Pet Food and Treat Recalls: Protecting Your Pet

If you buy and feed commercial food and treats to your pets, the following statistic may shock you!

In just the last 10 years, there has been 173 pet food recalls posted on the FDA website and the number continues to rise.

Your pet is relying on YOU to be his educated advocate for his optimal health and life. Keep reading to learn more.

There’s More to the Story

While 173 recalls is shocking enough, in reality, there’s much more to the actual story. Here’s why:

1. These 173 recalls ONLY represent the number of recall press releases issued by the FDA; NOT the total number of pet foods/treats recalled.
2. Actual product recalls often include MORE than one product. So despite it being counted as ONE recall, it actually may involve multiple products.

The 173 Recalls: Categories

Think your commercial pet food or favorite treat is not affected? The recalls over the past ten years have included a variety of categories; possibly even yours. Extensive research compiled and published on November 6, 2018, by safe pet food advocate Susan Thixton, TruthAboutPetFood.com, revealed the following affected categories:

• 59 treat recalls (accounts for the most recalls)
• 48 raw recalls
• 45 kibble recalls
• 17 canned recalls
• 3 dehydrated recalls
• 1 cooked, sold as frozen, pet food

• The 173 Recalls: Causes

  Feeding your pet recalled food or treats is never recommended. But did you know that some of the causes behind recalls can also affect YOU and your family; specifically:

  • Salmonella (pictured on the left);
  • coli; and
  • Listeria

  74% of all recalls over the past 10 years have been due to one of these 3 factors. While healthy pets may not develop illness from salmonella, E.Coli or listeria, pets with compromised immune systems, underlying health conditions or even tinier pets may react negatively to salmonella, E.coli or listeria contamination.

  For humans, certain people may become sick from unsafe and unsanitary handling (not thoroughly washing their hands or properly disinfecting kitchen counters/utensils that came into contact with contaminated products); including:

  • People with weakened or suppressed immune systems (i.e., people with HIV/AIDS, organ transplant patients or those receiving chemotherapy.
  • Infants and children 5 years of age or younger.
  • Adults 65 and older.

Recalls Include Other Causes

Recalls have also been issued for the presence of:

• Mold
• Elevated levels of beef thyroid hormone (potential severe vomiting, diarrhea and labored breathing)
• Elevated levels of Vitamin D (potential renal dysfunction)
• Propylene Glycol (a key component in antifreeze)
• Foreign objects in pet food (including plastic and metal)
• Chemical contamination
• Illegal antibiotics
• Insufficient or excess vitamins/minerals
• Presence of a euthanasia drug (pentobarbital) 

3 Ways to Protect Your Pets from Recalled Products

1. Buy your pet food and treats from Ken Caryl Pet Spa! When you buy from us, we will notify you immediately of any recalled products for your peace of mind.
2. Educate Follow websites like TruthAboutPet.com to learn more about recalls and the pet food ingredients you need to avoid.
3. Subscribe/follow pet food recall sites. Subscribe to more than one to increase your chances of receiving immediate notification. Some of these sites include:

• American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMA)
• Dog Food Advisor
• Truth About Pet Food
• Petful
• US Food & Drug Administration (FDA)