A History of Recalls in the Pet Food Industry

November 2022

The pet food industry has a history of recalls due to harmful contaminants found in pet food products responsible for causing illness and death in thousands of pets, including industrial chemicals, drugs, excessive vitamin levels, and toxic molds.

2007 Melamine Recall

In 2007, more than 150 brands of pet food were recalled after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received over 10,000 reports from pet owners and veterinarians of pets suffering from renal failure and dying after consuming pet food contaminated with melamine and cyanuric acid. The recall involved well known brands including Menu Foods Inc., Nestle Purina PetCare Company, Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc., Del Monte Pet Products, etc. (1)(2)

Melamine is an industrial chemical used in the manufacture of resins, foams, cleaning products, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. (3) Cyanuric acid is an industrial chemical used as a component of bleaches, disinfectants, and herbicides. (4) The combination of melamine and cyanuric acid forms insoluble crystals in the kidneys causing renal failure and death. (5)

The 2007 melamine recall was the largest recall in pet food history causing more than 4,000 pet deaths. (5)

The recall resulted in a criminal prosecution of ChemNutra Inc. for importing tainted ingredients, they plead guilty to distributing and selling adulterated food. ChemNutra Inc. received a $35,000 fine and three years probation. (6) The recall also resulted in a complicated class action lawsuit involving 80 lawyers for plaintiffs and 24 defendants. Despite more than 20,000 claims totaling over $569 million, the settlement was only $24 million. Pet owners received less than $12.4 million. The remaining balance paid for lawyer fees and expenses, claims administration, and public notices. (7)

2018 Pentobarbital Recall

In 2018, The J.M. Smucker Company recalled 18 pet food products manufactured from 2016 to 2018 after testing confirmed the pet food was contaminated with pentobarbital. These products included Gravy Train, Kibbles 'N Bits, Ol' Roy, and Skippy. (8)

Pentobarbital is a drug that effects the central nervous system, commonly used by veterinarians during anesthesia and euthanasia. Adverse effects of pentobarbital include nausea, vomiting, confusion, drowsiness, respiratory depression, liver damage, slow heart rate, low blood pressure, fainting, cardiovascular collapse, coma, and death. (9)

Big Heart Pet Brands Inc., owned by The J.M. Smucker Company, sources rendered ingredients from JBS Souderton Inc. The FDA issued a warning letter to JBS Souderton Inc. stating significant violations were found during multiple facility inspections, including failure to exclude ingredients containing pentobarbital by not guaranteeing suppliers do not pick up euthanized animals. (10) Several class action lawsuits have been filed by pet owners against Big Heart Pet Brands Inc. to be compensated for veterinary costs in relation to the 2018 pentobarbital recall. (11)(12)(13)

2019 Vitamin D Recall

In 2019, Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. recalled 33 pet food products after the FDA received reports of pets experiencing vitamin D toxicity from consuming pet food containing excessive levels of vitamin D. These products included Hill's Science Diet and Hill's Prescription Diet, highly recommended by veterinarians and distributed through veterinary clinics. (14)

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient. However, excessive levels of vitamin D are potentially fatal. Pets suffering from vitamin D toxicity experience excessive drooling, vomiting, increased thirst and urination, decreased appetite, weight loss, hypercalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, renal failure, and death. (15)

Violations found during a facility inspection led to the FDA issuing a warning letter to Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. for failure to follow their own food safety plan, which states a Certificate of Analysis must be obtained from the supplier and the vitamin premix must be tested. These violations caused the recalled pet food to contain 33 times the recommended safe upper limit for vitamin D. (16) Pet owners came together to file a class action lawsuit against Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. in relation to the 2019 vitamin D recall to be compensated for veterinary costs. A federal judge ordered Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. to pay a $12.5 million settlement. (17)

2020 Aflatoxin Recall

In 2020, Midwestern Pet Foods Inc. announced a recall after the FDA received reports of 8 sick pets and 28 pet deaths from consuming pet food contaminated with fatal levels of aflatoxin. Midwestern Pet Foods Inc. expanded their recall in 2021 to include more than 1,000 lot codes after the FDA received more reports of 210 sick pets and 110 pet deaths. (18)

Aflatoxins are toxins produced by mold that grows on commercial pet food ingredients, such as corn, grains, and peanuts. Aflatoxins can be present without visible mold on the pet food. Symptoms of aflatoxin poisoning include sluggishness, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, unexplained bleeding, slow blood clotting, jaundice, liver damage, and death. (19)

The FDA considers aflatoxin levels above 20 parts per billion (ppb) to be poisonous. Samples collected and analyzed for aflatoxin contamination contained levels as high as 558 ppb. The FDA issued a warning letter to Midwestern Pet Foods Inc. stating significant violations were found during multiple facility inspections, including failure to follow preventive control procedures, such as aflatoxin testing. (20) A class action lawsuit has been filed by pet owners against Midwestern Pet Foods Inc. to be compensated for veterinary costs in relation to the 2020 aflatoxin recall. The lawsuit states aflatoxin contamination in pet food is well known, mentioning previous aflatoxin recalls from 1998, 2005, 2011, and 2013, as well as the 2020 aflatoxin recall from Sunshine Mills Inc. that included 15 brands of pet food. (21)

The history of recalls due to harmful contaminants found in pet food products responsible for causing illness and death in thousands of pets, including industrial chemicals, drugs, excessive vitamin levels, and toxic molds, has caused a lack of trust in the pet food industry.

References

1. https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/recalls-withdrawals/melamine-pet-food-recall-frequently-asked-questions

2. https://web.archive.org/web/20070407113721/https://www.fda.gov/cvm/MenuFoodRecallFAQ.htm

3. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/food-safety/chemical-contaminants/melamine.html

4. https://www.worldofchemicals.com/chemicals/chemical-properties/cyanuric-acid.html#:~:text=Description,are%20used%20to%20disinfect%20water

5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2984098/#:~:text=These%20substances%2C%20especially%20melamine%2C%20have,risk%20in%20terms%20of%20toxicology

6. https://news.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=210&Id=4400762&useobjecttypeid=10&fromVINNEWSASPX=1&f5=1

7. https://news.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=210&Id=5139625&useobjecttypeid=10&fromVINNEWSASPX=1#:~:text=Owners%20of%20animals%20affected%20by%20food%20contaminated%20with,fees%20and%20expenses%2C%20claims%20administration%20and%20public%20notices

8. https://public4.pagefreezer.com/browse/FDA/01-05-2022T09:22/https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-alerts-pet-owners-about-potential-pentobarbital-contamination-canned-dog-food-manufactured-jm

9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK545288/

10. https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/jbs-souderton-inc-dba-mopac-574386-04232019

11. https://www.classaction.org/news/class-action-lawsuit-claims-euthanasia-drug-found-in-big-heart-pet-brands-dog-foods

12. https://www.classaction.org/news/big-heart-pet-brands-facing-more-litigation-over-dog-food-allegedly-contaminated-with-pentobarbital

13. https://www.classaction.org/news/lawsuit-alleges-kibbles-n-bits-dog-food-contains-euthanasia-drug

14. https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-alerts-pet-owners-and-veterinarians-about-potentially-toxic-levels-vitamin-d-33-varieties-hills?fbclid=IwAR3i26mdYnIxusVU2JKJjn0T2pQxWmGqXVTFjHRd5HE-BN8TxmKEdYa88N0

15. https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/vitamin-d-toxicity-dogs

16. https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/hills-pet-nutrition-inc-576564-11202019

17. https://www.petfoodsettlement.com/home/458/DocumentHandler?docPath=/Documents/Hill_s_Long_Form_Notice_FINAL.pdf

18. https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-alert-certain-lots-sportmix-pet-food-recalled-potentially-fatal-levels-aflatoxin

19. https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/aflatoxin-poisoning-pets

20. https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/midwestern-pet-food-613845-08092021

21. https://www.classaction.org/news/midwestern-pet-foods-hit-with-another-class-action-after-70-dogs-die-due-to-toxin-contamination