Manufacturer record

Simmons Pet Food

Parent: Simmons Foods, Inc · Co-packer (makes food for other brands) · 7 plants

Credibility scored on the 20-point WSAVA tier, Medium confidence. An unverified field scores at half credit, never zero. How this feeds the grade →

Store brands they make

• Ol' Roy (Walmart) (partial)

Also co-packs for

• PetSmart 'Grreat Choice'
• Wellness
• 4health
• Blue Buffalo
• Companion
• Great Value
• Rachael Ray Nutrish
• Canidae, Castor & Pollux, Life's Abundance, Nature's Logic, Dogswell, Evolve, Petcurean, Nature's Variety, Wild Calling
• Chewy / American Journey
• Freshpet, Hill's, Nestle Purina

Recall history

Recall events in the last 10 years weigh most; older events decay. Repeat events in the 10-year window: 1.

The detail

Contract/private-label manufacturer, so the WSAVA 'will they tell you' drivers are structurally hard to answer: for private-label runs the CLIENT brand typically owns formulation, nutritional adequacy substantiation (AAFCO formulation vs feeding trials), and consumer-facing Q&A, while Simmons owns the plant and process. No source found for a board-certified/PhD animal nutritionist on Simmons staff (they have a Quality Assurance & Improvement function and reference HACCP/SQF competencies for QC roles, and publish an 'Ingredient and Supplier Approvals' whitepaper describing nutritional + food-safety testing) -> qc=claimed (self-described QA/testing program, not independently documented to consumers), owns_plants=true. Transparency=opaque: Simmons does not publish its client roster and does not confirm co-pack relationships publicly (watchdogs have had to infer clients from recall contact area codes); this is normal for a contract manufacturer and is a 'we lack data,' not a 'they are bad,' signal. publishes_research left unknown (no evidence of peer-reviewed nutrition research, but no explicit negative source either). who_formulates/substantiation left unknown pending per-client detail.

Sources

• https://simmonspetfood.com/company-info
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simmons_Foods
• https://truthaboutpetfood.com/getting-to-know-simmons-foods/
• https://www.petfoodprocessing.net/articles/14220-simmons-pet-food-expanding-canning-capacity-by-408-million-units-per-year
• https://www.petfoodindustry.com/pet-food-market/article/15466271/simmons-pet-food-closing-new-jersey-canning-facility
• https://www.petfoodprocessing.net/articles/13443-simmons-to-close-new-jersey-pet-food-plant
• https://www.petfoodindustry.com/news-newsletters/pet-food-news/news/15667465/simmons-pet-food-closes-streetsville-ontario-canning-facility
• https://www.chewy.com/brands/american-journey-6422
• https://www.germanshepherds.com/threads/american-journey-chewy-brand-dog-food.686257/
• https://simmonspetfood.com/whitepapers/ingredient-and-supplier-approvals
• https://theorg.com/org/simmons-pet-food/teams/quality-assurance-and-improvement
• https://www.petfoodsafetynews.com/blue-buffalo-recalled-metal-choking-hazard-dog-food/
• https://www.petfoodsafetynews.com/wellness-cat-food-recalled-metal-fragments-choking-hazard/
• https://truthaboutpetfood.com/companion-dog-food-recall/
• https://truthaboutpetfood.com/petsmart-grreat-choice-adult-dog-food-recall/
• https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recalls/petsmart-grreat-choice-dog-food-recall-2017/
• https://www.petful.com/brands/4health-recall/
• https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/petsmart-voluntarily-recalls-single-lot-grreat-choicer-canned-dog-food-due-possible-health-risk
• https://www.wtoc.com/story/5024136/simmons-canned-dog-food-voluntarily-recalled/
• https://truthaboutpetfood.com/mars-petcare-sues-simmons-pet-food/

AI-assisted research, pending human review · 2026-07-05