Royal Canin Pet Food Recall History

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Has Royal Canin Ever Been Recalled?

To date, Royal Canin has been recalled three times. The last recall was issued in 2007 during the series of melamine related pet food recalls.

Royal Canin is one of the most popular brands of pet food commercial sold in the United States. The brand is owned by Mars, Incorporated. This company also owns other popular brands of pet food such as Pedigree, Nutro, and Greenies.

Royal Canin offers a complete line of dog food and cat food products. The brand also features a complete line of veterinary prescription diets designed to treat a wide range of medical issues in dogs and cats.

List of Royal Canin Recalls

May 11, 2007

Royal Canin announced a pet food recall due to melamine contamination. Here is an except from the company's press release:

Royal Canin USA is announcing today the voluntary nationwide recall of eight Sensible Choice dry dog food products and seven Kasco dry dog and cat food products.

This announcement is based on the company's ongoing extensive review of its manufacturing and quality assurance testing procedures, which identified trace amounts of a melamine derivative from tainted Chinese rice protein concentrate provided to the company by domestic ingredient supplier Cereal Byproducts, headquartered in Illinois.

Here is a list of products included in this recall (date codes between July 28, 2007 to April 30, 2008):

• Royal Cain SENSIBLE CHOICE Chicken and Rice Adult (Dry Dog Food)
• Royal Cain SENSIBLE CHOICE Chicken and Rice Reduced (Dry Dog Food)
• Royal Cain SENSIBLE CHOICE Lamb and Rice Reduced (Dry Dog Food)
• Royal Cain SENSIBLE CHOICE Chicken and Rice Puppy (Dry Dog Food)
• Royal Cain SENSIBLE CHOICE Chicken and Rice Large Breed Puppy (Dry Dog Food)
• Royal Cain SENSIBLE CHOICE NATURAL BLEND Adult (Dry Dog Food)
• Royal Cain SENSIBLE CHOICE NATURAL BLEND Senior (Dry Dog Food)
• Royal Cain SENSIBLE CHOICE NATURAL BLEND Puppy (Dry Dog Food)
• Royal Cain KASCO Chunks (Dry Dog Food)
• Royal Cain KASCO Hi Energy (Dry Dog Food)
• Royal Cain KASCO Maintenance (Dry Dog Food)
• Royal Cain KASCO Mealettes (Dry Dog Food)
• Royal Cain KASCO Mini Chunks (Dry Dog Food)
• Royal Cain KASCO Puppy (Dry Dog Food)
• Royal Cain KASCO Cat (Dry Cat Food)

The press release for this recall also mentioned that Royal Canin will no longer use any Chinese vegetable protein suppliers.

April 19, 2007

Royal Canin announced that there is a melamine derivative in the rice protein concentrate used in some of its dry pet foods. Royal Canin has decided to recall all products containing rice protein concentrate. No confirmed cases of illness were reported before the recall date of April 19.

The following products are included in this recall:

• Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Canine Early Cardiac EC 22
• Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Canine Skin Support SS21
• Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Feline Hypoallergenic HP23
• Royal Canin Sensible Choice Chicken Meal & Rice Formula Senior
• Royal Canin Sensible Choice Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Puppy
• Royal Canin Sensible Choice Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Adult
• Royal Canin Sensible Choice Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Senior
• Royal Canin Sensible Choice Rice & Catfish Meal Formula Adult

February 2, 2006

Royal Canin issued a recall for select veterinary diets designed for dogs and cats. The recall was announced because of an excess level of vitamin D3.

Here is a listing of affected products:

• Veterinary Diet Canine Urinary SO Dog Food (13.6 oz. cans)
• Veterinary Diet Canine Low Fat LF Dog Food (13.6 oz. cans)
• Veterinary Diet Canine Calorie Control CC In Gel Dog Food (12.7 oz. cans)
• Veterinary Diet Feline Sensitivity VR Cat Food (5.8 oz. cans)
• Veterinary Diet Feline Calorie Control CC Cat Food (5.8 oz. cans)
• Veterinary Diet Feline Renal LP Cat Food (3 oz. pouch)

Where is Royal Canin Pet Food Made?

Royal Canin pet foods are manufactured by twelve or more production facilities worldwide. These facilities are located in the United States, France, South African, Brazil, Russia, China, and several other countries.

The manufacturing facilities are owned by Mars, Incorporated. Although some fraction of Royal Canin pet foods are likely manufactured in the United States, none of the Royal Canin pet food packages we evaluated contained the phrase "Made In The USA."

The Royal Canin website does mention that some ingredients are sourced from outside the United States. Therefore, even if products are manufactured in the USA, the company cannot legally use the labeling phrase "Made In The USA."

We could not locate any information that would tell us which ingredients are sourced domestically and which ingredients are sourced from international suppliers. Furthermore, we could not find any reputable information that would tell us which specific facilities are used to make Royal Canin pet foods.

Is Royal Canin Pet Food Safe?

Although Royal Canin has not issued any recent recalls, we cannot overlook their involvement in the series of 2007 recalls due to melamine. In 2007, Royal Canin used rice protein concentrate that was contaminated with melamine. This rice protein concentrate was purchased from a Chinese vegetable protein supplier.

The company's press release said that Royal Canin will no longer use any Chinese vegetable protein supplier. However, given their choice of suppliers prior to 2007, we have serious concerns over their priorities in regarding to ingredient sourcing.

According to our research, Royal Canin does not publicly provide any detailed information regarding the origin of ingredients used in its pet food products. On the Royal Canin website, the brand simply states that ingredients are sourced from domestic and international suppliers.

In our option, the reason Royal Canin was purchasing from a Chinese vegetable protein supplier in the first place was to cut costs. We have no reason to believe that their priorities have changed since 2007. If they are now working with reputable suppliers, one would assume that this information would be proudly displayed on the Royal Canin website.

The 2007 melamine contamination crisis resulted in the loss of hundreds if not thousands of family pets. In our option, each and every brand that was involved in this crisis was putting profits before the safety of our pets.

Unless Royal Canin provides detailed information about ingredients and manufacturing, we'll continue to have serious concerns regarding the safety of Royal Canin pet foods.