Mars Petcare US issued a voluntary recall on July 2, 2026, of two lots of PEDIGREE® Can High Protein Chopped Chicken & Duck Flavor 13.2oz wet dog food PEDIGREE® Update. The recall originated in Franklin, Tennessee, but the reason sets it apart from typical manufacturing problems: product that had already failed internal safety tests and been marked for destruction was instead diverted and sold to retailers Fox59, PR Newswire.

The FDA's official listing identifies the contamination as potential plastic and metal fragments. The specific foreign material flagged includes sharp metal and plastic pieces capable of causing internal lacerations or blockages if a dog ingests them WebCenterFairbanks. That these cans had already flunked quality control and been condemned before resale is the critical distinction: this breach occurred in the disposal chain, not on the production line itself.

Mars Petcare has confirmed that no other products under the Pedigree or Mars Petcare U.S. Inc. brands are involved Fox59. Consumers can check lot codes on Pedigree's official update page to verify whether their cans are affected.

This is the second foreign-material recall tied to Pedigree in two years. In May 2024, Mars Petcare recalled 315 bags of PEDIGREE® Adult Complete Nutrition Grilled Steak due to loose metal contamination, a much smaller action limited to four southern states FDA. The Hawaii Department of Health continued circulating alerts about metal contamination well into July 2026, treating the two incidents as a recognizable pattern despite Mars' assertion that they are separate events Hawaii DOH.

What distinguishes a diversion recall from a standard contamination recall is instructive here. When foreign material enters a product during manufacturing, investigators trace the failure to a specific process or ingredient — a containable problem on the factory floor. When condemned product resurfaces in the supply chain, the breach runs deeper: it involves whoever held responsibility for destroying or disposing of the rejected cans. For a brand marketed on affordability and quality — Pedigree's tagline is "Bring Out The Good In Your Dog" — a supply-chain security lapse carries a different reputational weight than a single bad production run. It raises questions about custody controls beyond the factory.

No injuries or illnesses have been reported, and the scope remains limited to the two named lots. The investigation has not yet disclosed whether the diversion involved external actors, a third-party contractor hired for disposal, or an internal breakdown. That answer will shape whether this becomes a case in food-safety regulation or supply-chain fraud prevention — overlapping but distinct regulatory domains that the FDA and state health departments will sort through as the facts emerge.