Updated

Updated · The Guardian · Aug 19

Years Recalls All Fresh Dog Meals After 192 Eye-Issue Reports Linked to Buckwheat

Updated

Updated · The Guardian · Aug 19

Years Recalls All Fresh Dog Meals After 192 Eye-Issue Reports Linked to Buckwheat

Q: If experts initially cleared the recipe, what alarming new evidence forced this dog food brand into a massive sudden recall?

The trigger was not a single lab finding but a sharp surge in reported cases and a clearer pattern pointing back to the new buckwheat-based formula. When outside experts reviewed the evidence on 1 August, they said a link to Years food looked unlikely based on the limited data then available. But reports kept climbing rapidly after that. Years said suspected cases rose from 57 to 192 reports of “potential, yet unverified” eye problems among about 40,000 customers, with many new reports arriving after 12 August. Owners were also describing similar symptoms in online groups, adding pressure and more case detail. That growing cluster of complaints appears to have changed the risk calculation. The cases involved sudden bilateral dry eye, or KCS, a painful condition affecting both eyes that can lead to permanent vision damage or blindness if not treated quickly. Years said its investigation increasingly focused on buckwheat, which had been added to recipes several months earlier when all customers were moved to the new formulation. The company is also examining whether contamination in the buckwheat supply could be involved. So, experts did not exactly “clear” the recipe; they said a connection seemed unlikely at that early stage. The recall came after the number of reports escalated and the suspected common factor — the recent buckwheat recipe change — became harder to ignore, even though the company says causation is still not conclusively proven.

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 19

Years told roughly 40,000 customers to stop feeding its fresh meals immediately after 192 customers reported potential eye problems by early Wednesday, up from 57 suspected cases disclosed on Sunday.
Buckwheat, added to all recipes several months ago, is the main focus of the investigation after reports of sudden bilateral dry eye—a painful condition that can lead to blindness if untreated.
The company said it began receiving multiple reports in late July, was told on 1 August that a food link looked unlikely on available data, then launched lab testing, customer questionnaires and independent toxicology reviews before deciding on Monday to recall everything.
Owners have formed Facebook groups with more than 2,100 members to track cases and discuss legal options, while Years says the reports remain unverified and no causal link has been conclusively proven.