How pet food recalls work and how to check a bag

Whether a recall affects a particular bag of food comes down to a few details printed on the package: the lot number, the best-by date and the UPC code. Recall notices list them, and without the original packaging it is often impossible to tell whether the food in the bowl is part of a recalled batch. Keeping the bag, or at least a photo of that part of it, until the food is finished is the single most useful habit for dealing with recalls.

How recalls are classified

In the United States, a recall is an action by a company to remove a product from the market. The company may act on its own initiative, at the FDA's request, or under an FDA order. The FDA sorts recalls into three classes by the level of hazard:

• Class I: there is a reasonable probability that using the product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.
• Class II: the product may cause temporary or medically reversible health effects, or the probability of serious harm is remote.
• Class III: the product is not likely to cause adverse health effects but breaks the rules in some way.

A market withdrawal is a step below a recall. It covers a minor violation that would not lead to FDA legal action, and the company removes or corrects the product itself.

A low class does not always mean a problem is irrelevant. An undeclared ingredient may pose no risk to most animals and still matter a great deal to a dog on an elimination diet for food allergy.

What causes pet food recalls

The FDA's public list of animal product recalls shows the common reasons. Recent entries on the list include possible Salmonella or Listeria contamination, and milk replacers found to be low in potassium, copper and other nutrients.

Bacterial contamination

Salmonella and Listeria appear repeatedly on the list. Contaminated food can make pets ill, and both bacteria can also infect the people who handle the food, so hands, bowls, scoops and storage bins need washing after contact.

Aflatoxins

Aflatoxins are toxins produced by molds that grow on crops, corn in particular, and they can form quickly in the field under the right conditions. The liver is the main organ damaged. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, acute and fatal aflatoxicosis has been documented in dogs, and signs in acute outbreaks include loss of appetite, vomiting, depression, bleeding and jaundice (yellowing of the gums, skin or whites of the eyes).

Nutrient errors

Vitamin and mineral errors can mean too much of a nutrient or too little. Excess vitamin D has been linked to amounts inadvertently added to commercial pet foods. It raises blood calcium and phosphorus, and can cause irreversible calcification of the kidneys, heart valves and large blood vessels that may be fatal. Too little of a nutrient, as in the milk replacer recall above, matters most for young animals fed one product exclusively.

The 2007 melamine recall

One of the largest pet food recalls in North America began in spring 2007, after cats and dogs developed acute kidney failure. The affected wet foods had been made by one contract manufacturer for a large number of brands, using wheat gluten imported from China. Analysis found melamine and cyanuric acid, with related compounds. Neither melamine nor cyanuric acid alone caused kidney failure in testing, but together they formed crystals in the kidney tubules; researchers found these crystals in cats and dogs that died and reproduced the kidney damage in rats given the combination.

The episode showed how one contaminated ingredient, passing through one plant, could reach many brands at once. A brand name on the bag does not say where the food was made.

Checking whether a food is affected

• FDA recall list: the FDA's recalls and withdrawals page for animal products lists each recall with the brand, product and reason. Outside the US, check the national food safety or veterinary authority.
• The manufacturer: recall notices normally appear on the company website with the affected lot numbers and dates.
• The packaging: the lot number is usually stamped near the best-by date. It identifies the plant and production date, and it is what a recall notice will list.
• Transferred food: many owners pour dry food into a storage bin. Put the whole bag inside the bin, or keep the bag until it is used up.

If a food has been recalled

1. Stop feeding it. Do not finish the bag, and do not give it away or donate it.
2. Follow the notice. It will say whether to return the product or dispose of it. With a bacterial recall, clean everything the food touched.
3. Watch the animal. Vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, loss of appetite, increased thirst, or yellowing of the gums or eyes all warrant a call to the vet. Contact the vet even without signs if the recall involves aflatoxin or excess vitamin D, and bring the packaging or its details.
4. Report illness. In the US, the FDA's Safety Reporting Portal takes pet food complaints. The FDA asks for the exact product name, lot number, best-by date, UPC code, where and when it was bought, how it was stored, and the animal's signs. Reports feed into surveillance even when no testing follows.
5. Choose a replacement. If there is time, change over gradually as described in the guide to switching foods. If the food has to stop at once, a product of similar type and main ingredients usually causes less upset than a very different one.

Choosing brands with recalls in mind

No brand can promise it will never have a recall, and a company that recalls promptly and publishes clear lot information is doing what the system asks. The better question is how a manufacturer controls quality. The WSAVA guidelines on selecting pet foods suggest asking:

• What quality control covers ingredients and finished products, including toxicology, bacteriology and nutrient analysis before, during and after manufacture
• Who makes the food: "Made by" means the company's own plant, while "Made for" or "Distributed by" means a third-party manufacturer
• Whether the company employs a qualified nutritionist, and who formulates the diet
• Whether there is a phone number or email address on the label for questions

WSAVA's advice is to be cautious about feeding a brand that cannot or will not answer these questions. At home, store food sealed, cool and dry, and keep the packaging details until the food is gone.

Sources

1. Recalls background and definitions. US Food and Drug Administration.
2. Aflatoxicosis in animals. Merck Veterinary Manual.
3. Nutritional requirements of small animals. Merck Veterinary Manual.
4. Identification and characterization of toxicity of contaminants in pet food leading to an outbreak of renal toxicity in cats and dogs. Toxicological Sciences, 2008.
5. Recalls and withdrawals. US Food and Drug Administration.
6. How to report a pet food complaint. US Food and Drug Administration.
7. Guidelines on selecting pet foods. WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee, 2021.