Evanger's Dog Food Recalled For Containing Euthanasia Drug

Illinois pet food company Evanger's has voluntarily recalled five lots of its top-selling product, Hunk of Beef, for having traces of pentobarbital, a drug commonly used to euthanize pets.

The recall was issued Feb. 3, after five pugs from the same household in Washington State became ill after ingesting the contaminated dog food, Modern Farmer reported.

One pug, Talula, eventually died after eating the dog food, which was purchased at a pet store in Washougal, Washington.

The euthanasia drug was only found in one lot of Hunk of Beef; however, Evanger's is recalling all lot numbers that start with 1816E03HB, 1816E04HB, 1816E06HB, 1816E07HB, and 1816E13HB with an expiration date of June 2020.

"Although nearly all product involved in this recall have already been consumed by pets without incident, we have decided to initiate the recall as a proactive measure against the remote possibility of any illness," the company said in a statement.

The recalled cans were made on June 6 to 13 of last year, and sold online and at stores in Washington, California, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

The company said it had no idea how the pentobarbital ended up in the dog food since it sources its raw materials from USDA-inspected facilities.

Evanger's has since terminated its 42-year relationship with its beef supplier, which provided specific cuts of meat the company only used in its Hunk of Beef product.