Pets Are Family Too

Pet food maker involved in the tainted pet food recall, has settled a lawsuit for $3.1 million. Diamond Pet Foods based in Meta, Mo., has agreed to pay consumers that bought their contaminated dog food, which resulted in many pet deaths nationwide. If you purchased any of the recall Diamond Pet Food Products, you may have a claim in the lawsuit settlement, so read on.

Diamond Pet Foods is one of the largest pet food manufacturers in the United States. In the massive pet food recalls of April 2007, there were several Diamond Pet Foods brands affected such as Nutra Nuggets, and American Nutrition.

The contaminated pet food, contained aflatoxin, a fungus type mold , was produced at Diamond Pet Foods’ plant in South Carolina. Aflatoxin, is a naturally occurring chemical that comes from a fungus sometimes found on corn and in other crops, can cause severe liver damage. According to Jim Andrews, the attorney who represented a Knoxville, Tenn., family that sued Diamond Pet Foods stated,

the company will set up a fund to reimburse pet owners for the loss of their dog, veterinarian bills and the cost of any unreturned contaminated food.

Diamond Pet Foods, acknowledged that workers at its Gaston, S.C., plant did follow internal testing procedures to make sure its products were safe. The company made the acknowledgment after the Food and Drug Administration released a report showing the company has no record of test results for 12 shipments of corn in 2005, when grain tainted with the deadly fungus slipped into the plant.

Now there are several parts to file a claim against Diamond Pet Foods listed here on the recalledpetfoodsettlement.com web site. On the website, you will find more information on the terms and other information regarding the settlement. There is a hotline number listed of 1-800-960-6651. A copy of the settlement in pdf format can be read here and to download the claim form can be found here. Claims have to be postmarked no later than April 15, 2008!

We know that money cannot bring back the loss of our pet family member, but at least acknowledgment of the wrong can ease the pain a bit!

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