The Worst Dog Food Recall Ever Recorded In US History

Every loving dog owner wants to keep their companions safe and healthy, but sometimes accidents happen. When those accidents occur in manufacturing plants, they can lead to pet-food recalls that will make you consider vet-approved homemade dog food instead, such as the Viva Raw recall. In August 2025, this North Carolina-based company pulled six of its raw food products from store shelves due to potential salmonella and listeria contamination. But the worst dog food recall in U.S. history, based on volume and the number of affected pets, was the infamous 2007 Menu Foods incident.

Menu Foods, a Canadian manufacturer, once sold pet food across the U.S. and Canada, mostly under private-label and store brands for major retailers. The company removed approximately 60 million cans and pouches of wet dog and cat food from stores after the recall announcement, affecting about 100 different brands. Reports of pets in the U.S. suffering from sudden kidney failure triggered the decision. Investigators later traced the cause to melamine contamination in ingredients that were imported from China. 

While the FDA reported only 10 pet deaths in its March 2007 press release, veterinarians and pet owners claimed the number was actually in the thousands, according to later analysis cited by EBSCO. The scale of the crisis sparked public outrage, congressional hearings, and scrutiny of FDA oversight, especially regarding imported ingredients. To this day, the Menu Foods recall stands out as one of the biggest cases in U.S. pet-food history.

After the incident, Menu Foods took a serious hit, both financially and legally. Over 100 class-action lawsuits came pouring in, and the company lost $62.1 million in 2007 (via The Globe and Mail). Pet owners accused the company of negligence and emotional harm after their pets got sick or died. Although Menu Foods started to bounce back a bit in 2008, with losses shrinking, the damage had already changed the company's future.

In May of the same year, Menu Foods agreed to a $24 million settlement to resolve the lawsuits and began paying pet owners back for vet bills. The once-popular pet food manufacturer continued to decline after that; in 2010, Arkansas-based Simmons Pet Food bought it for $239 million. Within the years that followed, Simmons added new distribution facilities as part of a $500 million growth plan, including one in Kansas and Iowa.

Simmons Pet Food's official company website describes itself as "the leading North American private-label and contract manufacturer of wet pet food," and no recalls have been reported since acquiring Menu Foods. You can get the latest updates on pet food recalls by visiting the FDA or DogFoodAdvisor websites. Interested in learning more about pet food recalls? Read about the pet food brand with the most recalled food by far (based on volume alone) or the pet kibble company with the most recalls of all time.