Petville

Diamond Pet Food to pay for pet deaths

Diamond Pet Food agrees to $3.1 million settlement with owners

A company that made contaminated pet food that killed dozens of dogs nationwide will pay $3.1 million in a settlement with pet owners, an attorney said Friday.

The pet food, which contained a mold called aflatoxin, was produced at Diamond Pet Foods’ plant in South Carolina. The company will set up a fund to reimburse pet owners for the loss of their dog, veterinarian bills and the cost of any unreturned contaminated food, said attorney Jim Andrews, who represented a Knoxville, Tenn., family that sued the company.

Diamond Pet Foods, based in Meta, Mo., acknowledged that workers at its Gaston, S.C., plant failed to follow internal testing procedures to ensure its products were safe. The company made the acknowledgment after the Food and Drug Administration released a report showing the company has no record of test results for 12 shipments of corn in 2005, when grain tainted with the deadly fungus slipped into the plant.The company contends it did nothing illegal, according to the settlement.

An attorney for the company said Diamond would cooperate with claimants.

Dog Food Produced in Manassas, VA Recalled

A pet food maker Wednesday recalled some of its dog food sold exclusively at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. because of concerns about possible salmonella contamination.

The recall issued by Brentwood, Tenn.-based Doane Pet Care Co. is unrelated to recent pet food recalls connected to tainted Chinese proteins used in some pet food production.

Only a single batch of 55-pound bags of Ol' Roy Complete Nutrition dog food is being recalled. The dog food was produced at a plant in Manassas and distributed to 69 Wal-Mart stores in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Ohio. Forty of the stores are in Virginia.

The company recalled the dog food after the Food and Drug Administration detected the presence of salmonella. People handling the food could potentially be exposed to the bacteria, along with pets that eat the food. The company said no illnesses have been reported.

Affected bags have the code 04 0735 1 and a "best by" date of April 13, 2008.

Doane Pet Care is a division of the privately held, McLean-based Mars Inc. manufacturer of candy and pet foods.

Consumers with questions can call 800-624-7387 or find further information at http://www.doanepetcare.com

Filler in Animal Feed Is Open Secret in China

As American food safety regulators head to China to investigate how a chemical made from coal found its way into pet food that killed dogs and cats in the United States, workers in this heavily polluted northern city openly admit that the substance is routinely added to animal feed as a fake protein.

For years, producers of animal feed all over China have secretly supplemented their feed with the substance, called melamine, a cheap additive that looks like protein in tests, even though it does not provide any nutritional benefits, according to melamine scrap traders and agricultural workers here.

“Many companies buy melamine scrap to make animal feed, such as fish feed,” said Ji Denghui, general manager of the Fujian Sanming Dinghui Chemical Company, which sells melamine. “I don’t know if there’s a regulation on it. Probably not. No law or regulation says ‘don’t do it,’ so everyone’s doing it. The laws in China are like that, aren’t they? If there’s no accident, there won’t be any regulation.”

Melamine is at the center of a recall of 60 million packages of pet food, after the chemical was found in wheat gluten linked this month to the deaths of at least 16 pets and the illness of possibly thousands of pets in the United States.

No one knows exactly how melamine (which is not believed to be particularly toxic) became so fatal in pet food, but its presence in any form of American food is illegal.

The pet food case is also putting China’s agricultural exports under greater scrutiny because the country has had a terrible food safety record.

In recent years, for instance, China’s food safety scandals have involved everything from fake baby milk formulas and soy sauce made from human hair to instances where cuttlefish were soaked in calligraphy ink to improve their color and eels were fed contraceptive pills to make them grow long and slim.

For their part, Chinese officials dispute any suggestion that melamine from the country could have killed pets. But regulators here on Friday banned the use of melamine in vegetable proteins made for export or for use in domestic food supplies.

Yet what is clear from visiting this region of northeast China is that for years melamine has been quietly mixed into Chinese animal feed and then sold to unsuspecting farmers as protein-rich pig, poultry and fish feed.

full article here

How did the recall change your pet's diet?

Did you switch pet food brands? Are you reading the packages with more consideration than before? Please comment below on what pet dietary changes you've made, and feel free to take the survey. We thought you'd all like to know how the pet food recall affected one another...

The recent pet food recall made me:
	Change my pet's food, but it's still commercial
	Take a closer look at my pet's food, but fed the same
	Switch to cooking for my pet
	Change nothing in my pet's diet
pollcode.com free polls

Jerky Treats, Pounce and Gravy Train among brands in Del Monte Recall

Del Monte Pet Products Voluntarily Withdraws Specific Product Codes of Pet Treats and Wet Dog Food Products

As a precautionary measure, Del Monte Pet Products is voluntarily recalling select product codes of its pet treat products sold under the Jerky Treats®, Gravy Train® Beef Sticks and Pounce Meaty Morsels® brands as well as select dog snack and wet dog food products sold under private label brands.

A complete list of affected brands and products is on the Del Monte web site.

The Company took this voluntary recall action immediately after learning this morning from the FDA that wheat gluten supplied to Del Monte Pet Products from a specific manufacturing facility in China contained melamine. Melamine is a substance not approved for use in food. The FDA made this finding as part of its ongoing investigation into the recent pet food recall.

The adulteration occurred in a limited production quantity on select product codes of the brands below. This recall removes all Del Monte pet products with wheat gluten procured from this manufacturing facility from retail shelves.

No other Del Monte Pet Products treats, biscuits or wet dog food products are impacted by this recall, and no Del Monte dry cat food, dry dog food, wet cat food or pouched pet foods are subject to this voluntary recall. The affected products comprise less than one-tenth of one percent of Del Monte Pet Products' annual pet food and pet treat production.

Del Monte Pet Products has proactively engaged and fully cooperated with the FDA since the start of its investigation. The adulterated ingredients were used in limited production over the last three months for those items identified by specific product codes. Del Monte Pet Products has not used wheat gluten from this manufacturing facility in China in any other pet products except those described on the Del Monte web site.

Consumers should discontinue feeding the products with the Product Codes detailed below to their pets.

Del Monte Pet Products are 100% guaranteed and all voluntarily recalled products will be refunded.

Del Monte Pet Products customers can contact our Consumer Hotline at (800) 949-3799 for further information about the recall and for instructions on obtaining a product refund. If consumers visit our website, they can click on the "Contact Us" button and submit the Contact Us form, including UPC number, product name, Best By Date, and manufacturing code information (located under the Best By date). Consumers may also write to us at:
Del Monte
P.O. Box 80
Pittsburgh PA 15230-0080.

P&G Pet Food Recall for IAMS and Eukanuba brands

From Proctor and Gamble:

We want to comment on the new announcement by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) that they have found a substance called melamine in the wheat gluten of recalled products, and not the aminopterin, as earlier suspected by the New York Foods Laboratory.

We can reassure you:

First, there is no melamine or aminopterin in any of our Iams and Eukanuba dry pet foods on store shelves.

In fact, Iams and Eukanuba dry pet foods to DO NOT contain wheat gluten.  Our dry dog and cat foods are made exclusively by P&G Pet Care and not by Menu Foods.

Pet owners can feel safe and confident in feeding all Iams and Eukanuba dry foods, as well as any wet foods that are not on the Menu Foods recall list. Click here to see the specific list of recalled wet pouch and canned products.

We want to review the key actions we’ve taken:

• We immediately worked with retailers to remove from store shelves the small number of our wet pouch and canned products affected by the Menu Foods recall.
• We immediately suspended production of all our foods manufactured at the affected Menu Foods Emporia, Kansas plant.
• We have shared all of our data and continue to cooperate fully with FDA, which is leading this important investigation.
• A task force of prominent North American veterinary health care experts, convened by Iams to review the recall, recently agreed: "Veterinarians and pet owners should feel safe recommending and feeding Iams and Eukanuba dry foods".

We want to stress again that you can confidently feed all of your pets any of our dry foods, as well as the wet foods not affected by the Menu Foods recall. If you have any questions about the recalled products, please click here to see the specific list of recalled wet pouch and canned products.

P&G Pet Care is deeply committed to pet well-being and our top priority is to help you care for your dog and cat family members. We will continue to provide you with meaningful updates. If you have additional questions, not answered on our Web site FAQs, please call us at 1-800-882-1591.

Alpo® Brand Voluntarily Recalled

Alpo® Brand Prime Cuts In Gravy Canned Dog Food Voluntary Nationwide Recall - No Dry Purina Products Involved

March 30, 2007

Nestlé Purina PetCare Company today announced it is voluntarily recalling all sizes and varieties of its ALPO® Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with specific date codes. The Company is taking this voluntary action after learning today that wheat gluten containing melamine, a substance not approved for use in food, was provided to Purina by the same company that also supplied Menu Foods. The contamination occurred in a limited production quantity at only one of Purina's 17 pet food manufacturing facilities.

Earlier today the FDA announced the finding of melamine in products related to the March 16 Menu Foods recall, and advised Purina of the source of the contaminated supply. Purina then determined that it had received some quantity from the suspect supplier. The company proactively notified the FDA and immediately began this recall process

Purina is confident that the contaminated wheat gluten has been isolated to this limited production quantity of ALPO Prime Cuts canned products.

The recalled 13.2-ounce and 22-ounce ALPO Prime Cuts cans and 6-, 8-, 12- and 24-can ALPO Prime Cuts Variety Packs have four-digit code dates of 7037 through 7053, followed by the plant code 1159. Those codes follow a "Best Before Feb. 2009" date.** This information should be checked on the bottom of the can or the top or side of the multi-pack cartons.

Purina's 5.3-ounce Mighty Dog® pouch products, manufactured by Menu Foods, were previously withdrawn from the market as a precaution on March 16 as part of the Menu Foods recall. ONLY Mighty Dog pouch products and specific date codes of ALPO Prime Cuts canned dog food are being recalled.

Importantly, no Purina brand dry pet foods are affected by the recall – including ALPO Prime Cuts dry. In addition, no other Purina dog food products, no Purina cat food products, Purina treat products or Purina Veterinary Diet products are included in this recall, nor have been impacted by the contaminated wheat gluten supply.

Consumers should immediately stop feeding ALPO Prime Cuts products with the above-listed date codes to their dogs and consult with a veterinarian if they have any health concerns with their pet.

Purina guarantees all of its products, and consumers can receive the full replacement value of the recalled products. Consumers can visit Purina at www.purina.com or call 1-800-218-5898 to receive more information.

Purina is fully cooperating with the FDA and made the decision to voluntarily recall this product in consultation with the FDA.

** Due to a product name change in early 2007, this voluntary recall also covers one item with the same date code labeled as ALPO® Prime Entrees in Gravy with Chicken, Rotini Pasta & Vegetables.

F.D.A. Now Questions Safety of Dry Pet Food

More on the recent pet food recall...

Scientists with the Food and Drug Administration have linked a chemical to the illness and deaths of cats eating tainted food and raised for the first time the possibility that dry pet food may have been affected as well as wet food.

F.D.A. officials said at a news conference today that they have linked the chemical melamine, which they said is used as a fertilizer in Asia, to the kidneys of the affected cats. Thousands of owners of both cats and dogs who feed their pets wet or dry food have complained that their pets have become ill, but the F.D.A. has not yet determined if those illnesses are linked to pet food.

The agency has recalled a batch of contaminated Chinese wheat gluten that was sent to many pet food manufacturers, including one that makes dry dog food.

But they said they do not know yet if the contaminated wheat gluten has been used to make pet food. And the F.D.A.’s finding was also immediately disputed by the New York State Food Laboratory, the testing facility that announced last Friday it had identified Aminopterin, a rat poison, in samples of tainted cat food.

Because the F.D.A. identified melamine crystals in the kidneys of affected cats, the agency is presuming the illnesses are related to the chemical, said Dr. Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the F.D.A.’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.

F.D.A officials have not yet released the name of the dry pet food company that received the contaminated wheat gluten, saying it was not clear if any of that gluten had yet been made into dog food.

“We are in the plant right now,” said Michael Rogers, director of the division of field investigations in the office of regulatory affairs for the F.D.A. “At this time, we’re not certain any dry food was made with that wheat gluten. As soon as we find out what dry food, if any, was manufactured, we will announce it publicly.”

Jessica A Chittenden, a spokeswoman for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, said “We don’t think this is the final conclusion. Melamine is not a known toxin. There’s not enough data to show that it is toxic to cats.”

She added: “We are confident we found Aminopterin, and it makes sense with the pathology.” She also said another laboratory, Animal Health Laboratory at the University of Guelph in Canada, had confirmed the presence of Aminopterin in the samples.

But the F.D.A. said they had been unable to find Aminopterin in the pet food samples it had tested. Researchers at Cornell said they were also unable to find any evidence of the rat poison.

“We believe the laboratories involved in this investigation should continue to maintain an open forum to definitively identify the one or more agents that are causing the deaths and illnesses of cats and dogs so that they do not enter the animal or human food chain in the future,” said Patrick Hooker, the agricultural commissioner for the state of New York.

Though Dr. Sundlof said he was not certain melamine was the chemical causing illness in dogs and cats, “at this point in the investigation, we are not focusing on Aminopterin.”

F.D.A. officials announced they had received more than 8,000 complaints from pet owners with sick pets, but they have not yet had “the luxury of time” to confirm all of those complaints are linked to tainted pet food.

Officials did acknowledge, however, that many of the complaints were from owners who only fed their pets dry food.

A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates was posted on Menu Foods' Web site. The company also designated two phone numbers that pet owners could call for information: (866) 463-6738 and (866) 895-2708.

Rat poison in pet food blamed for 17 deaths

[ Dr. Pedro Cisneros examines Pebbles, a 7-year-old Yorkshire terrier who later died from kidney failure after eating dog food that was later recalled, at Collett Veterinary Clinic in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles Wednesday. (AP Photo) ]

A frightening update to our last post on the pet food recall:

Rat poison was found in pet food blamed for the deaths of at least 17 cats and dogs, but scientists said Friday they still don’t know how it got there and predicted more animal deaths would be linked to it.

After the announcement, the company that produced the food expanded its recall to include all 95 brands of the “cuts and gravy” style food, regardless of when they were produced. The company also said it would take responsibility for pet medical expenses incurred as a result of the food.

The substance in the food was identified as aminopterin, a cancer drug that once was used to induce abortions in the United States and is still used to kill rats in some other countries, state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker said.

The federal government prohibits using aminopterin for killing rodents in the U.S. State officials would not speculate on how the poison got into the pet food, but said no criminal investigations had been launched.

The pet deaths led to a recall of 60 million cans and pouches of dog and cat food produced by Menu Foods and sold throughout North America under 95 brand names. Some pets that ate the recalled brands suffered kidney failure, and the company has confirmed the deaths of 15 cats and two dogs.

The latest death, a Yorkshire terrier named Pebbles, occurred Thursday. The dog died of kidney failure after eating some of the food. Her owner, Jeff Kerner, said he was contacting an attorney because he wanted to prevent another pet tragedy.

A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates was posted on Menu Foods' Web site. The company also designated two phone numbers that pet owners could call for information: (866) 463-6738 and (866) 895-2708.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17754681/

Pet owners beware: Another pet food recall

Menu Foods Income Fund today announced the precautionary recall of a portion of the dog and cat food it manufactured between December 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007. The recall is limited to "cuts and gravy" style pet food in cans and pouches manufactured at two of the Fund's United States facilities. These products are both manufactured and sold under private-label and are contract-manufactured for some national brands.

Over the past several days, the Fund has received feedback in the United States (none in Canada) raising concerns about pet food manufactured since early December, and its impact on the renal health of the pets consuming the products. Shortly after receipt of the first complaint, the Fund initiated a substantial battery of technical tests, conducted by both internal and external specialists, but has failed to identify any issues with the products in question.

The Fund has, however, discovered that timing of the production associated with these complaints, coincides with the introduction of an ingredient from a new supplier. The Fund stopped using this ingredient shortly after this discovery and production since then has been undertaken using ingredients from another source. At the same time, the Fund's largest customer, for which it manufactures on a contract basis, received a small number of consumer complaints and has initiated its own recall.

Furthermore, for the time being, the customer has put future orders for cuts and gravy products on hold. This customer's cuts and gravy purchases in 2006 represented approximately 11% of the Fund's annual revenue. "We take these complaints very seriously and, while we are still looking for a specific cause, we are acting to err on the side of caution" said Paul K. Henderson, President and CEO, Menu Foods. "We will do whatever is necessary to ensure that our products maintain the very highest quality standards."

While the number of complaints has been relatively small, Menu is taking this proactive step out of an abundance of caution, because the health and well-being of pets is paramount to the Fund. In addition to changing suppliers, for production after March 6, the Fund has increased testing of all raw materials and finished goods. It is also working closely with regulatory authorities and its customers to learn more and will take whatever additional actions are appropriate. The Fund estimates that based on currently available information, this recall could cost between $30 million and $40 million, which will be financed from a combination of internally generated cash flow and bank credit facilities. Furthermore, the Fund is aggressively producing product, utilizing a different supplier for the ingredient in question, to replenish customers as quickly as possible.

In order to determine whether cat and dog food in their possession is subject to recall, consumers should refer to the list of brand names ("listed products" at www.menufoods.com/recall. Products not identified on the website can continue to be used.

Diamond Pet Foods Contaminated Pet Food RECALL

Jan. 2006

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports that at least 76 dogs nationwide are believed to have died as a result of eating contaminated Diamond Pet Foods.

The company has recalled 19 varieties of dog and cat food because tests showed high levels of aflatoxin, a naturally occurring toxic chemical that comes from a fungus found on corn and other grains that causes severe liver damage in animals.

PRODUCTS REMOVED FROM SALE

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

STATES AFFECTED