At least ten pet food recalls and FDA advisories have been posted in 2026 so far, led by pathogen cases in raw and freeze-dried foods and two foreign-material recalls of canned dog food, Pedigree in July and Fromm in August. The latest item is an FDA advisory on Darwin's cat food, issued on October 26. This tracker lists each notice with its cause, scope and the brand's response.
Last updated October 30, 2026. This page is reviewed and updated monthly against the FDA's recall notices.
Which pet food recalls and advisories has the FDA posted in 2026?
The FDA and the companies involved have posted at least ten pet food recalls and advisories in 2026, and the table lists them in date order. Primary sources are the FDA's Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts page and its Animal and Veterinary section. Where a detail comes from a news outlet or a tracker instead of an FDA notice, the table says so.
| Date | Brand and product | Type | Cause | Scope and status |
|---|
| Jan 23 | Raaw Energy frozen dog food | FDA advisory, not a completed recall | Harmful bacteria | Eight lots at first. Later reports describe an expanded notice and a production pause. |
| Feb 17 | Go Raw LLC, Quest Cat Food Chicken Recipe Freeze Dried Nuggets | Voluntary recall (cat food) | Possible low thiamine | One lot at first, sold in 10 states. Trackers record expansions on Feb 26 and in June. |
| Feb 24 | Elite Treats, LLC chicken dog treats | Voluntary recall | Salmonella | Listed in the FDA's 2026 dog food entries. |
| Apr 20 | Revival Animal Health, Breeder's Edge and Shelter's Choice milk replacers | Voluntary recall | Variable vitamin D (canine), later low vitamins and minerals (feline) | Expanded on Jun 25 and again on Aug 26 to feline formulas. |
| May 7 | Albright's Raw Pet Food, Chicken Recipe for Dogs | Voluntary recall | Salmonella | Nationwide distribution. |
| Jul 2 | Pedigree High Protein Chopped Chicken and Duck wet dog food (Mars Petcare US) | Voluntary recall | Possible metal and plastic foreign material | Two lots of 13.2 oz cans. No illness or injury reports. |
| Aug 21 | Fromm Turkey Pâté and Diner Classics Milo's Meatloaf Pâté wet dog food | Voluntary recall | Possible metal contamination | 3,852 and 1,973 cases. US and Canada. No illness or injury reports. |
| Mid-Aug | Oma's Pride Woof Complete Canine Chicken Recipe | Recall, as reported by Fast Company | Salmonella found by FDA testing | 639 bags. Three dogs reported ill, per that report. |
| Aug 28 | Northwest Naturals Frozen Chicken Recipe (cat food) and Frozen Raw Diet for Dogs Chicken Recipe | Voluntary recall | Salmonella and, in one product, Listeria monocytogenes | Two lots, 72 cases in total. No illnesses reported. |
| Oct 26 | Darwin's Natural Pet Products Chicken Recipe Cat Food | FDA advisory | Salmonella | Two lots. FDA says do not feed. |
What caused the 2026 pet food recalls?
Three causes account for the 2026 notices: bacterial contamination, foreign material and nutrient problems. Salmonella appears in at least five of the ten entries, Listeria in two, and the remaining entries involve metal or plastic, vitamin D and thiamine.
Pathogen cases cluster in raw, frozen and freeze-dried foods. Albright's, Northwest Naturals, Raaw Energy, Darwin's and Oma's Pride all sell raw or minimally processed products. An analysis published by NextBeam, a company that sells irradiation services, counted three raw and minimally processed pathogen recalls through early June and said raw foods are under 10% of the pet food market but about 67% of pathogen-related recalls. The vendor has an interest in the topic, so treat the percentage as indicative, not definitive.
The FDA has long advised against raw diets for pets, and its notices for raw products repeat a second point: Salmonella and Listeria can infect people who handle the food or clean up after pets, as well as the animals that eat it. That matches the pattern in Why Pet Marketing Fails, which covers how raw-food marketing invites scrutiny.
The foreign-material recalls came from a different failure. Pedigree's cans were recalled after Mars said the product appeared to have been fraudulently diverted from destruction and sold, and Fromm's recall began with consumer complaints. The nutrient cases, Revival Animal Health's milk replacers and the Quest cat food, involve products where a small formulation error can matter a great deal for young or small animals.
One tracker, RecallBench, counts 62 FDA animal and veterinary recall announcements since January 2019, with 20 of them posted in the 12 months to October 13, 2026. That category includes some veterinary products as well as pet food, so it is a broader count than this page.
What happened in the Pedigree recall?
Mars Petcare US recalled two lots of Pedigree High Protein Chopped Chicken and Duck Flavor wet dog food on July 2, 2026, because the cans may contain sharp metal and plastic. According to the FDA's posting of the company announcement, the recalled product is the 13.2 oz can with lot codes 613C3KKCFC and 613C1KKCFC.
The cause was unusual. Mars said the lots had failed its quality standards and had been sent to a third-party vendor for destruction, and that it later found the product appeared to have been fraudulently diverted and sold into the U.S. marketplace. The company said it received no reports of illness or injury and is working with authorities to learn how the product reached shelves.
The announcement shows a clear communications structure. It names the exact lots, tells owners how to read the lot code, offers a replacement through a consumer care line with posted hours, and states that no other Pedigree or Mars Petcare US products are affected. For how Mars approaches the wider portfolio, see Mars Marketing Strategy.
What happened in the Fromm recall?
Fromm Family Foods recalled two canned dog foods on August 21, 2026, after receiving consumer complaints of metal in the product. The FDA posting covers 3,852 cases of Fromm Turkey Pâté Wet Dog Food (12.2 oz cans, UPC 072705118700, lot EP2A3306 551006) and 1,973 cases of Fromm Diner Classics Milo's Meatloaf Pâté Wet Dog Food (12.5 oz cans, UPC 072705132324, lot EP2A3306 551029), both with a best-by date of March 2029.
The products were sold through neighborhood pet stores and online outlets in the United States and Canada. Fromm said no illnesses or injuries had been reported and that no other Fromm products were affected. Fromm is a family-owned Wisconsin company that says it makes its wet foods in small batches, so the recall is notable for how narrowly the lots were drawn.
How did brands respond to the 2026 recalls?
Brand responses in 2026 fall into four patterns, and the differences matter for owners and for communications teams. The table compares them.
| Brand | Trigger | Response pattern |
|---|
| Pedigree (Mars Petcare US) | Product diverted from destruction | Voluntary recall, exact lots, replacement offer, plain statement of cause, no-illness statement |
| Fromm | Consumer complaints | Voluntary recall, two lots with UPCs and case counts, no-illness statement, contact line |
| Northwest Naturals | FDA sample testing | Voluntary recall of two lots, cases and pounds stated, test results by product |
| Darwin's Natural Pet Products | FDA testing | FDA advisory. According to Food Safety News, the company declined to initiate a recall. |
The Darwin's case is the clearest example of why the label matters. On October 26 the FDA issued an advisory telling owners not to feed two lots of Darwin's Chicken Recipe Cat Food because of Salmonella, and Food Safety News reported on October 27 that the firm refused to initiate a recall. A tracker lists an earlier Darwin's recall on September 24, 2025. The FDA also issued a warning letter to Viva Raw on August 5, 2026, almost a year after its August 2025 recall, according to Food Poison Journal, which is a reminder that regulatory follow-up can continue long after a recall notice.
Raaw Energy shows the other end of the spectrum. The FDA first told owners in January not to feed eight lots. Fox Business later reported an expanded notice covering product made between July 17 and December 23, 2025, plus one batch dated March 31, 2026, and said the company was halting production. Earlier cases, such as the 2015 recalls at Stella & Chewy's, show the same escalation pattern, which EPR covers in Stella & Chewy's Recall History.
What is the difference between an FDA recall and an advisory?
A recall is an action a company takes to remove product from the market, while an FDA advisory is a warning from the agency to owners, and it can come without a recall. Most 2026 entries are voluntary recalls, which means the company, not a court or the agency, initiated the removal. The Raaw Energy and Darwin's notices are advisories, and the FDA posts them with a do-not-feed instruction. The FDA also posts company announcements as a public service and says it does not endorse the product or the company.
Which major pet food brands have no 2026 FDA recall entry?
Purina, Hill's and Royal Canin do not appear in the 2026 FDA entries compiled for this tracker. One tracker found no recall entries for Purina Pro Plan, Hill's Science Diet adult maintenance lines or Royal Canin as of May 16, 2026, and none of the later notices reviewed here names them. Freshpet also does not appear in the 2026 lists reviewed. Absence from a list is not a safety guarantee, and owners should check the FDA page directly. For past cases, see 12 Pet Brand Crises and Recalls, The 2019 Hill's Recall and Purina's Beneful Crisis, which covers lawsuits that did not involve a recall.
How can an owner check whether a pet food is affected?
An owner can check a recall in four steps, using the details printed on the package.
- Find the brand, product name, size, UPC, lot code and best-by date on the bag or can, as the Pedigree and Fromm notices show.
- Compare those details with the FDA's recall page or the company's announcement, since a recall usually covers specific lots and not a whole brand.
- If the product matches, stop feeding it and follow the notice, which for the Pedigree recall means contacting the company for a replacement.
- Call a veterinarian if the pet ate the product and shows symptoms, and wash hands, bowls and surfaces after handling any recalled raw food.
This page is a news summary, not veterinary advice. Owners worried about a specific pet should talk to their veterinarian.
What should pet brands take from the 2026 recalls?
Pet brands can take four practices from the 2026 notices, which are EPR's analysis of the public record.
- Lead with the lot codes. The clearest notices put product, size, UPC, lot and best-by date near the top.
- State the cause plainly. Pedigree explained how the product reached the market, and Fromm tied its recall to complaints.
- Say what is not known. Several notices state that no illnesses have been reported to date, which is more useful when it is dated.
- Do not let an advisory stand alone. When the FDA warns owners and the company does not recall, the public record is the FDA's version.
These points tie into the wider framework in the Pet Industry Trade Guide, which covers the FDA-CVM, AAFCO and state regulators.
How is this tracker built and updated?
This tracker is built from FDA recall and advisory postings, company announcements the FDA republishes, and news and tracker pages used to cross-check dates and scope. FDA postings are the primary source, and any entry that rests on a secondary source is labeled in the table. EPR reviews the list monthly and corrects errors it finds. Dates are the company announcement or FDA publish date, and expansions are noted in the status column. Scope figures come from the notices and may change if a recall expands.
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Section hub: Pets and the Pet Industry on Everything-PR. Category reference: Pet Industry Trade Guide: $158B Market, 95M Households.
