FDA issues alert on contaminated dog food

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration on Friday said it is conducting an investigation
into the deaths and illnesses of dogs who consumed food made by
the privately owned Diamond Pet Foods.

The Meta, Missouri-based maker of premium pet food, sold
under labels that include Diamond, Country Value and
Professional, last week said it discovered the toxin aflatoxin
in products made at its Gaston, South Carolina, plant.

“Customers who have purchased the recalled Diamond Pet Food
manufactured in the South Carolina plant should immediately
stop using it and return any remaining product to their
retailer,” the FDA said in a statement.

Aflatoxin comes from a fungus and develops on crops during
hot weather and drought. It was detected in several key growing
states including Iowa and Illinois this year. Large quantities
can cause cancer in humans, and it can be deadly to animals.

In its statement, the FDA said that some of the recalled
product was exported to at least 29 countries including
countries in the European Union. “These countries have been
notified,” the FDA said.

Earlier this week, Diamond Pet Foods opened a special
customer information center in response to the recall.

“We’re committed to providing the most up-to-date
information we receive, and will take aggressive steps to help
our customers, retailers and distributors,” said Diamond’s
general manager Mark Brinkmann.

In a comments made last week, Brinkmann said the company
had received a call from a customer in New York whose dog had
died, which then prompted the company to test samples from its
South Carolina plant.

The company routinely pulls samples every 30 minutes, and
was still testing them to narrow down which products may be
contaminated. However, Diamond decided on a broad recall of all
pet food made at that plant from September 1 through December
10 while it awaits further test results.

While there have been “some deaths,” Brinkmann could not
quantify how many animals were affected. Calls about sick
animals came initially from New York and North Carolina, but
the company has received inquiries from customers in several
other states since the recall was announced, he said.

Clinical signs of aflatoxin poisoning include loss of
appetite, jaundice, severe and persistent vomiting and fever.