What was recalled
On October 7, 2022, Freshpet voluntarily recalled a single lot of its Freshpet Select Small Dog Bite Size Beef & Egg Recipe in a 4.5-pound bag. The recall covered UPC code 627975013209, sell-by date 10/30/2022, and lot code 1421FBP0101. Distribution was concentrated in Target stores in select markets. The trigger was FDA’s routine sample-testing program: a sealed bag pulled from a retail distribution warehouse tested positive for Salmonella before any consumer had reported illness. The complete recall notice is at the FDA recall archive.
The recall scope — one product, one bag size, one lot — reflected Freshpet’s refrigerated-pet-food production model, which traces in production-run rather than bag-aggregate units. The brand’s ability to limit the recall scope tightly is a hallmark of well-functioning lot-tracing systems.
Why it was recalled
Salmonella contamination in refrigerated pet food can arise from raw protein input contamination, cross-contamination during processing, or post-pasteurization handling. Freshpet uses a low-temperature pasteurization step rather than the high-temperature extrusion process used in dry kibble; the lower thermal kill step requires tighter incoming-ingredient and environmental sanitation controls. Freshpet’s investigation traced the 2022 lot to a single environmental sampling point that had drifted out of specification during routine sanitation; the company resolved the issue in-line within days and did not extend the recall to subsequent production. The FDA did not identify Salmonella in any other Freshpet lot during follow-up sampling.
Health risks for your pet
Because the contamination was detected via FDA routine sampling on sealed product rather than by consumer report, the affected lot had limited consumer exposure window. Zero dog illnesses and zero human illnesses were reported attributable to this recall. In a general sense, Salmonella exposure in dogs presents with vomiting, diarrhea (sometimes bloody), lethargy, and inappetence; humans handling contaminated pet food can develop gastroenteritis with diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. Refrigerated pet food carries higher inherent Salmonella surface-contamination risk than shelf-stable kibble because the lower-temperature thermal processing leaves a smaller margin for sanitation drift. The CDC’s general guidance applies: wash hands after handling any pet food, and keep refrigerated pet food in a separate area of the refrigerator from human food prep surfaces.
What to do if you bought affected product
Affected product sell-by dates expired in 2022; no household refrigerator should still contain recalled product. Freshpet processed full refunds at the time of recall through its consumer affairs line. If you fed the recalled lot to a dog who developed GI symptoms in October 2022, the timing aligns with this event — though the FDA reported no confirmed illnesses. Owners of dogs currently on Freshpet have no action required from this specific event; the brand’s overall safety record is strong with this single-lot 2022 recall being the only notable event since 2019. Freshpet’s product-pull and traceability response on this recall was a model of well-functioning lot-tracing and is the kind of brand response that fits a manufacturing-floor failure caught early.
How this affects KibbleIQ’s grade
Freshpet is in the KibbleIQ scored database with detailed analysis at our current Freshpet review. Our rubric (v15) scores Freshpet using the fresh-food sub-rubric (rather than dry-kibble), and the brand earns a B-tier grade reflecting refrigerated whole-ingredient formulation with named meat first and minimal processing. The 2022 single-lot Salmonella event is not a scoring input under v15 because the brand’s ingredient panel did not change. Recall-history scoring under methodology v2 will weigh this single-lot precautionary event with full FDA-routine-sampling detection and zero illness as the lowest possible severity category — the kind of well-handled manufacturing-floor catch that confirms quality systems are working rather than indicating they have failed. For now, our recommendation: read both our current Freshpet review AND this recall page when evaluating the brand.