Diamond Pet Foods expanded its recall of pet food produced at its Gaston, S.C., manufacturing facility to include six additional brands and resumed production at the facility.
Public health officials linked the strain to an outbreak ofhuman salmonella infections, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched an investigation to determine if other brands of food produced in Gaston may be linked to the illnesses.
• Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul • Country Value • Diamond • Diamond Naturals • Premium Edge • Professional • 4Health • Taste of the Wild
The recalled products are those that have a production code with the number “2” or “3” in the 9th or 10th digit and an “X” in the 11th digit and “Best-Before” dates of Dec. 9, 2012, through Apr. 7, 2013. The products were distributed in the following states and Canada, but may have been distributed further through other pet food channels: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
• Kirkland Signature Super Premium Adult Dog Lamb, Rice & Vegetable Formula • Kirkland Signature Super Premium Adult Dog Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Formula • Kirkland Signature Super Premium Mature Dog Chicken, Rice & Egg Formula • Kirkland Signature Super Premium Healthy Weight Dog Formulated with Chicken & Vegetables • Kirkland Signature Super Premium Maintenance Cat Chicken & Rice Formula • Kirkland Signature Super Premium Healthy Weight Cat Formula • Kirkland Signature Nature’s Domain Salmon Meal & Sweet Potato Formula for Dogs
The recalled Kirkland products are those with production codes with a number “3” in the 10th digit and an “X” in the 11th digit and “Best-Before” dates between Dec. 9, 2012 and Jan. 31, 2013. The food was distributed in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Pets with salmonella infections may have decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain, the company said. If left untreated, pets may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Infected pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. Owners of pets that have consumed the product should contact a veterinarian, the company says.
Owners handling the food can also become infected, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to the affected product. Healthy people infected with salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever, the company said. Salmonella can also result in more serious ailments, such as arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these symptoms after having contact with the recalled product should contact a healthcare provider.
Diamond has set up a website devoted to providing information about the recalls. Diamond states on the site that production and delivery out of its Gaston plant has resumed.
The History of Diamond Pet Foods
With a dream and some bootstraps, 2 brothers by marriage started a small animal feed production that is now a billion-dollar business.
Diamond Pet Foods had its humble beginnings in Missouri, close to the homes of Gary Schell and Richard Kampeter. The brothers-in-law bought a mill in Meta, Missouri — population 220. They began operating in April 1970 under the name Meta Feed and Grain.
Until then, the mill “had been one of those hand-to-mouth local enterprises that dotted outstate Missouri, converting a farmer’s grain to flour, bran, corn meal and hog slops,” according to a feature in the Kansas City Star.
When Schell and Kampeter took over, the mill “produced mostly hog and cattle feed. But it also had a line of dog chow, cooked in 3 big iron kettles large enough to make 4 tons of the stuff in 10 hours.”ADVERTISEMENT
By the early 1990s, business was booming, thanks to the specialty pet food. “Meta Feed and Grain got out of livestock feed [and] went exclusively to dog and cat chow,” according to the newspaper article.
Also, there was an important name change. According to folklore, Meta Feed and Grain came to be called Diamond Pet Foods when a hunter exclaimed that eating the dog food made his dog’s coat shine like a diamond.
The business continued to grow under the direction of Schell and Kampeter — though it wasn’t always easy.
“We went broke 5 times,” Schell told the Kansas City Star. “We actually ran out of money. Once we went over to the bank, threw the keys to the place on the counter and said, ‘You take it. ‘They said, ‘No, we’ll work something out.”
By 1992, Diamond was racking up $40 million in sales worldwide.
And today? As of 2020, Diamond Pet Foods was the No. 5 pet food company in the world, with $1.5 billion in annual revenue, according to data provided by Pet Food Industry.
Beginning in 1985, the second generation of Kampeters took an avid interest in their father’s business.
Michael, Tommy and John Kampeter started working full time at their father’s company. All 3 of them had worked in the Meta plant while they were still teens completing their education. Their youngest brother, Andy, would eventually become vice president of transportation and packaging.
When Michael Kampeter joined the company, he began taking distribution of Diamond pet products nationally. He attended trade shows and expanded Diamond’s client base. He would eventually become president of the company.
Now, Michael Kampeter has brought his son, Trey, into the business with him. Trey has become the third generation of Kampeters to work in the company.
In 1999, the company outgrew its Meta plant, and another plant was opened in Lathrop, California.
Then, in 2003, the company expanded again, this time opening a plant in Gaston, South Carolina.
In 2013, the town of Ripon, California, rejoiced when Diamond opened yet another plant in that community, bringing 75 additional jobs. Rather than build a brand-new plant from the ground up, Diamond purchased a defunct paper mill for $9 million and repurposed it.
That plant is located only 15 miles from the Lathrop, California, plant. With the Ripon plant, Diamond made an important investment in renewable energy, adding solar panels and LED lights, which burn the least energy of all light bulbs.ADVERTISEMENT
Over the years, Diamond Pet Foods has diversified its line of products, including Diamond Naturals (which debuted in 2006), Diamond CARE (debuted in 2016) and Diamond Pro89 (debuted in 2019).
Other brands owned by Diamond Pet Foods include:
Diamond’s most recognizable pet food brand — and its big money maker — is Taste of the Wild.
In the next section below, we discuss the Diamond pet food recall history.
Has Blue Buffalo Ever Been Recalled?
Yes. Blue Buffalo has had to issue a number of pet food recalls going back to 2007. Here is a quick overview, and then we will go into much more detail below.
Most recently, in March 2017, Blue Buffalo recalled a single run of Blue Wilderness canned dog food because of potentially excessive levels of beef thyroid hormone (certain Wellness canned dog food was also recalled for the same reason).
A month earlier, in February 2017, Blue Buffalo recalled some cans of its Homestyle Recipe dog food because of possible metal (aluminum) contamination. Also that month, the company recalled wet dog food cups because of a packaging problem.
In May 2016, moisture problems and the possibility of mold prompted a limited recall of some Blue Buffalo sweet potato–flavored dog food.
In October 2010, Blue Buffalo voluntarily recalled a few products because of a “sequencing error” made by an ingredient supplier. The supplier had conducted a previous processing of Vitamin D in which some carryover may have contaminated the products.
Finally, in April 2007, as part of the larger Menu Foods/melamine recall that shocked the country, the FDA confirmed the presence of melamine in rice protein concentrate in food manufactured by American Nutrition Inc. for Blue Buffalo. Blue Buffalo denied knowledge or consent of the additive being in the product.
“The obvious question is ‘How could Blue Buffalo not know that ANI was putting rice protein concentrate into our canned food?” the company said in a press release. “The answer is, we trusted them. In business and in life, we all trust our partners to deal with us honestly.”
“This is product tampering, and it apparently has been going on for some time,” the company said.
As a result of the recall, Blue Buffalo pulled all of its manufacturing from American Nutrition, even including products not listed in the recall.
Bill Bishop lamented the randomness of the 2007 melamine recalls. Before the ordeal, the Blue Buffalo founder said he hadn’t even been aware that rice protein concentrate came from China. “If it was our fault,” he told a local newspaper in Wilton, Connecticut, “I could take it better.”
Below, we list the full details of every single Blue Buffalo recall.
Cause: Potential for elevated levels of naturally occurring beef thyroid hormone. Announcement: Company press release dated March 17, 2017. What was recalled: Blue Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe Red Meat Dinner Wet Food for Adult Dogs, 12.5 oz. cans, UPC #840243101153, best by June 7, 2019.
Cause: Packaging quality. Announcement: PetSmart announcement dated Feb. 28, 2017 (archived here). What was recalled: The following Blue Buffalo dog food cups:
Cause: Possible metal contamination (aluminum). Announcement: Company announcement dated Feb. 13, 2017. What was recalled: Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Healthy Weight, Chicken Dinner With Garden Vegetables, 12.5 oz. can, UPC #8-40243-10017-0, best by Aug. 3, 2019.
Cause: Possible mold. Announcement: News report dated May 31, 2016. What was recalled: 30 lb. bags of Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Fish and Sweet Potato Recipe dog food, best by April 11, 2017.
Cause: Potential for salmonella. Announcement: FDA report dated Nov. 25, 2015 (archived here). What was recalled: One lot of Cub Size Wilderness Wild Chews Bones, best by Nov. 4, 2017.
Cause: May contain low levels of propylene glycol. Announcement: FDA report dated Nov. 6, 2015 (archived here). What was recalled: 2 oz. pouches of Blue Kitty Yums Tasty Chicken Recipe cat treats, best by either April 24 or July 24, 2016.
Cause: Potentially too much Vitamin D. Announcement: FDA report dated Oct. 8, 2010 (archived here). What was recalled: The following packages of Blue Buffalo dry dog food:
Cause: Melamine. Announcement: FDA report and firm press release dated April 27, 2007 (archived here and here). What was recalled: All of the following pet foods, nationwide, manufactured by American Nutrition Inc. (no dry pet foods were part of this recall):
Cause: Melamine. Announcement: FDA report dated April 19, 2007 (archived here). What was recalled: Blue Buffalo Spa Select Kitten dry food, 3 lb. and 7 lb. bags, best by MAR0708B. Just over 5,000 bags of this kitten food were produced using rice protein concentrate procured from Wilbur-Ellis, which later tested positive for melamine.
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