A recall is the start of something, not the end. When a recalled food makes animals ill, a class action often follows, and a class action often ends in a settlement that pays owners back for the food, the vet bills, and sometimes far more. Most owners never hear about it, because by the time the claim window opens the recall is a year old and the bag is long gone.
This page exists so that the people who find a recall on our record know what can follow it, and what to keep so they are ready if it does.
What one of these settlements actually pays
The clearest recent example is the Mid-America Pet Food settlement, which followed the late-2023 salmonella recall of Victor Super Premium, Wayne Feeds, Eagle Mountain and Member’s Mark foods. The fund was $5.5 million. Owners with vet records could claim up to 100% of their costs, capped at $100,000 per claimant. Owners without records could still claim $50 for a pet that fell ill and $100 for a pet that died, and $20 a bag for up to two bags with no receipt at all. Breeders could claim documented business losses.
The claim deadline was 5 February 2026 and the settlement is now closed. It is here as the worked example of what these look like, not as something to apply to.
What to keep, starting now
Settlements pay more to people with paper. If a food you bought is on our record, keep these before you throw the bag away:
- The bag or label, or a clear photo of it, showing the brand, product name, lot number and best-by date.
- Receipts or the order email. Bank statements work if that is all you have.
- Vet records for any illness in the weeks after feeding it, with the invoice. Ask the practice to note the food on the record.
- A note of when you started and stopped feeding it. Dates matter more than you would think.
Where settlements are announced
There is no single official list. Settlements are announced on a dedicated website named in the court order, and gathered by trackers such as Top Class Actions and ClassAction.org. Search the brand name and the word settlement. Be careful of sites that charge to file a claim: filing is free, always, through the official settlement site.
What this page is not
We are not lawyers and we are not involved in any of these cases. We do not know whether a given recall will lead to a claim, and most do not. What we can do is keep the recall itself, with its date and the authority’s own words, after the authority has taken it down, which is often exactly the evidence a claim form asks for.
Search the recall record · Watch the brands you buy · How we keep the record
