Recalled: Thiamine deficiency in some of Diamond’s Premium Edge cat foods causing serious illness
By Christie Keith
October 2, 2009
Premium Edge, a line manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods, is withdrawing (one of the words du jour that pet food companies use to avoid the word “recall”) its Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat and Premium Edge Hairball formulas due to a dangerous thiamine deficiency in the foods.
One of my readers wrote me about this yesterday, but I couldn’t find anything about it on the company’s web site. I phoned them, but they didn’t return the call.
So I tried again today, and was directed to this new online statement:
Diamond Pet Foods has withdrawn from distribution the following date codes of Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat and Premium Edge Hairball cat: RAF0501A22X 18lb., RAF0501A2X 6 lb., RAH0501A22X 18 lb., RAH0501A2X 6lb. The calls from pet owners or veterinarians regarding this issue have been centered in the Rochester, NY area. All retail outlets shipped the above lots were contacted, asking them to pull the product from the store shelves. The retailers were also asked to contact their customers via email or telephone requesting them to check the date code of the food. However, if you or anyone you know has these date codes of Premium Edge cat food, please return them to your retailer.
Symptoms displayed by an affected cat will be neurological in nature. Any cats fed these date codes that display these symptoms should be immediately taken to a veterinarian.
Product testing proved no contaminants were discovered in the cat food; however the cat foods were deficient in thiamine. Diamond tracked the vitamin premix lot number that was utilized in these particular cat foods and have performed testing on another lot of Premium Edge cat food that used the same vitamin premix, and it was not deficient in thiamine. No other neurological signs have been reported on any other product manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods.
The affected cats were quite ill, mostly with neurological symptoms. The first sign was a lack of interest in eating, followed by symptoms including muscular weakness, vomiting, lethargy,rigid posture, circling, increased respiratory rate, lack of recognition of their owners, dilated pupils, and seizures.
Fortunately the cats have responded to thiamine supplementation and hospitalization, and my reader reported that Diamond is footing the bills for treatment.
This is just one more example of companies not getting it. Don’t hope these things won’t leak out; they will. The minute a product problem is suspected, be open about it. Stop trying to call it something other than a recall when you pull your product off store shelves, and if animals are getting sick, blast it all over the PR channels, and make sure veterinarians are aware of the problem.
Otherwise, these endless small stories, buried on corporate web sites and dragged into the light of day by grieving pet owners, will turn into nothing but death by a thousand tiny cuts for the pet food industry, eroding consumer confidence and damaging companies’ reputations beyond repair.
Diamond tracked the vitamin premix lot number that was utilized in these particular cat foods and have performed testing on another lot of Premium Edge cat food that used the same vitamin premix
We already know that companies using the same manufacturing plant for production have an unfortunate tendency to “share” ingredients with one another (whether to save costs or via unintentional “cross-contamination”). I wonder if this vitamin premix has found its way into any other products made at the same site?
From http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/manufacturers.htm :
DIAMOND
Manufactures dry foods
Diamond
Wellness (not all)
Foods manufactured:
Taste of the Wild
Diamond Pet Foods
PO Box 156
Meta, MO 65058
800-442-0402
Locations: Gaston, SC; Latrop, CA; Lubbock, TX; Meta, MO; Palm Coast, FL
Foods manufactured:
Artemis
Canidae
Kirkland Signature Brand Pet Food
Natural Balance
Solid Gold Health Food for Pets
Comment by The OTHER Pat — October 2, 2009 @ 3:58 pm
Personally, I’d love nothing better for ‘commercial’ pet food companies like Mars, Diamond, Purina and the rest of the Pet Food Industry to loose a huge portion of market share and die a long, slow lingering death from dropping stock prices because customers and investors no longer trust them. It would be a fitting demise after the Pet Food Debacle of 2007 and a deserved memorial to all the thousands of dogs and cats who suffered and perished from melamine poisoning.
It’ll never ever happen, but one can dream.
Comment by Anne T — October 2, 2009 @ 5:17 pm
Personally, I’d love nothing better for ‘commercial’ pet food companies … and the rest of the Pet Food Industry to loose a huge portion of market share and die a long, slow lingering death ….
Not me. I’d like them to get their acts together, behave responsibly, take control of production, and produce honest, trustable, nutritious food. But then, I’m fond of fairy tales too.
Comment by Eucritta — October 2, 2009 @ 5:40 pm
I will feed that food to my pet unicorn, Eucritta.
Comment by Christie Keith — October 2, 2009 @ 5:50 pm
Even pet food needs a unicorn chaser.
Comment by Eucritta — October 2, 2009 @ 6:22 pm
Ugh, not another food recall. :-(
I really appreciate your diligence in posting pet food/treat recall news. (Thank you)
Comment by karen — October 2, 2009 @ 6:25 pm
Thanks, Christie and The OTHER Pat. I so appreciate being informed of any pet food products that are injurious to a pet’s health!
Comment by Colorado Transplant — October 2, 2009 @ 6:27 pm
Seems like alot of illness from just low thiamine…I wonder how long these kitties were eating it or if it was the only thing they ate…Ever since 2007 I give all different foods “just in case”….but until something changes with our food producers I am afraid it is like looking for a safe seat on the Titanic (not my words but another’s whose cat passed in 2007 as well)
Comment by Carol V — October 3, 2009 @ 6:09 am
Am I the only one who finds this explanation suspicious?
Pray tell: how could ONE RUN of taurine-deficient pf cause cats to react immediately? I’d think it would take some time. However, I’d be more apt to believe that a serious overdose on some other vitamin in one run would produce symptoms in these poor little kitties almost immediately. Maybe I’m missing something here but I find symptoms showing up that fast from feeding a few meals of a food that’s deficient in any vitamin a bit hard to swallow……oh, that was bad…….:-)
Doesn’t help that I don’t trust any pfc or anything that they say. And, while we’re on the subject, let’s get rid of the voluntary withdrawal BS & call it what it is: a recall!
Is my anger showing?
Comment by Hannie — October 3, 2009 @ 7:54 am
Another one?! What would we do if we didnt have people reporting these recalls to pet blogs, we would never know!
The company says they are having the stores call people that bought the product but if anyone has any of the food, return it? If they dont send out a news notice about this, how do they expect people to even know they might have the food. Im sorry but these blurbs at pet food company websites arent enough. These companies make a ton of money and have the capability to get word out if they really want to, its sad to see they are more worried about their company rather than the damage it might cause the cat that might still be eating this food because the owner doesnt know there is a recall.
Also, whatever happened to that new FDA Reportable Food Registry..isnt this something that should have been reported via that or was it and FDA did nothing? I dont get it.
Comment by Sandi K — October 3, 2009 @ 8:24 am
Ive seen neuro problems in cats and its very hard to see the suffering they go thru, if owners dont know whats causing the problem, and think they cant help their cat, I dont want to think of what could happen…there is no excuse for such lousy advertising of this problem by this company.
Comment by Sandi K — October 3, 2009 @ 8:44 am
I wonder if this problem is now outside of Rochester—-just read this at twitter from a vet in NYC who is treating a very sick cat from eating the food…
http://twitter.com/VetLouiseMurray
“FYI We have a cat in ICU (in NYC) due to thiamine deficiency who eats the recalled Premium Edge food-please be alert”
about 1 hour ago from web
What I wondered when this was made public was now that vets and cat owners are hearing of this (like renal failure in 2007) maybe more affected cats will be reported elsewhere and more vets will come forward or put 2 + 2 together…Hope I am wrong on the more sick kitties side…
Comment by Carol V — October 13, 2009 @ 11:52 am
http://www.democratandchronicl...../1002/NEWS
(put a couple spaces after www. so not to get stuck in da filta! so remember to delete those spaces)
More cats outside of NY and good story to preach we need a central reporting/email alert system (need it for all foods)
Comment by Carol V — October 28, 2009 @ 8:46 am