Pet food recall: check the lot and keep the records
Match a pet food recall to your package's lot, size and date. Save label photos, receipts and a household record before following the notice's instructions.
A pet food recall names a product, but your cupboard holds a particular package. The lot printed on that package is what connects the two.
To check a pet food recall, compare the notice with the exact product, package size, lot code and date on your bag or can. Save readable photographs and your purchase record. Then follow the notice’s instructions for that product and tell everyone who feeds your pets what you’ve confirmed.
Where should you check a pet food recall?
Read the original announcement on the regulator’s or manufacturer’s website, including any updates. A shared screenshot may omit the affected lot codes, the distribution area or a later expansion.
For US products, the FDA’s Recalls & Withdrawals page links to individual announcements. FDA also distinguishes a terminated recall from other entries: termination means it has determined that reasonable removal or correction efforts have been made under the recall strategy. An old entry’s presence in a search result doesn’t tell you its current status.
Open the announcement itself and save its URL with the date you checked it. If you bought the food in Canada, contact the manufacturer or your Canadian retailer about the exact package. A US announcement alone doesn’t confirm which lots were sold or recalled here.
Which package details need to match?
Compare every identifier the announcement provides. Products from the same brand can have different recipes, sizes and production batches, so stop at any field you can’t verify.
| Record | What to copy or photograph | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Product name | The complete label, including recipe | Which product you have |
| Package size | The printed net weight | Whether the size matches the notice |
| Lot code | The full sequence, with letters and spaces | Which production batch the package identifies |
| Date marking | Best-before or expiry date, as printed | Another identifier to compare |
| UPC | The barcode and its digits | The packaged product’s retail identifier |
| Purchase | Receipt, retailer and purchase date | Where and when you obtained it |
The FDA’s pet food complaint guidance asks for the lot number and UPC separately. It explains that the lot helps identify the manufacturing plant and production date, and may be hard to find or read near the date marking. Take a close photograph, then a wider one that shows which package it belongs to.
What if you threw away the original bag?
Record the missing lot as unknown and look for another way to identify the purchase. Photos, an online order history or a retailer’s records may help, but they may not recover the batch.
FDA recommends saving original packaging until the food has been consumed, even when owners transfer dry food to another container. For future purchases, photograph the front and the production markings before emptying the bag. Keep those photos together so a cupboard full of similar bags doesn’t leave you matching the wrong pair.
Ask the retailer or manufacturer what it can confirm about your purchase. If it can identify the product but not the lot, preserve that distinction. The batch printed on a newer bag, or supplied by another customer, can’t establish what was in yours.
For future purchases, our pet food label guide explains the intended-use and nutrition panels; the lot code identifies the batch for this recall check.
How do you record who received the food?
Write down which pets received the product and the dates you can substantiate. Include the sitter, household member or daycare that may hold another package from the same purchase.
Check your food diary, receipts and messages for the first date the package was opened. Label an estimated date as estimated. Ask other caregivers to add what they know, especially if they bought food separately; their package needs its own lot check.
Keep ordinary feeding observations separate from a clinic’s findings. A record of food use doesn’t establish that the product caused a health problem. If your vet requests supporting documents, send the package details with the relevant medical records. Date your own observations and keep the clinic’s documents as supplied.
What should a household recall check contain?
Use one check sheet per package so each decision can be traced to the label. The sheet can be a page in a notebook or a shared document; it needs enough detail for another person to repeat the comparison.
- Write the announcement URL and the date checked.
- Copy the product, size, lot and date marking from your own package.
- Mark each notice field as matched, different or unknown.
- Record who you contacted about unknown fields and what they confirmed.
- Note the notice’s instructions and who will carry them out.
- Add the reference or receipt from any return, report or manufacturer response.
Choose a person to contact the retailer so two caregivers don’t open conflicting requests. Everyone who feeds the pets still needs the confirmed status. Our guide to feeding multiple pets covers the daily logging side of that coordination.
What should you save before a return or report?
Photograph the package and keep the correspondence before following the return or disposal instructions. The retailer or manufacturer can explain the process for the affected product; don’t substitute a generic rule from another recall.
For a US complaint, FDA’s guidance describes electronic reporting through its Safety Reporting Portal and lists the information it needs. Keep your submitted copy or reference with the product record. If a veterinarian is involved, ask which clinical documents should accompany the report and let the clinic supply its own findings.
File the final response with the initial notice. This gives your household a record of what was checked and done, alongside the other documents in your pet health records.
Where Dana fits
Dana’s Pro Records Vault holds photos and documents with your pet’s records. You can keep the label photographs and correspondence there, then share an individual document through a link with an access code and an expiry. Recall scope and product instructions come from the announcement, manufacturer or regulator; the stored files help you follow up with the right package details.
Questions people ask
Does a recall apply to every food sold by that brand?
Check the individual notice. It identifies the products and production details covered; a brand-name match alone doesn't establish that your package is included.
Can the barcode replace the lot number?
Keep both. FDA's complaint guidance asks for the UPC and the lot number separately because the lot helps identify the manufacturing plant and production date.
What if I emptied the bag into a storage container?
Look for photos of the original bag and ask the retailer whether your purchase can be identified. Record any missing details explicitly; another bag's lot is not evidence of yours.
Does an FDA notice establish that the same product is recalled in Canada?
A US notice doesn't establish the scope of a Canadian recall. Ask the manufacturer or Canadian retailer to confirm whether the exact product and lot sold to you are covered.