Dog and cat food recall expands after more pet deaths reported
Midwestern Pet Foods has expanded a previously announced recall of dog and cat food over the potentially high levels of a toxin produced by a naturally-occurring mold. This expanded recall covers all cat and dog food that has corn as an ingredient that expires on or before July 9, 2022. According to a separate alert from the FDA, more than 70 dogs have died after eating this food, though not all of the deaths were confirmed to result from aflatoxin poisoning.
The initial recall was announced in late December, with Midwestern Pet Foods explaining that some of its dog and cat food products may have high levels of aflatoxin, which results from a mold that can grow on grain called Aspergillus flavus. High levels of aflatoxin in pet food may lead to serious illness or death.
On January 11, the company expanded its initial recall to cover 'all dog and cat pet food products made with corn products because those products may contain aflatoxin levels which exceed acceptable limits.' The recalled pet food products include:
Pro Pac Adult Mini Chunk
Pro Pac Performance Puppy
Splash Fat Cat 32%
Nunn Better Maintenance
Sportstrail 50
Sportmix Original Cat 15
Sportmix Original Cat 31
Sportmix Maintenance 44
Sportmix Maintenance 50
Sportmix High Protein 50
Sportmix Energy Plus 44
Sportmix Energy Plus 50
Sportmix Stamina 44
Sportmix Stamina 50
Sportmix Bite Size 40
Sportmix Bite Size 44
Sportmix High Energy 44
Sportmix High Energy 50
Sportmix Premium Puppy 16.5
Sportmix Premium Puppy 33
You'll need to head over to the FDA's expanded recall list [PDF] to get the full list of recalled products, including descriptions of them and their lot numbers.
Separately, the FDA has updated its own advisory about the issue, stating that it is aware of more than 70 dogs that died after eating Sportsmix dog food, as well as more than 80 that were sick as of January 11. The agency notes that vet record or lab testing hasn't confirmed that all of these deaths were caused by aflatoxin.