Posted on 12/23/2005 9:28:52 AM PST by Buddy B
Fungus Forces Recall of Dog, Cat Food
ALBANY, N.Y. A pet food company has advised retailers to stop selling some of its dog and cat food that may be contaminated with toxic fungus after several dogs got sick and some died.
The fungus produces poisonous aflatoxin. Symptoms of aflatoxin poisoning include lethargy, loss of appetite, yellowish eyes and gums, and severe or bloody diarrhea.
The 19 recalled varieties of dog and cat food were made by Diamond Pet Foods and sold in New York and 22 other states and under the brand names Diamond, Country Value, and Professional.
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
Dang! Now my elderly mother won't have any Christmas Dinner!.........
Caution PING
Caution PING
Prescription Science Diet only!
Just received the following alert from the 'CTCA Coton de Tulear e-Zine':
Company recalls tainted pet food
17 deaths may be linked to pet food contaminated with fungi
Friday, December 23, 2005; Posted: 4:43 a.m. EST (09:43 GMT)
A golden retriever being treated in Ithaca, New York, after eating the tainted food.
RELATED
View recall information
FACT BOX
The affected products:
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
(CNN) -- One of the nation's largest dog food producers has recalled some of its products in 22 states after receiving reports that they caused death and illness, a company executive said Thursday.
In a letter to thousands of its suppliers, Diamond Pet Food announced it found aflatoxin in products made at its Gaston, South Carolina, plant, said Chief Operating Officer Mark Brinkmann.
Products made at the Gaston facility are shipped to Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Vermont and Virginia.
Five cat food products and 14 dog food products were recalled. (View recall information)
Aflatoxin is a poisonous substance produced by fungi that grow on grains, including corn.
Brinkmann said he wasn't sure how many animals fell ill from the toxin, but the 22 states' veterinarian's offices reported a total of 17 deaths and 24 illnesses believed linked to the tainted pet food.
Investigators were at the South Carolina plant Thursday trying to determine when the contamination began, state Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers said.
"We were pulling samples yesterday and this morning," he said.
In its recall announcement, Diamond states that its in-house analysis has determined that "shipments were definitively clear of aflatoxin after December 1."
Symptoms that an animal may have ingested aflatoxin include yellowing of the whites of the eyes or gums, bloody vomiting or stools, lethargy, loss of appetite and increased water consumption.
Since other illnesses can cause the same symptoms, it is important for a veterinarian to check any suspected cases, experts said.
Brinkmann said the company was alerted to the problem last Friday by a veterinarian in New York state, who said he had seen three dogs that were exhibiting symptoms associated with liver disease.
"They were all three on one of our foods," Brinkmann said.
The company issued the recall Wednesday for foods containing corn produced at the South Carolina plant between September 1 and December 10.
The suspect items are marked with "best by" date codes of between March 1 and June 10, 2007. They contain an 11th or 12th digit, "G," signifying the Gaston facility.
The plant routinely takes samples of each half hour of production and is sending those samples to laboratories as part of an investigation into how the contamination occurred, Brinkmann said.
He urged consumers to check any product they may have before feeding it to their pets.
Diamond Pet Food, a family-owned company, is based in Meta, Missouri, outside Jefferson City.
What are Republicans gonna feed to the poor now?
Who are these "Fungus Forces"? Are they federal or state agents? Is the Fungus Forces' department on-budget, or off?
I guess we're gonna havta' be generous and buy some day old bread and cakes for them...............Dang! there goes my new Mercedes.........
related:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1545310/posts
Aflatoxin is one of the most potent natural carcinogens known. Alternative grains not susceptible to aflatoxin are the way to go.
FYI
I've pinged this the thread below twice, on the same subject...
That fungus sounds nasty. My guys eat Bench & Field, don't like anything else and have for years.
I said catfood, not fresh food.
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