49 human illnesses from Diamond recall
According to a July 20 report from the global food safety blog eFoodAlert, the number of pets and humans sickened by a Diamond Pet Foods recall has continued to rise.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has acknowledged two lab-confirmed infected dogs. Total reports of sickened pets, including reports from the FDA and the media, currently stand at 58.
However, not all of these cases have been confirmed by veterinarians or FDA labs.
Forty-nine confirmed cases of human illness have been reported, with four additional reports unconfirmed. NEWStat last reported on July 20, 2012 that 22 people had been sickened from the food that has been contaminated with Salmonella Infantis.
Problems with food from Diamond Pet Foods were discovered to be more widespread than originally thought after the FDA announced contaminated dog food had been found at a second Diamond manufacturing facility.
According to the FDA, a surveillance sample of Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Lamb and Rice collected by the state of Ohio from the Diamond Meta, Mo. plant has now yielded a positive for Salmonella Liverpool. The strain from the Missouri plant is not the same strain of Salmonella found at the Gaston, South Carolina plant in April. The strain from the South Carolina plant has led to a human outbreak of the illness.
Diamond has issued a recall for the Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Lamb and Rice product from the Missouri facility.
Additional investigational steps include analyzing consumer complaints to determine if they are related to this outbreak and continued state surveillance to determine whether any recall expansion may be required. The FDA says Diamond is working with FDA to ensure adulterated products are not on the market