If you search Earthborn Holistic you will find headlines about a pet food recall linked to more than a hundred animal deaths.
That is real, and it is also mostly about a different brand made in a different factory.
Untangling that is the most useful thing this review can do, because the food itself is decent and the story around it is badly reported almost everywhere.
Two listing details are worth checking before you buy. The grain-free natural Chicken Catcciatori in 3-ounce cans is the same recipe as the 5.5-ounce Chicken Catcciatori, just in a smaller can, and it costs about 53 cents an ounce against about 44 cents for the big cans. Buy the big cans unless half-tins go to waste in your house.
And the Chicken Fricatssee listing is titled Cat & Kitten Food while its description calls it an adult food, so check the life-stage statement on the can before feeding it to a kitten. Ranch House Stew, Harbor Harvest and Catalina Catch are described as cat and kitten food throughout.
The recall story, untangled
Two separate events happened three months apart, and almost every article about this brand blurs them together. They are very different in severity.
December 2020, aflatoxin. Midwestern Pet Foods recalled products over aflatoxin, a mould toxin, in an incident linked to more than 100 pet deaths and many more illnesses. The affected products were Sportmix, made at Midwestern’s Oklahoma plant. Earthborn Holistic was not part of the aflatoxin recall.
March 2021, salmonella. Three months later Midwestern issued a separate voluntary recall covering dozens of dog and cat foods, and this one did include Earthborn Holistic. Those products came from the Monmouth, Illinois plant and the concern was possible salmonella contamination.
So the accurate position is: Earthborn avoided the deadly incident but was caught in the follow-on one. Salmonella recalls are serious but common across the industry and are usually precautionary; aflatoxin at toxic levels is a different order of failure entirely.
What you weigh is company-level quality control. Two recalls in three months from one manufacturer, one of them lethal, is a legitimate concern about process even when your specific brand escaped the worst of it. Check the current position in the FDA recall database rather than relying on any summary.
What aflatoxin actually is
Worth understanding, because it explains why that incident was so much more serious than a typical recall.
Aflatoxin is a toxin produced by Aspergillus mould, which grows on grain such as corn stored in warm, damp conditions. It damages the liver, and at high concentrations it kills. Unlike salmonella it is not destroyed by cooking, and unlike a labelling error there is no safe level to tolerate.
Signs of aflatoxin poisoning include lethargy, appetite loss, vomiting, and yellowing of the gums or eyes indicating liver damage. Any cat showing those needs urgent veterinary attention regardless of what it has been eating. The Cornell Feline Health Center covers feline liver disease.
This is educational context rather than a warning about current product. The 2020 incident is years past and involved a different brand from a different facility.
The food itself
- Grain free throughout, with the canned range stronger than the dry.
- High moisture in the wet recipes, which matters more for most cats than any ingredient upgrade to a kibble.
- All-life-stages options such as Ranch House Stew, useful in households mixing kittens and adults.
- Limited range on Chewy compared with the bigger brands, so rotation options are narrower.
Here is what each can is built on, according to its listing. All are 24 cans of 5.5 ounces.
| Recipe | Top ingredients | Life stage | Price | Pick it if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harbor Harvest | Tuna, salmon | Cat & kitten | $57.54 | You want the flagship fish recipe. |
| Catalina Catch | Mackerel, shrimp | Cat & kitten | $57.54 | You want fish plus shellfish for variety. |
| Chicken Catcciatori | Chicken, chicken broth | Adult | $57.54 | You want a poultry can to rotate with the fish. |
| Ranch House Stew | Beef, beef broth | Cat & kitten | $57.60 | Kittens and adults share bowls in your house. |
| Chicken Fricatssee | Chicken, chicken broth | Check the can | $57.54 | Your cat wants visible chunks rather than pate. |
Should you buy Earthborn Holistic?
Buy it if you like the recipes and are comfortable with the manufacturer’s history now that you know what it actually was. The canned range is genuinely decent grain-free food at a fair price.
Skip it if company-level recall history is a dealbreaker for you, which is a defensible position. Brands like Farmina and Tiki Cat have no recalls at all in their histories. Compare in our best wet cat food guide.
The food is good. Grain-free, high-moisture canned recipes at a reasonable price, with all-life-stages options that suit mixed households.
The reason to hesitate is the manufacturer rather than the recipe, and you now know the precise version rather than the headline. Earthborn was not in the aflatoxin recall; it was in the salmonella one three months later. Decide with that. Earthborn Holistic Harbor Harvest Canned Cat Food, 5.5-oz, 24 ct is the case to start with. This article is educational rather than veterinary advice.
Earthborn Holistic questions
Q: Was Earthborn Holistic part of the aflatoxin recall?
No. The December 2020 aflatoxin recall linked to more than 100 pet deaths affected Sportmix products made at Midwestern Pet Foods’ Oklahoma plant. Earthborn Holistic was not included in that recall.
Q: Has Earthborn Holistic cat food been recalled?
Yes, in March 2021. Midwestern Pet Foods issued a voluntary recall of dog and cat foods including Earthborn Holistic, produced at its Monmouth, Illinois plant, over possible salmonella contamination.
Q: Who makes Earthborn Holistic cat food?
Earthborn Holistic is made by Midwestern Pet Foods, a company founded in 1926 and headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. Earthborn dry foods are produced at the Monmouth, Illinois plant.
Q: What is aflatoxin and why is it dangerous?
Aflatoxin is a toxin produced by Aspergillus mould growing on stored grain such as corn. It damages the liver and can be fatal at high concentrations. It is not destroyed by cooking, which is why contaminated batches must be recalled.
Q: Should I avoid Earthborn Holistic because of the recalls?
That is a personal judgement. Earthborn avoided the serious aflatoxin incident but was included in a salmonella recall three months later. Two recalls in three months from one manufacturer is a fair reason for caution, though salmonella recalls are common industry-wide and usually precautionary.
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