Diamond also tested its pet food brands Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's
Soul and Premium Edge for aflatoxin, but found them negative.
"This testing will help our customers better identify products affected,"
said Mark Brinkmann, chief operations officer at Missouri-based Diamond Pet Foods.
Aflatoxin, or Aspergillus flavus, is a toxic chemical by-product of mold that grows on grain. The affected Diamond pet foods were manufactured with corn that was contaminated with aflatoxin, which subsequently killed dozens of pets across the United States, according to news reports.
The company tests its corn shipments for aflatoxin before including it in its pet foods. According to the news reports, Brinkmann said it seemed that the company's sampling method missed a pocket of aflatoxin in one of the shipments.
When the company recalled the toxic pet food on Dec. 21, Brinkmann said in a press statement: "Our highest priority right now is the health and well-being of our
customers' pets."
"We are committed to keeping our customers informed and are taking aggressive
steps to resolve this issue. We're proud of our long history of producing high
quality and safe products and deeply regret that this situation has occurred," he said.
Brinkmann urged pet owners who suspect their pet is ill from aflatoxin
to consult their veterinarian for proper diagnosis and treatment. Symptoms
include jaundice, lack of appetite, depression, bloody stools and
excessive bleeding.
The states affected by the
recall are Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina,
Tennessee, West Virginia, Vermont and Virginia.
