Dry Dog Food Recall

Yesterday, the U.S. Food and Drug Association issued a recall notice for several brands of dry dog foods that may contain “elevated, potentially toxic levels of vitamin D.”

The recalled brands are all sold nationally, and we’ve seen many of them in our local stores. They include:

Nutrisca
– Chicken and Chickpea Dry Dog Food

Natural Life Pet Products
– Chicken & Potato Dry Dog Food

Sunshine Mills, Inc.
– Evolve Chicken & Rice Puppy Dry Dog Food
– Sportsman’s Pride Large Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food
– Triumph Chicken & Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food

ANF, Inc.
– ANF Lamb and Rice Dry Dog Food

Lidl
– Orlando Grain-Free Chicken & Chickpea Superfood Recipe Dog Food

Kroger 
– Abound Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe Dog Food

ELM Pet Foods, Inc.
– ELM Chicken and Chickpea Recipe
– ELM K9 Naturals Chicken Recipe

Ahold Delhaize
– Nature’s Promise Chicken & Brown Rice Dog Food
– Nature’s Place Real Country Chicken and Brown Rice Dog Food

Here’s more information from the FDA’s website:

Fast Facts

• The FDA has received complaints that dogs eating the food experienced vitamin D toxicity.
• Testing found that samples of the food contained excessive, potentially toxic amounts of vitamin D. (Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for dogs, but very high amounts can cause serious health problems like kidney failure or death.)
• At this time, the recall is only for dog foods.
• Pet owners should discontinue feeding the recalled products.
• The FDA is asking veterinarians who suspect vitamin D toxicity in their patients to report them through the Safety Reporting Portal or by calling their local FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinators. Pet owners can also report suspect cases to the FDA.
• This is a developing situation and additional recalls may be announced.

What are the Symptoms of Vitamin D Toxicity?

Excess vitamin D in the diet can cause vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst, increased urination, excessive drooling and weight loss. Vitamin D at toxic levels can cause kidney failure and death. Pet owners whose dogs have been eating the recalled brands and are showing these symptoms should contact their veterinarians.

What is FDA doing to address the situation?

After receiving complaints from pet owners about dogs with vitamin D toxicity, one of the firms reported to the FDA that it was recalling dry pet food due to potentially toxic levels of vitamin D. Many other brands with a common contract manufacturer have also been recalled. The FDA is working with the contract manufacturer to provide a comprehensive list of affected brands.

FDA scientists are still analyzing reports and the information currently available to determine whether the illnesses are definitively connected to diet.

FDA scientists have evaluated samples of some of these products, and State and private lab test results indicate that the food contained as much as approximately 70 times the intended amount of vitamin D. Consuming food with such high levels of vitamin D is potentially toxic to dogs and in severe cases may lead to kidney failure and/or death.

What Do Retailers Need To Do?

Don’t sell the recalled foods. Contact the manufacturer for further instructions. The FDA also encourages retailers to contact consumers who have purchased recalled products, if they have the means to do so (such as through shopper’s card records or point-of-sale signs).

What Do Pet Owners Need To Do?

If your pet is having symptoms of vitamin D toxicity, contact a veterinarian immediately. Provide a full diet history to your veterinarian. You may find it helpful to take a picture of the pet food label, including the lot number.

Don’t feed the recalled products to your pets or any other animal. Contact the company listed on the package for further instructions or throw the products away in a way that children, pets and wildlife cannot access them.

You can report suspected illness to the FDA electronically through the Safety Reporting Portal or by calling your state’s FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinators. It’s most helpful if you can work with your veterinarian to submit your pet’s medical records as part of your report. For an explanation of the information and level of detail that would be helpful to include in a complaint to the FDA, please see How to Report a Pet Food Complaint.

What Do Veterinarians Need To Do?

The FDA encourages veterinarians treating vitamin D toxicity to ask their clients for a diet history. We also welcome case reports, especially those confirmed through diagnostics. You can submit these reports electronically through the Safety Reporting Portal or by calling your state’s FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinators. For an explanation of the information and level of detail that would be helpful to include in a complaint to the FDA, please see How to Report a Pet Food Complaint.

Veterinarians should also be aware that vitamin D toxicity may present as hypercalcemia, similar to dogs that have consumed rodenticide. In these cases, we suggest that you confirm diet history to verify whether the dog has been eating any of the recalled products

For more information, including lot numbers and UPCs from the affected foods, see the full recall notice at  https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/ucm627485.htm