This story by Phyllis Entis first appeared in Food Safety News and is reposted here with permission.
Retail supermarket chains King Soopers and Kroger’s Louisville Division are removing certain Abound dry dog food from their store shelves following a product recall initiated by Sunshine Mills Inc.
The recalled pet food has the potential to contain an elevated level of vitamin D, which can produce symptoms of vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst, increased urination, excessive drooling, and weight loss in dogs. In extreme cases, ingestion of food containing elevated vitamin D may result in kidney failure.
On Dec. 3, the Food and Drug Administration issued a public alert about the potential for elevated vitamin D levels in several brands of dry pet foods produced by “a common contract manufacturer.” King Soopers and Kroger identified Sunshine Mills Inc. as the manufacturer in their recall notices.
FDA received two pet illness complaints in mid- to late October and initiated an investigation at that time, according to an agency spokesperson. In late October, FDA was alerted to a similar investigation being carried out by the state of Utah.
As of Dec. 3, the FDA has received a total of six dog illness reports associated with the recalled products. The investigation is ongoing, and the number of illnesses may change.
FDA, state and private lab tests have revealed that the pet food contained as much as 70 times the intended amount of vitamin D. Consumers are warned that these levels of vitamin D are potentially toxic to dogs and may lead to kidney failure and/or death.
The products recalled by King Soopers and Kroger include:
- Abound Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe Dog food, 4 lb. Best by November 1, 2018 through November 16, 2019; UPC 11110-83556
- Abound Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe Dog food, 14 lb. Best by November 1, 2018 through November 16, 2019; UPC 11110-83573
- Abound Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe Dog food, 24 lb. Best by November 1, 2018 through November 16, 2019; UPC 11110-89076
All three package sizes were sold in King Soopers and City Market stores in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming. The 4-pound size was sold in a single Kroger store at 2440 Bardstown Road in Louisville, KY.
FDA offers the following recommendations to pet owners and veterinarians.
- 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.
- Consumers 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.
- 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, FDA suggests that veterinarians confirm diet history to verify whether the dog has been eating any of the recalled products.
For additional coverage of the recent Sunshine pet food recalls, please see:
“Sunshine recalls three more dog food brands for excess vitamin D; distribution international”
“Sunshine Mills recalls additional dog foods for excess vitamin D”
eFoodAlert 