Several Dog Food Products Are Being Recalled Due To Toxins
Felicia LaLomia

Mon, August 2, 2021, 1:11 PM·2 min read
Some dog food brands are being recalled across the country because of a potential mold contamination.

Last Thursday, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) released a recall notice from Sunshine Mills. The pet food distributor voluntarily recalled food from its multiple brands, including Nurture Farms, Heart to Tail, and Wild Harvest. The notice stated that select products may contain “potentially elevated levels of aflatoxin,” a byproduct that comes from the growth of the mold and can be harmful to pets if consumed in large quantities.

These are the products affected, which were distributed nationwide and have a "best if used by" date of February 11, 2022:

Triumph Wild Spirit Craft Dog Food Deboned Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe (3.5 and 30 pound)

Evolve Classic Super Premium Food for Dogs Deboned Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe (15 and 30-pound)

Wild Harvest Premium Dog Food Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe (14-pound)

Nurture Farms Natural Dog Food Deboned Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe (15-pound)

Heart to Tail Pure Being Natural Dog Food Deboned Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe (5-pound)

Elm Pet Foods Naturals Chicken & Rice Recipe Dog Food (40-pound)

For specific lot codes and to see the full recall notice, visit the FDA website.

This isn’t the first time Sunshine Mills has had to recall its dog food because of mold. Last fall, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry found unsafe levels of aflatoxin in several of its brands, and in June, there was another recall because of salmonella.

So far, there have been no reports of pets becoming ill from this. If your pet has consumed any of the recalled dog foods, watch how they act. Aflatoxin consumed at high levels can cause illness and death, and even if there is no visible mold on the food, the toxin can still be present. Common symptoms will be sluggishness, loss of appetite, vomiting, jaundice, and diarrhea, but toxicity can happen without any symptoms at all.

Contact your vet if you believe your pet has consumed the recalled dog food. You can also contact the company listed on the dog food for instruction. The food can be returned to the store of purchase for a refund or disposed of in a way that pets, children, and wildlife cannot get to it.