Just want to let our many dog-owning readers know, in case you haven’t heard about it through other media channels, that the J.M. Smucker company has issued a “voluntary product withdrawal” of several major brands of canned dog food that it manufactures, including Gravy Train®, Kibbles ‘N Bits®, Ol’ Roy®, and Skippy® Canned Wet Dog Food, because it may contain small amounts of the drug pentobarbital, which is used in animal euthanasia. (Again, please note that the recall applies only to CANNED food, not dry kibble.) According to a statement on the company’s website:
The J.M. Smucker Company has initiated a voluntary product withdrawal of specific shipments of Gravy Train®, Kibbles ‘N Bits®, Ol’ Roy®, and Skippy® canned/wet dog food because they do not meet its quality specifications due to the presence of extremely low levels of pentobarbital.
While veterinarians and animal nutrition specialists, as well as the FDA, have confirmed that extremely low levels of this substance do not pose a threat to pet safety, its presence at any level is not acceptable to Smucker and not up to its quality standards.
Out of an abundance of caution, the Company initiated a voluntary product withdrawal and has taken action to remove specific shipments that were impacted from its supply chain as well as provided actionable information to its consumers and retail partners. The Company has identified the root cause to be a single supplier and a single, minor ingredient, used at one manufacturing facility.
“We take this very seriously and are extremely disappointed that pentobarbital was introduced to our supply chain. We will continue to work closely with our suppliers and veterinarians to ensure the ingredients used in our products meet or exceed regulatory safety standards and our high-quality standards,” said Barry Dunaway, President, Pet Food and Pet Snacks. “Above all, we are a company that loves pets and understand the responsibility we have in providing high quality food for the pets our consumers love.”
No other products of The J.M. Smucker Company are affected by this withdrawal.
For the full list of specific products recalled, please see the link above.
