--- title: "What actually causes pet food recalls" url: https://pawmultiverse.com/pet-food-recalls/causes/ description: "Every recall we hold, sorted by what the authority said had gone wrong, with the sorting rules published." source: Paw Multiverse (https://pawmultiverse.com), free to cite with a link --- # What actually causes pet food recalls Ninety-one recalls, four official registers, three countries. Sorted by what the authority said had gone wrong, this is what pet food recalls actually turn out to be about. It is worth knowing before you read the next headline: most recalls are not poisonings, they are a company or a regulator catching something. 210recalls on the record 10distinct causes, once sorted 4countries, four registers ## What the recalls were about Not classified 111 53% Salmonella 56 27% Too much or too little of a nutrient 18 9% Something foreign in the food 8 4% Listeria 6 3% Other bacteria or mould 3 1% Storage, handling or temperature 3 1% Aflatoxin and other mycotoxins 2 1% Not inspected or not approved 2 1% Chemical or drug residue 1 0% The same figures as a table, with an example of each | Cause | Recalls | Share | An example | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Not classified | 111 | 53% | [Multifit](https://pawmultiverse.com/r/fr/fr-rappelconso-animal/2026-06-0147/) | | Salmonella | 56 | 27% | [Vet Plus, Inc.](https://pawmultiverse.com/r/us/us-fda-animal-recalls/2026-09-08-db4bc500/) | | Too much or too little of a nutrient | 18 | 9% | [Revival Animal Health](https://pawmultiverse.com/r/us/us-fda-animal-recalls/2026-08-26-3c8e23d9/) | | Something foreign in the food | 8 | 4% | [Fromm Family Foods LLC](https://pawmultiverse.com/r/us/us-fda-animal-recalls/2026-08-21-9cc667fe/) | | Listeria | 6 | 3% | [Raaw Energy](https://pawmultiverse.com/r/us/us-fda-animal-recalls/2026-05-22-f7c8bcd5/) | | Other bacteria or mould | 3 | 1% | [Neogen Corporation](https://pawmultiverse.com/r/us/us-fda-animal-recalls/2026-01-29-3ee8ea80/) | | Storage, handling or temperature | 3 | 1% | [Elmut Pet Food](https://pawmultiverse.com/r/fr/fr-rappelconso-animal/2024-08-0060/) | | Aflatoxin and other mycotoxins | 2 | 1% | [Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health](https://pawmultiverse.com/r/us/us-fda-animal-recalls/2025-12-10-5a6d23d7/) | | Not inspected or not approved | 2 | 1% | [Birmingham Halal Abattoir (UK 4496)](https://pawmultiverse.com/r/gb/uk-fsa-pet-alerts/FSA-PRIN-21-2019/) | | Chemical or drug residue | 1 | 0% | [Bindle Bottle LLC](https://pawmultiverse.com/r/us/us-fda-animal-recalls/2023-02-23-1dd1e55c/) | ## By the year the authority published 2012 3 2013 4 2015 1 2016 3 2017 1 2018 7 2019 14 2020 5 2021 14 2022 14 2023 20 2024 54 2025 48 2026 22 Read this one carefully. It counts what *we hold*, and the registers we read reach back different distances, so the early years are thin because our coverage is thin, not because the world was safer. ## How each recall was sorted Every recall is read for the words below, in this order, and takes the first cause that matches. The wording is the authority’s; the grouping is ours, and it is a convenience rather than a classification any regulator would recognise. Anything that matches nothing is counted as not classified rather than quietly dropped. - **Salmonella**, salmonella - **Listeria**, listeria - **Other bacteria or mould**, e. coli, escherichia, clostrid, mould, mold, microbial, bacteria - **Aflatoxin and other mycotoxins**, aflatoxin, mycotoxin, toxin - **Too much or too little of a nutrient**, vitamin d, vitamin b, thiamine, copper, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, folic acid, choline, pyridoxine, nutrient, elevated levels, deficien - **Something foreign in the food**, metal, plastic, foreign, glass, rubber, wood - **Chemical or drug residue**, pentobarbital, residue, melamine, lead, ethylene - **Labelling or allergen**, undeclared, allergen, mislabel, label - **Storage, handling or temperature**, temperature, refrigerat, storage, transport - **Not inspected or not approved**, not inspected, unapproved, not been inspected, requirements [Search the record](https://pawmultiverse.com/pet-food-recalls/) [How we keep it](https://pawmultiverse.com/pet-food-recalls/method/)