Maker: Natural Balance / J.M. Smucker Company
Cause: Elevated levels of choline chloride
Announcement: FDA report dated July 3, 2020 (archived here)
What was recalled: Natural Balance Ultra Premium Chicken & Liver Paté Formula canned cat food, 5.5 oz. cans, UPC #2363353227, Lot Code #9217803, best by Aug. 4, 2021
A single lot (#9217803) of this Natural Balance canned cat food may contain elevated levels of choline chloride, which can be dangerous or even fatal if fed to cats.
“Dogs and cats, like many other species, require choline,” notes Greg Aldrich, PhD, of Pet Food Industry. “Almost all commercial pet foods contain supplemental choline, predominantly from choline chloride.”
“However, putting choline chloride into the formula can have profound effects on the way the ingredients are combined and processed during production,” Dr. Aldrich says.
Unfortunately, this particular lot of Natural Balance cat food may contain too much choline chloride — which can cause a range of serious health concerns.
“Ingesting impacted product may cause nausea with excessive salivation, constricted pupils and poor vision, diarrhea or vomiting to more severe symptoms including difficulty walking, muscle shaking, tremors, irregular heartbeat, difficulty breathing, possible cardiac or respiratory failure and, in extreme situations, death,” according to the recall announcement.
Which, of course, is pretty scary. So do not feed the affected product to your cats.
The manufacturer, J.M. Smucker, says it has already “received reports of adverse reactions” in pets. Return the product to the place of purchase for a refund, or call Natural Balance at 888-569-6828 if you have questions.
If your pet is experiencing any of the symptoms above, call your veterinarian right away.
This Natural Balance cat food recall involved a single lot of cans that were distributed to pet stores across the United States and Canada.
If you have not done so already, we urge you to sign up now for Petful’s FREE recall alerts by email. Our free alerts are saving pets’ lives.
There were more recalls in 2020. See the previous one:
(Or browse recalls by brand name)
