Have you ever thought about the ingredients in your dog’s food? If not, you should know that
industrial pet food contains a lot of preservatives and by-products that can even harm your dog.
A lot of companies recalled their products after pet owners stated that their pets became ill or
even died because of the food they consumed. The dog food recall started a few years ago and
continues even at the present.

The fist case of dog food recall happened in 2005, when Diamond Food recalled some of its
products for cats and dogs, after discovering that some of these contained aflatoxin: Diamond
Low Fat Dog Food, Hi-Energy Dog Food, Maintenance Dog Food, Performance Dog Food,
Premium Adult Dog Food, Puppy Food, and Maintenance Cat Food. In 2007, many dog food
producers decided to recall their products, some by necessity and others voluntarily. Menu
Food was the company that recalled most products, over 100 brands of dog and cat food,
after receiving hundred of complaints about sick or dead animals. Tests showed that products
contained contaminated vegetable proteins, imported from a facility in China, specialized as a
supplier for most pet food producers in US. Almost all of the products recalled were dry food
(“cuts and gravy”), but Menu Foods, as a precautionary measure, recalled all the products that
contained wheat gluten. Other companied continued the major dog food recall in 2007: Sunshine
Mills (20 brands of dry dog biscuits), Nestle Purina PetCare (Alpo), Del Monte, Hill’s Pet
Nutrition (Science Diet Savory Cuts), Royal Canin (Kasco), Natural Balance Pet Foods, The
Blue Buffalo Company, SmartPak (Weight Management Chicken and Brown Rice Dog Food),
Chenango Valley Pet Foods, Kirkland Signature, Diamond Pet Foods. By the end of the year,
thousand of dogs and cats died due contaminated products and most companies needed to pay
compensations to pet owners.

In 2008, the dog food recall continued with Mars Petcare. Some of its products were suspected to
be contaminated with salmonella: Pedigree for dogs and Special Kitty for cats. By the end of the
year Mars made several voluntarily recalls of its product. Hartz also recalled some products in
2008 (Hartz Chicken Basted Rawhide Chips for dogs) for the same reason: possible salmonella
contamination. In 2009, Happy Tails Multi Flavor Dog Treats and Puppy Chow Snack Mix treats
were recalled due to peanut butter contamination with salmonella; PetSmart recalled Grreat
Choice Dog Biscuits for the same reason.

In 2010, Kroger recalled 4 dog food brands, followed by Blue Buffalo, Hartz Mountain
Corporation, Merrik Pet Care, Iams and other private brands of pet food were recalled due
to contamination. In most of the cases, producers had the same suppliers where from the
contamination had started. The giant Procter & Gamble was also part of the cat and dog food
recall in 2010, due to salmonella contamination.

In 2011, Wellpet LLC’s announced a huge pet food recall due to lab test that found that some
of Wellness canned food contained insufficient levels of thiamine. Other producers announce recalls almost every month.

It is very important to be informed about the current list of products involved in dog food recall.
An up to date list can be found on the Food and Drug Administration website.