RCL Foods Issues Nationwide Recall Of Selected Pet Food Brands Following Safety Concerns

This follows the recent theft of condemned dry pet food that had been sent to a waste management facility in eastern Gauteng for destruction, and its subsequent resale on the informal market.

RCL Foods instituted further checks on potentially contaminated product that had been designated for destruction, and regrets to confirm that some of these batches are in the formal trade.

Consequently, in line with its commitment to the highest safety standards, RCL Foods is initiating a country‑wide recall of limited batches of Bobtail, Bonzo, Catmor, Canine Cuisine, Feline Cuisine, Optimizor and Ultra Pet Dog food manufactured at one of its pet food plants.

The batch identification dates for affected products are included here.

RCL Foods is working closely with retailers, regulators and relevant authorities to identify and remove all affected products from the market.

Shoppers who have purchased any of the affected pet food batches listed are asked to return the product to their retailer for a refund or replacement.

In addition to the ongoing investigation into theft of condemned product, independent experts have been appointed to determine how product that had been marked for destruction, entered the formal market.

Preliminary internal assessments indicate that some product, that was condemned and marked for destruction, was erroneously released to the formal trade.

“On behalf of RCL Foods, I want to apologise to all affected shoppers. Our primary concern is the health and wellbeing of shoppers and their pets,” said RCL Foods chief executive officer, Paul Cruickshank.

“Our immediate priority is to recall, remove and replace all potentially affected products from circulation. We did not meet our own standards. This is not what our customers expect from RCL Foods. We are taking every step necessary to rectify the situation.”

What you should do

If you have pet food products with identifying expiry dates, please return them to your retailer for a refund or replacement, should stock be available.

For further assistance, consumers can reach out to our Customer Care team via:

Telephone: 0860 103 764 (24 hours)WhatsApp: 087 359 0476Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Business hours)