News & Newsletters: Page 745

Spectrum Pet Care president faces investment fraud allegations

Frank Renick, president of Spectrum Pet Care, a Missouri, USA, petfood company, has been indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on allegations of investment fraud. Renick, of Montgomery City, Missouri, was arrested June 4 on three charges of mail fraud. According to prosecutors, Renick sold $7 million worth of investments in the company to more than 250 investors in Missouri and other locations.

Man suing Diamond Pet Foods over dry dog food recall

A father in New Jersey is reportedly suing Diamond Pet Foods and the place of purchase, Costco, claiming that his 8-week-old son was sickened by recently recalled Salmonella-tainted dry dog food he purchased. Lawyers for Nevin Eisenberg of Marlboro, New Jersey, USA, filed a lawsuit in a New Jersey federal court that alleges his infant son was hospitalized by a strain of Salmonella infantis that was found in petfood made at Diamond’s Gaston, South Carolina, USA, manufacturing plant.

Market Trends and Reports

Eva Longoria to be celebrity face of Dine cat food brand

Eva Longoria has reportedly agreed to become the international celebrity face of the Dine cat food brand. Although Longoria, star of the TV show "Desperate Housewives," does not own a pet cat, she says she is a cat lover and owned them as a child.

Research and Markets offers 'Pet Food Manufacturing' report

Research and Markets added a new "Pet Food Manufacturing" report to its offerings, which found that the US petfood manufacturing industry's nearly 200 companies bring in a combined annual revenue of about US$47 billion. Major companies noted in the report include divisions of Nestle (Nestle Purina PetCare Company); Procter & Gamble (Iams); Colgate-Palmolive (Science Diet and Prescription Diet); Mars (Pedigree and Whiskas); and Del Monte (9Lives, Gravy Train, Milk-Bone, and Meow Mix).

Diamond dry dog food recall linked to second plant in Missouri, USA

The initial recall of dry dog food produced at Diamond Pet Foods' Gaston, South Carolina, USA, facility has since been expanded at least eight times affecting at least nine brand names, but the latest expansion now includes petfood produced at a second Diamond facility in Meta, Missouri, USA. No information regarding a possible connection between the Salmonella contamination at the two plants has been released, according to a report.

CDC explains food pathogen database, PulseNet

At the recent annual meeting of the Association of Public Health Laboratories in Seattle, Washington, USA, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explained how its foodborne pathogen database, PulseNet, aids in outbreak detection as well as future challenges CDC anticipates. PulseNet, launched in 1996, identifies the DNA information for foodborne pathogens, including those in petfood, using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

Market Trends and Reports

Diamond Pet Foods recall expanded to include cat food formulas

Diamond Pet Foods has once again expanded its petfood recall, this time to include a brand of cat food produced at the company's Gaston, South Carolina, USA, petfood manufacturing facility, due to the possibility of Salmonella contamination. The new recall involves two dry cat food formulas: Kirkland Signature Super Premium Maintenance Cat Chicken & Rice Formula and Kirkland Signature Super Premium Healthy Weight Cat Formula.

New pet illness complaints linked to Chinese chicken jerky treats

A new record of complaints from pet owners and veterinarians submitted to federal health officials shows nearly 1,000 dogs have reportedly been sickened after eating chicken jerky treats made in China, according to a recent msnbc.com article. Since November 2011, the US Food and Drug Administration has received almost 900 reports of pet illnesses and deaths.

Pet Fair Asia registration now open

Registration for Pet Fair Asia, which will be held in China in October, is now open, allowing industry professionals to register to attend the pet trade show event, which will also be co-located for the first time with Petfood Forum China. With 2.68 million pet dogs and 1.07 million pet cats, China's pet market is expected to increase 7.7 percent each year to US$476 million in 2015, according to Euromonitor International.

More than 100,000 sign ASPCA 'No Pet Store Puppies' pledge

More than 100,000 consumers have taken the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' “No Pet Store Puppies” pledge to help fight puppy mill cruelty by refusing to shop at pet stores and on websites that sell puppies. The national campaign, launched in July 2011, raises awareness about the connection between pet stores and puppy mills, with the goal of reducing the demand for puppy mill puppies by urging consumers not to purchase any pet products from a store or website that sells puppies.

Market Trends and Reports

Cats potentially at risk after Diamond Pet Foods dog food recall

After recalling one batch of Diamond Naturals dry dog food on April 6 for possible Salmonella contamination, Diamond Pet Foods and other brands manufactured at its plant have expanded the recall on numerous occasions, Diamond endured a week-long inspection of its Gaston, South Carolina, USA, by the US Food and Drug Administration, which found various safety issues, and most recently acknowledged that cats are also at risk. According to a recent article, Diamond Pet Foods has done little to call special attention to the expansion of its dry dog food recalls to include a cat food that was also manufactured at the plant.

Diamond Pet Foods expands dry dog food recall again

Diamond Pet Foods is again expanding a voluntary petfood recall to include its Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Dog Lamb & Rice Formula dry dog food manufactured on August 26, 2011 in Gaston, South Carolina, USA, due to concerns the product may have been exposed to Salmonella. The recall applies to sample sizes, as well as 6- and 18-pound bag sizes of Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Dog Lamb & Rice Formula.

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