From the Diamond Pet Food website http://www.diamondpet.com/ :

Diamond Pet Food has discovered aflatoxin in a product manufactured
at the company’s Gaston, S.C. facility. Out of an abundance of
caution, we have notified our distributors in the areas affected and
recommended they hold the sale of all products potentially affected
by this situation.

Product quality and customer satisfaction are important to us, and we
pledge to keep you updated as new developments occur.

What is Aflatoxin?

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 foods from the affected plants are distributed in Alabama,
Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky (eastern), Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina,
Tennessee, West Virginia, Vermont, and Virginia.

Kathleen

Which is why incoming raw ingredients should be tested BEFORE they are
incorporated into foods - but then that's an expensive process of
course.

Steve Crane wrote:
Which is why incoming raw ingredients should be tested BEFORE they are
incorporated into foods - but then that's an expensive process of
course.

Steve,
I know I'm going to open a big ole can of worms with this one, but what
companies that you know of do the testing?

Beth

wrote:
Steve Crane wrote:
Which is why incoming raw ingredients should be tested BEFORE they are
incorporated into foods - but then that's an expensive process of
course.

Steve,
I know I'm going to open a big ole can of worms with this one, but what
companies that you know of do the testing?

Beth

I don't why it would open a big can of "worms" at all. Iams, Royal
Canin, and Hill's all test raw ingredients extensively prior to
bringing them into the plant. I believe Purina is doing much the same
thing, but I am not sure. At minimum raw ingredient vendors should be
required to provide test results for each lot of every raw ingredient
that should be tested. It doesn't make sense to test every raw
ingredient for every possible contaminant. For instance testing salmon
for heavy metals, lead, mercury, PCB's etc should be required, but
testing salmon for aflatoxins which only affect grains, would be a
waste of time. Vendors will provide such testing results for every lot,
but that increases the costs in two ways. One it eliminates some lots
of raw ingredients that fail the test and might otherwise be used, and
two - the costs of the testing for each lot is obviously going to get
passed on to the buyer. I'd be very surprised if the companies above
don't require vendor certification and test results for the raw
ingredients and then double check the vendor by testing the lots of raw
ingredients again internally to verify the test results.

On 21 Dec 2005 16:56:07 -0800, "
wrote:


Steve Crane wrote:
Which is why incoming raw ingredients should be tested BEFORE they are
incorporated into foods - but then that's an expensive process of
course.

Steve,
I know I'm going to open a big ole can of worms with this one, but what
companies that you know of do the testing?

SCIENCEDIETSCIENCEDIETSCIENCEDIETSCIENCEDIETSCIENC EDIETSCIENCEDIETSCIENCEDIETSCIENCEDIET

Mustang Sally

SCIENCEDIETSCIENCEDIETSCIENCEDIETSCIENCEDIETSCIENC EDIETSCIENCEDIETSCIENCEDI*ETSCIENCEDIET


Mustang Sally


Well, I KNEW that was a given. But he did list two others and mention
a possible third.

Beth