Mount Vernon News

MOUNT VERNON — A recall of animal feed across the eastern half of the United States initiated in April does not include Ohio.

Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC announced a recall of several varieties of horse, goat and pig feed in a small statement on its Web site without forwarding that information to the national news media, but the information is circulating by word of mouth and over the Internet. Purina notified dealers identified by their internal records as having received feed possibly contaminated by the presence of aflatoxin.

“This voluntary retrieval was initiated due to the possible presence of aflatoxin contamination above acceptable levels,” Purina said in a statement posted at its horse feed Web site. The statement claims the company has not received any animal-health complaints associated with the contaminated products.

Purina identified the states where feed vendors received the possibly contaminated products as Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. No vendors in Ohio were thought to have received the recalled feed.

Aflatoxins are toxic chemicals created by fungi. The toxins can cause liver damage, immune system suppression and reproductive problems in horses. Symptoms include gastrointestinal dysfunction, reduced reproductivity, anemia, jaundice and reduced feed utilization and efficiency, according to Cornell University’s Department of Animal Science.

Purina’s statement said the ingredient of concern came from one supplier, but the company declined to identify either the ingredient or the supplier, simply stating it has discontinued purchasing from that supplier. Affected foods were manufactured at Purina’s Statesville, N.C., plant between Nov. 3, 2007, and Feb. 8; at its Harrisburg, Pa., plant between Jan. 1 and Feb. 8; and at the company’s Guilderland, N.Y., plant between Jan. 1 and March 10.

Varieties involved include Country Acres All Stock 14 percent and 16 percent textures, several Country Acres Horse feeds, Equine Junior and Equine Senior, Horse Chow 100, Goat Chow, several Horsemans Edge varieties, Pure Pride 100, Sow & Pig Builder OTC 50, and Start & Gro Sunfresh Recipe. A full list of serial numbers and varieties is available at http://horse.purinamills.com, by clicking on the notice “Eastern U. S. Feed Product Retrieval.”

This comes after numerous food recalls last year by U.S. feed manufacturers due to contaminated ingredients purchased from loosely regulated Chinese suppliers. Purina has not identified whether the supplier in question in the recall is a domestic or overseas company.