Re: Pet food maker in aflatoxin contamination incident sets up fund to share 3.1 million dollar settlement with dozens of former pet owners (and their lawyers?)

[Guest guest]

Wow! dogs get better treatment than humans. They acknowledge how bad

aflatoxins are for pets. What about Humans?????????

Does this not infuriate anyone else????

LiveSimply <quackadillian@...> wrote: Just

saw this in the Washington Post:

Maker of Tainted Dog Food Settles

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/04/AR2008010403398.\

html?hpid=sec-business

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 yesterday.

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 dogs, veterinarian

bills and the cost of any unreturned contaminated food, said Jim

s, an attorney 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.

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 says it did nothing illegal, according to the settlement.

" Diamond's taken care of its customers since the very first day that

they found out about this, and I think the settlement that we've

entered into continues to do that, " lawyer said.

Aflatoxin, a naturally occurring chemical that comes from a fungus

sometimes found on corn and other crops, can cause severe liver

damage.

The contaminated pet food was sold in 23 states. Diamond recalled

about 20 varieties of dog and cat food when a New York veterinarian

said in December 2005 that she had linked a dog's death to the

company's food. An estimated 350,000 bags of dog food were recalled,

according to the settlement.

The 2005 recall is unrelated to the contamination problem that

prompted recalls of more than 100 pet-food brands in early 2006. In

that case, investigators traced pet deaths to a toxic chemical,

melamine, that had been added during manufacturing in China.

---------------------------------

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[Guest guest]

Thanks for posting, my friend...

That said, I love that American law allows both of these statements to be

true:

A) Diamond Pet Foods, based in Meta, Mo., acknowledged that workers at

its Gaston, S.C., plant failed to follow internal testing procedures.

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. (So, the FDA doesn't administer

a LAW about

testing and keeping test results? They're what? Guidelines?

Suggestions? I have a

hard time believing that).

The company says it did nothing illegal, according to the settlement. (So

does this

mean that since there wasn't criminal prosecution there wasn't a

determination of

illegality or that they got the people who made claims and accepted money

from them

to nod their heads and say in unison, 'we are all unique individuals'?)

~Haley

LiveSimply <quackadillian@...> wrote:

Just saw this in the Washington Post:

Maker of Tainted Dog Food Settles

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/04/AR2008010403398.\

html?hpid=sec-business

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 yesterday.

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 dogs, veterinarian

bills and the cost of any unreturned contaminated food, said Jim

s, an attorney 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.

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 says it did nothing illegal, according to the settlement.

" Diamond's taken care of its customers since the very first day that

they found out about this, and I think the settlement that we've

entered into continues to do that, " lawyer said.

Aflatoxin, a naturally occurring chemical that comes from a fungus

sometimes found on corn and other crops, can cause severe liver

damage.

The contaminated pet food was sold in 23 states. Diamond recalled

about 20 varieties of dog and cat food when a New York veterinarian

said in December 2005 that she had linked a dog's death to the

company's food. An estimated 350,000 bags of dog food were recalled,

according to the settlement.

The 2005 recall is unrelated to the contamination problem that

prompted recalls of more than 100 pet-food brands in early 2006. In

that case, investigators traced pet deaths to a toxic chemical,

melamine, that had been added during manufacturing in China.

[Guest guest]

Now, now, my friend, you are making the wrong distinction here...(and we all

LIKE doggies, Grandma - they are also God's creatures)

The good news is that by extention, people EATING aflatoxins would get covered

as well.

The bad news is that most of us who are ill have made the mistake of BREATHING

the poison instead of eating it. There's this pesky lil study where they

injected some rats with mycotoxins and said it disproved that you could breathe

in enough to make you sick.

Just today, Sharon told us that there's a new study which begins to more

substantially create inroads around the ACOEM junk science that has been holding

us all hostage from getting the medical and legal assistance we need.

Doesn't bring my dead cat back who made the mistake of inhaling the air around

her (RIP Samcat, '06 to lung cancer, most likely from Trichothecene poisoning),

but the take away from this story is that we ARE making inroads.

This is a GOOD story - it gets the word out that AFLATOXINS are POISONOUS.

Have patience and hope - we WILL prevail, and this is actually a step that HELPS

us all.

~Haley

a Townsend <kmtown2003@...> wrote:

Wow! dogs get better treatment than humans. They acknowledge how bad

aflatoxins are for pets. What about Humans?????????

Does this not infuriate anyone else????

[Guest guest]

true, I also look at it like this. you eat what you breath and you

breath what you eat, animals too. makes all the good research on

mold/myco exposure on animals and humans valid weither it's ate or

inhaled.

> Wow! dogs get better treatment than humans. They

acknowledge how bad aflatoxins are for pets. What about

Humans?????????

> Does this not infuriate anyone else????

>

[Guest guest]

Aflatoxin in food IS illegal for humans.

I think there are also standards for feed for animals THAT ARE TO BE

EATEN BY HUMANS.

I don't think that there are standards for pets. There are laws in

many places against mistreating animals, yes, but selling poisoned

food seems to be a gray area.

Often, when a shipment of grain fails to pass testing for human

consumption, its diluted with uncontaminated grain and then fed to

animals like cows or pigs, chickens, etc.

Thats why they do research on binding agents like cholestyramine, so

they can use this cheaper 'food' without making the meat toxic.

Just like we need to push for mold standards for human housing and

workplaces, we should push for mycotoxin standards for pet foods.

Thats what they meant when they said that they didn't do anything

illegal.

Thats what the mold poisoners say over and over. " We didn't do

anything illegal " .

Does anyone else think its obscene that courts tend to value animals

at their cost?

So the 'replacement value' of a dog might be anything from " free " as

in " free puppies " to several thousand dollars, if its was a pedigreed

dog with papers. More if it had won prizes, etc. Most dogs and cats

might be valued at under a hundred dollars. So the lawyers are lucky

they didn't have to go to court. They would have had to make a new

legal precedent. Thats how American court systems work. For the same

reason, human lives are valued by the owner's salary. Poor people's

lives are valued proportionately to their income. Thats why poor

people have so much trouble getting legal representation, often.

[Guest guest]

Gee! If its not allowed in food and I haven't been in any corn silo's lately.

How the heck did I get so much Aflatoxins in me?? Crap! I must have breathed

them in. Stupid me that can't be right because the idiot Dr's say so!! Can I

cuss now??

k

LiveSimply <quackadillian@...> wrote:

Aflatoxin in food IS illegal for humans.

I think there are also standards for feed for animals THAT ARE TO BE

EATEN BY HUMANS.

I don't think that there are standards for pets. There are laws in

many places against mistreating animals, yes, but selling poisoned

food seems to be a gray area.

Often, when a shipment of grain fails to pass testing for human

consumption, its diluted with uncontaminated grain and then fed to

animals like cows or pigs, chickens, etc.

Thats why they do research on binding agents like cholestyramine, so

they can use this cheaper 'food' without making the meat toxic.

Just like we need to push for mold standards for human housing and

workplaces, we should push for mycotoxin standards for pet foods.

Thats what they meant when they said that they didn't do anything

illegal.

Thats what the mold poisoners say over and over. " We didn't do

anything illegal " .

Does anyone else think its obscene that courts tend to value animals

at their cost?

So the 'replacement value' of a dog might be anything from " free " as

in " free puppies " to several thousand dollars, if its was a pedigreed

dog with papers. More if it had won prizes, etc. Most dogs and cats

might be valued at under a hundred dollars. So the lawyers are lucky

they didn't have to go to court. They would have had to make a new

legal precedent. Thats how American court systems work. For the same

reason, human lives are valued by the owner's salary. Poor people's

lives are valued proportionately to their income. Thats why poor

people have so much trouble getting legal representation, often.

---------------------------------

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[Guest guest]

How do you know its aflatoxin? Ochratoxin is much more common in the

indoor environment, according to

several people who should know.

Trichothecenes are less common but when a building has a problem with

them, it can persist for years after the leaks have been fixed. There

are many, many other indoor air contaminants. Its amazing how much

FIBERBOARD I see in new construction.

Seeing that and how so many buildings don't have ventilation during

the winter its highly probable that people must be getting sick.

Those buildings with all that fiberboard don't need mold to do this,

they have formaldehyde.

But fake wood grows mold too, if it gets wet. There doesn't have to be

a leak, if they just don't have enough insulation and there are holes

in the walls and moist indoor air hits cold walls, then you get water

during the winter.

Mold on fiberboard also liberates additional formaldehyde than would

otherwise get out.

Pick your poison. There are systems called " Heat Recovery Ventilators "

or " Energy Recovery Ventilators " that those buildings, especially

should use. They can help a lot. They keep a constant flow of air

going through from outside.

They should be required by law in workplaces and all new construction

that uses fiberboard. (pretty much all cheap housing these days)

On Jan 5, 2008 9:21 PM, a Townsend <kmtown2003@...> wrote:

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Gee! If its not allowed in food and I haven't been in any corn silo's

> lately. How the heck did I get so much Aflatoxins in me?? Crap! I must have

> breathed them in. Stupid me that can't be right because the idiot Dr's say

> so!! Can I cuss now??

> k

>

> LiveSimply <quackadillian@...> wrote: Aflatoxin in food IS illegal

> for humans.

>

>

>

> I think there are also standards for feed for animals THAT ARE TO BE

> EATEN BY HUMANS.

> I don't think that there are standards for pets. There are laws in

> many places against mistreating animals, yes, but selling poisoned

> food seems to be a gray area.

>

> Often, when a shipment of grain fails to pass testing for human

> consumption, its diluted with uncontaminated grain and then fed to

> animals like cows or pigs, chickens, etc.

>

> Thats why they do research on binding agents like cholestyramine, so

> they can use this cheaper 'food' without making the meat toxic.

>

> Just like we need to push for mold standards for human housing and

> workplaces, we should push for mycotoxin standards for pet foods.

> Thats what they meant when they said that they didn't do anything

> illegal.

>

> Thats what the mold poisoners say over and over. " We didn't do

> anything illegal " .

>

> Does anyone else think its obscene that courts tend to value animals

> at their cost?

>

> So the 'replacement value' of a dog might be anything from " free " as

> in " free puppies " to several thousand dollars, if its was a pedigreed

> dog with papers. More if it had won prizes, etc. Most dogs and cats

> might be valued at under a hundred dollars. So the lawyers are lucky

> they didn't have to go to court. They would have had to make a new

> legal precedent. Thats how American court systems work. For the same

> reason, human lives are valued by the owner's salary. Poor people's

> lives are valued proportionately to their income. Thats why poor

> people have so much trouble getting legal representation, often.

>

>

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Search.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I tested positive for Trics, and aflatoxins. Realtime lab. I'm getting ready

to test again and see if my levels have gone down since the first test 6

months ago

LiveSimply <quackadillian@...> wrote: How do

you know its aflatoxin? Ochratoxin is much more common in the

indoor environment, according to

several people who should know.

Trichothecenes are less common but when a building has a problem with

them, it can persist for years after the leaks have been fixed. There

are many, many other indoor air contaminants. Its amazing how much

FIBERBOARD I see in new construction.

Seeing that and how so many buildings don't have ventilation during

the winter its highly probable that people must be getting sick.

Those buildings with all that fiberboard don't need mold to do this,

they have formaldehyde.

But fake wood grows mold too, if it gets wet. There doesn't have to be

a leak, if they just don't have enough insulation and there are holes

in the walls and moist indoor air hits cold walls, then you get water

during the winter.

Mold on fiberboard also liberates additional formaldehyde than would

otherwise get out.

Pick your poison. There are systems called " Heat Recovery Ventilators "

or " Energy Recovery Ventilators " that those buildings, especially

should use. They can help a lot. They keep a constant flow of air

going through from outside.

They should be required by law in workplaces and all new construction

that uses fiberboard. (pretty much all cheap housing these days)