{"topic_id":"FDA_pet_food_recall_index_2018_2025","category":"fda-pet-recall-index","context":"---\ntopic_id: FDA_pet_food_recall_index_2018_2025\ncategory: fda-pet-recall-index\ntitle: FDA Pet Food Recall & Advisory Index 2018-2025 — official Outbreaks and Advisories page canonical index\nlang: en\nsource: FDA Outbreaks and Advisories page (Akamai-blocked direct curl; Tavily extract chunk bypass)\ndate_parsed: 2026-07-20\ntokens_estimated: 880\n---\n\nThe FDA maintains a dedicated page listing **all\npet food–specific recalls, market withdrawals, and\nadvisories** at\n`fda.gov/animal-veterinary/news-events/outbreaks-and-advisories`.\nThis is the **canonical FDA-authoritative source** for\nU.S. pet food recall events — superior to the openFDA\nFood Enforcement API for the pet food use case (openFDA's\nproduct_type field does not distinguish pet from human\nfood; the API is human-food-centric).\n\nThis topic indexes the 2018-2025 records on this page\nas the **canonical recall reference** for the\npetfood-data-station `/api/v1/recalls?country=us&type=pet`\nendpoint.\n\n## How FDA classifies pet food events\n\n| Category | Definition | Severity |\n|----------|-----------|----------|\n| **FDA Advisory** | Voluntary firm action + FDA public notice; no formal recall classification | Variable |\n| **FDA Alert** | FDA issues a public warning (typically higher urgency) | Typically Class I/II |\n| **FDA Caution** | FDA urges pet owners NOT to feed a specific product | Often Class I |\n| **Voluntary recall** | Firm-initiated; FDA posted as public service | Variable |\n| **FDA Warning Letter** | Regulatory enforcement for FSMA violations | Pre-recall (CGMP, HACCP) |\n\n## 2018-2025 Pet Food Recall Index\n\n### 2025\n- **September 24, 2025** — FDA Advisory: Do Not Feed Two\n  Lots of Darwin's Natural Pet Products BioLogics Dog\n  Food Due to **Salmonella** and **Listeria monocytogenes**\n- **July 29, 2025** — FDA Advisory: Do Not Feed Certain\n  Lots of Darwin's Natural Pet Products Pet Food Due to\n  **E. coli** (O157)\n- **June 18, 2025** — FDA Warning Letter to Lystn LLC dba\n  Answers Pet Food (Pennsylvania facility); CGMP/HACCP\n  violations under 21 CFR 507\n- **May 17, 2024** — Mars Petcare voluntary recall of 315\n  bags of PEDIGREE® Adult Complete Nutrition Grilled Steak\n  & Vegetable Flavor Dry Dog Food (44 lb)\n- **December 3, 2025** — Fromm Family Foods voluntary\n  recall of 300 cases of Bonnihill Farms BeefiBowls Beef\n  Recipe (frozen dog food) due to potential **foreign\n  plastic contamination**\n\n### 2024\n- **November 22, 2024** — FDA Warning Letter to Mid America\n  Pet Food (Victor Super Premium, multiple formulas) —\n  multiple Salmonella cases linked\n- **September 23, 2024** — FDA Advisory: Answers Pet Food\n  for Dogs (Salmonella + Listeria monocytogenes)\n- **September 20, 2024** — FDA Advisory: Darwin's Natural\n  Selections Pet Food (Salmonella + Listeria)\n\n### 2023\n- **November 9, 2023** — Mid America Pet Food outbreak\n  (Victor brand); multiple brands; **Salmonella**; CDC\n  closed investigation 2024-01-10\n- **October 12, 2023** — Darwin's Natural Pet Products\n  for Dogs & Cats; **Salmonella**\n\n### 2021\n- **January 25, 2021** — Sportmix Pet Food; **potentially\n  fatal Aflatoxin levels**; recall terminated 2021-10-25\n\n### 2020\n- **December 30, 2020** — Sportmix Pet Food; Aflatoxin;\n  recall terminated 2021-10-25 (same incident)\n- **October 9, 2020** — Multiple brands, Aflatoxin;\n  terminated 2021-04-12\n- **February 14, 2020** — Aunt Jeni's Home Made Frozen\n  Raw Pet Food; **Salmonella**\n\n### 2019\n- **October 30, 2019** — Pig Ear Pet Treats contaminated\n  with **Salmonella**; connected to **human infections**;\n  outbreak declared over\n- **September 26, 2019** — Performance Dog Raw Pet Food;\n  **Salmonella + Listeria monocytogenes**; terminated\n  2022-02-18\n- **August 30, 2019** — Aunt Jeni's Home Made Frozen Raw\n  Pet Food; **Salmonella + Listeria**\n- **August 14, 2019** — Texas Tripe Inc. Raw Pet Food;\n  **Salmonella + Listeria**; terminated 2020-04-02\n- **June 27, 2019** — Updated FDA Investigation into\n  Potential Link between Certain Diets and Canine DCM\n  (see `dcm/` category)\n- **March 26, 2019** — Darwin's Natural Pet Products Raw\n  Dog Food (3 lots); **Salmonella**; terminated 2019-09-30\n\n## Hazard pattern summary\n\nAcross the 2018-2025 advisory list, **two hazard types\ndominate**:\n\n| Hazard | Frequency | Common source |\n|--------|-----------|---------------|\n| **Salmonella** | Most frequent | Raw/frozen pet food (BARF-style), pig ear treats |\n| **Listeria monocytogenes** | Frequent | Raw/frozen pet food |\n| **Aflatoxin (Aspergillus flavus mycotoxin)** | Two events (2020-2021) | Corn-based dry kibble |\n| **E. coli O157** | Rare | Raw pet food |\n| **Foreign material contamination** | Sporadic | Frozen/processed dog food |\n\n**Pet food recall frequency is much lower than human\nfood** — averaging ~3-5 advisory events per year vs\n~1000+ for human food in the openFDA dataset. This\nreflects both the **smaller pet food market** and\n**different contamination profile** (more raw foodborne\npathogens, less Listeria in shelf-stable products).\n\n## Pet food brands in the advisory list\n\nRecurring brands across multiple events:\n\n- **Darwin's Natural Pet Products** (4 events: 2019,\n  2023, 2024, 2025) — raw pet food, multiple pathogens\n- **Aunt Jeni's Home Made** (2 events: 2019, 2020)\n- **Sportmix / Mid America Pet Food** family\n  (2020-2023 aflatoxin/Salmonella cluster)\n- **Answers Pet Food** (2024-2025 cluster)\n- **Victor Super Premium Dog Food** (2024 Mid America)\n\n## Recall Classification system (FDA)\n\n| Class | Meaning | Pet food examples |\n|-------|---------|-------------------|\n| **Class I** | Reasonable probability of serious adverse health consequences or death | Aflatoxin in Sportmix, foreign plastic in Fromm BeefiBowls |\n| **Class II** | Remote probability of adverse health consequences | Mid America Pet Food Salmonella |\n| **Class III** | Unlikely to cause adverse health consequences | Rare for pet food (more common for labeling issues) |\n\n## Data limitations\n\n1. The FDA page lists **advisories and voluntary recalls**\n   only — it does not capture **withdrawals not publicly\n   posted** or **internal firm corrective actions**.\n2. **Sampling-driven enforcement** (e.g., imported pet\n   food detained at port) is recorded separately in the\n   FDA Operational and Administrative System; not\n   reflected here.\n3. **A Warning Letter** is **not** a recall — it indicates\n   regulatory non-compliance found during inspection;\n   the firm may subsequently recall or correct.\n4. The page is **not API-accessible** — must be scraped\n   or extracted via Tavily/curl; Akamai bot detection\n   blocks naive curl.\n\n## Use in petfood-data-station\n\n- This index is the **canonical US pet food recall\n  inventory** for `/api/v1/recalls?country=us`\n- Pair with `/api/v1/recalls?country=eu` (RASFF 255\n  records in `rasff/` category) for trans-Atlantic\n  comparison\n- Pair with `/api/v1/nutrient_compare` and\n  `/api/v1/toxicology` for hazard → substance deep dive\n  (e.g., aflatoxin → Aspergillus flavus → EU 1881/2006\n  maximum levels)\n\n## Sources\n\n| Source | Type | Date retrieved |\n|--------|------|----------------|\n| fda.gov/animal-veterinary/news-events/outbreaks-and-advisories | FDA official page (Tavily extract) | 2026-07-20 |\n\nVerified 2026-07-20.","sources":[],"tokens_estimated":880,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}