FDA: Contaminated Dog Food Killed 23 Dogs, Sickened 18

........while someone posted this dog food recall earlier, I thought I'd
bring it to everyone's attention that dogs have died due to the aflatoxin
contamination. So if anyone out there has dogs with unexplained liver
troubles and are feeding any Diamond products, best take them off it, save
the bag and get your vet bills reimbursed.

buglady
takeout the dog before replying
+++++++++++++++++++++++
FDA: Contaminated Dog Food Killed 23 Dogs, Sickened 18
Friday, December 30, 2005

WASHINGTON - Contaminated dog food which was sold in 22 states killed nearly
two dozen dogs and sickened 18 more, the Food and Drug Administration said
Friday.

The deaths and illnesses sparked an FDA investigation into the pet food made
by the Diamond Pet Food Company at its Gaston, S.C., manufacturing plant.
The FDA said so far 23 animal deaths have been linked to the pet food.

The company, based in Beta, Mo., issued a recall of 19 varieties of dog and
cat food on Dec. 21 because some of the pet food made at the Gaston facility
was discovered to contain aflatoxin.

Aflatoxin, a naturally occurring chemical that comes from a fungus sometimes
ground on corn and other crops, can cause severe liver damage. Aflatoxin
poisoning can cause sluggishness, a lack of appetite and in severe cases
severe vomiting, fever and jaundice.

The recalled pet food was sold in 23 states under the brand names Diamond,
Country Value and Professional, and bears the date codes of March 1, 2007,
through June 11, 2007. Consumers are asked to immediately stop using the
product.

Last week, Tony Caver, the state veterinarian in South Carolina, said that
state has five presumed cases linked to aflatoxin, including three
fatalities.

Seven dogs from the Rochester, N.Y., area were being treated at Cornell
University Hospital for Animals for liver disease and failure after eating
contaminated food, said university spokeswoman Sabina Lee. An area
veterinarian discovered the link after three dogs died in the area, she
said.

In a Dec. 20 press release, the company said it had notified distributors to
hold up the further sale of Diamond pet food that had used corn. The next
day it ordered the recall.

"To ensure we got all the affected product or potential to be affected, we
cast a very wide net with the recall," Diamond spokesman Jim Fallon said
Friday. He said the company is conducting tests and has set up a consumer
information center, open seven days a week, to handle consumer questions.

"We are working with customers and their vets to confirm a link between the
pet food and the pet's illnesses," he said. "Our whole focus is saving pets'
lives and doing the right thing."

The company said it was analyzing retained samples of all of the affected
pet food products in Gaston in an attempt to isolate specific lot numbers
that were impacted and provide the information to distributors, retailers
and customers.

In the United States, the pet food was distributed to stores in 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.

The FDA said some of the recalled product had been exported to at least 29
countries, including several in the European Union. Those countries have
been notified, the agency said.

.......while someone posted this dog food recall earlier, I thought I'd
bring it to everyone's attention that dogs have died due to the aflatoxin
contamination. So if anyone out there has dogs with unexplained liver
troubles and are feeding any Diamond products, best take them off it, save
the bag and get your vet bills reimbursed.

In the larger city about 40 miles from here, there have been deaths due to
Diamond food and more dogs are being treated with very cautious prognosis.
One thought is that symptoms could show up at any time in the 8 weeks
following ingestion of the Aflotoxin laden food. Any vomiting, diarrhea,
loss of appetite should be considered serious symptoms if the dog has been
eating Diamond recalled bags. Other pets in the house eating from the same
batch should also be tested weekly for 8 weeks for liver problems. What a
mess. We've not seen any problems at our clinic yet, but our whole staff is
very current on the situation. Thanks for reposting this.

"Sharon" wrote in message
...
In the larger city about 40 miles from here, there have been deaths due to
Diamond food and more dogs are being treated with very cautious prognosis.
One thought is that symptoms could show up at any time in the 8 weeks
following ingestion of the Aflotoxin laden food. Any vomiting, diarrhea,
loss of appetite should be considered serious symptoms if the dog has been
eating Diamond recalled bags. Other pets in the house eating from the same
batch should also be tested weekly for 8 weeks for liver problems. What a
mess. We've not seen any problems at our clinic yet, but our whole staff
is
very current on the situation. Thanks for reposting this.


.........Thanks for the addendum Sharon - 8 weeks - zowie..... How were you
notified of this event anyway? I'm always curious about how vets get info
like this.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

........Thanks for the addendum Sharon - 8 weeks - zowie..... How were
you
notified of this event anyway? I'm always curious about how vets get info
like this.

Came from the news actually! The TV stations have been interviewing the vets
treating the affected dogs and this is what is coming from them. Now - where
they are getting their treatment plan I can only assume is partly from them
and partly from the Diamond vets.

We're about 45 miles away from the city center and we haven't yet had
affected patients. We had one in we thought might be - husband couldn't
recall the name of the food. But it turns out that the dogs in that house
ate Purina and this one had eaten a mincemeat pie with raisins which altered
the liver function enough (but not as much as our dog when he ate a small
bunch of grapes. Other dog with 3 paws in the grave can eat grapes to
infinity and have no issues). It *is* sold here at the local farm supply
store. There are brands made by Diamond but packaged under other names that
folks should be aware of. From their website:

Products Included in the Recall
Diamond Premium Adult Dog Food
Diamond Hi-Energy Dog Food
Diamond Maintenance Dog Food
Diamond Professional for Adult Dogs
Diamond Performance Dog Food
Diamond Puppy Food
Diamond Low Fat Dog Food
Diamond Maintenance Cat Food
Diamond Professional Cat Food
Country Value Puppy
Country Value Adult Dog Food
Country Value High Energy Dog Food
Country Value Adult Cat Food
Professional Chicken & Rice Adult Dog Food
Professional Puppy Food
Professional Large-Breed Puppy Food
Professional Reduced Fat Cat Food
Professional Adult Cat Food

== the website should be checked because not all lot numbers of these
brands are affected:

http://www.diamondpetrecall.com/index.php