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The Nestlé Purina PetCare Company is one of the largest and most recognizable pet food producers in the industry. The company makes pet food for a variety of animals, and they offer many subsidiary food lines, but dog and cat food are their biggest products.
Purina’s food is generally cheap and heavily processed, which may raise the chances of contamination from bacteria or a foreign body getting into the food. In this unfortunate event, food is recalled for the safety of the pets that eat the food.
We’ll outline the history of Purina dog and cat food recalls below.
On this page:
- What is the most recent Purina dog food recall?
- Is there a recent Purina cat food recall?
- Other recent Purina recalls
- Are there dog foods that haven’t been recalled?
- Cat food without recalls
- Resources on dog food recalls
- Fresh, human-grade dog food
- Automatic shipping, so you never have too much or too little; cancel any time
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What is the most recent Purina dog food recall?
There have been recalls on Purina’s dog food in previous years, but none recently. The last Purina dog chow recall was in March 2016. This recall included Purina Pro Plan wet dog food sold in tubs. The food was recalled because of inadequate vitamin/mineral levels. In 2013, another recall occurred on Purina ONE dog food for risk of salmonella contamination.
>> Read more: Just Food For Dogs Recall
Is there a recent Purina cat food recall?
Yes. As of the publish date on this page, the most recent recall occurred on July 14, 2021 for wet cat food. It was specifically for the 3 oz. cans of Purina Pro Plan Complete Essentials Tuna Entrée In Sauce. The voluntary recall occurred due to the potential presence of black flexible plastic pieces in the food. For more information about this recall, see Purina’s website.
Prior to this date, there was a voluntary recall for Purina’s Muse cat food on March 29, 2019. There was concern that pieces of yellow rubber with a blue backing may be present in the food.
Other recent Purina recalls
As of June 11, 2021, Purina has voluntarily recalled Purina® RangeLand® 30-13 (125#) beef cattle feed, citing that the tubs the food is stored in are too soft, allowing over-consumption, which could result in elevated levels of urea. Purina received reports from customers claiming that animals that consumed the product either died or fell into poor health, presumably due to urea toxicity.
>> Read more: Best Dog Food for IBS & IBD
Are there dog foods that haven’t been recalled?
Yes! There are a number of pet food companies that have never had to recall their food as of the publication date. Many of these are high-quality fresh pet foods, such as The Farmer’s Dog Food, Nom Nom Dog Food, Open Farm, Pet Plate Dog Food, and Ollie Dog Food.
Human-grade pet food is far less likely to be recalled than feed-grade options. These gently cooked fresh foods are prepared in smaller batches, tested frequently, and produced with a higher level of quality control than mass-produced kibble manufacturers enforce.
These foods are remarkably different (and much healthier) than traditional kibble because they go through far less processing to get from the farm where they’re sourced to your pet’s bowl. They include only human-grade ingredients and meet the AAFCO’s and USDA’s standards for both pet and human consumption. In a nutshell, this means your dog gets food you or I could eat.
These high standards, smaller batches, and regular testing greatly reduce the chances of the food being contaminated and subsequently recalled. The average dog kibble has far fewer standards in place.
In all seriousness, there’s an allowance for the use of roadkill and diseased meat in most supermarket kibbles, as long as the meat is cooked at a high enough temperature. Unfortunately, these high temperatures destroy most of the available nutrients present in any other ingredients. And kibble is most definitely not up to USDA standards for human consumption.
Fresh foods do come with a higher price tag, but the real, high-quality ingredients should have a holistic effect on your pet’s health that could mitigate health issues and reduce their vet bills down the road.
Our dogs, including our pickiest pup, Max, have tested and enthusiastically approved of each of the brands mentioned above. You can compare two of our favorite brands in our Nom Nom vs Farmers Dog comparison guide.
>> Read more: The Farmer’s Dog vs Ollie: Which Fresh Dog Food Is Better?
Are there healthy kibbles without recalls?
If fresh food is out of your budget, there are some healthier choices for kibble that will most certainly be an upgrade from most mass-produced dry dog food on the grocery store shelf.
Open Farm offers a variety of dog kibbles and cat foods with excellent ingredient sourcing. They contain non-GMO fruits and veggies and antibiotic- and hormone-free meats that meet strict humanitarian standards. They also offer human-grade wet food, high-protein freeze-dried food, and supplements. No matter which product you choose, your pet gets real-food ingredients with appropriately added vitamins and minerals.
You can score a discount by subscribing to a meal plan, so you never have to worry about restocking your food. Plus, take 15% off your first order with our special code: DOGTALE15.
>> Read more: Open Farm Dog Food Recall
For a convenient kibble, you may also want to consider Orijen dry dog and cat food. Orijen consists of fresh, raw, and dehydrated whole foods with no conventional meat meals or rendered animal byproducts. All produce is non-GMO food and is directly sourced from local farmers in Kentucky.
Cat food without recalls
Smalls makes both human-grade fresh food and freeze-dried raw food, as well as treats and kibble for cats. Rather than cheap fillers, Smalls delivers high levels of meat-based protein with other nutritious ingredients. For example, the fresh turkey recipe contains 82% animal protein; the rest is veggies, a supplement mix, and less than half of a percent of vegetable oil. Oh, and all of it is sourced from the U.S. and Canada.
Smalls offers chicken-, turkey-, and beef-based recipes, and each one comes in either a smooth or ground texture to suit your cat’s preferences. You can get 25% off your first purchase with no long-term commitments, and a money-back guarantee if your cat doesn’t like it.
Just Food For Dogs has created another option: Just Cats. This cat food is made from fresh, human-grade ingredients, so your cat can get the best nutrition possible. You can learn more in our Just Food For Dogs review.
Finally, Open Farm makes six human-grade wet cat food products with a cat’s palate in mind. These meals contain one or two main proteins, which are supplemented with functional ingredients like locally sourced non-GMO cranberries, and superfoods like dandelion greens, turmeric, and coconut oil.
>> Read more: The Farmers Cat: Does The Farmers Dog Make Cat Food?
Resources on dog food recalls
To stay up to date on the most recent dog food recalls, frequent these pages:
- The FDA’s list of recent animal and veterinary recalls.
- The AMVA’s list of recent recalls and safety alerts.
