USA- Nestlé Purina Petcare Company recently recalled their Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EL Elemental (PPVD EL) prescription dry dog food, citing potentially elevated vitamin D levels. 

The recall has been going on for a month, and it relates to Purina’s Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EL Elemental dog food in eight-pound and 20-pound bags. 

Purina beseeched anyone who purchased the food to destroy the food to avoid the chances of wildlife consuming it. 

The UPCs for the affected food are 38100 19190 and 38100 19192, and the affected customers were to contact Purina for a refund. 

According to Nestlé Purina, the dog food that veterinarians prescribe may have ended up with higher amounts of vitamin D after a supplier accidentally added too much of the vitamin. 

 The North American Pet Health Insurance Association provides that roughly 69 million U.S. households owned a dog in 2022, making them the nation’s most popular pet.  

While vitamin D is a critical nutrient in a dog’s diet, aiding in calcium absorption, too much of it can cause excessive drooling, vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst and urination, and kidney dysfunction.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. Therefore, unlike water-soluble vitamins, when a dog ingests too much of it, the excess is stored in fat tissue and can lead to kidney failure and even death.

According to Purina, two pets who consumed the recalled food recovered after they stopped eating the food, and no other Purina pet food labels are impacted. 

Issues of overdoses of vitamin D have happened in the past, affecting many brands. For example, in 2018, after several animals fell ill and died after eating food made by Hill’s Pet Nutrition, the Food and Drug Administration posted recalls for dog food with elevated.  

As standards for pet food keep evolving and improving, companies in this sector receive much more scrutiny from regulatory bodies to ensure the safety of pet food. 

For example, in 2022, the US FDA warned two pet food companies after finding Salmonella and Listeria in their finished products. 

The two companies were California-based Primal Pet Foods and Washington-based Arrow Reliance Inc. and were found with other violations of the standards set for the production and handling of pet food. 

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