Raaw Energy expands dog food recall over possible Listeria risk

Raaw Energy has widened a voluntary recall of frozen raw dog food after additional testing linked products from a broad manufacturing window to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. On May 22, 2026, the New Jersey-based company said the recall now includes all dog food products produced between July 17, 2025, and December 23, 2025, along with one Beef and Turkey Medley batch dated March 31, 2026. FDA says the affected universe has grown to more than 180 lots. (fda.gov)

The expansion builds on an FDA advisory first issued January 23, 2026, when the agency warned pet parents not to feed eight specific Raaw Energy lots after unopened samples tested positive for harmful bacteria. According to FDA, that initial testing stemmed from a consumer complaint submitted to the Connecticut Department of Agriculture about a dog illness. Connecticut and New Jersey agriculture officials collected eight unopened samples, all of which tested positive for one or more pathogens, including Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, and Campylobacter jejuni. FDA said at the time that it had recommended a recall, but that the firm had not initiated what the agency considered an adequate recall. (fda.gov)

What changed in May was the scope. FDA says four additional samples collected by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture from the same production period also tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. In response, Raaw Energy said it would recall all products made during that date range “out of an abundance of caution,” noting that some products from the period were not tested. The recall announcement also tells consumers not to use, sell, or consume affected product, and to discard it securely. (fda.gov)

The products were sold frozen in 2-pound or 5-pound clear plastic tubes sealed with metal clips, packed in brown cardboard boxes with white labels showing flavor, ingredients, and the manufacturing date code. FDA notes that Raaw Energy products were ordered through the company’s website and picked up in person by customers. Reporting cited distribution to customers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, including Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Because the company uses date codes rather than conventional lot numbers, those production dates are the key identifier for pet parents and clinics checking inventory or client photos. (fda.gov)

Industry coverage has framed the episode as an unusually large expansion from a targeted advisory to a broad production-window recall. dvm360 reported that FDA has received additional consumer complaints involving illnesses in animals that consumed recalled products. Pet Food Processing separately reported that Raaw Energy said it would temporarily stop all dog food production effective May 21, 2026, suggesting the company is also managing operational fallout alongside the public health response. (dvm360.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the case highlights several recurring pressure points around raw diets: contamination can be intermittent, asymptomatic pets may still serve as carriers, and household exposure can extend well beyond the food bowl. FDA says pets exposed to contaminated food may develop vomiting, fever, lethargy, decreased appetite, or diarrhea, including hemorrhagic diarrhea, but some infected animals may show no signs. The agency also warns that people can be exposed through handling food, bowls, utensils, countertops, feces, or saliva, with higher risk for pregnant people, older adults, young children, and anyone who is immunocompromised. In practice, that means veterinarians may need to ask more specifically about raw diet brands, batch dates, food handling, and illness in both pets and people in the home. (fda.gov)

The recall also underscores a regulatory point: FDA’s January advisory publicly stated that the agency believed the company had not initiated an adequate recall at that stage, and the broader recall did not arrive until May 22, 2026. That timeline may draw continued attention because FDA has tied the issue not just to contamination findings, but also to additional consumer complaints of animal illness after the original warning. For clinics, it’s a useful example of how food safety events can evolve over months, with advisories, state lab findings, and company actions arriving in stages rather than all at once. (fda.gov)

What to watch: The next signals will be whether FDA posts further updates on reported illnesses or enforcement status, whether any additional products or dates are added, and how long Raaw Energy’s production pause lasts as the company works through the recall response. (fda.gov)