The Mid America Pet Food Settlement offers up to $5.5 million to pet owners who purchased recalled dog and cat food products contaminated with Salmonella. If you bought Victor Super Premium, Wayne Feeds, Eagle Mountain, or Member’s Mark pet food between October 31, 2022 and February 29, 2024, you may be eligible for compensation ranging from a simple purchase refund to as much as $100,000 for fully documented pet injury claims.
The claim form deadline was February 5, 2026, and the final approval hearing was scheduled for February 6, 2026, meaning the settlement is now in its post-hearing phase where the court decides whether to grant final approval and begin distributing payments. Whether your pet got sick, died, or you simply want a refund on recalled food you threw away, the details below will help you understand where your claim stands and what comes next.
Table of Contents
- Who Is Eligible for the Mid America Pet Food Settlement?
- How Much Can You Get From the Mid America Pet Food Settlement?
- What Products Were Recalled and Why?
- What Documentation Do You Need to File a Claim?
- When Will Settlement Payments Be Issued?
- What Happens If You Missed the Claim Deadline?
- What Does This Settlement Mean for Pet Food Safety Going Forward?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Who Is Eligible for the Mid America Pet Food Settlement?
Eligibility comes down to three factors: what you bought, when you bought it, and whether the product was part of the official recalls. You must be a U.S. resident — individual or entity — who purchased one or more recalled mid America Pet Food products during the class period of October 31, 2022 through February 29, 2024. The recalled products specifically include Victor Super Premium Dog and Cat Food, Wayne Feeds Dog and Cat Food, Eagle Mountain Pet Food, and two varieties of Member’s Mark pet foods. All of these products must have had a best-by date before October 31, 2024. The products must have been part of the voluntary recalls that Mid America Pet Food issued on September 3, October 30, or November 9, 2023.
These recalls were tied to potential Salmonella contamination at the company’s manufacturing facility in Mount Pleasant, Texas. If you purchased one of the listed brands but it was manufactured at a different facility or fell outside the recall dates, it would not qualify. For example, if you bought Victor Super Premium dog food in early 2022 but the specific lot was not part of any of the three recall announcements, you would not be eligible under this settlement. It is also worth noting that this is a class action, meaning eligible purchasers were automatically included unless they opted out. The exclusion deadline was January 6, 2026. If you did not submit a written opt-out request by that date, you are part of the class and bound by the settlement terms, which also means you gave up the right to sue Mid America Pet Food individually over these recalled products.
How Much Can You Get From the Mid America Pet Food Settlement?
The settlement uses a tiered payment structure, and what you receive depends entirely on what happened after your pet consumed the recalled food and what documentation you can provide. At the top end, fully documented pet injury claims can be paid at 100% of approved documented losses, up to a maximum of $100,000. This tier requires both proof of purchase (receipts) and veterinary records showing your pet was treated for illness related to the contaminated food. If your dog racked up $4,000 in emergency vet bills after eating recalled Victor Super Premium kibble and you kept the receipts and vet invoices, you could recover those costs in full under this tier. However, if your pet got sick but you did not take it to the vet — or you cannot locate the veterinary records — you fall into the declaration-only tier. For a pet that became ill but survived, the payout is $50 per pet.
For a pet that died, it is $100 per pet. These amounts are fixed and do not require receipts or vet documentation, just a signed declaration. There is also a purchase refund tier for people who simply want their money back on the recalled food itself, regardless of whether their pet got sick. One important limitation: because the total settlement fund is $5.5 million and must cover all approved claims plus legal fees and administrative costs, individual payouts could be reduced on a pro rata basis if the total approved claims exceed the available funds. The fully documented injury claims are paid first at 100%, and remaining funds are distributed to the lower tiers. So if thousands of people file declaration-only claims, the $50 and $100 amounts could potentially be adjusted downward.
What Products Were Recalled and Why?
In 2023, Mid America Pet Food voluntarily recalled several lines of dog and cat food after Salmonella contamination was identified at its Mount Pleasant, Texas manufacturing facility. The recalls came in three waves — September 3, October 30, and November 9, 2023 — each expanding the list of affected products as the investigation continued. Salmonella in pet food poses risks not only to the animals eating it but also to the humans handling it, particularly children, elderly individuals, and anyone with a compromised immune system. The recalled brands were Victor Super Premium, Wayne Feeds, Eagle Mountain, and Member’s Mark. Victor is a well-known premium brand sold in pet specialty stores and farm supply retailers, which made this recall particularly notable in the pet food industry.
Member’s Mark products are sold exclusively at Sam’s Club, meaning a significant number of warehouse club shoppers were potentially affected. For all brands, the recall covered products with a best-by date before October 31, 2024, which roughly corresponds to food manufactured during the contamination window at the Texas plant. If you still have bags of any of these products in your home, check the best-by date printed on the packaging. Any product matching the recall criteria should not be fed to pets and should be discarded. Even if you already threw the food away, you could still file a claim as long as you had some way to demonstrate you purchased the product during the class period.
What Documentation Do You Need to File a Claim?
The documentation you need depends on which payment tier you are pursuing, and the difference between having records and not having them can mean the difference between $50 and tens of thousands of dollars. For the fully documented injury tier, you need proof of purchase — a store receipt, credit card statement, or loyalty program purchase history showing you bought one of the recalled products — along with veterinary records establishing that your pet was treated for symptoms consistent with Salmonella exposure during the relevant time period. For declaration-only claims for pet illness or death, the bar is lower. You sign a declaration under penalty of perjury stating what happened to your pet, without needing to produce receipts or vet bills.
This is a significant tradeoff: the process is simpler and more accessible, but the compensation is capped at $50 for illness or $100 for death regardless of your actual losses. If your pet was seriously ill and you spent $2,000 at the vet but lost the records, you would only receive $50 under this tier instead of the full $2,000 you might have recovered with documentation. For purchase refund claims, you generally need some evidence of purchase. Claims could be filed online or by mail through the official settlement website at midamericapetfoodsettlement.com. The online filing process was typically faster and allowed you to upload supporting documents digitally rather than mailing physical copies.
When Will Settlement Payments Be Issued?
This is the question most claimants want answered, and unfortunately there is no specific payout date yet. Payments will be issued after the Court grants final approval — the hearing for which was scheduled for February 6, 2026 via Webex Teleconference at 10:00 AM — and after all appeals are resolved and claims are reviewed and processed under the Plan of Allocation. That sequence of events can take anywhere from a few months to over a year depending on whether anyone objects to the settlement and files an appeal. If no appeals are filed and the court grants final approval without complications, claimants might see payments within three to six months after the hearing. But if even one class member or outside party files an appeal, the entire distribution process is frozen until the appellate court resolves the matter, which can easily add another year or more.
The case, filed as Case No. 23-cv-11170-NSR in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, will have its docket updated as these proceedings unfold. There is no way to accelerate this timeline. The settlement administrator must process all claims, verify documentation, apply the Plan of Allocation to determine each claimant’s share, and then cut checks or issue electronic payments. Claimants who filed online and provided direct deposit information will likely receive funds faster than those waiting on mailed checks.
What Happens If You Missed the Claim Deadline?
The claim form deadline was February 5, 2026. If you did not file by that date, you are almost certainly unable to submit a claim for compensation. Class action settlement deadlines are strictly enforced, and courts rarely grant extensions for individual claimants who simply missed the cutoff.
The exclusion and objection deadline of January 6, 2026 has also passed, meaning you cannot opt out of the settlement to pursue your own lawsuit against Mid America Pet Food. One narrow exception exists in some settlements where the court allows late claims under extraordinary circumstances — for example, if you never received notice of the settlement due to an address change and can demonstrate you had no reasonable way to learn about the deadline. But this is uncommon and requires a formal motion to the court. For the vast majority of pet owners who were aware of the recall and settlement but did not act in time, the deadlines are final.
What Does This Settlement Mean for Pet Food Safety Going Forward?
The $5.5 million settlement against Mid America Pet Food is one of several recent cases that have put the pet food industry under increased scrutiny over manufacturing safety standards. While the settlement resolves the legal claims related to the 2023 Salmonella contamination, it does not require Mid America Pet Food to make specific changes to its manufacturing processes as a condition of the agreement — a point some consumer advocates have criticized. The company did voluntarily recall the products and has continued to operate its Mount Pleasant, Texas facility.
For pet owners, this case is a reminder to register purchased products when possible, keep receipts for pet food and supplies, and monitor FDA recall announcements. Had more affected pet owners retained their purchase receipts and veterinary records, the fully documented injury tier — paying up to $100,000 — would have been accessible to a larger number of claimants. Instead, many will receive only the $50 or $100 declaration-only amounts because they lacked the paperwork to prove their actual losses.
Frequently Asked Questions
What brands are covered by the Mid America Pet Food Settlement?
The settlement covers Victor Super Premium Dog and Cat Food, Wayne Feeds Dog and Cat Food, Eagle Mountain Pet Food, and two varieties of Member’s Mark pet foods. All must have had a best-by date before October 31, 2024 and been part of the recalls issued on September 3, October 30, or November 9, 2023.
How much money will I receive from the settlement?
It depends on your claim type. Fully documented pet injury claims can receive up to $100,000 with receipts and vet records. Declaration-only claims pay $50 per pet that became ill or $100 per pet that died. Purchase refund claims reimburse the cost of the recalled food. Actual amounts may be reduced pro rata if total claims exceed the $5.5 million fund.
Can I still file a claim for the Mid America Pet Food Settlement?
The claim form deadline was February 5, 2026. If you did not file by that date, you are generally unable to submit a claim. Courts rarely grant extensions for missed deadlines in class action settlements.
When will I get paid from the Mid America Pet Food Settlement?
No specific payout date has been announced. Payments will be issued after the court grants final approval, all appeals are resolved, and claims are processed. If no appeals are filed, payments could arrive within a few months of the February 6, 2026 hearing. Appeals could delay payments by a year or more.
Do I need a receipt to file a claim?
Not for all claim types. Declaration-only claims for pet illness ($50) or pet death ($100) require only a signed declaration, not receipts or vet records. However, the fully documented injury tier — which pays up to $100,000 — requires both proof of purchase and veterinary records.
Can I sue Mid America Pet Food separately instead of accepting the settlement?
Only if you opted out by the January 6, 2026 exclusion deadline. If you did not submit a written opt-out request by that date, you are bound by the settlement terms and have released your individual claims against Mid America Pet Food related to the recalled products.
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