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Revised: 05/30/2008 |
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New Jersey Department of Agriculture
Memo To: Veterinarians From: Nancy E. Halpern, DVM, New Jersey State Veterinarian Date: May 12, 2008 Re: Voluntary Recall of Horse Feed
Land O'Lakes Purina Feed LLC recently announced a voluntary recall of certain horse feed products manufactured at three East Coast facilities. The products may have the possible presence of aflatoxin contaminants above acceptable levels. The State's Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory provides testing of feed for aflatoxins. Aflatoxins are a form of mycotoxin. Toxicity can occur acutely when large doses are ingested or chronically due to long term exposure. Environmental factors, exposure level, and duration of exposure as well as age and condition can influence the toxicity.
According to Texas A&M University Plant Pathology, growing horses, breeding horses and performance horses should only receive aflatoxin-free rations. According to Gary Osweiler, DVM, PhD, professor of veterinary toxicology at Iowa State University, aflatoxins can cause signs such as feed refusal, fever, weight loss, sluggishness, liver damage, jaundice, bloody diarrhea, kidney damage, birth defects, tumors, and suppressed immune function. Land O'Lakes spokesperson, Lydia Botham has stated that there have not been any confirmed health complaints due to aflatoxins related to the current recall of feed.
The recalled feed was produced at:
Dealers that may have received affected feed products have been notified of the voluntary recall. Horse owners and veterinarians should contact their feed dealers to see if an affected product has been received or fed. They may also call Land O'Lakes at 1-800-227-8941 between 8:30 am and 4 pm CST for customer assistance. The Animal Health Laboratory can test feed for the presence of aflatoxins and veterinarians should contact the Division at 609-292-3965 for information about submission and costs. |
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