Many pet owners distrust commercially sold pet food due to public outrage caused by contaminated pet food that made its way to the market. In the year 2007, the Food and Drug Administration of the United States did a massive recall of over 91 dog and cat food brands. The recall was due to reports from more than 6,000 pet owners saying that their pets suffered from renal and kidney failure after they were fed wet pet food that contained wheat gluten from a specific Chinese company. It was discovered that the wheat gluten was contaminated with aminopterin, a banned rat poison. Other brands contained wheat gluten contaminated by melamine, a toxic agent used to manufacture plastics and fertilizer. What is ironic about the whole tragedy is that wheat gluten is an inferior carbohydrate and contains no nutritional value for dogs or cats. In fact, this ingredient is added to pet food as a filler to expand the volume of the food.
What should I do if my pet’s food is recalled?
If a brand of dog food has been recalled and you discovered that you have that particular brand, stop feeding it to your dog immediately. Return the food to the store where you bought it and ask for a refund, which they should give you since stores and supermarkets have a return-and-refund policy when a product gets recalled. If you’re unable to return the dog food immediately, keep it in a safe place where pets and children can’t get to it.
Observe your dog and contact your veterinarian immediately if your it shows symptoms like loss of appetite, weakness, or vomiting. Once your dog has been treated, report the case to your local FDA consumer complaint coordinator. Have the following information at hand before filing your complaint:
The brand name, Universal Product Code, and lot number of the dog food given to your pet before it became sick. The lot number is located on the pouch or the can lid and is a series of numbers and letters.
Symptoms.
Dates when you first noticed the symptoms.
The name, address, and contact number of your veterinarian.