Vitamin D toxicity in dogs: what FDA dog food recalls show and how formulation errors happen

Malhotra, Karan

Vitamin D toxicity in dogs: what FDA dog food recalls show and how formulation errors happen

Five vitamin D episodes in US dog food between 2018 and 2023 share one pattern: the error sat upstream of the bag. This alert sets out what the FDA record shows, what owners should do, and the controls that stop it recurring.

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By Dr Karan MalhotraPhD, MSc Toxicology · Head of Food Safety & Toxicology

Reviewed byGuires PNL nutrition science and regulatory teams

Published30 Oct 2026

Last checked30 Oct 2026

Reading time7 minutes

Key takeaways

FDA records five vitamin D episodes in US dog food from 2018 to 2023, in dry and canned products.
Where a cause is stated it is upstream: a common contract manufacturer, a vitamin premix, or a supplier error.
The excess was not marginal: laboratory results in 2018 found as much as about 70 times the intended amount.
Owners should stop feeding and call a veterinarian; brands need premix controls and finished-lot testing.

Dog lying beside a bowl of kibble, vitamin D capsules and premix powder, with a warning symbol

Voluntary recalls and FDA alert · United StatesFive episodes, November 2018 to March 2023 · All completed or terminated

Risk levelSerious at toxic levels; diet-related cases build up gradually

StatusHistorical episodes; Hill’s recall terminated 21 Dec 2021

AuthorityUS Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

AnnouncedNov 2018 to Mar 2023, five episodes

Applies toDry and canned dog foods listed in Table 1

Illnesses reportedComplaints of toxicity (Hill’s 2019); two confirmed cases (Purina 2023); none (Fromm 2021)

EvidenceRecallRated by the Guires Pet Nutrition Lab scientific team

ProductsDry and canned dog foods in five FDA-recorded episodes, 2018 to 2023

HazardExcess vitamin D3: high blood calcium and phosphorus, kidney failure

ActionStop feeding, check the lot, call a veterinarian, report to FDA

01The short answer

Vitamin D toxicity in dogs happens when a dog takes in too much vitamin D, which raises blood calcium and phosphorus and can lead to kidney failure ⁸. In US dog food it has followed errors made upstream of the bag, in a contract manufacturer, a vitamin premix or a supplier, which put far too much vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) into finished products ¹⁴⁷. FDA records show five episodes from 2018 to 2023, across dry and canned foods. This alert sets out what each notice stated, what owners should do, and the controls brands need before a lot is released.

02Affected products

A search for a dog food recall vitamin D on FDA’s site returns the episodes in Table 1. Check the size and lot against the notice for your product.

Episode	Products	Size	Lot or date code
Sunshine Mills, Nov 2018	Seven product listings under Evolve Puppy, Sportsman’s Pride Large Breed Puppy and Triumph Chicken & Rice	As listed	Best by 1 Nov 2018 to 8 Nov 2019 ²
FDA alert, Dec 2018	Dry foods of several brands from one contract manufacturer, including Nature’s Promise, Abound, ELM, Orlando and Nutrisca	Dry foods	Per brand notice ¹
Hill’s, Jan to May 2019	33 varieties of canned dog food	Cans	Lots per notice; one omitted lot added later ³⁴
Fromm, Oct 2021	Four-Star Shredded Entrée, four varieties	12 oz cans	Best by 08/2024; about 5,500 cases ⁵
Purina, Feb to Mar 2023	Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EL Elemental dry dog food	8 lb and 20 lb bags	Seven, then nine production codes ⁶⁷

Table 1. Vitamin D episodes in US dog food recorded by FDA, compiled from the notices ¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷. Figures are as stated in each notice. UPCs are not reproduced here.

03What happened

26 Nov 2018
Sunshine Mills recalled seven dry dog foods for potentially elevated vitamin D ².
3 Dec 2018
FDA alerted owners that several dry foods, made by a common contract manufacturer, contained potentially toxic amounts of vitamin D. It updated the alert on 20 December ¹.
31 Jan 2019
Hill’s recalled select canned dog food after complaints that dogs eating it showed vitamin D toxicity. The recall grew on 20 March (19 more products, after FDA asked Hill’s to test retained samples) and 17 May (one lot), and was terminated on 21 December 2021 ³.
1 Oct 2021
Fromm recalled four canned varieties. No illnesses were reported ⁵.
8 Feb 2023
Purina recalled EL Elemental dry dog food after two confirmed cases of vitamin D toxicity; both dogs recovered. On 10 March it added two production codes, citing a supplier error ⁶⁷.
19 Aug 2024
FDA published its explainer on vitamin D toxicity in dogs ⁸.

The December 2018 item is FDA’s own alert. The others are company recall announcements that FDA posted. That is the practical FDA recall vs alert difference: an alert can cover several brands at once, while a recall names one company’s products.

04Why it matters for dogs and people

FDA names three routes to vitamin D poisoning: pet food that contains too much vitamin D, a household member’s vitamin D supplements, and rodenticides that contain cholecalciferol ⁸. Vitamin D is stored in fat tissue and the liver, so food fed every day keeps adding to the store, and diet-related toxicity tends to develop gradually. The excess can show as high blood calcium (hypercalcemia), high phosphorus (hyperphosphatemia) and kidney failure ⁸.

Signs in dogs

Vomiting and loss of appetite
Increased thirst and urination
Excessive drooling
Weight loss
At toxic levels, kidney failure and death

Other sources in the home

Human vitamin D supplements
Rodenticides containing cholecalciferol
No human illness was reported in the notices

The signs are those listed by FDA ¹⁸. They are not specific to vitamin D, so only a veterinarian can confirm the cause.

05What owners should do

If you have the product

Stop feeding it.
Check the brand, size and lot or best-by date against the notice ³.
Keep the packaging and label.
Call your veterinarian if your dog shows any of the signs above. Give the full diet history, including supplements and treats, and a photo of the label and lot number.
If your dog seems well, still ask your veterinarian, because diet-related cases build up gradually. Mention any supplements and rodenticides in the house.

06Reporting a problem to FDA

Report a suspected illness through the FDA Safety Reporting Portal, or by phone to the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator for your state ³.

How to report

The product name and brand.
The lot number or best-by date, and the UPC if it is on the pack.
Where and when you bought it.
Your dog’s signs and the date they started.
Your veterinarian’s contact details and any test results.

Outside the US, report to your national authority. Guires PNL also accepts confidential reports through our pet food problem form.

07Safe vitamin D levels in dog food

The margin between enough and too much is narrow, and it is measured in micrograms. For adult dogs, AAFCO sets 500 to 3,000 IU per kg of dry matter and the NRC 552 to 3,200 IU/kg ⁹. FEDIAF 2025 sets a nutritional maximum of 3,200 IU/kg dry matter, and the EU legal maximum for added vitamin D works out at 2,270 IU/kg dry matter ¹⁰. The 2018 excess was far outside this range: State and private laboratory results found as much as about 70 times the intended amount ¹. For contrast, a 26-week trial in 40 adult beagles found no adverse effects on diets up to 9,992.5 IU/kg ⁹, so the recalled foods were well beyond any level tested.

Figure 1Reference limits sit far below the levels reached in the 2018 recallsVitamin D for adult dogs, IU per kg of dry matter

AAFCO adult: 500 to 3,000

3,000

NRC adult: 552 to 3,200

3,200

FEDIAF adult: 552 to 3,200

3,200

EU legal maximum, added vitamin D

2,270

Beagle trial diets, 26 weeks: 796 to 9,993

9,993

AAFCO and NRC from Jewell and Panickar ⁹; FEDIAF nutritional and EU legal maxima from FEDIAF 2025 ¹⁰. Bars are scaled to 10,000 IU/kg. The 2018 results of about 70 times the intended amount are off this scale.

View data table

Reference	Low, IU/kg DM	High, IU/kg DM
AAFCO adult	500	3,000
NRC adult	552	3,200
FEDIAF 2025 adult (110 / 95 kcal minimum; nutritional maximum)	552 / 639	3,200
EU legal maximum, added vitamin D	–	2,270
Beagle trial diets, 26 weeks	795.7	9,992.5

08Similar products with similar risks

The failure points behind the recalls in Table 1 can sit behind other products. Table 2 lists where excess vitamin D can arise.

Product type	Why the risk exists
Therapeutic and elemental diets	A patient may eat one lot as its only food for months. EL Elemental was one ⁶.
Brands sharing a contract manufacturer	One error can reach several labels, as in the 2018 alert ¹.
Foods made with one vitamin premix	Hill’s found a lot omitted from its list and said it related to the same vitamin premix behind the January recall ⁴.
Fortified treats and toppers	They go through the same micro-ingredient dosing step. This row is our inference, not an FDA finding.
Rodenticides and human supplements	Non-food sources that FDA lists ⁸.

09What brands and buyers should look for

Brand checklist

Premix control. Require the declared vitamin D potency, an approved supplier and a certificate of analysis for every premix lot. Reject a lot whose certificate does not match the purchase specification.
Total every source. Add the vitamin D from the premix and from the ingredients, per kg dry matter and per 1000 kcal, and check the total against the AAFCO, FEDIAF and EU limits above.
Reconcile units. Express the recipe, specification and certificate in the same unit.
Validate mixing. A micro-ingredient can spread unevenly, so some bags carry far more than the average. Test distribution within a batch and between batches.
Test the finished lot. Analyse it for vitamin D, hold it until the result confirms the target, and keep lot traceability so a problem can be confined to the affected product.

Guires Pet Nutrition Lab verdict

Every vitamin D recall in the FDA record started upstream and was caught too late. Control the premix, total every source, validate mixing, and hold each finished lot until a vitamin D result is back.

10Questions brands ask

What causes vitamin D toxicity in dogs from dog food?

A manufacturing or formulation error that puts too much vitamin D3 into the finished food. The FDA record ties the episodes to a common contract manufacturer, a vitamin premix and a supplier error.

What are the signs of vitamin D poisoning in dogs?

FDA lists vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst and urination, excessive drooling and weight loss. Toxic levels can cause kidney failure and death. Contact a veterinarian if you suspect it; this article is not veterinary advice.

How do formulation errors lead to excess vitamin D?

A wrong premix potency, an overage miscalculation, a unit mix-up, poor mixing or a mislabelled raw material. Because 3,000 IU/kg is only 75 micrograms per kg, a small micro-ingredient mistake has a large effect.

Is a vitamin D recall the same as an FDA alert?

No. An alert is FDA’s own communication and can span several brands; a recall is a company’s announcement, which FDA posts.

How can pet food brands prevent vitamin D recalls?

Control premix potency and overages, verify supplier certificates, validate mixing, and test each finished lot against AAFCO, FEDIAF and EU limits before release.

Sources

FDA (3 Dec 2018, updated 20 Dec 2018). FDA alerts pet owners about potentially toxic levels of vitamin D in several dry pet foods [advisory]. Source ↗
Sunshine Mills, Inc. (26 Nov 2018). Sunshine Mills, Inc. issues voluntary recall of dry dog food due to potentially elevated levels of vitamin D [company announcement, posted by FDA]. Source ↗
FDA (31 Jan 2019, updated to 20 May 2019). FDA alerts pet owners and veterinarians about potentially toxic levels of vitamin D in 33 varieties of Hill’s canned dog food in expanded recall [advisory]. Source ↗
Hill’s Pet Nutrition (2019). Hill’s Pet Nutrition additionally expands voluntary recall of select canned dog food for elevated vitamin D [company announcement, posted by FDA]. Source ↗
Fromm Family Foods (1 Oct 2021). Fromm Family Foods voluntarily recalls Four-Star Shredded Entrée canned food for dogs due to elevated levels of vitamin D [company announcement, posted by FDA]. Source ↗
Nestlé Purina PetCare Company (8 Feb 2023). Purina voluntarily recalls Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EL Elemental dry dog food in the US due to potentially elevated vitamin D [company announcement, posted by FDA]. Source ↗
Nestlé Purina PetCare Company (10 Mar 2023). Purina expands voluntary recall of Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EL Elemental dry dog food in the US due to potentially elevated vitamin D [company announcement, posted by FDA]. Source ↗
FDA (19 Aug 2024). Vitamin D toxicity in dogs [animal health literacy]. Source ↗
Jewell DE, Panickar KS (2023). Increased dietary vitamin D was associated with increased circulating vitamin D with no observable adverse effects in adult dogs. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10:1242851. Source ↗
FEDIAF (2025). Nutritional Guidelines for Complete and Complementary Pet Food for Cats and Dogs. Source ↗

Evidence reviewed by the Guires Pet Nutrition Lab scientific team. This article is general information for product developers and is not legal or veterinary advice.

How to cite this article

Choose your referencing style, then copy. Check your university’s, journal’s or regulator’s guide for local variations.

Malhotra, K. (2026, October 30). Vitamin D toxicity in dogs: what FDA dog food recalls show and how formulation errors happen. Guires Pet Nutrition Lab Insights. https://www.petnutritionlab.com/insights/vitamin-d-toxicity-dogs-fda-recalls-formulation-errors

This article summarises published evidence for product developers. Cite the original sources above for specific findings, and do not reproduce this article as your own work.

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