products intended for animal food were found to contain dangerous contamination.

In addition to food safety issues like those discovered at Bravo Packing, many consumers are unaware that farmed animals suffer immeasurably within the loosely regulated pet food industry. One study found the DNA of eight different species of animals present in a selection of commercial pet foods, including cows, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, geese and turkeys. Many of these animals—often sick, injured, or unable to walk—were deemed unfit for human consumption and their bodies, including “blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, and stomach and rumen contents” make their way into pet food. 

For years, Bravo has used the bodies of horses and cows to produce food in filthy, squalid conditions with utter disregard for the safety of humans and animals alike. Animal Outlook’s complaint urges the FDA and the NJDH to penalize Bravo to the fullest extent of the law, including criminal charges, fines and a permanent suspension of operations. The agencies must act swiftly to protect consumers and their cherished animal family members from Bravo’s reckless disregard for health and safety. 

Thanks to generous supporters, Animal Outlook’s investigators and legal team work every day to expose the truth about factory farming and animal cruelty. Help make lasting change for animals by giving today at animaloutlook.org/donate.