Dog Food Recalled After 'Euthanasia' Drug Discovered

Pentobarbital can possibly cause side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, excitement, loss of balance, or nausea, or in extreme cases, possibly death.

Evanger’s pet food has announced the first recall in the 82 years that the company has been in business, voluntarily recalling five lots of its “Hunk of Beef” canned dog food.

“Although nearly all product involved in this recall have already been consumed by pets without incident, we have decided to initiate the recall as a proactive measure against the remote possibility of any illness,” the company said in a statement.

The product recall was initiated after a customer reported their dog had died after consuming Hunk of Beef, and that Pentobarbital was found in the stomach contents of the deceased animal. Follow-up tests pursued by Evanger’s discovered the presence of Pentobarbital in one lot of Hunk of Beef.

Pentobarbital, sometimes referred to as a “euthanasia drug,” can affect animals that ingest it, and possibly cause side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, excitement, loss of balance, or nausea, or in extreme cases, possibly death.

The specifically-identified lot numbers of cans of 12-oz Hunk of Beef being voluntarily recalled were distributed to retail locations and sold online only in the following States: Washington, California, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and were manufactured the week of June 6 – June 13, 2016. Evanger’s is still investigating how the substance made its way into the company’s supply chain.

More in Supply Chain