Shipments of Gravy Train, Kibbles ‘N Bits, Ol’ Roy, and Skippy canned/wet dog food have been recalled because they do not meet its quality specifications due to the presence of extremely low levels of pentobarbital.
In small doses, pentobarbital can be used as a sedative or veterinary anaesthetic agent. However, in large doses, it can be lethal. The drug has been used for both human and animal euthanasia as well as part of the mixture used for the death penalty in some US states.
Veterinarians and animal nutrition specialists, as well as the Food and Drug Administration, have confirmed that extremely low levels of this substance do not pose a threat to pet safety, but its presence at any level is not deemed acceptable to Smucker and the company has issued a recall.
No other products of The J M Smucker Company have been affected by this withdrawal.
In a statement, the company said: “Out of an abundance of caution, the company initiated a voluntary product withdrawal and has taken action to remove specific shipments that were impacted from its supply chain, as well as provided actionable information to its consumers and retail partners. The company has identified the root cause to be a single supplier and a single, minor ingredient, used at one manufacturing facility.”
Barry Dunaway, president of pet food and pet snacks, added: “We take this very seriously and are extremely disappointed that pentobarbital was introduced to our supply chain. We will continue to work closely with our suppliers and veterinarians to ensure the ingredients used in our products meet or exceed regulatory safety standards and our high-quality standards. Above all, we are a company that loves pets and understand the responsibility we have in providing high-quality food for the pets our consumers love.