Posted on 12/22/2005 5:53:34 AM PST by Calpernia
(Rochester, NY) 12/22/05 -- Some pet food contaminated with a toxic fungus is having deadly consequences.
Several dogs in the Rochester area have died from the toxin and others could be sick without their owners knowing.
Stores in 23 states have been notified to pull Diamond Pet Food products off their shelves. The contaminant, aflatoxin, grows on corn put in the products.
The food is sold under the brand names Diamond, Country Value, and Professional. The recalled batches have date codes of March-07 through June-07 and were made at the company's plant in Gaston, South Carolina.
Products from other facilities or with later date codes are not affected.
Dog and cat owners should have their pets examined right away if they’ve been using Diamond pet food products.
Signs of poisoning include lethargy, loss of appetite, increased water consumption and urination, bloody vomiting or diarrhea, and jaundice (yellowing) of the whites of the eyes or gums.
In severe cases, the toxin can cause death. Treatment includes a chicken and rice diet and pills to protect the liver.
Lori Hewett feeds her dog Sparta the Diamond products. However, Lori also happens to be the receptionist at Mendon Village Animal Hospital. She got Sparta tested immediately once she learned about the contamination.
"Since she happened to be with me at work that day, they did her blood work and her levels were very high," Lori said. "[However] she's been acting normally, still wanting to eat, playing, alert."
While some dogs get sick, others do not. Veterinarian Dr. Sara Sanders of Mendon saw this in three golden retrievers that ate the same food.
"Maybe some are resistant or the contamination was located in one part of the food…Some got the 'bad bite,' others didn't," she said.
Veterinarian Dr. Kent Burgesser of Rochester said his clinic has had a couple of cases where the symptoms were consistent with aflatoxin poisoning. He had not heard of any cats becoming ill from the poison.
Pet food companies test for aflatoxin, but it appears it can go unnoticed sometimes.
Seven of the sick dogs brought to Mendon Village Animal Hospital have been taken to Cornell and are under the care of more specially trained vets.
Rochester-area grocery stores Tops and Wegmans do not sell Diamond products.
Concerned pet owners can call Diamond Pet Food at (537) 229-4203 for more information. For details and a list of product names, click here to go to the Diamond Pet Food Web Site.
PING!
Yikes! We feed Diamond to our border Collies.
First two on the recall list.
Your kidding!
If Sparky did not get a taco every Saturday morning I had hell to pay!!
He also loved it when I juiced vegetables!! He would it the pulp let over.
Every dog I've had loves Bil-Jac. It is fresh meat, and it must be kept refrigerated.
Corn is not pet food, it's for cattle. At the very least, dogs fed corn develop a sort of "beefy" look. Not good.
My dog gets Nutro Senior, made with chicken and oatmeal along with some real meat that I simmer for her. Rice is OK too.
Reference bump. Thanks! ,-)
Animal hospital confirms canine death due to dog food
December 21, 2005 - Three brands of dog and cat food manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods are being recalled because they may contain aflatoxin.
The food is sold under the Diamond, Country Value and Professional labels. It's distributed in 23 states, including Mississippi.
Our sister station, WIS in South Carolina, reported that a representative with Wateree Animal Hospital in Camden, South Carolina says they have one confirmed dog death due to dog food. The pet owner just got back toxicology reports and the cause of death was severe liver damage due to dog food. The dog was eating Diamond Dog Food.
Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring toxic chemical by-product from the growth of the fungus Aspergillus flavus, on corn and other crops. The fungus develops on crops during years with severe high temperature stress and drought.
The company has notified its distributors to hold the sale of all Diamond Pet Food products formulated with corn that were produced in its Gaston, South Carolina, facility. Products manufactured at other Diamond Pet Food facilities are not affected.
Mississippi is one of the states serviced by the Gaston, South Carolina facility.
The Gaston facility date codes are unique from other Diamond facility codes in that either the eleventh or twelfth character in the date code will be a capital “G” (in reference to Gaston). The range of date codes being reviewed are “Best By 01-March-07” through “Best By 10-June-07”. Diamond’s quantitative analysis records substantiate that its corn shipments were definitively clear of aflatoxin after December 10. As such, “Best By 11-June-07” date codes or later are not affected by this notice
o Gaston facility products removed from sale are:
Diamond Low Fat Dog Food
Diamond Hi-Energy Dog Food
Diamond Maintenance Dog Food
Diamond Performance Dog Food
Diamond Premium Adult Dog Food
Diamond Puppy Food
Diamond Maintenance Cat Food
Diamond Professional Cat Food
Country Value Puppy
Country Value Adult Dog
Country Value High Energy Dog
Country Value Adult Cat Food
Professional Chicken & Rice Senior Dog Food
Professional Reduced Fat Chicken & Rice Dog Food
Professional Adult Dog Food
Professional Large-Breed Puppy Food
Professional Puppy Food
Professional Reduced Fat Cat Food
Professional Adult Cat Food
All pet owners are urged to contact a veterinarian immediately if their animals show signs of illness including sluggishness or lethargy combined with a reluctance to eat, yellowish tint to the eyes and/or gums, and severe or bloody diarrhea.
For more information about the specified Diamond Pet Food products, call Mark Brinkman, Diamond Pet Food, 573-229-4203. For a list of dealers in each of the affected states, visit http://www.diamondpet.com.
Other states serviced by the Gaston facility are Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky (eastern), Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Vermont and Virginia.
I found a PDF file on this company that says it sells to private labels too.
I'm wondering if they sell to stores for store branding.
Update, Diamond sells to private labels.
Not able to locate any other info yet.
I'd be curious about that.... We buy a Chicken and Rice food packaged for a local farm supply "Del's". We've thrown away the bag so I don't know how to look for who and where it comes from.
NOT that it helps; but this is the PDF I found that says Diamond sells to private labels:
http://www.janikltd.com/article1104.pdf
Diamond also has a pretty big distribution channel to farm and feed stores too.
I can't get through on the phone and am continuing to do searches.
You could always call and ask.
Thanks - please ping me to any further info.
I could... the Del's cat food says it's manufactured in Tacoma. I think the odds are slim that our stuff is coming from back east.. but if a list is found of the labels they sell to, I'd sure ping it again.
Don't forget, "it's Bush's fault".
I would never turn down Venison scraps either! :)
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