Dog Food Recall 2018: Pentobarbital Contamination Found In Canned Products, FDA Warns

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a recall of canned dog foods that have tested positive for a drug used to euthanize animals, according to reports.

Trace amounts of the drug pentobarbital showed up during an analysis of individual canned dog foods manufactured by The J.M. Smucker Company, the FDA said in a statement released Friday.

Pentobarbital is a barbiturate drug used on animals as a sedative, or anesthetic during euthanasia. The agency warned consumers that the canned food could be harmful to pets.

"The FDA’s preliminary evaluation of the testing results of Gravy Train samples indicates that the low level of pentobarbital present in the withdrawn products is unlikely to pose a health risk to pets," the agency said.

"However, pentobarbital should never be present in pet food and products containing any amount of pentobarbital are considered to be adulterated."

The Smucker Company said in a statement Thursday that it started a voluntary recall of its wet canned food products including Gravy Train, Kibbles ‘N Bits, Ol’ Roy, and Skippy, distributed by 2016 until now, the Associated Press reported.

The Smucker Company said it opened an investigation into how the euthanasia drug seeped into its products.

The recalls come amid a February report by WJLA, an ABC affiliate in Washington, D.C., that said it evaluated 62 cans of dog food from 24 Smucker Company brands over several months, which tested positive for pentobarbital.

Big Heart Pet Food, an affiliate of the Smucker Company manufactures Gravy Train.

Pets that consume canned foods containing the drug can experience dizziness, loss of balance, nausea, excitement and drowsiness, according to the FDA’s website.

The Smucker Company has said that the low levels of the drug discovered in their products don't pose a health risk to pets.

"The presence of this substance at any level is not acceptable to us and not up to our quality standards," company spokesman Ray Hancart told WebMD in a statement. "We sincerely apologize for the concern this has caused. The company added that it was "extremely disappointed that pentobarbital was introduced" into its product.