Years, a luxury dog food subscription service, has issued a recall after receiving 57 reports of suspected dry eye in pets. The company emailed customers on Monday night, urging them to stop feeding its products to pets or any other animal, citing a “potential link” between its buckwheat ingredient and the condition.
Company investigation and impact
Years said on its website: “This follows a small number of reports of dogs having a potential adverse eye reaction to buckwheat, a common and approved ingredient, which we include in our meals. As of 16th August, this has affected 0.1% of our customers.” The company, which advertises gourmet meals like pork shoulder and apple stew, began receiving “multiple reports” in late July and launched an investigation on August 1.
Customer story: Cookie's ordeal
David Felton, from Edgware, north London, said his dog Cookie developed eye issues in April after eating Years food for two-and-a-half years. He estimated spending around £1,500 on treatment and vet bills. The spaniel cross was initially diagnosed with a corneal abrasion, but after two weeks with no recovery, a specialist diagnosed bilateral dry eye disease.
“Extremely worried because this sort of came out of nowhere and it’s been so unexplained as to the causes of it, and obviously with your pet you don’t want to see them suffering,” Felton told the Press Association. He added: “Never did it occur to us that it could be a link to the food because the crazy thing is people buy Years because they want to feed their dog like high quality foods.”
Symptoms and next steps
Years listed symptoms including redness, cloudiness, excessive blinking, pawing at the eyes, and thick discharge. The company urged its 40,000 customers to contact their vet “promptly” and mention the recall. Subscriptions will be paused for six weeks while Years makes fresh meals using quinoa instead of buckwheat, and the firm said it will publish the investigation’s results.
