Dog food recall hits PetSmart: What owners should know

By Chris Burns/Aug. 16, 2021 2:53 pm EST

A voluntary recall was issued here in August of 2021 for frozen dog food sold at PetSmart stores in the USA. The specific sort of dogfood included with the recall was made by the Wet Noses Natural Dog Treat Company of Monroe, Washington, and it affects approximately 51,000 packages of frozen dog food. If you've purchased Simply Nourish frozen dog food in the recent past, this is important.

Per the announcement from Wet Noses, consumers should "stop feeding the products listed below to their dogs." The affected packages contain "elevated levels of Vitamin D." You might say – so what? How could it be bad to get more vitamins? In this case, it could mean that your dog will exhibit a variety of symptoms including:

• Increased urination

• Increased thirst

• Excessive drooling

• Weight loss

• Loss of appetite

• Vomiting

When consumed at "very high levels or over a long period of time," Vitamin D can lead to "very serious health issues" in dogs of all sorts, including renal dysfunction. That's kidney-related, and it can be very, very bad.

Affected Simply Nourish frozen dog products were only distributed to "select PetSmart stores nationwide." Affected products include the following products and sizes:

• Simply Nourish Frozen Chicken & Veggies 2lb, UPC: 73725792262

• Simply Nourish Frozen Chicken & Veggies 4.5lb, UPC: 73725792264

• Simply Nourish Frozen Beef & Barley 2lb, UPC: 73725792266

• Simply Nourish Frozen Beef & Barley 4.5lb, UPC: 73725792267

• Simply Nourish Frozen Turkey & Sweet Potato 2lb, UPC: 73725792260

• Simply Nourish Frozen Turkey & Sweet Potato 4.5lb, UPC: 73725792263

• Simply Nourish Frozen Pork & Veggies 2lb, UPC: 73725792079

• Simply Nourish Frozen Pork & Veggies 4.5lb, UPC: 73725792078

The "best by" ranges on the affected packages were "11/10/2022-1/12/2023" for all units save the Pork & Veggies, which had a best by date range of 8/26/2022-1/13/2023.

It would appear that the issue stemmed from a "vitamin mix dosage being significantly reduced by the vitamin mix manufacturer" followed by said change not being "detected or properly communicated." As a result of the miscommunication, "the dosage was not reduced" by Simply Nourish in the final mix.

All consumers who purchased Simply Nourish Frozen Food listed above are "urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund." The FDA recall announcement suggests that if a consumer has a dog that consumed the affected product and "are exhibiting" the symptoms listed above, they should contact their veterinarian immediately.