Hey,

Happy Wednesday!

Since taking the reins at DFA, I’ve learned so much. My brain had things easy for a while, but now it has to do stuff like absorb and use vast amounts of information.

Sorry, brain!

One thing I learned very quickly is how important the R-word is to dog parents who use the site. I’m talking about recalls.

The recall alerts we send out and record on the site are a fantastic service and resource — and that’s not just my opinion, judging by the emails we get. 

Many people ask whether Food X has ever been recalled or how often Brand Y has recalled products. I get a ton of messages each week just saying “thank you” for keeping people informed. 

(If you agree, by the way, please forward this email to your dog parent friends or send them this link.)

I’ve also noticed some people refuse to buy a dog food product that’s been recalled in the past.

That’s a perfectly natural instinct. If you were buying a car, you’d want to know if that model had a history of the wheels falling off at 50mph — and you’d be wary of buying it if it did, even if everyone said it was the greatest car on the planet. 

But like the information my brain is taking in, one should use recall histories carefully.

Ask yourself these questions:

Does no recall history mean no problems?

If a country never tested for a virus or a disease — say influenza — it would have no recorded cases of influenza. Does it mean no one in that country ever had influenza?

Some food manufacturers test their food more rigorously and more frequently than others for disease-causing bacteria, deadly aflatoxin and other contaminants (some don’t test at all). 

Logically, these companies are more likely to recall a product simply because they test more, especially those producing multiple varieties and large quantities.

A company that never tests will almost never have a recall. Should we punish manufacturers for being responsible?

Why was the product recalled?

A product can be recalled for any number of reasons. It might have a contaminant in it or too high a level of a vitamin, or it might simply have been mislabeled — meaning, for example, your dog gets salmon in chicken packaging.

Some reasons are more serious than others. We will always try to make the severity and potential consequences clear in our recall alerts, so please do take notice and read them carefully.

How much of the product has been recalled?

Recalls are almost always for a specific batch or set of batches of the product. If this is the case and it only happens once, it signals carelessness but also perhaps a one-off incident from which the manufacturer can learn — thus, hopefully, making the product safer in the future.

When did the recall happen?

If a product was recalled in 2015 and not since, do you think it’s still a risk? My personal opinion is it’s no greater a risk than any other product.

If a product was recalled multiple times and very recently, I’d be far more cautious.

How did the manufacturer handle the recall?

Did it take swift action? Was it honest and open about what happened? Or did it label the recall a "voluntary retrieval" to avoid search engine detectives and sneak it out at midnight on a Friday?

Trust is a big part of the decisions we all have to make.

So, in short, when it comes to recall histories, use the information wisely — don’t have a false sense of security and don’t condemn too quickly. 

We at The Dog Food Advisor will always do our best to make the right judgement when choosing our Best Dog Food lists. 

An apology to anyone getting these emails who doesn’t want them

I have an apology to make. Coincidentally, it relates to recalls and using information (un)wisely. Some people who opted to only get recall alerts have been getting our newsletter. This was due to some complications related to the handover.

If anyone is getting this newsletter and wants recalls only, please click this link or the one in the P.S. below and I’m 99% certain the issue will be fixed for you.

Again I apologize and hope you understand. To quote Alexander Pope, “To err is human, to forgive divine.”

Until next time,