Maker Of Tainted Dog Food To Pay $3.1Million
Maker Of Tainted Dog Food
To Pay $3.1Million
COLUMBIA, SC (AP) â 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 Friday.
The pet food, which contained a mold called aflatoxin, was produced at Diamond Pet Foodsâ plant in South Carolina. The company will set up a fund to reimburse pet owners for the loss of their dog, veterinarian bills, and the cost of any unreturned contaminated food, said attorney Jim Andrews, 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 to ensure its products were safe. 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 contends it did nothing illegal, according to the settlement.