Blue Buffalo Recalls Canned Dog Food for Possible Aluminum Contamination – 2017

Blue Buffalo, headquartered in Wilton, Connecticut, is voluntarily recalling cans of Blue Buffalo Homestyle Healthy Weight dog food according to an announcement on several online news portal in 2017.

A supplier notified the company of the possible presence of aluminum in a production run of the cans. We did not find this notice on the FDA site yet.

The recall only affects the following canned food:

The “Best By” date can be found on the bottom of the can.

No other products are involved and the company has not received any reports of illness or injury as a result of the problem. According to Blue Buffalo, only a limited number of cans are affected.

If you have a can of this product, you can return it for a full refund at your local retailer. For more information, please call Blue Buffalo at 866-800-2917.

According to online information, which mostly comes from old Whole Dog Journal reports, Blue Buffalo has used various manufacturers to make their food. In the past they have used CJ Foods, Ainsworth, ProPet, Triple T Foods, Tuffy’s, and ANI/Vita-Line.

We cannot say for sure who makes their canned foods at this time. We do note that PetSmart currently has a voluntary recall for their one of their Grreat Choice canned foods for “metal contamination” and we believe their canned foods are made by Simmons.

This may or may not be a coincidence. PetSmart says that their manufacturer notified them about the problem which does sound similar to the issue with Blue Buffalo’s canned food and recall.

Blue Buffalo has had several significant recalls in the past. In 2016 they had a limited recall due to moisture problems and the possibility of mold. In 2015 they had a recall of some chew bones because of the potential for Salmonella.

A few weeks earlier in 2015 they had problems with propylene glycol in cat treats which led to a recall. In 2010 there were problems with some foods and too much vitamin D which were blamed on a supplier.

In 2007 there was melamine in some Blue Buffalo products even though the company denied giving consent to use the rice protein concentrate which contained the melamine. (Thanks to Petful.com for the archived recall information.)

Blue Buffalo has previously had issues with transparency. The company sued and was counter-sued by Purina over advertising claims. Testing of Blue Buffalo food by Purina revealed that the food contained poultry by-products and other ingredients that Blue Buffalo had denied – and which they had attacked Purina for using.

Blue Buffalo was subsequently hit with a class action lawsuit by its customers. Blue Buffalo has maintained that they were unaware of the unwanted ingredients in their food and they have blamed some of their suppliers for their presence.