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Why so many excess Vitamin D Recalls?

The FDA isn’t talking, so we speculate as to why there have been so many excess Vitamin D recalls in the past couple of months.

The FDA isn’t talking, so we speculate as to why there have been so many excess Vitamin D recalls in the past couple of months.

The excess Vitamin D recalls began on November 2, 2018 with a recall from Natural Life Pet Products and Nutrisca dry dog foods. The Natural Life recall notice gave us a clue to the problem behind the recalls (bold added): “An investigation revealed a formulation error led to the elevated vitamin D in the product.”

The FDA has not provided pet owners with an explanation about the “formulation error” – specifically who’s error was it? We are left to speculate if the ongoing problem was a formulation error at the pet food manufacturing facility or if it was a formulation error by the supplier of the Vitamin D supplement.

After the first two initial dog food recalls, seven more dry dog food recalls occurred up to December 5, 2018. For 8 weeks we saw no new excess Vitamin D recalls, and then on January 31, 2019 we learned of a Hill’s Pet Nutrition recall for 25 different varieties of canned dog foods.

So…after the Hill’s recall – we know that at least two separate manufacturing facilities are experiencing “a formulation error” with Vitamin D. At least one kibble manufacturing facility and at least one canned pet food manufacturing facility.

Was the Vitamin D ‘formulation error’ at the pet food manufacturing plant?

It could be possible that two separate manufacturing facilities experienced ‘a formulation error’ at the manufacturing facility (human error adding the supplements into the pet food mix). As example – the vitamins and minerals ingredients listed on a pet food label are added ingredients. The pet food company – most often – purchases what is known as a “premix” of vitamins and a premix of minerals. The following photo is actual bags of premix at a pet food manufacturing facility (all photos provided by a friend):

The above bagged premix supplement are hand added (by employees) into bins (the large bags are cut open and the powder is poured into the bins)…

The premix supplements in the bins are pulled from the bins by an auger (underneath this level), delivered to a conveyor system to the pet food mixer.

Considering human error can happen anywhere, anytime – the bins where vitamin premixes and mineral premixes are added could be a source of a formulation error. An employee could add the wrong product in the wrong bin. As well, equipment failure could cause an error – pulling too much of a vitamin premix from the bin to lot after lot of pet food.

If the issue is not a error at the pet food manufacturing facility, the other possibility is much more concerning.

Or was the ‘formulation error’ in the Vitamin Premix?

The other potential ‘formulation error’ could be the vitamin premix itself. Most pet food manufacturers purchase vitamin and mineral premix products to ‘balance’ the pet food meeting AAFCO requirements for a Complete and Balanced pet food.

A “premix” is a blend of all required vitamins (or minerals) that is added to the pet food formula in order to meet the required nutrient profile for Complete and Balanced pet food. In other words, the premix is formulated to add X amount of the premix per XX pounds of the batch of pet food. The top picture above is pallets of large bags of premixes.

It could be that the vitamin premix provider made the ‘formulation error’ for the premix – as example: if the requirements of a 50 pound bag of Vitamin premix (using arbitrary numbers) is 10.50 grams of Vitamin D per 50 pound bag – an error could have been made adding 105.0 grams of vitamin D were added instead (human error moving the decimal point).

Because the FDA has not informed pet owners, we don’t know if this concerning problem was/is a vitamin premix formulation error or if this is a pet food manufacturing error. If it is the premix, the concern is how many other pet food manufacturers received that same ‘formulation error’ premix? Is Hill’s the only one or are there many more? Are pet owners – right now – unknowingly giving their pet a toxic dose of vitamin D?

TruthaboutPetFood.com spoke with a devastated pet owner today (2/1/19) who fed the Hill’s Vitamin D toxic dog food – her dog became ill on January 15 and sadly died on January 20, 2019.

It has been 8 weeks after the last Vitamin D recall to the recent Vitamin D recall from Hill’s (on 1/31/2019). Had FDA traced the problem to Hill’s sooner, would this dog still be the active happy dog he once was?

A frightening question…

Was the 8 week delay between Vitamin D recalls due to the government shutdown?

The government shutdown began December 22, 2018. Did the FDA stop their trace forward investigation during the shutdown (did not investigate other pet food manufacturers that received a potentially mis-formulated vitamin premix)? The FDA has been performing on-site investigations (at manufacturing plants) of several raw pet food manufacturing facilities during the government shutdown. So, did the agency determine that toxic levels of vitamin D pet food wasn’t worth their effort to investigate during the shutdown but raw pet food was?

A Freedom of Information Act request will be filed to try to determine the answers to those questions. When this information is received, it will be shared with everyone.

No doubt about it – the FDA should tell pet owners what is going on with the many excess Vitamin D recalls. One pet has died…a death that perhaps could have been prevented. There is no excuse.


Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
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26 Comments

26 Comments

  1. Robin

    February 1, 2019 at 8:07 pm

    This certainly makes sense and what a tragedy and there may be more pets that die from this government shutdown debauchery somebody needs to be held accountable and perhaps even taken legal action this just isn’t right

    • Alice

      February 1, 2019 at 8:22 pm

      Aside from the government, the manufacturers should be responsible. One would think that based on the recall going back to November, that regardless of any shutdown, the manufacturers would be extra diligent.

    • Suzy Clue

      February 2, 2019 at 11:32 am

      Feed “people food” not “pet” food.

  2. Alice

    February 1, 2019 at 8:18 pm

    Thank you for posting this. Do you know how hard it is to test for Vitaman D in the premix and end feeds, and how much it would cost the manufacturers?

    • Susan Thixton

      February 1, 2019 at 8:22 pm

      I don’t know for certain – but I suspect this would not an expensive test.

  3. Kim Meyer

    February 1, 2019 at 8:30 pm

    This is from the Hills website which indicates the problem was with a supplier:
    “Hill’s Pet Nutrition learned of the potential for elevated vitamin D levels in some of our canned dog foods after receiving a complaint in the United States about a dog exhibiting signs of elevated vitamin D levels. Our investigation confirmed elevated levels of vitamin D due to a supplier error.”

    My concern is that not all their canned foods are listed. Wouldn’t it make sense that all their formulas use the same premix? So confusing and disturbing.

  4. Dianne & Pets

    February 1, 2019 at 9:32 pm

    Doesn’t China supply all the vitamin pre mixes?

    • Susan Thixton

      February 1, 2019 at 9:35 pm

      China is a common source of vitamin premixes and a country of origin of the supplements used to manufacture a premix at a US premix manufacturer.

  5. Pet ~Owner~

    February 1, 2019 at 10:11 pm

    It seems odd that 3 different manufacturers would make the same “human error” mistake. So more likely its got to be the premix. I know one of companies manufactures their own product. It doesn’t co-pack for anyone else. It doesn’t send their product to another co-packer. The big question is why doesn’t the FDA go after the maker/supplier of the premix. Good heavens especially if its from a foreign country!

  6. Phyllis

    February 2, 2019 at 2:32 am

    If it is the premix that is the is issue that could have easily been tested. So why wouldn’t they just say it is the premix that is the problem? The pet food companies would certainly want to have that known as it leaves them off the hook so to speak for the overdose.

  7. dobs

    February 2, 2019 at 8:42 am

    yikes …
    Is Vitamin D3 Really a Mouse and Rat Poison?
    Joe Graedon
    January 28, 2019
    Vitamin D3 is one of the most popular vitamins in the pharmacy these days. That’s because a lot of people are low in vitamin D. Vitamin D3 is often considered to be the best supplement to replenish low nutrient levels. But did you know that too much vitamin D3 can pose problems? Until we received this question, we had not realized vitamin D3 had been used as a mouse and rat poison! https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2019/01/28/is-vitamin-d3-really-a-mouse-and-rat-poison/

    • Ms. B Dawson

      February 2, 2019 at 10:05 am

      It is the VERY HIGH DOSES that make it deadly to rodents. High doses of D causes elevated calcium levels in blood leading to kidney failure. This is why elevated levels in pet food is so serious.

      “All things are poisons, for there is nothing without poisonous qualities. It is only the dose which makes a thing poison.” ~ Paracelsus

    • Dianne & Pets

      February 2, 2019 at 8:36 pm

      That could be a source perhaps. If mice and rats have been poisoned, perhaps they are ending up in the food, or maybe someone spreads it around to kill the mice and rats and protect the food. Of course, no one would want to admit to having a mouse and rat problem in their plants.

  8. sandradalton

    February 2, 2019 at 3:21 pm

    Do you have any recommendations for private testing facilities for individuals who want to have the food in their possession checked?

    • Concerned

      February 2, 2019 at 4:52 pm

      One of the issues you run into with a testing lab as they will be Conflicted Out….because they already test for pet feed manufacturers. They are very on guard testing and having the results being used in lawsuits as they would then have to appear in court. I know personally as I have contacted many labs across the USA. Same issues for some Universities too.

    • Susan Thixton

      February 2, 2019 at 5:03 pm

      I agree with Concerned. One lab that would not have conflict of interest issues would be the lab behind the Clean Label Project. http://www.ellipseanalytics.com/

      • Dianne & Pets

        February 2, 2019 at 8:38 pm

        Then it is no surprise that industries have been working to discredit the lab.

  9. Concerned

    February 2, 2019 at 10:28 pm

    ELLIPSE ANALYTICS is ISO/ IEC 17025: 2005 accredited for analytical testing for the specific tests listed on our scope L2441.

    to view the certificate and scope see the below link:

    http://search.anab.org/public/organization_files/Third-Party-Validation-and-Verification-LLC-dba-Ellipse-Analytics-Cert-and-Scope-File-04-09-2018_1523278704.pdf

  10. Terri Christenson janson

    February 5, 2019 at 6:58 pm

    Sigh…we all need to make our own food for our dogs

  11. Pingback: Truth About Pet Food / Vitamin D Death and Recalls | Hero's Pets

  12. Suzanne

    February 15, 2019 at 11:45 pm

    My dog got very sick last weekend. It started with diarrhea for a couple days and then she vomited blood. We took her to our vet and they asked if she could have eaten rat poison. We don’t have rat poison in or around our home and watch our dog when she goes out to the bathroom so we were perplexed by the question. They did some test and recommended we take her to the emergency vet. They diagnosed her with HGE.
    After reading your article I wondered if the dog food I am feeding her has to much Vitamin D. Any thoughts?

    • Susan Thixton

      February 16, 2019 at 7:59 am

      I’d suggest reporting this to FDA just in case – here is a link to do that: https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ReportaProblem/ucm182403.htm

      • Suzanne

        February 16, 2019 at 8:22 am

        I appreciate your response but from what I am understanding this that the FDA really isn’t addressing this problem. The food that my dog potentially got sick from is on your list of dog foods. I noticed on the packaging one of the ingredients is Vitamin D. I have tried calling the company several times but they never answer the phone. I sent them a email so I look forward to their answer. I really wanted to know if you think there could be a connection between the food having to much Vitamin D or just a coincidence.
        Thank you

        • Susan Thixton

          February 16, 2019 at 8:25 am

          I agree – FDA doesn’t properly enforce law or investigate issues as they should. But, it is good to have the issue on record. And I don’t know if it is a vitamin D issue or coincidence – the only way to know would be to test the food.

    • Dianne & Pets

      February 18, 2019 at 10:12 pm

      Didn’t I read somewhere that Vitamin D is also used as a rodenticide?

  13. Reader

    February 16, 2019 at 11:05 am

    After reading how dangerous this is, I am dumping a case of Z/D even though the Lot No.isn’t affected, but the formula is the same. Calling Hills is difficult but eventually you can get through and they’ll confirm with you over the phone. Unfortunately they don’t have much of an explanation at the customer service level. But if China is a source of ingredients, no surprise. If they’re the supplier I think that much should be confirmed for us. The fault being in not testing every single use of anything that comes from China. The retailer did very easily refund all my money for the case.

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