URGENT NOTICE!! Contaminated Pet Food Responsible For Dozens of Dog Deaths Nationwide

[Warlady]

COLUMBIA, S.C. - 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.

The company recalled products manufactured at its Gaston, S.C., plant from around September to November 2005. Based on sample testing, Diamond has narrowed down the exposure to food produced on Oct. 11, Brinkmann said Thursday.

The FDA and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture have launched investigations.

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, according to the FDA.

The range of date codes being reviewed are "Best By 01-March-07" through Best By " 11-June-07".

FDA also has discovered that some of the recalled product was exported to at least 29 countries, including countries within the European Union. These countries have been notified.

Diamond officials say they are doing what they can to help affected pet owners.

“It’s going to take some time to take care of all these customers, and we’re going to do it,” said the company’s chief operating officer, Mark Brinkmann.

Diamond has promised to reimburse pet owners for vet bills and other costs associated with the aflatoxin poisoning, which officials now believe may include pets in Europe and other areas outside the country where the food is distributed.


Click (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10771943/) to read the rest

[Charity]

:-( Oh my goodness I need to check our pet food pantry.

[dPrasse]

Is this another problem or the same one covered a week or so ago ? Sounds like the same company , Diamond . If they had 2 major recalls in 2 weeks , that'd be bad for business!!

[Warlady]

dPrasse the article is dated Jan 9th. First I've heard of it.

[dPrasse]

My bad ... I had read it on another forum , my mind melded this story with the "Greenies" story on this board before Christmas ...

2 different stories , 2 seperate companies , 2 seperate forums , 1 mind :crazy:

[DeclinetoState]

Barbara Simpson (http://www.ksfo560.com/showdj.asp?DJID=2364) of KSFO once had a guest on her show who told some pretty gross stories about what they put in pet food. To make a long story short, your pet is probably better off eating table scraps than most commercial dog or cat foods.

[Warlady]

DTS, that's not true. It may be true for the pet food company your friend told you about but Iams, Science Diet and some others are not bad. I felt the same as you when I read this story. My dogs and cats are my kids as was my horse before I gave her a new home with a stallion. But table scraps are not the answer, not according to any vet I've ever talked to.

[Rink]

dPrasse the article is dated Jan 9th. First I've heard of it.

I posted this story a while back and everyone except peach ignored it even tho I kept bumping the story up.

http://www.freeconservatives.com/vb/showthread.php?t=30582

[dPrasse]

So I WASN"T Losing mind !!

That's good to know !

Thanks Rink :D

[TechnoPrincess]

So I WASN"T Losing mind !!

That's good to know !

Thanks Rink :D

Whether you're losing your mind is still debatable ;) And we have had this discussion on another forum....

[DoctorDoom]

You're discussing dPrasse's mind loss on another forum? FOR SHAME! :D

[DeclinetoState]

DTS, that's not true. It may be true for the pet food company your friend told you about but Iams, Science Diet and some others are not bad. I felt the same as you when I read this story. My dogs and cats are my kids as was my horse before I gave her a new home with a stallion. But table scraps are not the answer, not according to any vet I've ever talked to.

I don't think Barbara Simpson's guest "named names"--there are always legal ramifications to doing so--so I don't know if the brands mentioned above were specifically excluded from their concerns.

Stories were told of vets selling dog corpses to pet-food companies, thus making Fido into a cannibal. According to the guest, the corpses were turned into pet food with collars, etc. still on, apparently in the hopes that the food processing would remove or at least adequately disguise the evidence. Of course, I'm sure it would be difficult to prove any of this.

:(

[The_RANDy_Corporation]

We only feed Science Diet. Costs an arm and a leg but our cats and dog are very healthy.

[DeclinetoState]

Just so long as your arm and leg don't become part of Fluffy's dinner . . .

[dPrasse]

You're discussing dPrasse's mind loss on another forum? FOR SHAME! :D

it seems to be a daily topic ...:whistle:

[TotallyAtPeace]

What other forum? Bet he's not called dPraasse....:libride: <iframe style="border: 2px inset ; width: 540px; height: 250px;" tabindex="1" id="vB_Editor_001_iframe"></iframe>

[dcanner]

I'm so embarrassed. This pet food factory is located in my town, 2 miles from my house. I drive by it everyday.
I heard that the problem was called by some kind of fungus in contaminated corn. I hope this doesn't close the plant--it provides a lot of badly needed jobs here in Gaston, SC.

[UhUhNoWay]

I don't think Barbara Simpson's guest "named names"--there are always legal ramifications to doing so--so I don't know if the brands mentioned above were specifically excluded from their concerns.

Stories were told of vets selling dog corpses to pet-food companies, thus making Fido into a cannibal. According to the guest, the corpses were turned into pet food with collars, etc. still on, apparently in the hopes that the food processing would remove or at least adequately disguise the evidence. Of course, I'm sure it would be difficult to prove any of this.

:( Sadly it isn't just vets selling...it's a lot of the meat industry. I know that they sell what they call 4 D meat to dog tracks to feed the racers, the 4 D's stand for 'dying' 'disabled' 'diseased' or 'dead' they render those animal parts,(any kind of animal..road kill corpses from vets, along with animals from meat processing plants) and pack them in 5 gallon buckets freeze it and sell it to tracks who believe that feeding greyhounds raw meat makes them run faster. The smorgasbord of pathogens is then fed to these dogs (left out over night to thaw, the workers scoop out the slush and feed the dogs) the workers are at risk too, no telling what combination of disease and vermin is in each bucket. And..yes, the dogs do get sick. My greyhound has a disease they call 'alabama rot' essentially it is sort of like e-coli but worse..there is no cure and there is always the risk flare ups and if it flares up, it can result in sudden death due to kidney failure. Basically you treat symptoms, provide support treat the diarrhea and dehydration, and hope he pulls through. Since we've had Fletch the last 4 years, he's had two flare ups with us, and one at the kennel when he was diagnosed...it causes odd swellings on his paws, ulcer like sores,joint pains, numbness and tingling, and when he is having a flare up, it can cause severe (and quite obnoxious) liquid bms ...anyway...when he is having a flare up, I feed him boiled skinless chicken, broth and rice in small amounts and gallons of water. Not sure of what caused his flare ups, maybe stress,
Anyway..I just rambled on about this, but...y'know..I'm an animal person..prefer them to most people, and this hit close to home...the stuff in the dry dog foods are from the same bucket of disease, but to make kibble it is cooked so it isn't likely your pet will get alabama rot ....it's a crime what people do to animals...ok..done with my babbling :crazy:

[Riverboat]

According to the guest, the corpses were turned into pet food with collars, etc. still on, apparently in the hopes that the food processing would remove or at least adequately disguise the evidence. Sounds like a factory in China.

I'm with Warlady (as usual) on the table scraps thing. Every vet I've talked to aver that Fido needs a balanced diet that table scraps don't provide: "Pancreatitis is one disease that emphasizes how important it is to feed your pet a well-balanced diet of pet food, and to keep the animal away from table scraps and garbage. Pancreatitis is a severe inflammation of the pancreas, an organ that aids in digestion of food."

http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=260

[dPrasse]

What other forum? Bet he's not called dPrasse....:libride:

of course I am !

[dPrasse]

What other forum? Bet he's not called dPrasse....:libride:

of course I am !

[The_Fireman]

What other forum? Bet he's not called dPraasse....:libride: <IFRAME id=vB_Editor_001_iframe style="BORDER-RIGHT: 2px inset; BORDER-TOP: 2px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 2px inset; WIDTH: 540px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 2px inset; HEIGHT: 250px" tabIndex=1></IFRAME>He's been dPrasse ever since I've known him.At another forum he was dprasse and there was this red head......Never mind tell you later....:whistle: