Open Farm removes six dog food products over plastic film issue

CURRENT BRIEF VERSION: Open Farm has removed select lots of six dog food products from the market after finding small pieces of soft, food-grade plastic film in limited production runs. The company said the material is non-toxic, thin, malleable, and does not pose a health risk to dogs, framing the action as a quality issue rather than a safety recall. The affected products, announced by Open Farm on December 23, 2024, include five Freeze-Dried Raw Morsel recipes for dogs and one Front Range Ancient Grains RawMix recipe. Open Farm said the issue traced back to liner material from some raw protein ingredients that was not fully removed before manufacturing, and it asked retailers to pull affected lots, told distributors to destroy potentially affected product, and offered refunds or replacements to pet parents. FDA-linked reporting cited by Truth about Pet Food also suggested the agency treated the event as a withdrawal for foreign object contamination rather than issuing a public recall press release. (openfarmpet.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is a useful reminder that not every market withdrawal involves a toxicologic or infectious threat, but these events still tend to generate calls from concerned pet parents. In this case, the company and secondary coverage have consistently described the problem as foreign material contamination with no expected health risk, which may help clinics triage inquiries, distinguish a market removal from a formal safety recall, and advise clients to check lot numbers before replacing food. That distinction is especially useful in a broader recall environment that also includes true health-risk events, such as the separate Revival Animal Health recall of canine milk replacers tied to variable vitamin D levels and two reported cases of rickets. (openfarmpet.com; truthaboutpetfood.com)

What to watch: Watch for any additional FDA enforcement details, updates to the affected lot list, or evidence that Open Farm’s added handling and inspection steps close out the issue. (dogfoodadvisor.com)