Purina Feed Recall Update - May 8 2008

From the Purinamills.com website:

Land O’Lakes Purina Feed
Eastern U.S. Voluntary Feed Product Retrieval

Our recent aflatoxin-related voluntary feed product retrieval has resulted in a number of questions from concerned animal owners. The most recent update on this situation is provided below.

In mid-February our own incoming ingredient testing and routine state regulatory testing simultaneously indicated aflatoxin above FDA action levels in certain feeds manufactured at our Statesville, North Carolina feed plant.

* We immediately implemented an internal investigation and testing regimen to determine which products might be affected and, as a precautionary measure, initiated a voluntary retrieval of affected products (February 14, 2008) even prior to receiving all testing results.

Our investigation indicated a single ingredient from a single supplier, serving three Eastern plants (Statesville, N.C.; Harrisburg, Pa.; Guilderland, N.Y.), as the aflatoxin source.

* We suspended purchases from this supplier and, as additional testing was conducted, appropriately expanded the voluntary product retrieval to include specific products, produced during specific time frames at these plants.
* Only products distributed in the following Eastern states are included in the retrieval: Connecticut; Delaware; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; Vermont; Virginia; West Virginia; eastern Tennessee; northern Georgia.

Products manufactured at these plants after the following dates are NOT included in the voluntary retrieval: February 8, 2008, Harrisburg and Statesville; March 10, 2008, Guilderland.

The decision was made to implement the product retrieval through local dealers, whose first-hand relationships and knowledge of customer purchasing patterns offered the best opportunity to get information regarding specific products and lot numbers to potentially affected customers as quickly and clearly as possible. Dealers have been responsive and helpful throughout the process.

As of the date of this posting, we have no confirmed cases of aflatoxin-related animal health issues. We continue to urge customers with concerns about their animals to contact local veterinarians.

We deeply regret and apologize for the concern this situation may be causing our customers. Animal health and welfare, along with customer trust and confidence, remain our utmost priorities. We are continually evaluating measures to further strengthen our quality programs.

For a list of products included in the voluntary retrieval, from Statesville, N.C.; Harrisburg, Pa.; Guilderland, N.Y.; see www.purinamills.com.