Published May 05, 2012
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Fourteen people in at least
nine states have been sickened by salmonella after handling tainted dog food
from a South Carolina plant that a few years ago produced food contaminated by
toxic mold that killed dozens of dogs, federal officials said Friday.
At least five people were hospitalized
because of the dog food, which was made by Diamond Pet Foods at its plant in
Gaston, S.C., the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. No
pets were sickened, according to the Meta, Mo.-based company.
"People who became ill, the thing that
was common among them was that they had fed their pets Diamond Pet Foods,"
said CDC spokeswoman Lola Russell.
Three people each were infected in Missouri
and North Carolina; two people in Ohio; and one person each in Alabama,
Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia, the CDC said.
"Our folks are really wanting people to
be aware of it. They want to be aware that this is causing people to get sick
because they may have product in their homes. For every one that is reported,
there may be 29 others," Russell said.
People can get salmonella by handling
infected dog food, then not washing their hands before eating or handling their
own food, health officials said.
The South Carolina plant temporarily was shut
down April 8. Diamond Pet Foods has issued four rounds of recalls for food made
at the plant, located outside of Columbia, S.C., between Dec. 9 and April 7.
The latest recalls were announced Friday.
"We took corrective actions at the
plant, and today the plant is up and running. Our mission is to produce safe
pet foods for our customers and their pets in all Diamond facilities," the
company said in a written statement Friday.
In 2005, a toxic mold called aflatoxin ended
up in food made at the same Diamond Pet Foods plant in South Carolina and
dozens of dogs died. The company offered a $3.1 million settlement. The Food
and Drug Administration determined the deadly fungus likely got into the plant
when it failed to test 12 shipments of corn.
FDA officials were not immediately available
for comment Friday on the most recent problems with the plant.
Agriculture officials in Michigan found the
strain of salmonella during routine testing of dog food on April 2 and health
investigators noticed there was a possible link to the food made by Diamond Pet
Foods. An ill person still had some of the food, and authorities were able to
link the cases to the food, the CDC said.
The recall covers a number of pet food brands
made at the Gaston plant, including Canidae, Natural Balance, Apex, Kirkland,
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul, Country Value, Diamond, Diamond
Naturals, Premium Edge, Professional, 4Health and Taste of the Wild.