How to Check a Pet Treat Recall

Check a recall by searching the FDA's recall list for the product name, then matching the lot code and date on your own bag against the notice.

Where recalls are posted

FDA keeps a recalls and withdrawals page for animal and veterinary products. Open the notice for your product and read which sizes, lot codes and dates it covers. Search by the product name first, then by the maker's name if the first search is empty.

Makers also post notices on their own sites and send them to customers by email, so a recall can reach you from more than one direction. No listing under a product's name means no notice found at that place on that day; check again if something later makes you wonder.

FDA also has a page explaining how to report a problem with a pet food or treat, and it is the place to go if an animal has a reaction you want on record. That report is separate from the message you send to the seller.

Finding the lot code and date on a bag

The lot code usually sits in one of three places: along the bottom crimp, where the bag is sealed flat; stamped near the top seal; or printed in a strip on the back panel. Lay the bag flat in good light and turn it until you see a short run of letters and numbers beside a date.

Photograph it with your phone the day you open the bag. A photograph of the code, the date and the front panel together takes five seconds, and it is the evidence you will want if a notice appears next month. On Sniff and Shift bags the best by date and the batch number sit together at the foot of the back panel, so one photograph of that strip covers both.

Not every bag carries a lot code, and some print only a date. If yours has neither, write down where you bought it and when, and keep the receipt or the order confirmation. A notice that lists only a product name and size can still be matched against those.

One more place to look: your own email. If you bought from this site, the order confirmation names the items and the date, which is enough to match a bag to a notice when the bag itself has lost its code. Save those emails in a folder, since they are the easiest record to find a year later.

What to do with a recalled product

Read the notice itself, line by line. It names exactly which sizes, lot codes and dates are included, and it says what the company wants you to do, whether that is to return the product, discard it or contact the company. If your bag matches, set it aside and follow what the notice says. If it does not match, nothing in the notice applies to your bag.

If the bag came from this site, write to us with the order number and a photograph of the lot code. For a partner item, we start the process with the supplier, and the supplier handles the refund the way its notice describes.

A notice often names a range of dates too, such as when the product was sold. Compare that range to the date you bought the bag. If your purchase falls outside it, the notice does not apply to that bag.

The guide to reading a pet treat label shows where the other printed lines sit, and it helps to have read it before you need it.

Keeping the bag until it is empty

Photograph the receipt or the order page at the same moment, so the bag, the code and the purchase date sit together in one folder on the phone. A recall notice that names a date range is easy to match when all three are in the same place.

The raw feeding notice asks you to keep the package, including any lot number or date, until the product is used up. A recall notice is the reason that advice exists: once the bag is in the recycling, the code goes with it.

The easy way to do it is the jar method. Pour what you need into a jar for the counter, keep the original bag inside a second jar or closed cupboard, and the code stays with the treats. The guide to how to store pet treats goes through the details.

When you open a bag from the dog treats shelf or any other, take that one photograph when it opens, and you will not need to look at the bag again unless a notice appears.

Common questions

Is a batch number the same as a lot code?

Makers use the two words for the same thing: a code that identifies one production run. Match whatever the recall notice lists to what is printed on your bag.

What if my bag has no lot code?

Photograph the bag, then write down where and when you bought it and keep the receipt. A notice that lists only a product name and size can still be matched against those details.

Where can I report a problem with a treat?

FDA has a page explaining how to report a problem with a pet food or treat. For something bought here, you can also write to us with the order number and a photograph of the lot code.

Should I keep the bag after I check the code?

Yes, until the product is used up. The raw feeding notice asks for this, and a bag with its code is the easiest way to answer a later notice.