This is not a recall
On June 18, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a formal Warning Letter to Lystn LLC, also known as Answers Pet Food, based in Elizabethville, Pennsylvania. The action followed an inspection conducted from July 18 through October 4, 2024, which identified serious violations of federal pet food manufacturing standards under 21 CFR Part 507.
In a direct address to company owner Keith Hill, FDA Director of Food Compliance Isaac K. Carney stated, “Your products are adulterated in that they were prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health.” The letter characterized the presence of pathogens as a prohibited act under federal law, emphasizing that “the introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of any food that is adulterated is a prohibited act.”
Central to the FDA’s concern was a retail sample purchased on August 22, 2024, and a subsequengt voluntary withdrawal. The agency confirmed that four lots of raw Answers Pet Food contained Salmonella and/or Listeria monocytogenes. The letter notes, “Sample analysis revealed that all four sampled lots contained Salmonella and/or Listeria monocytogenes,” listing specific lots in raw beef and chicken formulas.
The FDA also flagged deficiencies in the company’s hazard analysis and preventive control measures, stating, “you did not identify and implement preventive controls … to provide assurances that any hazards requiring a preventive control are significantly minimized or prevented.” Environmental swabs taken in July 2024 detected L. monocytogenes on seven food‑contact surfaces, with genetic matching confirming contamination linked to finished product samples.
Additional observations included reports of poor manufacturing practices: an employee handled frozen turkey packaging, touched a trash compactor, and resumed unpackaging without changing gloves or washing hands, and cleaning crews sprayed water that splashed onto in‑process food.
The FDA has demanded a written response within 15 working days detailing corrective actions, complete with supporting documentation. Officials warned that failure to comply “may lead to legal action, including … seizure, and injunction.”
The agency will monitor the firm’s remediation efforts and evaluate implementation during follow‑up inspections.
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