My dog's food was recalled. Is it safe now? What about old recalls?

Blue Buffalo has had a few recalls, most recently in March due to possibly high thyroid hormone levels in beef. It was a voluntary recall you can read more about it at https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls/ucm547335.htm. There have been no recalls listed since that time. I would consider it a safe food. Some dogs do well on it, but we also see dogs where this brand causes diarrhea or GI upset. Every pet is different and may do better on one food vs. another, so if you have been feeding Blue Buffalo and your dog does well on it, I see no reason to change his diet.

Euknuba is a good food but I think the brand Royal Canin is better. To the best of my knowledge, the brand has not had a recall since 2007 (which is a long time). The diet is also low residue which results in good stool quality and low quantity for most dogs who eat this diet. It is one of the more palatable diets and pets who eat this food generally have nice coats and skin. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

The following link has the current FDA recall information, as well as what symptoms to monitor for if you are concerned about Hazel. https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/ucm627485.htm If Hazel has eaten any of the recalled foods I recommend contacting your vet, as testing and/or treatment may be needed.

The Internet says a lot of things. Petfood is one of those issues that people can have a lot of convictions about. However the question is have those individuals had actual training about pet nutrition. In making choices about pet food, I often look at a history of recalls. Newer pet food companies and boutique brands are more likely to have recall issues because they tend to not have as much quality control in the production of their food. Mistakes do happen and any company can have a recall but that is something to pay very close attention to. The older, more established companies tend to have good protocols in place to catch any errors before their food gets out on the shelves and pets get sick. I believe Nutro does offer a line of pet food that is more holistically-based as well. You should be able to find a lot of variety within the brand and know that it is all high-quality. Most pets who eat Nutro tend to have good coat and stool quality too, this is a good sign. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

It can be difficult to recognize when food has spoiled, and there have been many food recalls lately for various problems like salmonella or other contaminants in food that could make your dog sick but wouldn’t be obviously detectable in the food. I would recommend sticking to foods that are produced by manufacturers with good quality control in place like Hill’s, Purina and Royal Canin. I would also recommend avoiding raw diets since there is potential for salmonella contamination. In general you should keep food at room temperature or a cool, dry place in a tightly sealed metal container or you can place the original bag in a plastic container. Make sure you buy a bag that your dog can eat in 4-6 weeks or the oils could become rancid.

Usually the companies deliver the food in good condition, so mold would be caused by excessive moisture while storing. Check your dry food., and do not feed it if it is moldy. So as long as the feed to give is dry, not moldy and does not smell moldy, you can feed it and do not need to change food again. Even if you have a bag that has some mold, I would take it back to the shop and ask them to exchange it for a fresh bag, which you can actually open in the shop to check for mold.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I recommend Hill's Science Diet, Royal Canin, Purina and Iams/Eukanuba. These companies employ veterinary nutritionists and have above industry standards regarding quality ingredients and care to prevent contamination at their facilities. These companies are far superior than the boutique brands. Have a good day!