Recall of dog foods cites taint from pet-euthanasia drug

MIAMI — J.M. Smucker is “withdrawing” all lots of certain Gravy Train, Kibbles ‘N Bits, Skippy and Ol’ Roy canned dog food products manufactured since 2016 because they might contain pentobarbital, a sedative used in pet euthanasia.

A Food and Drug Administration alert was posted Friday.

“The FDA’s preliminary evaluation of the testing results of Gravy Train samples indicates that the low level of pentobarbital present in the withdrawn products is unlikely to pose a health risk to pets,” reads Friday’s FDA alert. “However, pentobarbital should never be present in pet food and products containing any amount of pentobarbital are considered to be adulterated.”

The FDA said people with cans of these brands should toss them or contact J.M. Smucker about returning the product. Consumers can call the company at (800) 828-9980 or contact the company online.

“One possible way [the drug got into the food] is through the use of contaminated ingredients,” Clean Label Project Executive Director Jaclyn Bowen explained in an email to the Miami Herald. “Rendering plants take slaughterhouse animal tissues and convert them into stable, usable materials like purified fats such as lard or tallow... It is possible that animals exposed to pentobarbital were included in the rendering process.”