Rodent Fur Found In Heinz Tomato Ketchup

Brazilian health officials have banned a batch of Mexico-made Heinz ketchup after detecting traces of rodent fur in it.

According to BBC News, the government said in a statement that it has banned all sales, distribution, and marketing of the batch of tainted ketchup.

The Global Post reported that while the extent of the contamination and the amount of product in the batch is unknown, Heinz has said it has already been taken out of circulation.

The report continued on to say that Brazil’s consumer advocacy group Procon sent a note to Heinz, notifying the company that it needs to provide more details about what happened and to clarify how the incident could have occurred.

“Along with other information, the company must describe the nature of the defect and the potential risks it caused to the health and safety of consumers, as well as the procedures adopted in order to repair the defect,” said the note.

According to BBC News, Heinz said the batch was imported to Brazil last year but had already been taken out of circulation.

In other recall news, Iams recalled both dog and cat products. Proctor & Gamble announced the voluntary recall of Iams and Eukanuba pet foods.

The recall includes Eukanuba dry dog food and Iams dry dog and cat food.

Products effected by the recall are all stamped with “Best By” dates within the first two weeks of November. The recall was prompted by potential salmonella contamination.

The products were produced and sold in the United States. As reported by KCTV, no illness has been reported by pet owners.

BBC continued on to say that the firm has previously stated that all of its products are made according to international standards, and promised to investigate the issue.

“Mexican hygiene agency Cofepris told the Spanish news agency Efe that it had ordered a visit to the factory to check that proper standards were being followed.”

[photo credit: Leonid Mamchenkov via photopin cc]