Publix Brand Dog Food - Where to Send for Testing?

by Rachel
(Marietta, USA)

I bought a Publix brand dog food to feed my dogs. That's what they've eaten since puppies.

The last bag I bought I believe made them sick. I contacted the store who advised me to bring it in and they would send it to the manufacturer for testing. I kept some just in case I don't hear anything back.

Where can I send it for testing to find out if there is something wrong with it?

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Editor's Reply
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Hi Rachel -

We're sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience, and hope your dogs are fully recovered.

There are a number of steps to take should one ever encounter problems with a dog food.

• Firstly, as a general rule, always keep and store your dog food in its original bag, which contains important information such as expiration dates, lot numbers, UPC codes, etc.
  See our article on pet food containers and storage tips.
  
  
• Never return or send all the suspect dog food for testing. If you only have a small amount left, try to purchase another bag from the same batch, just in case you ever need extra samples for testing.
  
  
• In addition to notifying your local pet store, we recommend you report your suspicions to the pet food company yourself. Ask them whether they intend actually testing the sample and, if so, to send you the results of their tests. You will soon find out how seriously they view and act on customer complaints.
  
  
• Report the problem to the FDA. You can file complaints about a pet food product electronically through the Safety Reporting Portal, or you can call your state’s FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinators. See How to report a pet food complaint
  
  
• Lastly, if you're looking for an independent commercial pet food testing laboratory that will accept samples from the public, you can find some recommendations here from Pet Food Products Safety Alliance.

We hope this helps, and good luck! Please keep us updated on your progress - it will be very helpful for all of us to learn from your experience.

To all our other visitors: Have you had a similar experience, and/or have some suggestions to share? Please jump in and add your comments here.