Mars recalls two PEDIGREE wet dog food lots after diversion

Mars Petcare US, Inc. has recalled two lots of PEDIGREE Can High Protein Chopped Chicken & Duck Flavor wet dog food after product that failed company quality standards appears to have been diverted from destruction and sold into the U.S. marketplace. The July 2, 2026, recall covers 13.2-ounce cans with lot codes 613C3KKCFC and 613C1KKCFC, which may contain hard, sharp metal and plastic fragments. Mars and the FDA said no related pet illness or injury had been reported as of the announcement. (fda.gov)

What makes this recall unusual is the distribution pathway. Mars said the two lots had already been identified internally as not meeting its safety and quality standards and were sent to a third-party vendor for destruction, a step that would normally remove them from commerce entirely. The company later determined the product appears to have been fraudulently diverted and sold through unauthorized channels, and said it is working with authorities to understand how that happened. (fda.gov)

The recall applies only to PEDIGREE Can High Protein Chopped Chicken & Duck Flavor 13.2-ounce wet dog food in the two listed lots, and Mars said no other PEDIGREE or Mars Petcare US products are affected. On its recall update page, the company said the impacted quantity totals 185,184 cans. The Hawaii Department of Health, which separately alerted residents to the recall on July 6, noted that because the product was diverted and improperly sold, there may be no conventional sales or distribution trail to determine where the cans ended up, including whether they were sold in Hawaii. (fda.gov)

Trade coverage has largely echoed the official notice, but it has helped frame the operational issue behind the recall. Pet Food Processing reported that the recalled lots failed quality control and were then fraudulently diverted into the market, underscoring that the event appears tied as much to supply-chain control and product disposition as to manufacturing contamination alone. That distinction matters because it broadens the risk conversation from plant-level quality assurance to downstream vendor oversight and destruction-chain security. This is an inference based on the company’s description of the event and trade reporting, rather than a formal finding from regulators. (petfoodprocessing.net)

Why it matters: For veterinarians, the immediate clinical issue is foreign body exposure. Mars and FDA warned that dogs consuming the recalled food could face choking, lacerations, or gastrointestinal blockage from hard, sharp fragments. But the case also highlights a practical challenge for clinics: pet parents may have bought affected cans outside standard retail settings and may not connect a gastrointestinal or oral injury case to a recall unless the team asks about brand, flavor, can size, and lot code. In suspected cases, practices may need to pair supportive clinical evaluation with recall counseling, including advising pet parents to stop feeding the product and contact the manufacturer. (fda.gov)

There’s also a broader industry signal here. Mars faced another PEDIGREE recall in May 2024 involving 315 bags of dry dog food due to potential loose metal pieces, though that earlier event was a separate issue tied to product contamination rather than alleged diversion from destruction. The current recall suggests that even when internal controls identify nonconforming product before distribution, vulnerabilities may still exist later in the chain if product disposition isn’t fully secured. (fda.gov)

What to watch: The next developments to monitor are whether FDA classifies the recall, whether Mars or regulators disclose more about the third-party destruction vendor and diversion route, and whether any additional lots, sales channels, or adverse event reports emerge. For now, the key dates are July 2, 2026, when Mars announced the recall through FDA, and July 6, 2026, when Hawaii health officials publicly warned consumers that the diverted product’s sales footprint may be difficult to trace. (fda.gov)