Freshpet Fresh From The Kitchen Home Cooked Chicken Recipe
When it was recalled: June 18, 2022
Why it was recalled: Freshpet recalled 4.5-pound bags of the Fresh From The Kitchen Home Cooked Chicken Recipe for possible salmonella contamination. The good news is that Freshpet hadn’t gotten any reports from customers about adverse reactions at the time of the recall.
The recall is only limited to food from a single lot. Your pup’s food is only affected if it’s got the UPC code 627975011673, the lot code 10/29/22 and the expiration date 10/29/22 L3.
Freshpet had been aware of the contamination and had planned to destroy the lot, but some of the affected food was accidentally sent to Walmarts in Alabama and Georgia, some Target locations and other retailers in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia.
Top Quality Dog Food Beef HVM
When it was recalled: August 26, 2021
Why it was recalled: One-pound packages of Beef HVM from Top Quality Dog Food were recalled for potential exposure to salmonella and listeria. Both these diseases can make you or your dog really sick. (According to the FDA, listeria infections aren’t too common in pets but can still happen.)
The contamination was discovered in packages with labeled lot #071521, which were distributed to Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and South Carolina through mail order or direct delivery. According to the announcement from Top Quality Dog Food, anyone who received a package with that lot number should have been contacted already.
The food was recalled after a state surveillance sample found salmonella and listeria in multiple 1-pound packages of Beef HVM.
Natural Balance L.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Green Pea & Chicken Formula dry cat food
When it was recalled: May 20, 2021
Why it was recalled: Natural Balance recalled its L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Green Pea & Chicken dry cat food because of potential salmonella contamination. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture flagged the health risk after a routine state surveillance sample. This recall applies specifically to the 5- and 10-pound bags with the lot code 1008080 and a best by date of March 10, 2022.
Dog-Food Recall Now Includes 18 Brands
Hill’s Pet Nutrition (Hill’s) expanded its worldwide recall late last week to include 85 total lots of 33 varieties of canned, wet dog food, according to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recall notice dated March 21, 2019.
The recall impacts Hill’s customers in at least 78 countries, according to information posted on Hill’s own websites, and the European Union’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF).
Hill’s expanded its recall after FDA requested that the company test the vitamin D levels in additional products that were not part of the original recall. Testing leading up to both the January 31st and March 20th recalls revealed excessive, potentially toxic amounts of vitamin D, according to FDA.
All of the recalled products were manufactured using the same vitamin premix from a single U.S.-based supplier, according to Hill’s.
Although several hundred pet owners have posted complaints on the Hill’s Facebook page in response to the recall notice, there is no official tally of the number of affected pets.
In response to a question from Food Safety News, a spokesperson for FDA offered the following statement:
“The FDA has received a number of reports since the first Hill’s recall press release was issued on January 31, 2019. We are in the process of verifying the details of the complaints and it would be premature to release a number until the cases have been vetted to ensure they are all related to recalled product and are indeed cases of vitamin D toxicity.”
According to the FDA, dogs suffering from vitamin D toxicity may vomit, have little appetite, drink and urinate more, drool excessively, and/or lose weight. The severity of the symptoms and the speed of onset depends on the concentration of vitamin D ingested.
Duncan was a 13-year old lascho bichon, a service dog trained for seizure alert, and Kelly’s constant companion.
Kelly and Duncan divided the year between their homes in Michigan and Florida. They walked together, rode golf carts together as many as four times a day.
Twelve years ago, as Kelly told Food Safety News, Duncan suffered from pancreatitis and was prescribed Hill’s Science Diet by his veterinarian. He ate Hill’s I/D and Z/D wet and dry foods.
In early January, Duncan started to vomit white foam, had excessive thirst and urination and was lethargic. The next morning, he awakened with tremors.
Over the next three days, during which Kelly brought Duncan to the veterinarian three times, Duncan lost excessive weight and his condition deteriorated.
Three weeks after Duncan’s death, Kelly read about the Hill’s recall. She contacted the company on February 6, and was offered compensation consisting of $10.00 in coupons for the purchase of Hill’s pet food.
Because Duncan died weeks before the recall was announced, there was no necropsy and no suspicion at the time that his death was due to vitamin D toxicity.
When asked by Food Safety News what message she wished to share with other pet parents, Kelly replied:
“Hill’s claims they subject all of their food to extensive and repeated testing. Yet, now they have admitted that they sold food contaminated with Vitamin D. Obviously, Hills did NOT have testing and quality controls in place to check the food before they put it on the shelves for sale. Also, they dragged their feet issued the three waves of the recall, with the last wave coming on March 20th. During that delay, additional pets were fed this poisoned food and have died. And, the recalls still don’t include all of the contaminated food. Why would anyone trust them now? Go to the Hills Pet Nutrition Facebook page and read the thousands of comments underneath the two recall notices from angry pet owners.”
Kelly has set up a Facebook Group, Saving Pets One Pet @ A Time, in Duncan’s memory where pet owners can comment on their experiences and share information about nutritious pet food options.