Which brands were part of the Mid America Pet Food recall?

The 2023 recall covered Victor, Eagle Mountain, Wayne Feeds, and two Member's Mark pet foods with a best-by date before October 31, 2024. It included some cat food, in bags ranging from five to 50 pounds.

Can I get sick from my dog's food even if my dog doesn't?

Yes. Salmonella can pass to people who handle contaminated food or touch surfaces it has been on, especially without thorough handwashing. In this outbreak, the people who fell ill were mostly infants, not the dogs.

Staying Safe

The Salmonella Recall That Sickened Babies Started in a Bag of Dog Food

The 2023 Mid America Pet Food recall pulled millions of bags of Victor, Wayne Feeds, and more. The people who got sick were mostly infants, and that's the part every pet owner should remember.

By Dr. Amara Solis, Veterinary Editor

April 25, 2026 · 5 min read

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The headline said “pet food recall,” so most people filed it under dog news and moved on. But the striking detail in the 2023 Mid America Pet Food recall was who actually ended up in the hospital: not dogs, but babies. That single fact is the reason this recall is still worth understanding long after the affected bags left store shelves, because the lesson it teaches applies to every bag of pet food in your house, recalled or not.

What happened, in plain terms

In early November 2023, the FDA announced that the CDC was looking into an outbreak of Salmonella Kiambu infections that appeared to trace back to food the company produced. The company then voluntarily recalled every pet food it produced with a best-by date before October 31, 2024. That swept in a lot of product: the Victor line, Eagle Mountain, Wayne Feeds, and two varieties of Member’s Mark, in bags weighing anywhere from five to 50 pounds, and it included some cat food, not just dog.

It was also an expansion of two earlier, smaller recalls the company had already issued, one lot of Victor dog food pulled in early September 2023 and three more lots pulled at the end of October. By November, the problem was clearly bigger than a few lots.

The human toll, reported by the CDC on November 1, was seven confirmed infections across seven states: California, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Alabama, Kentucky, Florida, and Hawaii. Six of the seven were children a year old or younger. The illnesses had started on dates stretching from mid-January to late August 2023. One person was hospitalized, and no deaths were reported. Investigators noted that several of the sick people had been exposed to dogs, and several households had fed Victor food to their pets.

Why the food was dangerous to people, not just pets

This is the counterintuitive heart of the story. Salmonella in pet food can absolutely make an animal sick, but it also poses a direct risk to the humans in the home, and often a bigger one. People pick up the bacteria by handling contaminated kibble, scooping it into a bowl, or touching any surface the food has been on, and then transferring it to their mouth, a countertop, or, in a house with a baby, a pacifier or a crawling infant’s hands. A dog can carry and shed Salmonella while looking perfectly healthy, which is exactly how a “dog food” outbreak becomes a nursery problem.

“People hear ‘pet food recall’ and check whether their dog seems fine, then relax,” says Dr. Amara Solis. “But the exposure that matters most is often to the smallest, most vulnerable person in the household. Treat every bag of pet food like raw meat: it lives away from your food prep, it gets scooped with a dedicated cup, and hands and bowls get washed every single time.”

What to do with any suspect pet food

The safety guidance the FDA issued in this recall is a good standing protocol for any contaminated-food scare. Retailers were told to pull the affected products and destroy them. Owners were told to throw the food out where kids, pets, and wildlife couldn’t reach it, and to wash and sanitize the bowls, scoops, and storage containers that touched it, along with their own hands afterward. None of that changes whether the recall is this year’s or three years old.

What’s new since the recall

The Mid America Pet Food story did not just fade out. The FDA completed its recall investigation in 2024, and in November of that year the agency issued the company a formal warning letter after inspectors again found problems at its facility. Mid America also agreed to pay $5.5 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit brought by pet owners who said the contaminated food harmed their animals.

For a bag of food you might still have sitting in a garage or a storage bin, the practical upshot is simple: if it is Victor, Eagle Mountain, Wayne Feeds, or Member’s Mark with a best-by date before October 31, 2024, it should have been thrown out long ago. And the handling habits the outbreak exposed, the ones that keep a “dog problem” from reaching a baby, are worth keeping for good.