Most recall stories start with sick animals. This one started with a laboratory result, which is exactly how you want these stories to start.
In late February 2026, Elite Treats LLC of Boca Raton, Florida recalled one lot of its Elite Treats Chicken Chips for Dogs after third-party testing found salmonella in a related batch that had never shipped. The company pulled the released lot as a precaution, the FDA published the recall, and no illnesses in pets or people were reported. That sequence, contamination caught by testing before anyone got sick, is the food-safety system functioning as designed, and it is worth understanding because the next recall you hear about may not be so tidy.
Check your pantry first
Here is the identification checklist:
- Product: Elite Treats Chicken Chips for Dogs, 6-ounce bag
- Packaging: black-and-gold bag picturing the treats alongside a dog
- Lot number: 24045, printed on the bag
- Expiration date: April 2027
Distribution ran through a single wholesaler, Florida Hardware, LLC, whose retail customers were feed and farm stores across five Southeastern states: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas. If you have a matching bag, stop feeding it now. Note that a chicken treat bought in early 2026 could still be sitting in a pantry today given that 2027 expiration date, which is why recalls with long-dated products deserve a pantry check even months later.
Why a zero-illness recall still deserves your attention
Salmonella occupies a special category in pet-food safety because it does not stay in the dog. People can pick up the bacteria by handling contaminated treats, touching a dog who ate them, or contacting surfaces the product touched, including bowls, scoops, countertops, and storage bins. A treat recall is really a household recall.
There is a second wrinkle that surprises many owners: a dog infected with salmonella can look perfectly healthy while shedding live bacteria in their stool and saliva. So the absence of a sick dog does not mean the absence of risk to the humans in the house, particularly young children, older adults, pregnant people, and anyone immunocompromised.
When salmonellosis does cause illness, here is what it looks like. In dogs: lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea that may be bloody, fever, reduced appetite, and abdominal pain. In people: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, and fever, with rare severe cases progressing to bloodstream infections, arterial infections, heart-muscle involvement, arthritis-like joint pain, eye irritation, and urinary symptoms. A dog with symptoms after eating the recalled treats warrants a call to your veterinarian; a person with symptoms warrants a call to their doctor. Mention the recall in both conversations, because that context changes the workup.
The response playbook, for this recall and every one after it
Handling a recalled pet product safely takes about ten minutes:
- Bag the product and throw it away in a sealed container that pets, wildlife, and curious humans cannot reach. Do not donate it, sell it, or finish the bag because your dog seems fine.
- Wash everything it touched with hot soapy water, then sanitize: bowls, scoops, lids, storage containers, and the counter or shelf where the bag lived.
- Wash your hands after every step above.
- Watch your dog for a few days and flag any digestive symptoms to your vet with the recall named.
- For a refund, contact the company. Elite Treats handled returns at elite.treats@yahoo.com and (561) 901-5310, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern.
What’s new since this was written
The FDA has since classified this recall as completed and formally terminated it, meaning the agency verified the affected product was removed from the market. No illnesses were ever linked to lot 24045. The recall closed the way it opened: quietly, with the safety net doing its job.
If you want to catch future recalls early, the FDA’s animal-health recall page and the AVMA’s recall alerts both list pet-food actions as they are announced, and a thirty-second scan whenever you restock treats is cheap insurance.
