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No link found between dry eye cases and recalled food
Independent panel found no evidence of contamination, toxins or safety issues in Years’ food and no link between it and cases of sudden bilateral dry eye.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Image: Ian Dyball / Adobe Stock
An independent investigation has found no links between a subscription pet food provider’s products and a spike in cases of a canine eye condition.
Years voluntarily recalled most of its fresh meal products in August after 155 cases of sudden bilateral dry eye were identified in UK dogs that eat its meals.
Extensive testing by a panel of independent experts in food safety, microbiology, toxicology, veterinary clinical nutrition and veterinary ophthalmology found no link to the reported cases and no evidence of contamination, toxins or safety issues.
They tested every batch of buckwheat historically used in Years food along with 273 retained production and customer-returned meals containing the ingredient.
Precaution
Buckwheat has been observed as being present in a significant number of dry eye-affected dogs’ diets in Finland and Hungary at a prevalence higher than the ingredient’s overall market share.
In all, the panel generated 21,757 results across 1,129 distinct substances.
Years announced it will resume serving customers in October and that all its recipes will now be buckwheat-free as a precaution.
It said it will share all relevant findings with the British Association of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (BrAVO), Food Standards Agency and Trading Standards.
‘No link’
Years founders Darren Beale and Ivan Barashki said: “After extensive independent laboratory tests and two separate manufacturing reviews by independent experts, no contamination, toxin, safety or packaging migration issue has been found in Years food, and no link has been identified between Years food and sudden bilateral dry eye.”
“We know this conclusion may not feel like a resolution if you’re caring for a dog with sudden bilateral dry eye. We see how hard this has been. These findings don’t change that, nor do they answer the wider question of what is causing this unusual pattern of cases, which is also impacting dogs that were never fed our food, both in the UK and internationally.
“While we have completed our investigation, we still want to help find those answers, which is why we’ll keep sharing our findings with BrAVO and other independent bodies for as long as it takes.”